The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The winners receive the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award, which became the official name of the award in 1944, in honor of the first MLB commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who served from 1920 until his death on November 25, 1944.
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946. The award became national in 1947; Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman, won the inaugural award. One award was presented for both leagues in 1947 and 1948; since 1949, the honor has been given to one player each in the National and American League. Originally, the award was known as the J. Louis Comiskey Memorial Award, named after the Chicago White Sox owner of the 1930s. The award was renamed the Jackie Robinson Award in July 1987, 40 years after Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line.
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).
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), as voted by the managers and coaches in each league. It is also awarded to women fastpitch softball players in the National Pro Fastpitch as of 2016. Managers are not permitted to vote for their own players. Additionally, a sabermetric component provided by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) accounts for approximately 25 percent of the vote. Eighteen Gold Gloves are awarded each year, one at each of the nine positions in each league. In 1957, the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. The award was created from a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base. Initially, only one Gold Glove per position was awarded to the top fielder at each position in Major League Baseball; however, separate awards were given for the National and American Leagues beginning in 1958.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 hit club is the group of batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers. Cap Anson was the first to join the club on July 18, 1897, although his precise career hit total is unclear. Two players—Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner—reached 3,000 hits during the 1914 season. Ty Cobb became the club's fourth member in 1921 and became the first player in MLB history to reach 4,000 hits in 1927; he ultimately finished his career with 4,191. Pete Rose became the second player to reach 4,000 hits on April 13, 1984 while playing for the Montreal Expos. Cobb, also the major leagues' all-time career batting average leader, remained the MLB hit leader until September 11, 1985, when Rose collected his 4,192nd hit. Rose, the current record holder, finished his career with 4,256 hits. Roberto Clemente's career ended with precisely 3,000 hits, reaching the mark in the last at bat of his career on September 30, 1972.
The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. The award was first presented in 1955 as the SPORT Magazine Award, but is now decided during the final game of the Series by a committee of reporters and officials present at the game. On September 29, 2017, it was renamed in honor of Willie Mays in remembrance of the 63rd anniversary of The Catch. Mays never won the award himself.
Baseball-Reference.com is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advanced baseball sabermetrics in addition to traditional baseball "counting stats".
The 1965 Major League Baseball Draft is the first year in which a draft took place for Major League Baseball. It was held on June 8–9 in New York City.
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Busch Stadium has been their home ballpark since 2006. One of the most successful franchises in baseball history, the Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships, the second-most in Major League Baseball and the most in the National League. Their 19 National League pennants rank third in NL history. In addition, St. Louis has won 13 division titles in the East and Central divisions.
The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given in each of the two annual League Championship Series, for the American and National Leagues, to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance. The award has been presented in the National League since 1977, and in the American League since 1980. Dusty Baker won the inaugural award in 1977 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Frank White won the first American League award in 1980 with the Kansas City Royals. The eight Hall of Famers to win LCS MVPs include Roberto Alomar, George Brett, Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson, Kirby Puckett, Ozzie Smith, Willie Stargell, and John Smoltz.
