Kevin Youkilis

Kevin Edmund Youkilis (born March 15, 1979), also known as "Youk", is an American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2001 after playing college baseball at the University of Cincinnati. Known for his ability to get on base, Youkilis (while still a minor leaguer) was nicknamed "The Greek God of Walks" in the best-selling book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. A Gold Glove Award-winning first baseman, he once held baseball's record for most consecutive errorless games at first base (later broken by Casey Kotchman). He is also a two-time MLB All-Star, two-time World Series Champion, and winner of the 2008 Hank Aaron Award. An intense performer on the playing field, Youkilis is known for his scrappiness, grittiness, dirt-stained jerseys, and home-plate collisions. He has excelled despite a physique that led many observers to underestimate his athletic ability: he was called "roly-poly" by his high school coach, "pudgy" by his college coach, a "fat kid" by general manager Billy Beane, and a "thicker-bodied guy" by the Red Sox scout who recruited him. Or, as Jackie MacMullan wrote for the Boston Globe: "He does not look like an MVP candidate; more a refrigerator repairman, a butcher, the man selling hammers behind the counter at the True Value hardware store." Youkilis was named to the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, ranking No. 36 on the list in 2009, No. 38 in 2010, and No. 35 in 2011. The Youkilis family name has an unusual history. His Jewish great-great-great-grandfather, a native of 19th-century Romania, moved to Greece at the age of 16 to avoid conscription at the hands of the notoriously anti-Semitic Cossacks. He became homesick, however, and returned to Romania after a couple of years, although he changed his surname from "Weiner" to the Greek name, "Youkilis", to avoid army and jail. "People have come up to me and starting speaking Greek to me and I don't speak it," Youkilis said. "I feel bad. Ever since I was in Lowell (Class A), people have thought I was Greek. People shout at me, 'I'm Greek, you're Greek.' But I'm not." Youkilis is the son of a Romanian Jewish jewelry wholesaler, who Youkilis has described as a "well-known third baseman in the Jewish Community Center fast-pitch softball league." At the age of 14, Youkilis had an uncredited one-line speaking role in the romantic comedy film, Milk Money. He attended Sycamore High School in the north-eastern suburbs of Cincinnati, where he played third base, shortstop, first base, and the outfield for the school team which won the AAU National Championship in 1994, and he was the only player to homer off of current Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook in high school.







In 2001, Youkilis made his professional debut as a third baseman with the Lowell Spinners, a Short-Season A Class franchise in the New York-Penn League. He went on to lead the league with a .512 OBP, 52 runs, and 70 walks (against just 28 strikeouts), while hitting for a .317 batting average (third in the league) in 59 games.In 2002, Youkilis appeared in 15 games for Augusta, in 76 games for the Sarasota Sox (40 of them at first base), and in 44 games for the Trenton Thunder. He hit .310, with eight home runs and 80 RBIs for the year, and he was voted Trenton's "Player of the Year."In 2003, Youkilis started the season with the Portland Sea Dogs. In 94 games, he led the Eastern League with a .487 on base percentage (best all-time for the team through 2007), and was third in the league with a .327 batting average (second-best all-time for the team through 2007).On May 15, 2004, when Red Sox regular starting third baseman Bill Mueller was placed on the disabled list, Youkilis was called up for the first time.On September 24 of that year, which was Yom Kippur, Youkilis appeared in the dugout in uniform, but declined to participate in the game out of deference to the religious holiday. Youkilis was named the club's Rookie of the Year by the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.While virtually nobody else knew it, Youkilis broke his toe during spring training in 2005, and was back playing again in a matter of days. It was "in Vero Beach", Youkilis said. "I was trying to make the team."In 2006, his first full season in the majors, Youkilis became a regular first baseman (with 127 games at first). Until that time, he was primarily a third baseman, though he did play nine games at first base with the Red Sox in 2005, and 56 games at first base in his minor league career.







