The Arizona Diamondbacks, often shortened as the D-backs, are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home games at Chase Field, formerly known as Bank One Ballpark. The Diamondbacks have won one World Series championship – becoming the fastest expansion team in Major League history to win a championship, which it did in only the fourth season since the franchise's inception. From 1998 to 2019, the Diamondbacks have an overall record of 1,763-1,801.
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. Their home park is Marlins Park. Though one of only two MLB franchises to have never won a division title, the Marlins have won two World Series championships as a wild card team.
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member team of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expansion franchise in 1969, and has participated in four World Series, winning in 1985 and 2015, and losing in 1980 and 2014.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is an American men's professional basketball league. It is composed of 30 teams and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. It is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world.
Major League Baseball (MLB) is an American professional baseball organization and the oldest of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams play in Major League Baseball: 15 teams in the National League (NL) and 15 in the American League (AL). The NL and AL were formed as separate legal entities in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues cooperated but remained legally separate entities. Both leagues operated as legally separate entities until they merged into a single organization led by the commissioner of baseball in 2000.
The Canadian Football League is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a city in Canada. They are divided into two divisions: four teams in the East Division and five teams in the West Division.
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific Division. The Kings are the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento. The team plays its home games at the Golden 1 Center. Their best seasons to date in the city were in the early 2000s, including the 2001–02 season when they had the best record in the NBA at 61–21.
The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium which opened in 1960. At only 26 miles (42 km) south of Seattle, the Rainiers have the shortest distance between a Triple-A team and its major league parent. Tacoma, which has the longest current active streak of PCL membership, operated under several monikers before becoming the Rainiers in 1995. They have won the PCL championship five times, tied for most in the PCL among active franchises.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National League (NL). All-Stars are selected by fans for starting fielders, by managers for pitchers, and by managers and players for reserves.
The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of its predecessor, the Northeast League. The Can-Am League operated in cities not directly served by Major or Minor League teams and was not affiliated with either. The league office was in Dayton, Ohio. Though a separate entity, the league shared a commissioner, president, and director of umpires with the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.
The Baltimore Claws was an American basketball team which was supposed to appear in the 1975–76 season in the American Basketball Association. The team collapsed before the season started, playing only three exhibition games, all losses, in its brief history.
The Memphis Sounds were an American professional sports franchise that played in Memphis, Tennessee from 1970 until 1975 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team was founded as the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967.
Eric George O'Flaherty is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, and New York Mets.
The 1978 Oakland Athletics season was the team's eleventh in Oakland, California. The team sought to rebound from its first losing season in a decade. Despite low expectations, the Athletics remained competitive for nearly three-quarters of the season. Despite posting a respectable 61-56 mark through 117 games, the Athletics collapsed in the season's final weeks; their 8-37 finish ensured a second consecutive season of fewer than 70 wins.
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venue has been Tropicana Field.
The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is a seven-team collegiate summer baseball league. It has five franchises in Massachusetts and one each in Connecticut and New Hampshire. The league's 2020 season is scheduled to begin on July 2, with only six of its seven teams in operation.
The 1969 Major League Baseball expansion resulted in the establishment of expansion franchises in Kansas City and Seattle in the American League and in Montreal and San Diego in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Pilots began play in the 1969 Major League Baseball season. One of the reasons for expansion was increasing pressure to maintain the sport as the US national pastime, particularly because of the increasing popularity of professional football.
The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) was a professional football minor league that played two seasons in 2014 and 2015. This league's stated goal was to become a professional feeder-system for the National Football League (NFL).
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball (MLB) and help prepare players to join major league teams. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the umbrella organization formally known as National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL), which operates under the Commissioner of Baseball within the scope of organized baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, have no official links to Major League Baseball.
The 2020 Major League Baseball season has been shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Spring training resumed on July 1 rebranded as "Summer Camp". Each team will play 60 regular season games, which began on July 23 and is scheduled to end on September 27. An expanded 16-team postseason tournament is then scheduled to begin on September 29. The World Series is set to begin on October 23, and a potential Game 7 would be played on October 31.
