Roland Glen Fingers is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1968 and 1985. His effectiveness helped to redefine the value of relievers within baseball and to usher in the modern closer role. A seven-time All-Star,he led the major leagues in saves three times,and was named Rolaids Relief Man of the Year four times. He first gained prominence as a member of the Oakland Athletics championship teams of the early 1970s,when his flamboyant handlebar mustache made him perhaps the most identifiable member of The Mustache Gang,which led Oakland to become the only non-New York Yankees team ever to win three consecutive World Series titles. Fingers was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1974 World Series after earning a win in the opener and saves in the last three games to secure the title.
In baseball,a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. Most commonly a pitcher earns a save by entering in the ninth inning of a game in which his team is winning by three or fewer runs and finishing the game by pitching one inning without losing the lead. The number of saves or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted are oft-cited statistics of relief pitchers,particularly those in the closer role. The save statistic was created by journalist Jerome Holtzman in 1959 to "measure the effectiveness of relief pitchers" and was adopted as an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic in 1969. The save has been retroactively tabulated for pitchers before that date. Mariano Rivera is MLB's all-time leader in regular-season saves with 652,while Francisco Rodríguez earned the most saves in a single season with 62 in 2008.
Lee Arthur Smith is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight teams. Serving mostly as a relief pitcher during his career,he was a dominant closer,was the first pitcher to reach 400 saves,and held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006,when Trevor Hoffman passed his total of 478. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2019 by the Today's Game Era Committee.
John Karl Wetteland is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (1989–2000). He pitched for four teams:the Los Angeles Dodgers,Montreal Expos,New York Yankees,and Texas Rangers. A relief pitcher,Wetteland specialized as a closer,recording 330 saves during his career. With the Yankees,he won the 1996 World Series over the Atlanta Braves and won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award for saving four games in the series. After his playing career,he served as a coach for the Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners. In 2019,Wetteland was arrested and indicted on charges of sexually abusing a child under the age of 14. These charges were later dismissed.
Antonio Alfonseca is a Dominican former relief pitcher. He last pitched in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007. Alfonseca also played for the Florida Marlins,the Chicago Cubs (2002–2003),the Atlanta Braves (2004),and the Texas Rangers (2006).
Jeffrey Thomas Montgomery is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. During a 13-year baseball career,he pitched from 1987 to 1999,primarily for the Kansas City Royals.
Thomas Derrick Turnbow is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher,who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Anaheim Angels and Milwaukee Brewers.
Vicente de la Cruz Padilla is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. Padilla played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks,Philadelphia Phillies,Texas Rangers,Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
David Matthew Murphy is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox,Texas Rangers,Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Paul Adrian Devine was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher in 1973 and from 1975 through 1980 for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. He batted and threw right-handed and served primarily as a relief pitcher.
The 1999 New York Yankees season was the 97th season for the Bronx-based Major League Baseball team. The team finished with a record of 98–64 finishing 4 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the playoffs,they got to the World Series and defeated the Atlanta Braves in 4 games to win their 25th World Series title. By winning their 25th World Series,the New York Yankees became the most successful team in North America,a record previously held by the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. In that year,free-to-air broadcasts returned to WNYW,the which had been the first Yankees television broadcaster in 1947,while cable broadcasts continued on MSG.
The Texas Rangers1989 season involved the Rangers finishing fourth in the American League West with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses. Nolan Ryan would achieve his 5,000th career strikeout during the season. He would finish as the American League leader in strikeouts.
The 1998 San Diego Padres season was the 30th season in franchise history. The Padres won the National League championship and advanced to the World Series for the second time in franchise history.
The 1989 Major League Baseball season saw the Oakland Athletics win their first World Series title since 1974.
The 1980 Major League Baseball season concluded with the Philadelphia Phillies winning their first World Series championship.
Jeffrey Scott Darwin is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox.
Kristopher Shane Keller is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the majority of his career in the Detroit Tigers organization.
Cesar Ramos is an American former professional baseball pitcher and the current pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres,Tampa Bay Rays,Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,and Texas Rangers. Before playing professionally,Ramos played college baseball at Long Beach State University.
Andrew Burton Cashner is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs,San Diego Padres,Miami Marlins,Texas Rangers,Baltimore Orioles,and Boston Red Sox.
Emilio Enrique Pagán is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays,Seattle Mariners,Oakland Athletics,San Diego Padres,and Minnesota Twins. He plays for the Puerto Rico national baseball team.
