Nolan Ryan is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and a member of the baseball Hall of Fame. Ryan was an intimidating pitcher on the mound over a 27-year career. He was the consummate power pitcher, earning the nickname "the Ryan Express," and routinely reached the mid- to upper 90s with his fastball. Nolan Ryan's full name is Lynn Nolan Ryan, and he was born Jan. 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas.
Elliott Maddox was an American baseball player who had a decade-long career during the 1970s. Born in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1947, Maddox was 22 when he made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers in 1970, and play...
Collin DeLome is a minor league baseball player from Buna, Texas, a small town north of Beaumont and east of Houston. As of May 31, 2011, DeLome, 25, was playing for the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the AAA franchise of the Houston ...
Vida Blue was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1969 to 1986, hurling for the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals. Blue's career was notable for several reasons, including winning the Cy Young Awar...
Jackie Robinson was the first Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year in 1947. Each league didn't have separate Rookie of the Year awards until 1949. Robinson led the National League with 28 stolen bases, had a 21-game hitting...
There are plenty of scheduling options for directors of baseball leagues or tournaments. These choices can include pool play, single elimination, double elimination and round robin. A round robin format means that every team in...
Baseball is the only major team sport played in North America that does not have a time clock. At the major league level, teams play nine innings to decide the game, and they will play more if the game is tied. Even though no t...
The American and National Leagues started off as two separate entities, but they combined to form Major League Baseball early in the 20th century. Even though the two leagues have combined in many aspects -- common draft, simil...
Baseball is dependent on precise measurements. The distance between each base is exactly 90 feet. Another precise measurement is the distance from the pitching rubber that sits atop the pitching mound to home plate. A pitcher's...
During this time, the women of America stepped out of the kitchen and into the work force, which led to the acceptance of professional women baseball players.
Minor League Baseball serves as a stepping stone for players to the major leagues. Each minor league team is affiliated with a major league team. Successful minor league players advance to the major leagues to fill in for injur...
Major League Baseball has consisted of two leagues since the start of the 20th century. The National League began as a professional association of baseball teams in the 19th century while the American League started early in th...
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was the result of an idea by Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley to have women play organized baseball. The league was formed in 1942 and game play began the following year. ...
Most major league baseball players get their start in the minor leagues. A few players will go directly from the amateur level -- high school or college -- directly to the majors, but most continue their training in the minor l...
Major League Baseball is the highest league in professional baseball and the minor league system acts as a feeder for the major leagues. The similarities and connections between the leagues stop there however. Minor league play...
The Pacific Coast League, or PCL, is currently a minor-league baseball Triple-A league. Triple-A is the highest level of minor-league baseball and the highest professional league outside of the major-leagues. The PCL has been i...
The middle of the 19th century witnessed the invention of the great American game of baseball, with early teams playing for one dominating league. The National League had a monopoly on professional baseball starting in 1879 unt...
The state of Michigan is home to the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are one of the American League's charter franchises and have been playing baseball since 1901. However, the state of Michigan does not ignore minor league baseball...
Jack Roosevelt Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947 when he became the first African-American man to play Major League Baseball in over 50 years. His name has been synonymous with civil rights, sometimes overshadowi...
The Western Baseball League was the precursor to the American League before the turn of the 19th century. The league was originally named the Western League of Professional Baseball Clubs before being shortened for clarity. It ...
Alexander Cartwright developed the rules used in the first "official" baseball game, played by the Knickerbocker Club of New York in 1846, with the first diamond shaped field and permanent foul lines. In 1856, the "New York Mer...
Minor League Baseball is a developmental system of clubs in cities across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, created to prepare players for careers at the major league level. Aside from sta...
The two primary leagues in baseball history have been the American and National League. The National League is the older of the two, starting play in the 19th century. The American League didn't get started until 1901 and that ...
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was originally established as a nonprofit organization, designed to increase Major League baseball parks' profits during World War II. The AAGPBL became popular with the Ameri...
From the first game of catch, to getting his first hit, to learning the fundamentals of the game and the value of teamwork, little league experience is an important treasure for over 160,000 kids annually. For a lucky number...
Prior to 1969, each league crowned just one winner that would represent the league in the World Series. The team that ended up with the best won-loss record won the league pennant.
