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1953 in baseball
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Champions
Major League Baseball
- World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-2)
- All-Star Game, July 14 at Crosley Field: National League, 5-1
Other champions
- Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico)
- College World Series: Michigan
- Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nankai Hawks (4-2)
- Little League World Series: Birmingham, Alabama
Awards and honors
Major League Baseball final standings
American League final standings
National League final standings
Events
January-March
January 21 - the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean and former Philadelphia Athletics slugger Al Simmons.
April-June
April 13 - in Cincinnati over 30,000 see the Milwaukee Braves win their first game 2-0 behind the pitching of Max Surkont
April 17 - New York Yankees Mickey Mantle hit the longest home run in Griffith Stadium history, a 565-feet shot off of Washington Senators Chuck Stubbs. Thge Yankees win 7-3.
April 30 - the Little-Bigger League changes its name to the Babe Ruth League.
June 3 - Congress cites the research of New York City librarian Robert Henderson in proving that Alexander Cartwright "founded" baseball and not Abner Doubleday. His 1947 book Bat, Ball and Bishop documents Cartwright's contributions to the origins of the game of the baseball.
June 14 - the New York Yankees sweep the Cleveland Indians 6-2 and 3-0 before 74,708 at Cleveland Stadium to extend their wiining streak at 18 games.
July-September
July 14 - the National League wins its fourth All-Star Game in a row, 5-1 in Cincinnati's Crosley Field behind the stellar pitching of Robin Roberts and Warren Spahn. Cardinals OF Enos Slaughter gets 2 hits, scores twice and robs Harvey Kuenn of an extra-base hit.
September 12 - Carl Erskine defeats the Braves 5-2, as the Brooklyn Dodgers clinch the pennant earlier than any other team in history.
September 14 - The New York Yankees clinch their 5th straight pennant with an 8-5 win over the Cleveland Indians. Second baseman Billy Martin has 4 RBIs.
October-December
October 5 - The Yankees end the World Series in 6 as Billy Martin's 12th World Series hit, a record breraking single to center field in the bottom of the 9th, gives the Yankees their 5th world championship in a row. Brooklyn's Carl Furillo had tied it up in the top of the 9th with a 2-run home run.
Births
- January 8 - Bruce Sutter
- February 7 - Dan Quisenberry
- March 8 - Jim Rice
- May 15 - George Brett
- July 3 - Frank Tanana
- October 20 - Keith Hernandez
Deaths
- January 24 - Ben Taylor, 64, Negro leagues first baseman
- March 28 - Jim Thorpe, 65, tremendous all-around athlete who, despite hitting only .252 in his career, saw his batting average improve in each of his six seasons, lastly hitting .327 in 1919
- April 11 - Kid Nichols, 83, Hall of Fame pitcher who won 361 games, with 7 seasons of 30 victories
- May 19 - Sam Leever, 81, 4-time 20-game winner who compiled a career record of 194-100, all with Pittsburgh
- May 27 - Jesse Burkett, 84, Hall of Fame outfielder who batted .338 in a 16-year career
- December 15 - Ed Barrow, 85, Hall of Fame executive who built the Yankees into a dynasty in the 1920s and 1930s
- December 25 - Patsy Donovan, 88, outfielder who batted .301 and went on to manage 5 teams
1953 World SeriesThe 1953 World Series matched the four-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a rematch of the 1952 Series. The Yankees won in 6 games for their fifth straight title – a mark which has not been equalled – and their 16th overall. Billy Martin made his 12th hit of the series scoring Hank Baur in Game 6.
Umpires: Bill Grieve (AL), Bill Stewart (NL), Eddie Hurley (AL), Artie Gore (NL), Hank Soar (AL: outfield only), Frank Dascoli (NL: outfield only)
Television: NBC (Mel Allen and Vin Scully announcing)
External link
- [http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1953_WS.shtml 1953 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com]
Category:World Series
World Series
Category:New York Yankees
Category:Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers:Brooklyn Dodgers redirects here. For the 1930s NFL team of that name, see Brooklyn Dodgers (football).
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. They are in the Western Division of the National League. The team originated in Brooklyn before moving to Los Angeles for the 1958 season.
Franchise history
Early Brooklyn history
The City of Brooklyn had a history of outstanding baseball clubs dating back to the mid-1850's, notably the Brooklyn Atlantics, the Brooklyn Eckfords and the Brooklyn Excellsiors, who combined to dominate play through the late 1860's as part of the National Association of Base Ball Players. The first baseball game requiring paid admission was an all star contest between New York and Brooklyn in 1858. Brooklyn also featured the first two enclosed baseball grounds, the Union Grounds and the Capitoline Grounds, which accelerated the evolution of the game from amateurism to professionalism. Despite the success of Brooklyn clubs in amateur play, however, no strong Brooklyn-based club emerged after the first professional league, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players, was formed in 1871.
The Brooklyn baseball club that would become the Dodgers was first formed in 1883, and joined the American Association the following year. The "Bridegrooms" won the AA pennant in 1889. Upon switching to the National League in 1890, the franchise became the only one in MLB history to win pennants in different leagues in consecutive years. Eight years passed before any more success followed. Several Hall of Fame players were sold to Brooklyn by the soon-to-be-defunct Baltimore Orioles, along with their manager, Ned Hanlon. This catapulted Brooklyn to instant contention, and "Hanlon's Superbas" lived up to their name, winning pennants in 1899 and 1900.
Teams of this era played in two principle ballparks, Washington Park and Eastern Park. They first earned the nickname "Trolley Dodgers," later shortened to Dodgers, while at Eastern Park during the 1890s because of the difficulty fans had in reaching the ballpark due to the number of trolley lines in the area. The club also engaged in a series of mergers during this period, acquiring the New York Metropolitans in 1888 for territorial protection and star contracts, merging with the Brooklyn Wonders in 1891 as part of the Players League settlement, and merging with the Baltimore Orioles (NL) in 1900 as part of the National League's consolidation of clubs.
In 1902, Hanlon expressed his desire to buy a controlling interest in the team and move it (back, effectively) to Baltimore. His plan was blocked by a lifelong club employee, Charles Ebbets, who put himself heavily in debt to buy the team and keep it in the borough. Ebbets' ambition did not stop at owning the team. He desired to replace the dilapidated Washington Park with a new ballpark, and again invested heavily to finance the construction of Ebbets Field, which would become the Dodgers' home in 1913.
"Uncle Robbie" and the "Daffiness Boys"
Manager Wilbert Robinson, another former Oriole, popularly known as "Uncle Robbie," restored the Brooklyn team to respectability, with the "Robins" winning pennants in 1916 and 1920 and contending perennially for several seasons. Upon assuming the title of president, however, Robinson's ability to focus on the field declined, and the teams of the late 1920s became known as the "Daffiness Boys" for their distracted, error-ridden style of play. Outfielder Babe Herman was the leader both in hitting and in zaniness. After his removal as club president, Robinson returned to managing, and the club's performance rebounded somewhat.
