Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
Pedro Jaime Martínez is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992 to 2009, for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from 1998 to 2004.
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) for four teams. 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 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 or softball, a strikeout occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denoted by K in scorekeeping and statistics. A "strikeout looking"—in which the batter does not swing and the third strike is called by the umpire—is usually denoted by a ꓘ.
In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. WHIP is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits allowed and dividing this sum by the number of innings pitched.
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.
Throughout the history of baseball, the rules have frequently changed as the game has continued to evolve. The rules of baseball can vary slightly from league to league, with there being dozens of leagues worldwide. A few common rules most professional leagues have in common is that four balls is a base on balls, three strikes is a strikeout, and three outs end a half-inning. One example of differing rules in professional leagues is the use of a pitch clock, which in Major League Baseball (MLB) is in place to speed up the pace of the game by forcing pitchers to pitch in a 15–20 second window, while in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) no such rule exists.
Ben Michael Sheets is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball.
Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets. From Manakin-Sabot, Virginia, Verlander attended Old Dominion University (ODU) and played college baseball for the Monarchs. He broke the Monarchs' and Colonial Athletic Association's career records for strikeouts. At the 2003 Pan American Games, Verlander helped lead the United States national team to a silver medal.
Andrew Mark Miller is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and St. Louis Cardinals. Primarily a starting pitcher who struggled early in his MLB career, Miller found sustained success as a reliever utilizing a multi-faceted fastball and slider approach that proved deceptive for batters to hit. A left-handed batter and thrower, Miller stands 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall and weighs 205 pounds (93 kg).
Clayton Edward Kershaw is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed starting pitcher, Kershaw has spent his entire major league career with the Dodgers since debuting in 2008. He is a ten-time All-Star, three-time National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner, the 2014 NL Most Valuable Player, and a World Series champion in 2020. His 2.48 career earned run average (ERA) and 1.00 walks plus hits per inning pitched rate (WHIP) are the lowest among starters in the live-ball era. Kershaw has a career hits allowed per nine innings pitched average of 6.82, the third-lowest in MLB history. He has been described for much of his career as the best pitcher in baseball, and one of the greatest pitchers of all time.
LABR was the first high-profile fantasy sports experts league of its kind. Formed by John Hunt, the fantasy baseball columnist for USA Today Baseball Weekly, the league was first formed in 1994 and featured such celebrities as Peter Gammons, Keith Olbermann and Bill James. LABR stands for League of Alternative Baseball Reality and was given that nickname and the pronunciation ("labor") by Olbermann as a play on words with the labor strike in baseball at that time. Hunt ran the league and published the results of the LABR league in the Baseball Weekly's fantasy baseball preview issue each March from 1994 through 2006. He opted not to return for the 2007 league and was replaced with in-house staff. The dollar values players were sold for in the fantasy league are used as a benchmark for readers in their own fantasy drafts.
Tout Wars is the most high-profile fantasy baseball experts league and was the focus of the 2006 best-selling book Fantasyland. It was created in 1997 by Ron Shandler who was fed up with the lack of promotion USA Today gave its annual LABR fantasy baseball experts league. The drafts are conducted each year in late March shortly before the MLB season and include a 12 team AL-only league, a 13-team NL-only league and a 12-team mixed league. Tout Wars was featured as the subject of a 2010 documentary called "Fantasyland" based on the book.
Maxwell Martin Scherzer is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets. A right-handed starting pitcher, Scherzer is an eight-time MLB All-Star, has won three Cy Young Awards, has pitched two no-hitters, and won the World Series with the Nationals in 2019. Known for his intensity and competitiveness on the field, he is nicknamed "Mad Max" after the media franchise of the same name.
David Alan Robertson, nicknamed D-Rob, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Mets.
David Stefan "Bud" Norris is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, and St. Louis Cardinals.
Christopher Alan Archer is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins.
Alexander Miller Cobb is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the fourth round of the 2006 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut for them in 2011. He previously played for the Rays from 2011 through 2017, the Baltimore Orioles from 2018 to 2020, and the Los Angeles Angels in 2021.
José Ricardo Álvarez is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher in the Detroit Tigers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants.
Matthew David Buschmann is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2016 for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He served as the bullpen coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2019 to 2022.