Prior to the Montreal Expos' move to Washington D.C., they had considered making Northern Virginia their new home. While Virginia has no major league teams, they are home to several professional minor-league teams.
For a brief number of years in the 1940s and early 50s, women had a professional baseball league to call their own. Originally designed as a means to counteract the effects of World War II, the women's pro league enjoyed a good...
Baseball is a sport that is typically dominated by men, with women more commonly associated with softball. However, there has always been a strong undercurrent of talented women who have history of overcoming a long series of w...
Minor league baseball teams are affiliates of a Major League team intended to develop and prepare younger players. The minor leagues are structured in different manners, but the typical structures are Rookie team, Class A, Clas...
In the world of professional baseball, the minor league system is an important hierarchy that helps develop the skills of young players as they proceed toward the major leagues. Below each team in the American or National Leagu...
PONY League was originally a transition league for 13- and 14-year-old players designed to take graduates of Little League. PONY League is headquartered in Washington, Pennsylvania, and is a nonprofit organization. As of 2011, ...
Greg Maddux was a major league baseball pitcher who dominated the National League throughout the 1990s. Maddux was born in San Angelo, Texas on April 14, 1966, and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the second round of the 1984...
The term "minor league baseball" refers to a collection of leagues and teams that compete across the United States at a level of competition below the major leagues. As of 2010, minor league baseball has existed for more than 1...
Although Major League Baseball consists of just one league, minor league baseball includes several leagues at different levels. While minor league baseball shares some similarities with major league baseball, many differences e...
Pitching machines serve a vital purpose for Major League hitters. In order to practice his trade, a hitter can go into the batting cage underneath the stadium, set the pitching machine to the speed of pitches he wants to see an...
Former Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente, one of the most beloved athletes in baseball history, died in 1972, but remains an icon in Pittsburgh and among Latin American ballplayers. The Puerto Rico native died i...
Major league and minor league baseball teams play the same game on the field, but many differences exist from one level to the next. Most major league stars get their start in the minors, and most minor league teams are affilia...
Roberto Alomar is a former major league baseball player, and was one of the better fielding second basemen in history. Alomar was an all around player with offensive skills to go along with his glove work. He was born on Februa...
Born to a poor family in Puerto Rico, Clemente worked tirelessly until he reached the major leagues. Also known for his philanthropic manner, Clemente was devoted to helping those less fortunate than him. He event
Born Larry Wayne Jones in 1972, the player Atlanta Braves fans and baseball followers know as "Chipper" has cemented himself as one of the most stalwart third basemen in the modern age of baseball. In the age of trades and free...
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is the governing body of Divisions I, II, and III college baseball. Much like Major League Baseball's minor league divisions, the NCAA divisions are designed to match the college pla...
Ken Griffey Jr. was a star major league baseball player for many years. Griffey Jr., son of former major leaguer Ken Griffey Sr., quickly emerged from his father's shadow and was considered a superstar in his own right. During ...
Beginning in 2005, the league established a beachhead in the Southwest and then spread out hither and yon. It's a professional league, with players on their way up, perhaps to the big leagues, and players heading down and out o...
Major League Baseball purchased more than 600,000 baseballs from the manufacturer Rawlings in 1998. These baseballs are all uniform in construction to ensure they are are uniform in performance. Therefore all baseballs used in ...
Fielding ground balls is a crucial skill for infielders in baseball. Second basemen, shortstops, third basemen and, to a lesser degree, first basemen need to have adequate fielding skills to play their positions well. The abili...
Minor league baseball players are accomplished professionals who may be just a step or two away from playing in the major leagues. Many of these players have skills that match major league players, but they need just a bit of r...
To get there, most players go through an apprenticeship that includes high school, college and minor league baseball. Nearly every player has to work his way to the major leagues, and the minors have four levels of development....
Youth baseball can be one of the most memorable and beneficial activities in which a child participates. Youngsters get a chance to play a game they enjoy and adult coaches can help them make steady improvements in their game. ...
Baseball statistics are some of the most scrutinized numbers in all of sports. From hitting percentages to earned run averages, coaches and managers are always trying to get a leg up by using statistics to evaluate their team a...
A fastball can move from the pitcher's hand toward a batter at 90 miles per hour or higher. The baseball helmet design intends to protect the head of the batter from the potential damage inflicted by something traveling that fa...