It was during this era that Willard Mullin, a noted sports cartoonist, fixed the Brooklyn team with the lovable nickname of "Dem Bums." After hearing his cab driver ask "So how did those bums do today?" Mullin decided to sketch an exaggerated version of famed circus clown Emmett Kelly to represent the Dodgers in his much-praised cartoons in the New York World-Telegram. Both the image and the nickname caught on, so much so that many a Dodger yearbook cover featured a Willard Mullin illustration with the Brooklyn Bum.
Perhaps the highlight of the Daffiness Boys era came after Wilbert Robinson had left the dugout. In 1934, New York Giants manager Bill Terry was asked about the Dodgers' chances in the coming pennant race and cracked infamously, "Is Brooklyn still in the league?" Managed now by Casey Stengel (who played for the Dodgers in the 1910s and would go on to greatness managing another team), the 1934 Dodgers were determined to make their presence felt. As it happened, the season ended with the Giants tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the pennant, with the Giants' remaining games against the Dodgers. Stengel led his Bums to the Polo Grounds for the showdown and beat the Giants twice to knock them out of the pennant race. The "Gas House Gang" Cardinals nailed the pennant by beating the Reds those same two days.
The first major-league baseball game to be televised was Brooklyn's 6-1 victory over Cincinnati at Ebbets Field on August 26, 1939. Batting helmets were introduced to Major League Baseball by the Dodgers in 1941
1941
Breaking the color line
For the first half of the 20th century, not a single African-American played on a Major League Baseball team. A parallel system of Negro Leagues developed, but many of the era's most talented players never got a chance to prove their skill before a national audience. The first step in ending this injustice was taken by Jackie Robinson, when he played his first major-league game on April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. This event was the harbinger of the integration of sports in the United States, the concomitant demise of the Negro Leagues, and is regarded as a key moment in the history of the American Civil Rights movement. Robinson was an exceptional player, a speedy runner who sparked the whole team with his intensity, and was the given the inaugural Rookie of the Year award.
"Wait 'til next year!"
After the wilderness years of the 1920s and 1930s, the Dodgers were rebuilt into a contending club first by general manager Larry MacPhail and then the legendary Branch Rickey. Led by Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson and Gil Hodges in the infield, Duke Snider in center field, Roy Campanella behind the plate, and Don Newcombe on the pitcher's mound, the Dodgers won pennants in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953. In all five of those World Series, however, they were defeated by the New York Yankees. The annual ritual of building excitement, followed in the end by disappointment, became old hat to the long suffering fans, and "Wait 'til next year!" became an unofficial Dodger slogan.
In 1955, by which time the core of the team was beginning to age, "next year" finally came. The fabled "Boys of Summer" shot down the Bronx Bombers in seven games, led by the first-class pitching of young left hander Johnny Podres, whose key pitch was a changeup known as "pulling down the lampshade" because of the arm motion used right when the ball was released. Podres won two Series games including the deciding seventh. The turning point of Game 7 was a spectacular double play that began with left fielder Sandy Amoros running down Yogi Berra's long fly, then throwing perfectly to shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who doubled up a surprised Gil McDougald at first base to preserve the Dodger lead.
Although the Dodgers again lost the World Series to the Yankees in 1956 (in which they became the victims of history's only postseason perfect game), it hardly seemed to matter. Brooklyn fans had their memory of triumph, and soon that would be all they were left with.
The move to California
perfect game
Real estate businessman Walter O'Malley had acquired majority ownership of the team in 1950, when he bought the shares of his co-owner Branch Rickey. Before long he was working to buy new land in Brooklyn to build a more accessible and better arrayed ballpark than Ebbets Field. Beloved as it was, Ebbets Field had grown old and was not well-served by infrastructure, to the point where the most pennant-competitive team in the National League couldn't sell the park out even in the heat of a pennant race. New York City building czar Robert Moses, however, sought to force O'Malley into using a site in Flushing Meadows, Queens (the future site for Shea Stadium, where today's New York Mets play). Moses' vision involved a city-built, city-owned park, which was greatly at odds with O'Malley's real-estate savvy. When it became clear to O'Malley that he wasn't going to be allowed to buy any suitable land in Brooklyn, he began thinking elsewhere.
When the Los Angeles city fathers attended the 1955 World Series looking to entice a team to move to the City of Angels, they weren't even thinking of the Dodgers. Their original target was the Washington Senators (who would in fact move to Minnesota in 1961). At the same time, O'Malley was looking for a contingency in case Moses and other New York politicians refused to let him build the Brooklyn stadium he wanted. O'Malley sent word to the Los Angeles officials at the Series that he was interested in talking. Los Angeles offered him what New York would not: a chance to buy land suitable for building a new ballpark.
Meanwhile, New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham was having similar difficulty finding a replacement for his antiquated home stadium, and the two archrival teams moved out to the West Coast together. On April 18, 1958, the Dodgers played their first game in Los Angeles, defeating the San Francisco Giants, 6-5, before 78,672 fans at the Coliseum.
There has been much controversy over the move of the Dodgers to California, perhaps more than over any other franchise move of that era. Walter O'Malley, in particular, is described as villainous by some and admirable by others. Certainly he demonstrated some measure of selfishness and greed, but the same is also true of the New York City politicians who opposed him. Both sides were quite stubborn, and fatally misjudged each other. It should also be noted that Brooklyn had declined in many ways, under various social pressures, and was a much less desirable location for a baseball team than it had been. In fact, both sides in the stadium dispute proposed to remove the Dodgers from Brooklyn (Moses' plan for a team in Flushing Meadows was realized several years later, with little alteration, in the New York Mets). O'Malley also deserves credit as a visionary. Until 1958, St. Louis had generally been the westernmost outpost of Major League Baseball, whereas 12 of baseball's 30 teams now have their homes farther west. O'Malley was primarily concerned with making himself very rich (which he did), and certainly he broke the heart of many a New Yorker, but his move also helped lead the game of baseball to greater prominence and prosperity.
A new start
The process of building Walter O'Malley's dream stadium soon began in semi-rural Chavez Ravine, in the hills just north of downtown L.A. There was some political controversy, as the residents of the ravine, mostly Hispanic and mostly poor, resisted the eminent domain removal of their homes, and gained some public sympathy. Still, O'Malley and the city government were determined, and construction proceeded.
In the meantime, the Dodgers played their home games from 1958 to 1961 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a gargantuan football and track-and-field stadium that had been built to host the 1932 Summer Olympics. The Coliseum's dimensions were not optimal for baseball, and the only way to fit a diamond into the oval-shaped stadium was to lay the third-base line along the short axis of the oval, and the first-base line along the long axis. [http://www.ballparkwatch.com/stadiums/past/la_coliseum.htm See picture.] This resulted in a left-field fence that was only some 250 feet from home plate, and a 40-foot screen was erected to prevent home runs from becoming too easy to hit. Still, the 1958 season saw 182 home runs hit to left field in the Coliseum, while only 3 were hit to center field and 8 to right field. Dodgers outfielder Wally Moon, newly acquired for the 1959 season, became adept at launching lazy fly balls over the screen, which became known as "Moon shots."