Youkilis had a career-high 23-game hitting streak starting on May 5, 2007, and ending on June 2, 2007, in which he hit .426 (43–101) with 13 doubles, 6 HRs, 21 RBIs, and a .468 OBP. At one point during the hitting streak, he had 9 straight games with at least two hits (tying a Red Sox record set by Jim Rice in 1978), and became the first Red Sox hitter since Trot Nixon to hit an inside-the-park home run.On April 2, 2008, on an unassisted game-ending play against the Oakland A's, Youkilis broke the Major League record for most consecutive error-less games by a first baseman, previously held by Steve Garvey, at 194 games. In his 205th game without an error on April 27, Youkilis also established a new major league record for first basemen, when he fielded his 1,701st consecutive chance without an error, passing the old mark of 1,700 set by Stuffy McInnis from 1921 to 1922. His streak, which started on July 4, 2006, was snapped at 238 games (2,002 fielding attempts) on June 7, 2008 against the Seattle Mariners.Youkilis signed a four-year, $41.25 million contract with the Red Sox on January 15, 2009. The deal also included a team option (at $14 million, with a $1.25 million buyout) for 2013. Later that year, he was voted # 36 on the Sporting News list of the 50 greatest active baseball players, voted on by a panel that included members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.In 2010, Youkilis was again named to Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, ranking No. 38 on the list. A panel of 21 MLB executives was polled to arrive at the list. In 2011, Youkilis was again named to Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, ranking No. 35 on the list. A panel of 21 MLB executives was polled to arrive at the list. Youkilis was named to the 2011 AL All Star team, for the 82nd All Star Game. At the All Star break, he was 3rd in the league in doubles (26), 4th in on base percentage (.399), 6th in RBIs (63), 7th in OPS (.911), and 9th in walks (49).







Youkilis was featured in the 2008 Hank Greenberg 75th Anniversary edition of Jewish Major Leaguers Baseball Cards, published in affiliation with Fleer Trading Cards and the American Jewish Historical Society, commemorating the Jewish Major Leaguers from 1871 through 2008. He joined, among other Jewish major leaguers, Ryan Braun, Brad Ausmus, Ian Kinsler, Brian Horwitz, Gabe Kapler, Jason Marquis, Jason Hirsh, John Grabow, Craig Breslow, and Scott Schoeneweis. He was one of three Jewish players in the 2008 All-Star Game, joining Braun and Kinsler, and one of three Jewish players on the Team USA 2009 World Baseball Classic team, joining Braun and Grabow. Kinsler says that "Youkilis always says something to me on the bases. 'Happy Passover,' he'll throw something at me." Youkilis was named the Jewish MVP for 2008, beating out fellow All-Stars Braun and Kinsler. He was voted the top Jewish baseball player of the decade 2000–09 in online balloting, beating out Shawn Green and Braun. Through the 2010 season, his .294 batting average placed him 6th on the career all-time list (directly behind Phil Weintraub) for batting average by Jewish major leaguers, his 112 home runs placed him 8th (behind Braun), and his 470 RBIs placed him 9th (behind Ausmus). Kevin Youkilis Hits For Kids is a charitable organization established by Youkilis in 2007. Youkilis's foundation focuses on raising support and awareness for the health, advocacy, safety, and medical healing of children across Massachusetts, in his hometown of Cincinnati, and beyond. Rallying the support of volunteers, local business, and the heart of Red Sox Nation, Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids teams with existing, community-based children's charities and medical research efforts that lack sufficient funding and awareness. One organization that Hits for Kids works with is the Joslin Diabetes Center's Pediatric Health Services. He has a special sensitivity about youth suicide, since his college roommate, a close and supportive friend of his since high school, committed suicide on Thanksgiving during his sophomore year. To this day, he said, "I sit back at night and wonder what I could’ve done." "In my religion, the Jewish religion, that's one of the biggest things that's taught, is giving a mitzvah, forming a mitzvah", said Youkilis. "I was always taught as a kid giving to charity. You're supposed to give a good amount of charity each and every year.... It's just a great thing when you can make a kid smile that's going through some hard times in life ... I wish more people, not just athletes, would give people just a little bit of their time. It doesn't take much ... It can make a huge difference." After the first game of the ALDS, Youkilis re-shaved his head for good luck in a sign of solidarity with cancer patient Mitt Campbell. Following the team's 2007 World Series victory, Youkilis shaved his goatee for a $5,000 donation by Gillette to his foundation. All profits from his charity wine "SauvignYoouuk Blanc", released in 2008, support Hits for Kids.

Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramírez (born December 23, 1983 in Samaná, Dominican Republic) is a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins. Ramírez was named 2006 NL Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. In 2009, Ramírez won the NL batting title and is a three-time All-Star starter. Additionally, Ramirez finished runner-up in the 2010 Home Run Derby.Ramírez signed with the Boston Red Sox as an International Free Agent in July 2000. He was discovered by scouts and was considered the top prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization. He was traded to the Florida Marlins in 2005 together with Aníbal Sánchez for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota. During Spring Training in 2006, Ramírez was impressive enough to earn the starting shortstop job for the Marlins over another candidate, shortstop Robert Andino. Ramírez led all MLB rookies with 185 hits, 119 runs, 11 triples and 51 SBs. He hit 7 leadoff home runs, the most in team history for a season and career. Ramírez's 46 doubles in the 2006 season is the all-time NL record for a shortstop age 22 or younger. He is the first NL rookie to post 110-plus runs and 50-plus stolen bases. He became the fifth big-league player since 1900 to hit 45-plus doubles and have 50-plus stolen bases, joining Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Lou Brock. He finished the spectacular season with the Rookie of the Year Award. Because he didn’t accumulate 130 at bats in the majors or spend 45 days on the Red Sox’ MLB roster he was eligible for the award. Ramírez picked up where he left off during his sophomore season. The ever improving young star, who referred to Ryan Howard when asked about the sophomore jinx in baseball, was hitting .331 with 14 home runs and 35 RBIs to go along with 27 steals at the 2007 All Star break. Despite his great numbers, he was left off the All-Star roster behind starter Jose Reyes and reserve J.J. Hardy, not to the surprise of many writers.In a game versus the Cincinnati Reds on July 22, 2007 Ramírez overextended his shoulder when he tried to hit a pitch on the lower outside corner off right-hander Bronson Arroyo. He was helped off the field and was determined to have suffered a partial dislocation of his left shoulder. Ramírez has had a history of problems with the shoulder. In the 2006 season, he missed 5 games for a similar problem after swinging at a pitch. In December of '06 he fell awkwardly on the shoulder while playing Winter League ball in the Dominican Republic.

Entering the 2008 season, Ramírez was now looked at as the face of the franchise after the Marlins traded All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo, Eulogio De La Cruz, Dallas Trahern, and Burke Badenhop. Ramírez has contributed well in the Marlins fast start, earning a spot as the starting Shortstop for the National League All-Star team for the first time in his career. In addition, Ramírez agreed to a six-year, $70 million extension, by far making it the richest contract in Marlin history and furthermore making him the face of the franchise through the new stadium in 2012. MLB.com has reported that Ramírez will get $23.5 million in his arbitration years of 2009 through 2011, $15 million in 2012, $15.5 million in 2013 and $16 million in 2014. There is not a no trade clause. Ramírez was named NL Player of the Month in June. He had been batting .298 with six doubles, a triple and ten home runs. He led the NL in three categories: home runs, runs scored and total bases. It was speculated that he could have secured a place in the rare 40-40 club achieved by four others and latest by Alfonso Soriano in 2006; he ended the season with 33 home runs and 35 stolen bases. In July, Ramírez was selected to his first All-Star at Yankee Stadium, voted in by the fans as the National League's starting shortstop. He was 2-for-3 with two singles and a run in the 2008 All-Star Game. Ramírez hit his 30th home run of the season on September 13 and joined Preston Wilson in 2000 as the only Marlins to become members of the 30-30 club. On February 24, 2009, the Miami Herald reported that Ramírez would be moving from the leadoff spot to the 3rd spot in the lineup. Ramírez played in the World Baseball Classic for his native Dominican Republic. During the April 6, 2009 regular season opener against the Washington Nationals, Ramírez hit his first career grand-slam off of Washington reliever Steven Shell. On July 5, 2009, Ramírez was the NL starting shortstop for the 2009 All Star Game. On September 6, against the Nationals, Ramírez hit his 100th home run of his MLB career, becoming the 4th quickest shortstop in terms of games played to reach that milestone (Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, and Ernie Banks). With a Batting Average of .342, Ramírez won his first batting title. Ramírez recorded 106 RBI (6th in NL), stole 27 bases (5th in NL), and scored 101 times (8th in NL). He won the Silver Slugger award at shortstop, and came in second to Albert Pujols for NL MVP.

