Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr., nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. After his retirement in 1993, Ryan served as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Texas Rangers and an executive advisor to the Houston Astros. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, and is widely considered to be one of the greatest MLB pitchers of all time.
Gregory Alan Maddux, also known as "Mad Dog" and "the Professor," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. He won the 1995 World Series with the Braves over the Cleveland Indians. Maddux was the first pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award four consecutive years (1992–1995), matched by only one other pitcher, Randy Johnson. During those four seasons, Maddux had a 75–29 record with a 1.98 earned run average (ERA), while allowing less than one baserunner per inning.
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured. A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays that puts him safely "on base" as a runner and subsequently brings him home. Once a player has scored a run, they may not attempt to score another run until their next turn to bat. The object of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent.
Donald Howard Sutton was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sutton won a total of 324 games, pitched 58 shutouts including five one-hitters and ten two-hitters, and led the National League in walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) four times. He is seventh on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574.
John Franklin "Johnny" Sain was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He was the runner-up for the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in the Braves' pennant-winning season of 1948, after leading the National League in wins, complete games and innings pitched. He later became further well known as one of the top pitching coaches in the majors.
Randall David Johnson, nicknamed "the Big Unit", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Kenneth Scott Rogers is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, with a 20-year career for six different teams. He won the 1996 World Series with the New York Yankees over the Atlanta Braves, and played in the 2006 World Series with the Detroit Tigers. In addition to being known for his fielding, he pitched the 14th perfect game in MLB history. In 2008, he was the oldest baseball player in the American League.
John Loy Rocker is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his major league debut in 1998 with the Atlanta Braves, for whom he played parts of four seasons. He was later a member of the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He last played professionally for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2005.
Marquis Deon Grissom is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants between 1989 and 2005.
Gary Antonian Sheffield is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. In retirement, he is a sports agent.
Kenneth Lofton is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th among all-time stolen base leaders with 622. During his career, he played for the Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Texas Rangers.
Ewell Blackwell was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Whip" for his sidearm, snap-delivery, Blackwell played for the Cincinnati Reds for most of his career. He also played with the New York Yankees (1952–53) and finished his career with the Kansas City Athletics (1955).
Tom Stephen Morgan was a Major League Baseball pitcher. A native of El Monte, California, the 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 195 lb (88 kg) right-hander was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before the 1949 season. He played for the Yankees, Kansas City Athletics (1957), Detroit Tigers (1958–60), Washington Senators (1960) and Los Angeles Angels (1961–63).
The 2007 Major League Baseball season began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1. The regular season concluded with seven teams entering the postseason who had failed to reach the 2006 playoffs including all National League teams, with only the New York Yankees returning; a dramatic one-game playoff between the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres; and the largest September collapse for a leading team in baseball history, with the Mets squandering a 7-game lead with 17 to play, losing on the final day of the regular season, and the Philadelphia Phillies capturing the National League East for the first time since 1993. The season ended on October 28, with the Boston Red Sox sweeping the World Series over the Rockies, four games to zero.
Matthew Lovick Walbeck is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five different teams, primarily in the American League, from 1993 to 2003. He served as third base coach for the Texas Rangers in 2008.
Daniel Richard McBride is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. The accolades he has received include nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Satellite Awards.
Eastbound & Down is an American sports comedy television series that was broadcast on HBO, and created by Ben Best, Jody Hill and Danny McBride. It stars McBride as Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball pitcher who, after a career downturn in the major leagues, is forced to return to his hometown middle school in Shelby, North Carolina, as a substitute physical education teacher.
Kevin John Gausman, nicknamed "Gaus", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. Before his professional career, Gausman attended Louisiana State University (LSU) and played college baseball for the LSU Tigers, with whom he was an All-American. The Orioles selected him in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2013. He was an All-Star in 2021 and 2023.
Max Dorian Fried is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Drafted in 2012 by the San Diego Padres in the first round, seventh overall, Fried made his major league debut in 2017. His 17 wins in 2019 were 2nd-most in the National League, and his seven wins in 2020 were again 2nd-most in the NL. Fried pitched 6 shut-out innings in the final game of the 2021 World Series against the Houston Astros, helping lead the Braves to their first World Series title in 26 years. Through 2023, Fried had the best career win–loss percentage of all Braves pitchers, at .705.
Kolby Kenneth Allard is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. He was selected by the Braves with the 14th overall pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft.