In 1959, the Dodgers benefited from a general decline in the National League. No team was dominant, and several teams were in the thick of the pennant race until the very end. The season ended in a tie between the Dodgers and the Milwaukee Braves, and the Dodgers won the tie-breaking playoff. 1959 also saw a team other than the Yankees win the A.L. pennant, one of only two such years between 1949 and 1964. In a lively World Series, the Dodgers defeated the "Go-Go" White Sox in 6 games, thoroughly cementing the bond between the team and its new California fans.
Pitching, defense, and speed
White Sox
Construction on Dodger Stadium was completed in time for Opening Day 1962. With its clean, simple lines and its picturesque setting amid hills and palm trees, the ballpark quickly became an icon of the Dodgers and their new California lifestyle, and it remains a beloved landmark to this day. O'Malley was determined that there would not be a bad seat in the house, achieving this by cantilevered grandstands that have since been widely imitated. More importantly for the team, the stadium's spacious dimensions, along with other factors, gave defense an advantage over offense, and the Dodgers moved to take advantage of this by assembling a team that would excel with its pitching.
The core of the team's success in the 1960's was the dominant pitching tandem of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, who combined to win 4 of the 5 Cy Young Awards from 1962 to 1966. Top pitching also came from Claude Osteen, an aging Johnny Podres, and reliever Ron Perranoski. The hitting attack, on the other hand, was not impressive, and much of the offensive spark came from the exploits of speedy shortstop Maury Wills, who led the league in stolen bases every year from 1960 to 1965, and set a modern record with 104 thefts in 1962. The Dodgers' strategy was once described as follows: "Wills hits a single, steals second, and takes third on a grounder. A sacrifice fly brings him home. Koufax or Drysdale pitches a shutout, and the Dodgers win 1-0." Although few games followed this model exactly, the Dodgers indeed won a great many low-scoring games.
1962
The 1962 pennant race ended in a tie, and the Dodgers were defeated by the archrival Giants in the tie-breaking playoff, but the Dodgers proceeded to win the pennant in three of the next four years. The 1963 World Series was a 4-game sweep of the Yankees, in which the Dodgers so dominated that the vaunted Bronx Bombers never even took a lead against Koufax, Podres, and Drysdale. After an injury-plagued 1964, the Dodgers bounced back to win the 1965 World Series in a thrilling 7 games against the Minnesota Twins. Game 1 happened to fall on Yom Kippur, and Koufax (who is Jewish) refused to pitch on the holy day. The Dodgers rebounded from losing the first two games, as Koufax pitched shutouts in Games 5 and 7 (with only two days rest in between) to win the crown and the World Series MVP award.
The Dodgers again won the pennant in 1966, but the team was running out of gas and was swept by the upstart Baltimore Orioles (who went on to a successful run through the late '60s and early '70s). Koufax retired that winter, his career cut short by arthritis in his elbow, and Wills was traded away after offending Walter O'Malley. Drysdale continued to be effective, setting a record for consecutive scoreless innings in 1968, but he too retired early due to injuries. While the Dodgers were subpar for several seasons, a new core of young talent was developing in their farm system. A pennant in 1974, though quickly quashed by the dynastic Oakland A's, was a sign of good things to come.
The Lasorda years
Oakland A's
For 23 years, beginning in 1954, the Dodgers had been managed by Walter Alston, a quiet and unflappable man who commanded great respect from his players. Alston's tenure is the third-longest in baseball history for a manager with a single team, after Connie Mack and John McGraw. His retirement near the end of the 1976 season, after winning 7 pennants and 4 World Series titles over his career, cleared the way for an entirely different personality to take the helm of the Dodgers.
Tommy Lasorda was a 49-year-old former pitcher (never very successful in that capacity), who had been the team's top coach under Alston, and before that had been manager of the Dodgers' top minor league team. He was colorful and gregarious, an enthusiastic cheerleader in contrast to Alston's taciturn demeanor. He quickly became a larger-than-life personality, associating with Frank Sinatra and other celebrities, and eating Italian food in large volumes. He became well-known for sayings such as, "If you cut me, I bleed Dodger blue," and for referring to God as "the big Dodger in the sky." Although some considered his persona to be a schtick and to find it wearing, his enthusiasm won him a reputation as an "ambassador for baseball," and it is impossible to think of the Dodgers from the late '70s to the early '90s without thinking of Lasorda.
Another transition had recently occurred, higher up in the Dodgers management. Walter O'Malley passed control of the team to his son Peter, who would continue to oversee the Dodgers on his family's behalf through 1998.
New blood had also been injected into the team on the field. The core of the team was now the infield, composed of Steve Garvey (1B), Davey Lopes (2B), Bill Russell (SS), and Ron Cey (3B). These four remained in the starting lineup together from 1973 to 1981, longer than any other infield foursome in baseball history. The pitching staff remained strong, anchored by Don Sutton and Tommy John. The Dodgers won NL West titles in both 1977 and 1978, both times defeating the Philadelphia Phillies to advance to the World Series, only to be defeated both times by the Yankees. In 1980, they swept 3 games from the Houston Astros to finish the regular season in a tie, but lost to the Astros in the tie-breaking playoff.
Fernando and the "Bulldog"
Houston Astros
The Opening Day starting pitcher for 1981 was a 20-year-old rookie from Mexico: Fernando Valenzuela. Pressed into service due to an injury to Jerry Reuss, Valenzuela pitched a shutout that day, and proceeded to win his first 8 decisions through mid-May. The youthful left-hander, speaking only Spanish but sporting a devastating screwball, became a sensation. "Fernandomania" gripped Southern California, as huge crowds turned out to see him pitch. Valenzuela became the only pitcher ever to win the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same season. The Dodgers' torrid start assured them of a playoff berth in the strike-shortened split season, and they proceeded to defeat the Yankees in the World Series.
The Dodgers won NL West titles in 1983 and 1985, but lost the Championship Series in both those years (to the Phillies and Cardinals, respectively). The 1985 NLCS was particularly memorable for Game 6, in which the Dodgers were protecting a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning, hoping to force a deciding seventh game. With two runners on and first base open, Lasorda elected not to walk Cards slugger Jack Clark, who proceeded to hit a home run and send St. Louis to the World Series.
After 7 years of high strikeout totals, and a 21-win season in 1986, Valenzuela sat out for most of the 1988 season. Plagued by arm troubles that were widely blamed on his being overused by Lasorda, his effectiveness faded before he turned 30. The new anchor of the pitching staff was a bespectacled string-bean of a right-hander named Orel Hershiser. He had been given the nickname "Bulldog" by Lasorda, more as a hopeful motivational tool than an objective description of his personality, but by 1988 he had matured into one of baseball's most effective pitchers. That year he won 23 games and the Cy Young Award, and broke Don Drysdale's record by tossing 59 consecutive scoreless innings, ending with a 10-inning shutout on his final start of the season.