Ramírez hit his first home run of the 2010 season on April 8 off of John Maine. In the month of April, Ramírez batted .279 with 2 home runs, 7 RBIs, 2 steals and 11 runs scored. On May 17 in a home game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ramírez fouled a ball off his ankle in his first at-bat. He looked as if he was in some pain but remained in the game. He then grounded into a double play to end the inning as he slowly ran to first base. The next inning, with runners on first and second, a bloop shot was sent into shallow left field. Ramírez ran to catch it. He did not, and when it hit the ground, Ramírez inadvertently kicked it into the left-field corner. Ramírez then jogged all the way to the corner as Diamondbacks rounded the bases. Two of the three runners would end up scoring with the other ending up on third. Then-manager of the Marlins Fredi González removed Ramírez from the game, and a war of words led to Ramírez being benched for the next game. In his first game back against the St. Louis Cardinals, Ramírez went 3–5 with an RBI. About a month later, Fredi Gonzalez was relieved of his duties. In the month of May, Ramírez finished batting .308 with 6 home runs, 19 RBIs, 4 stolen bases, and 17 runs scored. On June 6, manager Fredi González decided to shake up the Marlins' batting order. Ramírez was placed in the leadoff spot of the batting order for the first time since 2008. He finished 0–2 but also drew three walks in the game. He was moved back to the three hole the day after. In June, Ramírez batted .296 with 4 home runs, 25 RBIs, 9 steals and 17 runs. Ramírez was voted in as a starter for the All Star game for the third year in a row. He was also chosen to participate in the State Farm Home Run Derby for the first time in his career. In the Derby, he came in second place to Boston's David Ortiz. Ramírez, moving to the leadoff spot when Chris Coghlan was injured, struggled in July, hitting .242 with 1 home run, 4 RBIs, 6 steals and 12 runs scored. Ramírez hit his 25th career leadoff home run and his first career walk-off hit on August 7 against the Cardinals. He came up to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning with a man on first base hit a walk-off double to right-center field to end the Marlins' five game losing streak. Ramírez was hot all throughout August, hitting .359 (3rd in NL) with 6 home runs, 13 RBIs, 7 steals and 25 runs (2nd in NL). On September 15 in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Ramírez aggravated an injury in his elbow he sustained earlier in the season while swinging. He attempted to come back and play a week later, but after one game, he was still in pain and shut down for the rest of the season. He finished 2010 with a .300 batting average, 21 home runs, 76 RBIs, 32 steals and 92 runs scored. Ramirez has performed well under his usual standards in 2011. By June 20, Ramirez was hitting just .200 with only 4 home runs and 17 RBIs. However, Hanley raised his stats up to .243 with 8 home runs and 37 RBIs by July 9th. People say that the coming of 80 year old interm manager Jack McKeon (who served as the Marlins manager from 2003-2005 and led them to a World Series victory in 2003) helped Ramirez improve his stats. For the first time in his career, Ramirez hitting cleanup.

