Adam Katz is an American lawyer and sports agent specializing in baseball. Alongside Joel Wolfe, Katz is the Executive Vice President and Co-Managing Executive of Baseball at Wasserman, [1] a sports agency. Throughout his career, he has represented clients such as Sammy Sosa, [2] Mo Vaughn [3] and Hanley Ramirez. [4]
Before joining Wasserman, Katz served as President and Partner of the Reich, Katz & Landis Baseball Group. [5]
Katz holds a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and a B.A. from Dickinson College. [6]
Katz established himself in the 1980s and 1990s, with four of his clients winning MVP awards: Sammy Sosa (1998), [2] Ken Caminiti (1996), [7] Mo Vaughn (1995) [3] and Willie McGee (1985). [8] [9] As part of the Reich, Katz & Landis Baseball Group, Katz also represented Hall of Famer Tim Raines and All-Stars Andy Ashby, [10] Bret Boone, [11] Chili Davis, [12] Tony Fernandez, [13] Steve Sax, [14] Aaron Sele, [15] Omar Vizquel, [16] and John Wetteland. [17]
Among Katz's contracts are Carlos Lee's $100 million contract with the Houston Astros in 2007, the largest in franchise history at the time, [18] and Mo Vaughn's $80 million contract with the Angels in 1999, which made Vaughn the highest-paid player in baseball at the time. [3]
Katz represents over 30 current baseball players, including Hanley Ramirez, [4] Jeff Samardzija, [19] Kenley Jansen, [20] Bartolo Colon, [21] Kenta Maeda, [22] Yuli Gurriel, [23] Edinson Volquez, [24] Julio Teheran, [25] Jose Quintana [26] and Addison Reed. [27] In 2017, Katz was the 10th-highest-earning baseball agent, according to Forbes. [28]
Samuel Peralta Sosa is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox, Sosa joined the Cubs in 1992 and became regarded as one of the game's best hitters. Sosa hit his 400th home run in his 1,354th game and his 5,273rd at-bat, reaching this milestone quicker than any player in National League history. He is one of nine players in MLB history to hit 600 career home runs.
Maurice Samuel Vaughn, nicknamed "the Hit Dog", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, and New York Mets from 1991 to 2003. He was a three-time All-Star selection and won the American League MVP award in 1995 with Boston.
Omar Enrique Vizquel González, nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. In Venezuela he played for Leones del Caracas. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Detroit Tigers' first-base, infield and baserunning coach. He was manager for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.
The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the California League at the Class A-Advanced level, hosting home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing the setting sun and its shallow 354-foot (108 m) center field fence, and seats 3,500 fans.
Jeffrey Alan Samardzija, nicknamed "Shark", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame, and was recognized as a two-time football All-American playing wide receiver. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, and made his major-league (MLB) debut in 2008. He played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs from 2008 to 2014, the Oakland Athletics in 2014, the Chicago White Sox in 2015, and the San Francisco Giants from 2016 to 2020. He was an all-star in 2014.
Kevin John Correia, is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies.
Yulieski Gourriel Castillo, commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman and third baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Series (CNS), the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Gurriel is a former member of Cuba's national team, and an Olympic Games gold medalist in 2004. A versatile infielder, he has also played shortstop andsecond base in the major leagues.
James Michael Wolf is an American Major League Baseball umpire. He joined the major league staff in 1999 after working in the Arizona Rookie League, the South Atlantic League, the California League, the Texas League and the Pacific Coast League. He wears uniform number 28.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 300 save club is the group of pitchers who have recorded 300 or more regular-season saves in their careers. Most commonly a relief pitcher earns a save by being the final pitcher of a game in which his team is winning by three or fewer runs and pitching at least one inning without losing the lead. The final pitcher of a game can earn a save by getting at least one batter out to end the game with the tying run on base, at bat, or on deck, or by pitching the last three innings without relinquishing the lead, regardless of score. The statistic was created by Jerome Holtzman in 1959 to "measure the effectiveness of relief pitchers" and was adopted as an official statistic by MLB in 1969. The save has been retroactively measured for past pitchers where applicable. Hoyt Wilhelm retired in 1972 and recorded just 31 saves from 1969 onwards, for example, but holds 228 total career saves.
Edinson Vólquez is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins.
Kerwin Joseph Danley is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League (NL) from 1992 to 1999 and throughout both leagues from 2000 to 2021. He wore uniform number 44. He was promoted to crew chief for the 2020 season, becoming the first full time African-American crew chief. Danley has umpired in the 2008 and 2018 World Series and the 2007 and 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Games. He is married to Marisa Danley.
The 2006 Cleveland Indians season was the 106th season for the franchise. It began with the Cleveland Indians attempting to win the American League Central and make the playoffs. The Indians finished with a mediocre 78–84 record and missed the playoffs. It was the final season before Progressive bought the naming rights to then-Jacobs Field.
Michael Jose Ynoa Ventura is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox.
Kenley Geronimo Jansen is a Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.
Todd Frederick Tichenor is an American professional baseball umpire. He became a Major League Baseball reserve umpire in 2007 and was promoted to the full-time MLB staff in 2012. He wore number 97 until the 2014 season, when he switched to number 13.
The 2015 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 season. The 111th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals. The series was played between October 27 and November 1, with the Royals winning the series 4 games to 1, clinching the team's second World Series and first since the 1985 series. It was the first time since 2010 that the Series extended into November.
The 2014 National League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2014 postseason played between the National League's (NL) two wild card teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 1, 2014, starting at 8:07 p.m. EDT. After both teams finished the regular season with identical records of 88–74, the Pirates were awarded home field for the game, as they won the season series against the Giants, 4–2. Despite this advantage, the Giants won by a score of 8–0 and advanced to play the Washington Nationals in the NL Division Series. In addition to being the third NL Wild Card Game played, it is notable for the first postseason grand slam hit by a shortstop. The game was televised on ESPN, and was also broadcast on ESPN Radio.
The 2015 Kansas City Royals season was the 47th for the franchise, and their 43rd at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals made their second consecutive World Series appearance in 2015, after winning the American League in 2014. They won the series for the first time since 1985. The team won their first AL Central title on September 24, 2015, the first time the Royals won their division since 1985. They opened the playoffs by defeating the Houston Astros in five games in the ALDS and then defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in six games in the ALCS. They defeated the New York Mets in five games in the World Series, the second World Series championship in franchise history. The 2015 Royals were the first team since the 1989 Oakland Athletics to win the World Series after having lost the series in the previous season. This would not happen again until the 2022 Houston Astros would accomplish this feat. This would be the last season the Royals would make the playoffs until 2024.
Lourdes Yunielki Gurriel Castillo Jr. is a Cuban-American professional baseball left fielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays. He also played for Sancti Spíritus and the Industriales of the Cuban National Series before defecting from Cuba.
The 2017 Miami Marlins season was the 25th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) Marlins franchise, all in the National League, and the sixth as the "Miami" Marlins. The Marlins played their home games at Marlins Park and hosted the 2017 MLB All-Star Game. The Marlins were managed by Don Mattingly in his second season as manager of the team. They finished the season 77–85 to finish in second place, 20 games behind the Washington Nationals, in the National League East. They failed to make the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season.