The 1988 Championship is all the more magical for the fact that the Dodgers were hardly baseball's best team on paper. They enjoyed career years from several players, and were inspired by the fiery intensity of newcomer Kirk Gibson (the league's Most Valuable Player that year), as well as the quiet but steady Hershiser and the always ebullient Lasorda. Although they entered the NLCS as decided underdogs to the powerful New York Mets, the Dodgers pulled out a thrilling back-and-forth series in 7 games. The World Series matched them with an even more powerful opponent, the Oakland A's of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. The A's took an early lead in Game 1 on a grand slam by Canseco, and led 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. In a surprise move, Gibson, hobbling with injuries to both his legs, pinch hit against the formidable Dennis Eckersley. Gibson's dramatic home run has been called one of the most memorable moments in baseball history, and it set the tone for the rest of the Series. Hershiser dominated Games 2 and 5, and was on the mound when the stunning upset was complete.
The Nineties and the Fox Era
Dennis Eckersley
After 1988, the Dodgers did not win another postseason game until 2004, though they did reach the playoffs in 1995 and 1996, and narrowly missed in 1991 and strike-cancelled 1994. Hershiser, like Valenzuela before him, suffered an arm injury in 1990 due to overwork, which took the edge off his effectiveness for the remainder of his career. From 1992 to 1996, five consecutive Dodgers were named Rookie of the Year: Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raúl Mondesí, Hideo Nomo, and Todd Hollandsworth. After nearly 20 years at the helm, Lasorda retired in 1996, though he still remains with the Dodgers as an executive vice-president. He was replaced as manager by longtime Dodgers shortstop Bill Russell.
Nearly a half-century of unusual stability (only two managers 1954-1996, owned by a single family 1950-1998) finally came to an end. In 1998, the O'Malley family sold the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, owner of the Fox network and 20th Century Fox. Among the new ownership's early moves were trading away popular catcher Piazza, and replacing Russell with celebrity manager Davey Johnson. Johnson's volatile tenure ended two years later, and he was followed as manager by Jim Tracy. To fans accustomed to the personal touch of the O'Malleys, the Fox corporate ownership often seemed clumsy and distracted. Huge contracts were awarded to injury-prone pitchers Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort, unprofitably tying up money that could have improved the team in many other areas. Yet the team became more steady on the field in the early 2000's, with four consecutive winning seasons under the leadership of manager Tracy, slugger Shawn Green, third baseman Adrián Beltré, and catcher Paul Lo Duca. The 2002 season was marked by the emergence of Eric Gagne as one of baseball's top relief pitchers. Gagne won the Cy Young Award in 2003.
The DePodesta Experiment
In 2004, the Dodgers were returned to family ownership, as News Corp sold the team to real estate developer Frank McCourt. McCourt immediately hired Paul DePodesta, schooled in Billy Beane's methods of using statistical approaches to evaluate players, as general manager. With a team largely assembled by DePodesta's predecessors, augmented by some shrewd acquisitions, the Dodgers were near the top of the standings through much of 2004. In an effort to put the team over the top, DePodesta then executed a blockbuster series of mid-season trades, sending away three starting players (including popular team leader LoDuca) and two key pitchers, while obtaining several new players. The Dodgers did win the NL West in 2004, but went down quickly in the Division Series to the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals.
During the winter of 2004-05, the team parted with several more longtime players, including Beltre and Green. Their replacements included starting pitcher Derek Lowe, outfielder J.D. Drew, and hard-hitting second baseman Jeff Kent. DePodesta's radical overhaul did not bear fruit in 2005, as the Dodgers suffered from clubhouse strife and decimating injuries, finishing with their second-worst record in Los Angeles history. Supporters of DePodesta note that many of the players he let go also had sub-par seasons elsewhere, but he was widely blamed for ignoring "chemistry" and other intangible factors in the players he acquired or let go. Manager Jim Tracy parted ways with the team, citing irreconcilable differences with DePodesta. But DePodesta himself was fired by McCourt less than a month later, McCourt later citing DePodesta's lack of leadership and personal skills. Ned Colletti was hired as the new Dodger GM on 17 November 2005. Grady Little was named the new manager on 6 December 2005.
Other historical notes
Team nickname
Prior to the declaration of an official team nickname in 1933, sportswriters and fans applied a number of nicknames to the club. Early names included the Brooks, the Atlantics (after an earlier Brooklyn Atlantics club), and the Bridegrooms (after several players married prior to the 1888 season). When the streetcar lines were set up in Brooklyn, writers began calling the city and the team by the somewhat pejorative term Trolley Dodgers, which became shortened to Dodgers. Under manager Ned Hanlon (1899-1905), the team became known as the Superbas, after a popular (though unrelated) acrobatic troupe at that time called "Hanlon's Superbas." Under manager Wilbert Robinson (1914-1931), the team was known as the Robins, though newspapers used Robins and Dodgers interchangeably, often in the same game summary. No nickname was acknowledged on team uniforms until 1933, when the word Dodgers finally appeared. Prior to that, they had sported either the word "Brooklyn" or a stylized letter "B."
Rivalry with the Giants
The historic and heated rivalry between the Dodgers and the Giants is more than a century old, having begun when both clubs played in New York City (the Dodgers in Brooklyn and the Giants in Manhattan). When both franchises moved to California in 1958, the rivalry was easily transplanted with them, as the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco have long been rivals in economic, cultural, and political arenas throughout the history of the State of California.
Vin Scully
Vin Scully has served as the play-by-play announcer for the Dodgers for 55 years, the longest tenure of any broadcaster with a single club in professional sports history. In 1976, he was selected by Dodgers fans as the Most Memorable Personality (on the field or off) of the team's history in L.A.
Quick facts
:Founded: 1883, as a member of the minor Inter-State League. The team moved up to the American Association in 1884 and transferred to the National League in 1890.
:Manager: Grady Little
:General Manager: Ned Colletti
:Owner: Frank McCourt
:Logo design: cursive "Dodgers" superimposed over a red streaming baseball
:Uniform: cap is "Dodger blue" with white "LA" (letters overlapped) centered on front of cap; home is "Dodger blue" on white, jersey has cursive "Dodgers" (similar to logo but without baseball) across chest; away is "Dodger blue" on gray, jersey has similar cursive "Los Angeles" across chest; as of 2005, names not printed on back of home or away jerseys
Alston, Drysdale, Koufax, Lasorda and Sutton are the only Hall-of-Famers elected primarily for their service with Los Angeles. Bunning pitched 9 games with Los Angeles in 1969, Marichal 2 games in 1975.
