Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, they heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the team moved to Los Angeles before the 1958 season. They played for four seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving to their current home of Dodger Stadium in 1962.
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra was an American professional baseball catcher, who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was an 18-time All-Star and won 10 World Series championships as a player—more than any other player in MLB history. Berra had a career batting average of .285, while hitting 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in. He is one of only five players to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award three times. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
Willie Howard Mays, Jr., nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder who spent almost all of his 22-season career playing for the New York/San Francisco Giants, before finishing with the New York Mets. He is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
A perfect game in Major League Baseball is a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and no opposing batter reaches base. To achieve a perfect game, a team must not allow an opposing player to reach base by any means, including hits, walks, hit batsmen, or fielding errors; in short, "27 up, 27 down". The feat has been achieved 23 times in MLB history – 21 times since the modern era began in 1900, most recently by Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners on August 15, 2012. A perfect game is also a no-hitter and a shutout. A fielding error that does not allow a batter to reach base, such as a misplayed foul ball, does not spoil a perfect game. Weather-shortened contests in which a team has no baserunners and games in which a team reaches first base only in extra innings do not qualify as perfect games under the present definition.
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. Rodriguez began his professional career as one of the sport's most highly touted prospects, and is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Rodriguez amassed a .295 batting average, over 600 home runs (696), over 2,000 runs batted in (RBI), over 2,000 runs scored, over 3,000 hits, and over 300 stolen bases, the only player in MLB history to achieve all of those feats. He was also a 14-time All-Star, winning three American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten Silver Slugger Awards, and two Gold Glove Awards. Rodríguez is also the career record holder for grand slams with 25. He signed two of the most lucrative sports contracts in baseball. In addition to his accomplishments, he also led a controversial career due to some of his behaviors, including the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. He has been the chief executive officer (CEO) and part owner of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB) since September 2017.
The Continental League of Professional Baseball Clubs was a proposed third major league for baseball in the United States and Canada, announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 1961 season. Unlike predecessor competitors such as the Players' League and the Federal League, it sought membership within organized baseball's existing organization and acceptance within Major League Baseball. The league disbanded in August 1960 without playing a single game as a concession by William A. Shea as part of his negotiations with Major League Baseball to expand to incorporate at least eight new teams.
The Subway Series is a series of Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry games played between the two teams based in New York City, the Yankees and the Mets. Previously, this applied to the Giants and Dodgers as well, before they moved out of New York City. Every historic and current venue for such games has been accessible via the New York City Subway, hence the name of the series.
The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. As the name suggests, the original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the sport of polo. Bound on the south and north by 110th and 112th Streets and on the east and west by Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) Avenues, just north of Central Park, it was converted to a baseball stadium when leased by the New York Metropolitans in 1880. The third Polo Grounds, built in 1890 and renovated after a fire in 1911, is the one generally indicated when the Polo Grounds is referenced. It was located in Coogan's Hollow and was noted for its distinctive bathtub shape, very short distances to the left and right field walls, and an unusually deep center field.
The New York Yankees' 1998 season was the 96th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a franchise record regular-season standing of 114–48. These Yankees set an American League record for wins in a season, a record that would stand until 2001, when the Seattle Mariners won 116 games in the regular season against 46 losses. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium in which they celebrated the stadium's 75th Anniversary.
The New York Yankees' 2000 season was the 98th season for the Yankees in New York, and their 100th overall going back to their origins in Baltimore. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The team finished 1st in the AL East with a record of 87–74, 2.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox, after losing 15 of their final 18 games, including their last 7. Despite having the lowest winning percentage of any postseason qualifier in 2000, the Yankees won the World Series over the New York Mets in 5 games to win their 26th World Series title. They are, as of 2019, the last team to win World Series titles in consecutive years and thus the championship victory of 2000 broke the world championship record for most league championships then held by the NHL's Montreal Canadiens.
The New York Yankees' 2005 season was the 103rd season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 95-67 finishing with the same record as the Boston Red Sox but winning the division due to a head-to-head advantage over Boston. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the playoffs, they lost in the ALDS in 5 games to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It was also their eleventh year going to the playoffs in a row.
Henry Louis Gehrig was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him his nickname "The Iron Horse". He was an All-Star seven consecutive times, a Triple Crown winner once, an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player twice, and a member of six World Series champion teams. He had a career .340 batting average, .632 slugging average, and a .447 on base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 runs batted in (RBI). He still has the highest ratio of runs scored plus runs batted in per 100 plate appearances (35.08) and per 100 games (156.7) among Hall of Fame players. In 1939 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first MLB player to have his uniform number (4) retired by a team.
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in North America, contested since 1903 between the American League (AL) champion team and the National League (NL) champion team. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff, and the winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. As the series is played during the fall season in North America, it is sometimes referred to as the Fall Classic.
