A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls, and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08(a). It is, however, considered a faux pas for a professional player to actually walk to first base; the batter-runner and any advancing runners normally jog on such a play.
Sanford Koufax is a former American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched 12 seasons for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966. Koufax, at age 36 in 1972, became the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He has been hailed as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.
In baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories in the same season. The term "Triple Crown" generally refers to the batting achievement of leading a league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI) over the same season. The term "Pitching Triple Crown" refers to the pitching achievement of leading a league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA).
Robert Gibson is an American retired baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–75). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", Gibson tallied 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 earned run average (ERA) during his career. A nine-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. In 1981, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. The Cardinals retired his uniform number 45 in September 1975 and inducted him into the team Hall of Fame in 2014.
Michael Stephen Lolich is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1962 until 1979, most notably for the Detroit Tigers. He is best known for his performance in the 1968 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals when he earned three complete-game victories, including a win over Bob Gibson in the climactic Game 7. Lolich is one of only 21 major league pitchers to have struck out at least 2800 batters in his career. He is of Croatian descent.
David Brian Cone is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, and current color commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and WPIX. A third round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1981 MLB Draft, he made his MLB debut in 1986 and continued playing until 2003, pitching for five different teams. Cone batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
John Dwight Chesbro was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Nicknamed "Happy Jack", Chesbro played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1899–1902), the New York Highlanders (1903–1909), and the Boston Red Sox (1909). Chesbro finished his career with a win-loss record of 198-132, an earned run average of 2.68, and 1,265 strikeouts. His 41 wins during the 1904 season remains an American League record. Though some pitchers have won more games in some seasons prior to 1901, historians demarcating 1901 as the beginning of 'modern-era' major league baseball refer to and credit Jack Chesbro and his 1904 win-total as the modern era major league record and its holder. Some view Chesbro's 41 wins in a season as an unbreakable record.
John Gibson Clarkson was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played from 1882 to 1894. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Clarkson played for the Worcester Ruby Legs (1882), Chicago White Stockings (1884–1887), Boston Beaneaters (1888–1892), and Cleveland Spiders (1892–1894).
Ronald Ames Guidry, nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees of the American League (AL), from 1975 through 1988. Guidry was also the pitching coach of the Yankees from 2006 to 2007.
Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves. The team's top right-hander during its years in Milwaukee, he was the Most Valuable Player of the 1957 World Series, leading the franchise to its first championship in 43 years, and the only title in Milwaukee history. An outstanding control pitcher, his career average of 1.84 walks per nine innings pitched places him behind only Robin Roberts (1.73), Greg Maddux (1.80), Carl Hubbell, (1.82) and Juan Marichal (1.82) among pitchers with at least 3,000 innings since 1920.
Jonathan Ray Lieber is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. He stands 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighs 240 pounds (110 kg). He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1994–1998), Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees (2004), and Philadelphia Phillies (2005–2007). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and utilized a fastball, a slider, and a changeup for his pitches. In a 14-season career, Lieber compiled a 131–124 record with 1,553 strikeouts and a 4.27 ERA in 2,198 innings pitched.
Charles Oliver Hough is a former Major League Baseball knuckleball pitcher.
Wilbur Forrester Wood, Jr. is an American former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher in Major League Baseball for seventeen years, most notably with the Chicago White Sox where he earned 163 of his 164 wins. A knuckleball specialist, he threw left-handed, and batted right-handed.
James Leslie "Hippo" Vaughn was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. In a career that spanned thirteen seasons, he played for the New York Highlanders, the Washington Senators (1912), and the Chicago Cubs (1913–1921). Vaughn won over twenty games in five seasons for the Cubs. His highlight year was 1918, where he won a National League-leading 22 in 1918, when the season was ended a month early due to government restrictions brought about by World War I. That same year, Vaughn also led the National League in earned run average (ERA) and strikeouts to become the ninth triple crown winner in the modern era and the fifteenth overall. His nickname of "Hippo" came from his height and weight of 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds.
Ricky Eugene Reuschel is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher in Major League Baseball from the early 1970s into the early 1990s. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because of his portly physique. He was known for his deceptive style of pitching, which kept hitters off balance by constantly varying the speeds of his pitches.
Vernon Sanders "Vern" Law is an American former baseball pitcher who played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in 1950–51 and 1954–67. He batted and threw right-handed and was listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 195 pounds (88 kg).
Mark William Davis is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. He won the Cy Young Award in 1989 as a relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres. From 1980 through 1997, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants (1983–1987), Padres, Kansas City Royals (1990–92), Atlanta Braves (1992) and Milwaukee Brewers (1997). Davis batted and threw left-handed. He was the Minor League Pitching Coordinator for the Kansas City Royals organization, but stepped aside after the 2011 season to coach a single short-season affiliate in 2012.
Lawrence J. Corcoran was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.
James Edward Hegan was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played for seventeen seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1960, most notably for the Cleveland Indians. After his playing career was over, he became a coach and scout in a baseball career that spanned almost 40 years. While he was light-hitting as an offensive player, he was notable for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era and a capable handler of pitching staffs.