Retired Numbers
- 1 Pee Wee Reese, SS, 1940-58 (played all but the last season in Brooklyn)
- 2 Tommy Lasorda, P, 1955-56 (Brooklyn); Manager, 1976-96 (Los Angeles)
- 4 Duke Snider, OF, 1947-62 (Brooklyn 1947-57, Los Angeles 1958-62, also Los Angeles native)
- 19 Jim Gilliam, 2B-3B, 1953-66 (Brooklyn 1953-57, Los Angeles 1958-66); Coach, 1967-78
- 20 Don Sutton, P, 1966-80 & 1988
- 24 Walter Alston, Manager, 1954-76 (Brooklyn 1954-57, Los Angeles 1958-76)
- 32 Sandy Koufax, P, 1955-66 (Brooklyn 1955-57, Los Angeles 1958-66)
- 39 Roy Campanella, C, 1948-57 (all in Brooklyn, career-ending injury just before move)
- 42 Jackie Robinson, 2B, 1947-56 (all in Brooklyn, although grew up in Los Angeles area)
- 53 Don Drysdale, P, 1956-69 (all but first two seasons in Los Angeles, also Los Angeles area native)
Current roster
Minor league affiliations
- AAA: Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast League
- AA: Jacksonville Suns, Southern League
- Advanced A: Vero Beach Dodgers, Florida State League
- A: Columbus Catfish, South Atlantic League
- Rookie: Ogden Raptors, Pioneer League
- Rookie: GCL Dodgers, Gulf Coast League
- Rookie: VSL Dodgers, Venezuelan Summer League
Recommended reading
- Red Barber, Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat
- Robert W. Creamer, Stengel: His Life and Times
- Steve Delsohn, True Blue: The Dramatic History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Told By the Men Who Lived It
- Carl Erskine and Vin Scully, Tales From the Dodger Dugout: Extra Innings
- Harvey Froemmer, New York City Baseball
- Cliff Gewecke, Day by Day in Dodgers History
- Andrew Goldblatt, The Giants and the Dodgers: Four Cities, Two Teams, One Rivalry
- Peter Golenbock, Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
- Doris Kearns Goodwin, Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir
- Frank Graham, The Brooklyn Dodgers: An Informal History
- Donald Honig, The Los Angeles Dodgers: Their First Quarter Century
- Roger Kahn, The Boys of Summer
- Roger Kahn, The Era 1947-1957: When the Yankees, the Giants and the Dodgers Ruled the World
- Mark Langill, The Los Angeles Dodgers
- Tommy Lasorda with David Fisher, The Artful Dodger
- Jane Leavy, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy
- William McNeil, The Dodgers Encyclopedia
- Tom Meany (editor), The Artful Dodgers
- Andrew Paul Mele, A Brooklyn Dodgers Reader
- John J. Monteleone (editor), Branch Rickey's Little Blue Book
- David Plaut, Chasing October: The Dodgers-Giants Pennant Race of 1962
- Carl E. Prince, Brooklyn's Dodgers: The Bums, The Borough and The Best of Baseball
- Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made
- Gene Schoor, The Complete Dodgers Record Book
- Gene Schoor, The Pee Wee Reese Story
- Duke Snider with Bill Gilbert, The Duke of Flatbush
- Michael Shapiro, The Last Good Season: Brooklyn, The Dodgers, and Their Final Pennant Race Together
- Glen Stout, The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball
- Neil J. Sullivan, The Dodgers Move West
- Jules Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy
- John Weaver, Los Angeles: The Enormous Village, 1781-1981
See also
- Freeway Series - Dodgers-Angels interleague rivalry
- Dodger Dog
- Dodgers award winners and league leaders
- Dodgers statistical records and milestone achievements
- Dodgers players of note
- Dodgers broadcasters and media
- Dodgers managers and ownership
External links
- [http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/la/homepage/la_homepage.jsp Los Angeles Dodgers official web site]
- [http://www.walteromalley.com/ Walter O'Malley - The Official Website]
- [http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/LosAngelesDodgers/ The largest Los Angeles Dodgers Group on the web]
- [http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ Dodger Thoughts]
- [http://www.dodgerplace.com/ Sarah's Dodger Place]
- [http://www.pigsandfishes.org/filks/mikefilk/whendodgerswalked.html When Dodgers Walked] a filk song about the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers' departed glory.
- [http://www.dodgerblues.com Dodger Blues] Fan site frequently critical of the way the team has been run since the ownership of News Corp.
Category:Los Angeles sports
Category:MLB teams
ja:ロサンゼルス・ドジャース
Major League Baseball All-Star GameThe Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual exhibition baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by fan vote for the position players and by the manager for pitchers. The All-Star Game usually occurs in early to mid-July and marks the symbolic halfway point in the Major League Baseball (MLB) season.
The first All-Star Game was held as part of the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago and was the brainchild of Arch Ward, then sports editor for The Chicago Tribune. Initially intended to be a one-time event, its great success resulted in making the game an annual one.
Choosing the venue
The venue is chosen by Major League Baseball and traditionally alternates between the two leagues every year. (This tradition was first broken in 1951, when the Detroit Tigers were chosen to host the annual game as part of the city's Sesquibicentennial at Briggs Stadium, and will be broken again in 2007, when the San Francisco Giants will be the host for the 2007 All-Star Game. The Pittsburgh Pirates will host the 2006 event. Both the Giants and the Pirates are NL teams.) The "home team" is the league in which the host franchise plays its games. The criteria for choosing the venue are subjective; for the most part, cities with new parks and cities who have not hosted the game in a long time tend to get the nod. In 2005, Comerica Park, the new home of the Tigers, hosted the Midsummer Classic.
The designated hitter rule is applied based on the league in which the host team plays. In an American League ballpark, both teams use a designated hitter to hit for the pitcher. In a National League ballpark, both teams' pitchers must hit.
The team rosters
The manager for each league's team has for many years been the manager of the previous year's league champion. Note that this honor is applied to the person, not the team, so it's possible that the All-Star manager could no longer be with the team he won with (as happened in 2003, when Dusty Baker managed the National League team despite having moved from the champion San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs in the off-season). The coaching staff is selected by the manager.
Each team consists of 32 players, selected in one of the following ways, listed in order:
- Fan voting: Baseball fans vote on the starting position players for the All-Star Game, with ballots distributed at baseball games before mid-season and, more recently, on the Internet. When the game is played at an American League park, the designated hitter for the AL team is also selected in this manner.
- Player voting: As of 2005, pitchers and one back-up player for each position are elected by the other players. If the top vote-getter at a certain position is also being voted in via fan voting, then the second-place finisher in this category is chosen for the team.
- Manager selection (first): The manager and the Commissioner's Office will fill the roster up to 31 players.
- Final vote: After the lists of 31 players for each league is announced, fans will vote for one additional player, chosen from a list of 5 players provided by the manager and the Commissioner's Office.