Lance Berkman

Willard Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976) is an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. He stands at six feet, one inch, and weighs 220 pounds (100 kg). Berkman has spent various seasons of his career as a regular at all three outfield positions. He has played with the Houston Astros, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.

Lance Berkman Pick The Ball Perfectly

Lance Berkman Poster

In only 53 games, he hit .293 with 12 HR and 35 RBI. In 1998, his second minor league season, he was promoted to Double-A Jackson. His potential was beginning to show, as he hit .306 and clubbed 24 HR with 89 RBI over 122 games for manager Jim Pankovitz.

Lance Berkman Best Performance

Berkman signed a six-year, $85 million deal in March 2005. Berkman moved to first base while Jeff Bagwell was injured. He ended the 2005 season with 24 home runs and 82 RBIs. In Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Berkman hit a grand slam in the 8th inning. That brought the score to 6–5 in favor of the Braves, but the game was tied in the next inning on a two-out solo home run by Brad Ausmus.

Lance Berkman Running Quickly

Berkman signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2011 season. On April 13th, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Lance hit a grand slam to help with a 15-5 victory.

Aramis Ramirez

Aramis Nin Ramírez ( June 25, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is an All-Star Major League Baseball third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. He started his professional career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1998 before being traded to the Cubs in 2003. On November 12, 2006, Ramírez signed a five-year deal with the Cubs with an option for 2012.

Aramis Ramirez Best Performance

Ramírez hit his 200th career home run off Claudio Vargas on April 23, 2007. On June 29, 2007, Ramírez ended a crucial game against the Milwaukee Brewers with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th to cap a five-run comeback win.

Aramis Ramirez Chase The Ball

Ramírez was traded to the Chicago Cubs with outfielder Kenny Lofton on July 23, 2003. Ramírez finished the 2003 season strong in Chicago, though he led the majors with 33 errors at third base. He had the lowest fielding percentage of all Major League third basemen with .929. The Cubs made the playoffs and defeated the Atlanta Braves before being beaten by eventual World Series champions the Florida Marlins in the seven-game 2003 National League Championship Series. During Game 4 of the NLCS, Ramírez made Cubs history. In the first inning, Ramírez hit the first grand slam in the playoffs in Cubs history off Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis. Ramírez probably was the best Cubs player during the NLCS, hitting 3 home runs, driving in 7 RBIs, and hitting a triple in Game 1.

Aramis Ramirez Ready To Hits The Ball

Ramirez activated his 14 million dollar contract on November 3 of 2010 to stay on with the team in the 2011 season.

Hank Aaron

Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed "Hammer," "Hammerin' Hank," and "Bad Henry," is a retired American baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned the years 1954 through 1976. Aaron is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Hank Aaron fifth on their list of "Greatest Baseball Players". After playing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League and in the minor leagues, Aaron started his major league career in 1954. (He is the last Negro league baseball player to have played in the major leagues.) He played 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League, and his last two years (1975–76) with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League. His most notable achievement was breaking the career home run record set by Babe Ruth. During his professional career, Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. Aaron made the All-Star team every year from 1955 until 1975 and won three Gold Glove Awards. In 1957, he won the National League Most Valuable Player Award, while that same year, the Braves won the World Series, his one World Series victory during his career. Aaron's consistency helped him to establish a number of important hitting records during his 23-year career. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (2,297) and the most career extra base hits (1,477). Hank Aaron is also in the top five for career hits with 3,771 (third) and runs with 2,174, which is tied for fourth with Babe Ruth. He is one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 150 or more hits. He also is in second place in at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298).

