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 Major League Baseball (MLB), the 30–30 club is the group of batters who have collected 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a single season. Ken Williams was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1922. He remained the sole member of the club for 34 years until Willie Mays achieved consecutive 30–30 seasons in 1956 and 1957. Bobby Bonds became the club's fourth member in 1969 and became the first player in MLB history to reach the 30–30 club on three occasions and ultimately on five occasions, subsequently achieving the milestone in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1978. He remained the only player to accomplish this until 1997, when his son Barry Bonds achieved his fifth 30–30 season. The most recent players to reach the milestone are José Ramírez and Mookie Betts, who achieved the feat during the 2018 season.
In Major League Baseball, the 300 win club is the group of pitchers who have won 300 or more games. Twenty-four pitchers have reached this milestone. The New York Gothams/Giants/San Francisco Giants are the only franchise to see three players reach the milestone while on their roster: those players are Mickey Welch, Christy Mathewson, and Randy Johnson. Early in the history of professional baseball, many of the rules favored the pitcher over the batter; the distance pitchers threw to home plate was shorter than today, and pitchers were able to use foreign substances to alter the direction of the ball. The first player to win 300 games was Pud Galvin in 1888. Seven pitchers recorded all or the majority of their career wins in the 19th century: Galvin, Cy Young, Kid Nichols, Tim Keefe, John Clarkson, Charley Radbourn, and Mickey Welch. Four more pitchers joined the club in the first quarter of the 20th century: Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Eddie Plank, and Grover Cleveland Alexander. Young is the all-time leader in wins with 511, a mark that is considered unbreakable. If a modern-day pitcher won 20 games per season for 25 seasons, he would still be 11 games short of Young's mark.
The Hutch Award is given annually to an active Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity. The award was created in 1965 in honor of Hutchinson, the former MLB pitcher and manager, who died of lung cancer the previous year. The Hutch Award was created by Hutch's longtime friends Bob Prince, a broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates and KDKA; Jim Enright, a Chicago sportswriter; and Ritter Collett, the sports editor of the Dayton Journal Herald. They also created a scholarship fund for medical students engaged in cancer research to honor Hutchinson's memory.
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 also earn a save by getting at least one batter out to end the game with the winning run on base, at bat, or on deck, or by pitching at least 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 227 total career saves.
The Seattle Mariners' 2000 season was the franchise's 24th, and ended in the American League Championship Series, falling to the New York Yankees in six games.
The California Angels'1995 season featured the Angels finishing in second place in the American League West with a record of 78 wins and 67 losses.
The California Angels1987 season involved the Angels finishing 6th in the American League west with a record of 75 wins and 87 losses.
The 1997 Cincinnati Reds season consisted of the Cincinnati Reds attempting to win the National League Central. The Reds were managed by Ray Knight and Jack McKeon.
The 1992 Cincinnati Reds season saw the Reds finish in second place in the National League West with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses.
The 1996 Atlanta Braves season was the 126th season in the history of the franchise and 31st season in the city of Atlanta. They secured a regular season record of 96-66 and reached the World Series, where it lost to the New York Yankees in six games, failing to defend its championship in 1995. Despite taking a 2-0 lead the Braves unexpectedly lost the next 4 games. This World Series appearance was their fourth appearance in the last 5 years as a franchise. Atlanta won its seventh division title and its fifth in six years. In the previous round, Atlanta completed a miraculous comeback. After trailing in the NLCS to St. Louis three games to one, Atlanta outscored St. Louis 32-1 in games five through seven to complete the comeback. The collapse was remembered as one of the largest in North American sports history.
The 1981 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 81st season in the major leagues, and their 82nd season overall. They finished with a record 54-52, good enough for 3rd place in the American League West, 8.5 games behind the 1st place Oakland Athletics. However, due to a player's strike, the Athletics would play the 50-53 Kansas City Royals, who had finished behind the White Sox.
The 2002 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 120th season in the history of the franchise.
The Troy Trojans were a professional baseball team that played in the National League from 1879 to 1882. During their four seasons in existence, the team had a record of 134-191.
The Columbus Buckeyes were a professional baseball team that played in the American Association for two seasons from 1883 to 1884. The franchise used Recreation Park I as their home field. During their two seasons of existence, the team had a record of 101–104.