- Manager selection (second): After the final vote, the manager and the Commissioner's Office will replace players who are injured or declined to participate. Each major league team is guaranteed to have at least one player selected to participate.
Between 1935 and 1946, the manager of each All-Star squad selected the entire team. Fans received the right to vote on the eight starters (excluding the pitcher) starting in 1947. In 1957, fans of the host Cincinnati Reds stuffed the ballot box as a result of a promotion by a local newspaper which printed pre-marked ballots, and elected a Red to every position except first base. Commissioner Ford Frick stepped in and removed two Reds from the lineup. As a response to this fiasco, the right to elect the non-pitching starters was taken away from the fans until 1970. From 1958 through 1969, players, coaches, and managers made the choices.
Ties
At Fenway Park in Boston on July 31, 1961, the first All-Star Game tie in history occurred when the game was stopped in the 9th inning due to rain.
Following a highly controversial situation in the 2002 game when both teams ran out of pitchers in the 11th inning, and in response Commissioner Bud Selig declared the game over, Major League Baseball changed the rules to give the All-Star game "meaning" and additional incentive for victory. From the 2003 season up to the present, the champion of the league that won the All-Star game was to be given home-field advantage for the World Series. Previously, home-field advantage in the World Series alternated between the two leagues each year.
Oddities
In 1945, with severe wartime travel restrictions in effect, the All-Star Game scheduled to be played at Boston's Fenway Park was canceled.
There were two All-Star Games played each season from 1959 to 1962. The second game was added to raise money for the players' pension funds, as well as other causes.
Stuffing the ballot box
1947 was the first year that baseball allowed fans to vote for the starters on the All-Star team.
In 1957, fans of the host Cincinnati Reds stuffed the ballot box and elected 7 Reds players to start in the All-Star game. They were:
:Johnny Temple, 2B
:Roy McMillan, SS
:Don Hoak, 3B
:Ed Bailey, C
:Frank Robinson, LF
:Gus Bell, CF
:Wally Post, RF
The only non-Red elected to start for the National League was Stan Musial at first base. While the Reds were known to be a great offensive team with many outstanding position players, most baseball observers agreed that they did not deserve seven starters in the All-Star game. An investigation showed that over half of the ballots cast came from Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Enquirer had printed up pre-marked ballots and distributed them with the Sunday newspaper to make it easy to vote early and often. There were even stories of bars in Cincinnati not serving alcohol to customers until they filled out a ballot.
Commissioner Ford Frick decided to appoint Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves to substitute for Reds players Gus Bell and Wally Post. In addition, Frick decided to strip the fans of their voting rights. Managers, players, and coaches picked the entire team again until 1969, when the vote again returned to the fans.
To guard against further ballot stuffing, since 1969 each team has been given the same number of ballots to hand out. In 1998, that number was roughly 400,000 ballots.
Since the dawn of the internet age, online voting has again raised fears of ballot stuffing. Yet Major League Baseball assures its fans that they have taken precautions to guard against this. In 1999, a hacker from Massachusetts was caught casting 39,000 online votes for Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra.
Other All-Star Weekend events
Since 1985, the Home Run Derby, a contest between home run hitters, has been played on the day before the All-Star Game. Also, a celebrity softball game is held the day before the Home Run Derby. The teams are usually a mixture of former stars from the host team's past, plus some celebrities from music, film, and television. Since 1999, the All-Star Futures Game has been held during All Star weekend. The two teams, one consisting of young players from the United States and the other consisting of young players from all other nations, are usually chosen based on prospect status in the minor leagues.
Major League Baseball All-Star Games (1933-present)
| Year | Winner | Score |
Venue/Host team | MVP |
| 1933 | American | 4-2 |
Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox | |
| 1934 | American | 9-7 |
Polo Grounds, New York Giants | |
| 1935 | American | 4-1 |
Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians | |
| 1936 | National | 4-3 |
Braves Field, Boston Braves | |
| 1937 | American | 8-3 |
Griffith Stadium, Washington Senators | |
| 1938 | National | 4-1 |
Crosley Field, Cincinnati Reds | |
| 1939 | American | 3-1 |
Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees | |
| 1940 | National | 4-0 |
Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Cardinals | |
| 1941 | American | 7-5 |
Briggs Stadium, Detroit Tigers | |
| 1942 | American | 3-1 |
Polo Grounds, New York Giants | |
| 1943 | American | 5-3 |
Shibe Park, Philadelphia Athletics | |
| 1944 | National | 7-1 |
Forbes Field, Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| 1945 | Not held. |
| 1946 | American | 12-0 |
Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox | |
| 1947 | American | 2-1 |
Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs | |
| 1948 | American | 5-2 |
Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Browns | |
1949 | American | 11-7 |
Ebbets Field, Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| 1950 | National | 4-3
(14 innings) |
Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox | |
| 1951 | National | 8-3 |
Briggs Stadium, Detroit Tigers | |
| 1952 | National | 3-2
(5 innings, rain) |
Shibe Park, Philadelphia Phillies | |
| 1953 | National | 5-1 |
Crosley Field, Cincinnati Reds | |
| 1954 | American | 11-9 |
Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians | |
| 1955 | National | 6-5
(12 innings) |
County Stadium, Milwaukee Braves | |
| 1956 | National | 7-3 |
Griffith Stadium, Washington Senators | |
|
| 1957 | American | 6-5 |
Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Cardinals | |
| 1958 | American | 4-3 |
Memorial Stadium, Baltimore Orioles | |
| 1959-a | National | 5-4 |
Forbes Field, Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| 1959-b | American | 5-3 |
Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles Dodgers | |
|
| 1960-a | National | 5-3 |
Municipal Stadium, Kansas City Athletics | |
| 1960-b | National | 6-0 |
Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees | |
| 1961-a | National | 5-4
(10 innings) |
Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants | |
| 1961-b | TIE | 1-1
(9 innings, rain) |
Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox | |
| 1962-a | National | 3-1 |
D.C. Stadium, Washington Senators | Maury Wills, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1962-b | American | 9-4 |
Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs | Leon Wagner, Los Angeles (AL) |
| 1963 | National | 5-3 |
Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians | Willie Mays, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1964 | National | 7-4 |
Shea Stadium, New York Mets | Johnny Callison, Philadelphia (NL) |
| 1965 | National | 6-5 |
Metropolitan Stadium, Minnesota Twins | Juan Marichal, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1966 | National | 2-1
(10 innings) |
Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis Cardinals | Brooks Robinson, Baltimore (AL) |
| 1967 | National | 2-1
(15 innings) |
Anaheim Stadium, California Angels | Tony Perez, Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1968 | National | 1-0 |
Astrodome, Houston Astros | Willie Mays, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1969 | National | 9-3 |
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington Senators | Willie McCovey, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1970 | National | 5-4
(12 innings) |
Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Reds | Carl Yastrzemski, Boston (AL) |
| 1971 | American | 6-4 |
Tiger Stadium, Detroit Tigers | Frank Robinson, Baltimore (AL) |
| 1972 | National | 4-3
(10 innings) |
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta Braves | Joe Morgan, Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1973 | National | 7-1 |
Royals Stadium, Kansas City Royals | Bobby Bonds, San Francisco (NL) |
| 1974 | National | 7-2 |
Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh Pirates | Steve Garvey, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1975 | National | 6-3 |
County Stadium, Milwaukee Brewers | Jon Matlack, New York (NL)
Bill Madlock, Chicago (NL) |
| 1976 | National | 7-1 |
Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia Phillies | George Foster, Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1977 | National | 7-5 |
Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees | Don Sutton, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1978 | National | 7-3 |
San Diego Stadium, San Diego Padres | Steve Garvey, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1979 | National | 7-6 |
Kingdome, Seattle Mariners | Dave Parker, Pittsburgh (NL) |
| 1980 | National | 4-2 |
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Dodgers | Ken Griffey, Sr., Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1981 | National | 5-4 |
Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland Indians | Gary Carter, Montreal (NL) |
| 1982 | National | 4-1 |
Olympic Stadium, Montreal Expos | Dave Concepcion, Cincinnati (NL) |
| 1983 | American | 13-3 |
Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox | Fred Lynn, California (AL) |
| 1984 | National | 3-1 |
Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants | Gary Carter, Montreal (NL) |
| 1985 | National | 6-1 |
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minnesota Twins | LaMarr Hoyt, San Diego (NL) |
| 1986 | American | 3-2 |
Astrodome, Houston Astros | Roger Clemens, Boston (AL) |
| 1987 | National | 2-0
(13 innings) |
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland Athletics | Tim Raines, Montreal (NL) |
| 1988 | American | 2-1 |
Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Reds | Terry Steinbach, Oakland (AL) |
| 1989 | American | 5-3 |
Anaheim Stadium, California Angels | Bo Jackson, Kansas City (AL) |
| 1990 | American | 2-0 |
Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs | Julio Franco, Texas (AL) |
| 1991 | American | 4-2 |
SkyDome, Toronto Blue Jays | Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore (AL) |
| 1992 | American | 13-6 |
Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego Padres | Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle (AL) |
| 1993 | American | 9-3 |
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles | Kirby Puckett, Minnesota (AL) |
| 1994 | National | 8-7
(10 innings) |
Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh Pirates | Fred McGriff, Atlanta (NL) |
| 1995 | National | 3-2 |
The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas Rangers | Jeff Conine, Florida (NL) |
| 1996 | National | 6-0 |
Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia Phillies | Mike Piazza, Los Angeles (NL) |
| 1997 | American | 3-1 |
Jacobs Field, Cleveland Indians | Sandy Alomar, Cleveland (AL) |
| 1998 | American | 13-8 |
Coors Field, Colorado Rockies | Roberto Alomar, Baltimore (AL) |
| 1999 | American | 4-1 |
Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox | Pedro Martinez, Boston (AL) |
| 2000 | American | 6-3 |
Turner Field, Atlanta Braves | Derek Jeter, New York (AL) |
| 2001 | American | 4-1 |
Safeco Field, Seattle Mariners | Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore (AL) |
| 2002 | TIE (In the 11th inning due to insufficient players) | 7-7 |
Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers | none |
| 2003 | American | 7-6 |
U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago White Sox | Garret Anderson, Anaheim (AL) |
| 2004 | American | 9-4 |
Minute Maid Park, Houston Astros | Alfonso Soriano, Texas (AL) |
| 2005 | American | 7-5 |
Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers | Miguel Tejada, Baltimore (AL) |
| 2006 | TBD | TBD |
PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates | TBD |
| 2007 | TBD | TBD |
SBC Park, San Francisco Giants | TBD |
Future schedule host teams
Among the cities in the running for 2008's All-Star Game are St. Louis, San Diego, Cincinnati, Anaheim (whose stadium was so completely transformed in the late '90s and early 2000s that some people almost consider it a whole new entity). Phoenix, Washington, and Tampa Bay are also possibilities. The Minnesota Twins are also contenders, as they have plans to construct a new stadium by 2008. Comissioner Selig said during the 2005 All-Star Break that the 2008 game will definitely go to an American League city; his statement would eliminate the cities of Arizona, Washington, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and San Diego.
The Toronto Blue Jays are also planning to make a bid to host the Major League Baseball's 2008 All-Star Game.
All-Star Game
-
-
Baseball
ja:オールスターゲーム (MLB)
Crosley Field
Crosley Field
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Opened | April 11, 1912 |
| Closed | June 24, 1970 |
| Capacity |
30,000 |
| Owned By |
Cincinnati Reds |
|
Architect: |
Harry Hake
|
Dimensions:
Left
Left-Center
Center
Right-Center
Right
|
360 ft. (1912), 320 ft. (321), 352 ft. (1926), 339 ft. (1927), 328 ft. (1938);
380 ft.
420 ft. (1912), 417 ft. (1926), 395 ft. (1927), 393 ft. (1930), 407 ft. (1931), 393 ft. (1933), 407 ft. (1936), 387 ft. (1938), 380 ft. (1939), 387 ft. (1940), 390 ft. (1944), 387 ft. (1955)
383 ft.
360 ft. (1912), 384 ft. (1921), 400 ft. (1926), 383 ft. (early 1927), 377 ft. (late 1927), 366 ft. (1938), 366 ft. (1938), 342 ft. (1942), 366 ft. (June 30, 1950), 342 ft. (1953), 366 ft. (1958)
|
Crosley Field was a baseball stadium that stood in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1912-1970. Various baseball stadiums had actually stood on the site since 1884, though the exact positions of the grandstands had been repeatedly shifted. Crosley was the home of the National League's Cincinnati Reds. In 1912, the stadium was rebuilt in steel and concrete at a cost of $225,000.
The stadium was known as Redland Field from 1912-1933, when team owner Powel Crosley chose to rename the stadium in his own honor - advertising his Crosley automobiles to boot. Crosley was the site of the first major league night baseball game on May 24, 1935.
The field of play was known for the sloping hill or "terrace" that led up to the fence (and to street level) across left field, which remained throughout the entire time the stadium stood, and the short fence in center field. The team claimed that the fence was 390 feet away, but both the home and opposing pitchers were certain it was shorter.
The stadium began to decline in the 1960s, and the surrounding neighborhood became rather dangerous, particularly at night. These factors, along with the city's desire to build a single stadium that could house both the Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL led to the closure of Crosley and the mid-season move of the Reds in 1970 to Riverfront Stadium. Crosley Field was demolished two years later, and a business park now stands on the site. However, the park has been recreated (in part) in Blue Ash, Ohio as part of a local athletic center, using various items from the original (such as 400 seats). [http://www.cincinnati.com/local/blueash/Late_01282003_News_GNBApostcardCrosley_Field.html]
External links
- [http://www.cincinnati.com/local/blueash/Late_01282003_News_GNBApostcardCrosley_Field.html Info on Crosley Field re-creation in Blue Ash, Ohio]
Category:Cincinnati sports
Category:Defunct baseball venues
Category:Defunct Major League Baseball venues
Caribbean World SeriesThe Caribbean World Series of Professional Baseball — or Serie del Caribe del Béisbol Profesional in Spanish — is an annual baseball tournament, usually played during the month of February,before the MLB trainings season in Dominican Republic, Mexico,Puerto Rico or Venezuela.