Hank Aaron Tribute

Hank Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama to Herbert and Estella (Pritchett) Aaron. Aaron had seven siblings. Tommie Aaron, one of his brothers, also went on to play Major League Baseball. By the time Aaron retired, he and his brother held the record for most career home runs by a pair of siblings (768). They were also the first siblings to appear in a League Championship Series as teammates.After relocating to Indianapolis, Indiana, eighteen-year-old Aaron helped the Indianapolis Clowns win the 1952 Negro League World Series. As a result of his standout play, Aaron received two offers from MLB teams via telegram; one offer was from the New York Giants, the other from the then Boston Braves.On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson fractured his ankle while sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves' major league team, playing in left field and hitting a home run. This led Hank Aaron to a major league contract and a Braves uniform with the number five. On April 13, Aaron made his major league debut and was hitless in five at-bats against the Cincinnati Reds' left-hander Joe Nuxhall. In the same game, Eddie Mathews hit two home runs, the first of a record 863 home runs the pair would hit as teammates. On April 15, Aaron collected his first major league hit, a single off Cardinals' pitcher Vic Raschi. Aaron hit his first major league home run on April 23, also off Raschi. Over the next 122 games, Aaron batted .280 with thirteen homers before he suffered a fractured ankle on September 5. He then changed his number to 44, which would turn out to look like a "lucky number" for the slugger. Aaron would hit 44 home runs in four different seasons, Hank Aaron and he would hit his record-breaking 715th career home run off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, who coincidentally also wore number 44. In 1955, Aaron made his first All-Star team; it was the first of a record-tying 21 All-Star Game appearances. He finished the season with a .314 average, 27 home runs and 106 RBI. Aaron hit .328 in 1956 and captured first of two NL batting titles. He was also named The Sporting News NL Player of the Year. In 1957, Aaron won his only NL MVP Award. He batted .322 and led the league in home runs and runs batted in. On September 23, 1957, Aaron hit a two-run walk-off in Milwaukee, clinching the pennant for the Braves and Aaron was carried off the field by his teammates. Milwaukee went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees. Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBI. In 1958, Aaron hit .326, with 30 home runs and 95 RBIs. He led the Braves to another pennant, but this time they lost a seven-game World Series to the Yankees. Aaron finished third in the MVP race, but he picked up his first Gold Glove. During his days in Atlanta, Aaron reached a number of milestones; he was only the eighth player ever to hit 500 career home runs, with his 500th coming against Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants on July 14, 1968—exactly one year after former teammate Eddie Mathews had hit his 500th. He was, at the time, the second-youngest player to attain that plateau. Although Aaron himself downplayed the "chase" to surpass Babe Ruth, baseball enthusiasts and the national media grew increasingly excited as he closed in on the home run record. During the summer of 1973 Aaron received thousands of letters every week; the Braves ended up hiring a secretary to help him sort through it.[At the age of 39, Aaron hit 40 home runs in 392 at-bats, ending the season one home run short of the record. He hit home run number 713 on September 29, 1973, and with one day remaining in the season, many expected him to tie the record. But in his final game that year, playing against the Houston Astros (led by manager Leo Durocher, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to achieve this. After the game, Aaron stated that his only fear was that he might not live to see the 1974 season.

On August 1, 1982, Hank Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, having received votes on 97.8 percent of the ballots, second only to Ty Cobb, who had received votes on 98.2% of the ballot in the inaugural 1936 Hall of Fame election. Aaron was then named the Braves' vice president and director of player development. This made him one of the first minorities in Major League Baseball upper-level management. Since December 1980, he has served as senior vice president and assistant to the Braves' president. He is the corporate vice president of community relations for TBS, a member of the company's board of directors and the vice president of business development for The Airport Network. On January 21, 2007 Major League baseball announced the sale of the Atlanta Braves. In that announcement, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig also announced that Aaron would be playing a major role in the management of Braves. He will be forming programs through major league baseball that will encourage the influx of minorities into baseball. On February 5, 1999, at his 65th birthday celebration, Major League Baseball announced the introduction of the Hank Aaron Award. The award was set to honor the best overall offensive performer in the American and National League. It was the first major award to be introduced in more than thirty years and had the distinction of being the first award named after a player who was still alive. Later that year, he ranked fifth on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In July 2000 and again in July 2002, Aaron threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, played at Turner Field and Miller Park, respectively. On January 8, 2001, Hank Aaron was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President William Clinton. In June 2002, Aaron received, from President George W. Bush, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Magglio Ordonez

