A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls, and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08(a). It is, however, considered a faux pas for a professional player to actually walk to first base; the batter-runner and any advancing runners normally jog on such a play.
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is a situation in which a batter or his clothing or equipment is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided that he made an honest effort to avoid the pitch, although failure to do so is rarely called by an umpire. Being hit by a pitch is often caused by a batter standing too close to, or "crowding", home plate.
Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 22-season baseball career (1890–1911), he pitched for five different teams. Young established numerous pitching records, some of which have stood for over a century. Young compiled 511 wins, which is most in Major League history and 94 ahead of Walter Johnson, second on the list. Young was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. One year after Young's death, the Cy Young Award was created to honor each previous season's best pitcher.
Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr., nicknamed The Ryan Express, is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and a previous chief executive officer (CEO) of the Texas Rangers. He is currently an executive adviser to the owner of the Houston Astros.
Sanford Koufax is a former American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched 12 seasons for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966. Koufax, at age 36 in 1972, became the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He has been hailed as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.
Gregory Alan Maddux is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs. With the Braves, he won the 1995 World Series over the Cleveland Indians. The first to achieve a number of feats and records, he was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for 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 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).
Philip Henry Niekro, nicknamed "Knucksie", is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. He played 24 seasons in the majors, 20 of them with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleball pitcher and ranks 16th on the overall all-time wins list. He won the National League (NL) Gold Glove Award five times, was selected for five All-Star teams, and led the league in victories twice and earned run average once. Niekro was also a key to the only two division titles Atlanta won before 1991.
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer.
John Dwight Chesbro was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Nicknamed "Happy Jack", Chesbro played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1899–1902), the New York Highlanders (1903–1909), and the Boston Red Sox (1909). Chesbro finished his career with a win-loss record of 198-132, an earned run average of 2.68, and 1,265 strikeouts. His 41 wins during the 1904 season remains an American League record. Though some pitchers have won more games in some seasons prior to 1901, historians demarcating 1901 as the beginning of 'modern-era' major league baseball refer to and credit Jack Chesbro and his 1904 win-total as the modern era major league record and its holder. Some view Chesbro's 41 wins in a season as an unbreakable record.
John Gibson Clarkson was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played from 1882 to 1894. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Clarkson played for the Worcester Ruby Legs (1882), Chicago White Stockings (1884–1887), Boston Beaneaters (1888–1892), and Cleveland Spiders (1892–1894).
Stanley Anthony Coveleski was an American Major League Baseball pitcher during the 1910s and 1920s who primarily threw the spitball. In 14 seasons in the American League (AL), Coveleski pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators and New York Yankees. In 450 career games, Coveleski pitched 3,082 innings and posted a win–loss record of 215–142, with 224 complete games, 38 shutouts, and a 2.89 earned run average (ERA). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Carl Owen Hubbell, nicknamed "The Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American baseball player. He stood 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg). He was a member of the New York Giants in the National League from 1928 to 1943. He remained on the team's payroll for the rest of his life, long after their move to San Francisco.
George Edward Waddell was an American southpaw pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). In a career spanning 13 years, he played for the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates (1900–01) and Chicago Orphans (1901) in the National League, and the Philadelphia Athletics (1902–07) and St. Louis Browns (1908–10) in the American League. Born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Waddell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.
Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher for five different franchises in Major League Baseball (MLB) in a career that spanned twenty years. Known for his impressive fastball, Vance was the only pitcher to lead the National League in strikeouts seven consecutive seasons. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.
Ronald Ames Guidry, nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees of the American League (AL), from 1975 through 1988. Guidry was also the pitching coach of the Yankees from 2006 to 2007.
Charles Oliver Hough is a former Major League Baseball knuckleball pitcher.