The Caribbean World Series was the brainchild of the Venezuelans Oscar "El Negro" Prieto and Pablo Morales, who devised the idea after the seeing the success of the Serie Interamericana (Inter-American Series) in 1946, which featured the Sultanes de Monterrey from Mexico; the All Cubans from Cuba; the Brooklyn Bushwicks from the United States; and Cervecería de Caracas from Venezuela. The Bushwicks won each year from 1946 to 1949, but Cervecería de Caracas won the final Serie Interamericana in 1950.
Inspired by the Seire Interamericana, Prieto and Morales presented their idea for a Caribbean World Series to a Confederación de Béisbol del Caribe (CBC, Baseball Confederation of the Caribbean in English) conference in Miami in late 1948. Cuba agreed to host the first series, which would feature the top team from each of the CBC member nations — Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela — in a six-day series of doubleheader games to determine the winner.
The series ran annually from 1949 to 1960, with Cuba winning seven times. However, the Caribbean World Series was cancelled after Fidel Castro dissolved all professional baseball in Cuba in 1961, replacing the professional teams with a state-run amateur system. It wouldn't be until 1970 that the Caribbean World Series was revived.
Nowadays, the Caribbean Series is affiliated with the Winter League programs of Major League Baseball, featuring MLB players and prospects in the professional leagues of the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
The series, which now is played over 12 days, usually features up to six games per team, although some series have had games cut from or added to the schedule. The winner of the series is the team with the most wins after each team plays six games.
Series Highlights
- 1949- Almendares (Cuba) wins the inaugural series 6–0.
- 1950- Carta Vieja (Panama) 5–1; the only Caribbean World Series championship for Panama.
- 1951- Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico) 5–1
- 1952- La Habana (Cuba) wins 5–0; Cuba becomes the first country to win two championships.
- 1953- Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico) 5–0; Santurce is the first team to win twice.
- 1954- Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico) 4–2; Puerto Rico is the first country to win back-to-back championships.
- 1955- Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico) 5–1; Puerto Rico is the first country to have back-to-back-to-back titles.
- 1956- Cienfuegos (Cuba) 5–1
- 1957- Marianao (Cuba) 5–0
- 1958- Marianao (Cuba) 4–2
- 1959- Almendares (Cuba) 5–0
- 1960- Cienfuegos (Cuba) 6–0; the last series for a decade.
- 1970- Navegantes del Magallanes (Venezuela); Series resumes, featuring the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.
- 1971- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic); Mexico's first appearance in the series.
- 1972- Tigres de Ponce (Puerto Rico)
- 1973- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic)
- 1974- Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico); Venezuela didn't participate because of a players strike.
- 1975- Vaqueros de Bayamón (Puerto Rico)
- 1976- Naranjeros de Hermosillo (Mexico); Mexico's first win.
- 1977- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic)
- 1978- Indios de Mayagüez (Puerto Rico)
- 1979- Navegantes del Magallanes (Venezuela)
- 1980- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic)
- 1981- A players strike in Venezuela causes the series to be cancelled.
- 1982- Leones del Caracas (Venezuela)
- 1983- Lobos de Arecibo (Puerto Rico)
- 1984- Águilas del Zulia (Venezuela)
- 1985- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic); smallest overall attendance for the series.
- 1986- Águilas de Mexicali (Mexico)
- 1987- Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico); after a disastrous 0–2 start, the Criollos win the series in a winner-take-all game against the Dominican Republic.
- 1988- Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic)
- 1989- Águilas del Zulia (Venezuela)
- 1990- Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic); the series is played in Miami, the first time it is held outside the Caribbean.
- 1991- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic); held again in Miami, an experimental top-two teams face off in a final game format is tried.
- 1992- Indios de Mayagüez (Puerto Rico)
- 1993- Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico)
- 1994- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic)
- 1995- Senadores de San Juan (Puerto Rico)
- 1996- Tomateros de Culiacán (Mexico)
- 1997- Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic)
- 1998- Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic)
- 1999- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic)
- 2000- Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico)
- 2001- Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic)
- 2002- Tomateros de Culiacán (Mexico)
- 2003- Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic); because of the general strike against Hugo Chávez, Venezuela does not participate. The Puerto Rican runner-up, Criollos de Caguas, plays instead.
- 2004- Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic)
- 2005- Venados de Mazatlán (Mexico)
The 2006 edition will be held in the cities of Maracay and Valencia in Venezuela.
Important baseball players who have participated
- Orlando Cepeda
- Roberto Clemente
- Hector Espino
- Juan Gonzalez
- Ken Griffey Sr.
- Monte Irvin
- Juan Marichal
- Willie Mays
- Mike Schmidt
- Miguel Tejada
- Fernando Valenzuela
External link
- [http://latinobaseball.com/cws-history.html CWS History]
- [http://www.cubanball.com/caribe.html Cuba at the CWS]
Category:Baseball playoffs and champions
College World SeriesThe College World Series is the tournament which determines the NCAA Division I collegiate baseball champion. It takes place in June of each year. Since 1950, the tournament has been held at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska; previous tournaments were held in Kalamazoo, Michigan (1947-48) and Wichita, Kansas (1949). The name is derived from that of the Major League Baseball World Series championship.
The 2005 College World Series took place June 17-23 with championship games June 25-6. Participating teams included Arizona State, Baylor, Florida, Nebraska, Oregon State, Tennessee, Texas, and Tulane.
The 8-team tournament concludes the NCAA baseball tournament. When the tournament had 48 teams, there were 8 six-team regionals, with the winners advancing to the College World Series. With the tournament's current size of 64 teams, adopted in 1999, there are 16 four-team double-elimination regionals. Regional winners advance to 8 head-to-head best-of-three super regionals, and super regional winners advance to the College World Series.
Until the late 1980s, the College World Series was a pure double-elimination event. The format was changed later to have the final two teams with fewer than two losses play in a single championship game; still later, the tournament was divided into two double-elimination brackets, with the survivors of each bracket playing in a single championship game. The single-game championship was made for broadcast television, with the final game traditionally on CBS. But in 2003, the tournament was shifted entirely to ESPN and the championship final became a best-of-three series between the last two remaining teams. In the results shown here, Score indicates the score of the championship game(s) only.
The Division II tournament has been held in Montgomery, Alabama since 1985. The Division III tournament has been held in Appleton, Wisconsin since 2000.
Division I
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