Magglio Ordonez Best Performance During The Match

Magglio Ordonez Simple Smile

Magglio Ordonez Get Trophy

Magglio Ordonez Will Hits The Ball

Magglio Ordonez Poster

Magglio Ordonez Love Baseball So Much

Magglio Ordonez and Pres

Vladimir Guerrero

Vladimir Alvino Guerrero (born February 9, 1975, in Don Gregorio, Nizao, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter with the Baltimore Orioles.

Vladimir Guerrero During The Match

Vladimir Guerrero Funny Pose

Guerrero batted .324 with 38 HRs and 109 RBI in 1998. Before the end of the 1998 season, Guerrero agreed to a $28 million deal. Guerrero represented the Expos at the 1999 All-Star Game. During the 1999 season, Guerrero maintained a 31 game hitting streak‚ the longest in the majors in 12 years. He finished 1999 with 131 RBI, and in 2000, he hit 44 home runs; both figures remain career highs.

Vladimir Guerrero Best Performance

Vladimir Guerrero Poster

Guerrero was a free agent for the first time after the 2003 season, and he signed a five year, $70 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels after being courted by several teams. The owner of the Angels, Arte Moreno, is the first Latino controlling owner of a Major League ballclub, and Guerrero has cited Moreno's Latin heritage as a motivating factor for choosing the Angels over other teams. He currently lives in Anaheim Hills, California.

Guerrero bats without wearing batting gloves, a custom rarely seen in modern baseball. In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, he attributed this to helping his grandfather pull cows home barehanded as a young boy in the Dominican Republic. To improve his grip on the bat, he coats his helmet with pine tar and simply rubs his helmet before going into the on-deck circle. As the season progresses, his batting helmet becomes covered in the substance. This was particularly noticeable with the bright red helmet of the Angels.

Andruw Jones

Andruw Rudolf Jones (born April 23, 1977, in Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees. During his first two years with the Atlanta Braves, Jones most often appeared as a right fielder. However, from 1998 until 2009, he played almost exclusively in center field. Aside from 1996, when he appeared in just 32 games after being called up from the minors, Jones appeared in 150 or more games in each year of his career up to 2008, when he appeared in only 75 games. Jones has been a noted defensive specialist, and won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for outfielders every year from 1998 through 2007. Jones has appeared in the All-Star Game five times, and he won both the Hank Aaron Award and a Silver Slugger Award for outfielders in 2005. In 2002, he was the inaugural National League All-Star Final Vote winner. Jones signed with the Atlanta Braves organization as a free agent in 1993 at the age of 16. By 1996, he was being hailed as "the next Griffey." The Braves brought Jones up to Atlanta on August 15, 1996, when he was just 19 years old. He spent his early time in the majors playing in right field because established center fielders Marquis Grissom and Kenny Lofton were already entrenched in the position. In Game 1 of the 1996 World Series on October 20, 1996, Jones was able to demonstrate his talents on the national stage. He connected for two home runs to left field on his first two at bats as the Braves routed the New York Yankees 12-1. Jones became the youngest player ever to homer in the World Series at the age of 19 years, 180 days, breaking Mickey Mantle's record of 20 years, 362 days - on Mantle's birthday.

