Philip Henry Niekro, nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleballer and rank 16th on MLB's all-time wins list. He won the National League Gold Glove Award five times, was selected to five All-Star teams, and led the league in victories twice and earned run average once. He was a key contributor to the Braves winning their only two division titles before 1991. Niekro was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Timothy Stephen Wakefield is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Wakefield began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, from 1995 until his retirement in 2012 as the longest-serving player on the team. When he retired, Wakefield was the oldest active player in the major leagues.
Leonard Harold Barker III is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched the tenth perfect game in baseball history. Barker pitched with the Texas Rangers (1976–78), Cleveland Indians (1979–83), Atlanta Braves (1983–85) and Milwaukee Brewers (1987). During an 11-year baseball career, Barker compiled 74 wins, 975 strikeouts, and a 4.34 earned run average.
Tomokazu Ohka is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox (1999–2001), Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals (2001–2005), Milwaukee Brewers (2005–2006), Toronto Blue Jays (2007), Cleveland Indians (2009), as well as the Fukushima Hopes in Japan's Baseball Challenge League. He started his professional career with the Yokohama BayStars in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. He throws right-handed and is a switch hitter.
Brian James Anderson is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher, who played 13 seasons for five teams, as well as a sports broadcaster and coach. Currently, Anderson is the color commentator on the Rays TV crew on Bally Sports Sun.
Charles Harrison Nagy is an American former Major League Baseball All-Star right-handed pitcher who played for 14 seasons in the major leagues from 1990 to 2003. He played for the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres. He served as the pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2011 to 2013 and the Los Angeles Angels from 2016 to 2018.
Jeremiah Lee Accardo is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Oakland Athletics. He later was the assistant pitching coach for the New York Mets of MLB before joining the Milwaukee Brewers' minor league organization as a coach. Prior to playing professionally, Accardo attended Mesa High School and later Illinois State University.
Robert Allen Dickey is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves.
Thomas David Waddell was a Scottish Major League Baseball pitcher. One of only eight Scotland natives to ever be a major league ballplayer, he pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1984 to 1985, and again in 1987.
Zachary Thomas Jackson is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians.
John Edward Farrell is an American former baseball pitcher, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his eight-season playing career, Farrell was a member of the Cleveland Indians, California Angels, and Detroit Tigers. He was the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 to 2010, before serving as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2011 to 2012. He returned to the Red Sox as their manager in 2013, winning the World Series with them in his first year, and led the team until 2017. Since 2018, he has held a scouting position with the Cincinnati Reds.
Turner Max Ward is an American professional baseball coach and former outfielder who is the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for six teams, over 12 seasons. He previously served as a coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cincinnati Reds.
Bryan Donald Clark is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox in a span of eight seasons from 1981 to 1990. A native of Madera, California, Clark was listed at 6'2", 185 lb., and batted and threw left-handed. He attended Fresno Community College.
The 2004 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 28th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 67 wins and 94 losses, their worst record since 1980. The Blue Jays' radio play-by-play announcer, Tom Cheek, called every Blue Jays game from the team's inaugural contest on April 7, 1977, until June 3, 2004, when he took two games off following the death of his father – a streak of 4,306 consecutive regular season games and 41 postseason games. It was the team's first season where Ace is the sole mascot, following the removal of Diamond at the end of the previous season.
The 2002 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 113rd for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 45th season in Los Angeles, California. The season saw Dan Evans take over as General Manager and in his first season the team won 92 games and was not eliminated from post season contention until the next-to-last day of the season, finishing third overall in the West Division of the National League. Shawn Green hit 42 home runs to become the first Dodger to have back-to-back 40 or more homer seasons. He had four homers in one game on May 23 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He went 6-for-6 in that game and set a Major League mark for total bases with 19. The number broke the previous record of 18 total bases set by Joe Adcock. Éric Gagné, a former starter, was turned into the closer and proceeded to set a club record for saves with 52. This is also their first season to be broadcast on KCOP (13).
The Cleveland Indians finished in 7th place in the American League East Division. Sports Illustrated magazine predicted that the Indians would finish in first. Club president Peter Bavasi would resign before the regular season began. Bavasi had joined the Indians in November 1984. As president of the Cleveland Indians, he served on Major League Baseball's Executive Council. During the 1986 season, the team had an 84-78 record, its best since 1968, and attendance of 1.47 million, its highest since 1959. There was much optimism that the team would reach its full potential in 1987.
Charles Oscar Hartenstein was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five different teams between the 1966 and 1977 seasons. Listed at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 165 lb (75 kg), Hartenstein batted and threw right-handed. He was signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1964 out of the University of Texas at Austin. He played for them until 1968, before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates (1969–70), St. Louis Cardinals (1970), Boston Red Sox (1970) and Toronto Blue Jays (1977).
The 1988 Cleveland Indians season was the 88th season for the franchise. The team, managed by Doc Edwards, finished sixth in the American League East.
Thomas Edward Pannone is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Kia Tigers of the KBO League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers.
The Victoria Mussels were a minor league baseball team located in British Columbia, Canada. The Mussels were members of the short-season Class A Northwest League from 1978-1979. Besides the Mussels, the other teams in the 1978 North Division were the Bellingham Mariners, Grays Harbor Loggers and the Walla Walla Padres. The South Division consisted of the Bend Timberhawks, Salem Senators, Eugene Emeralds and the Boise Buckskins. Jim Chapman managed the team in 1978 and played infield while Don Rogelstad served as the pitching coach along with pitching for the Mussels in 10 starts.