Jones became the Braves' everyday right fielder in 1997, but he accumulated a disappointing .231 batting average. In 1998, he moved to center field nearly full-time, and had a much more encouraging season. His average improved to .271, he hit 31 homers, and stole 27 bases. He also won his first of ten straight Gold Glove Awards. Whether he was in the batter's box or gliding under a fly ball to make an easy basket catch, Jones played the game in a very relaxed manner.[citation needed] This temporarily earned him the ire of manager Bobby Cox in June 1998 in an incident in which Cox pulled Jones out of a game, in the midst of an inning, because he felt Jones had lazily allowed a single to drop in center field. Still just 22 years old, Jones had similar numbers in 1999, and though he was a dependable (he played all 162 games that season) and good player, many began to wonder if or when he would live up to the potential that they believed he possessed. He had a moderate-breakout season with his bat in 2000 with career highs up til that point in batting average (.303), home runs (36), and RBIs (104). He also earned his first All-Star Game appearance. However, in 2001, Jones' batting average fell and his strikeouts went up. By now, Jones had gained nearly 30 pounds since arriving at the Major Leagues, greatly diminishing his speed on the basepaths (he would not steal more than 11 bases after 2001).[citation needed] He maintained a similar batting performance in 2002, but was still playing superb defense. In 2003, with the power-hitting Gary Sheffield in the line-up, Jones achieved a new career high-water-mark in RBIs, with 116. Unfortunately, he took a step backward in 2004 when he hit fewer than 30 homers and struck out 147 times. Prior to the 2005 season, Jones increased his workout regimen and, following advice given by Willie Mays, widened his batting stance.[citation needed] The result was his most productive offensive season ever. On September 14, 2005, Jones hit his 300th career home run which went 430 feet (130 m) off Philadelphia Phillies reliever Geoff Geary in a 12–4 Phillies win. The ball landed in the upper deck in left field at Citizens Bank Park. Jones hit a major league-leading 51 home runs, surpassing Hank Aaron's and Eddie Mathews' single-season club record. He also led the National League with a career-high 128 RBI. Jones' torrid hitting in the summer, especially while teammate Chipper Jones was out with an injury, helped carry the Braves to their 14th consecutive division championship. He finished just behind St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols in the 2005 NL MVP vote.

Before the 2006 season, Jones played in the World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands. Jones finished the 2006 season with 41 home runs and 129 RBIs. Jones also became more selective at the plate (82 walks, as compared to 64 the prior season), which helped him score 107 runs during 2006, an increase of 12 over the prior year and his most in a single season since 2000. He won his ninth consecutive Gold Glove award.Coming into the last year of his contract with the Braves, many fans and sports analysts alike felt that 2007 would be the last year in which Jones would be a Brave, mostly because of his potential value on the market that the Braves would not be able to afford. Jones, however, had an unexpectedly poor start to the season, striking out 51 times in 41 games and carrying a batting average in the low .200s for the majority of April and May. On December 5, 2007, Jones agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, worth $36.2 million. After showing up out of shape and over 20 pounds overweight, he continued to struggle, hitting below .200 for most of the season. Additionally, he had only 10 hits in 116 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Due to his lack of production, Jones was dropped to eighth in the Dodger line-up. This was the first time since 1998 that Jones had hit eighth in any line-up. On April 19, Jones hit his first home run as a Dodger, at Turner Field against his former Braves teammates. On February 8, 2009, Jones signed a one-year minor league contract with the Texas Rangers; the deal paid him $500,000 for making the major league team, and offered $1 million in incentives. Jones reportedly turned down a similar offer from the New York Yankees to compete for their center field job and expressed an interest in staying with the Rangers even though he would likely not be a starter. He earned the Rangers' final roster spot. He was originally planned to pinch-hit for the Rangers, but found a starting outfield role due to an injury to Josh Hamilton. Jones ultimately hit only .214 for the season, but did have 17 home runs in 82 games - a comeback of sorts for the slugger. On November 25, 2009, Jones signed a $500,000 deal for 2010 with up to an additional $1 million in performance bonuses. Unlike what he had done with the Braves and Dodgers in previous seasons, Jones showed up to camp in shape, a full 30 pounds under his previous weight.[citation needed] On July 11 he hit his 400th home run. He finished the year with nineteen home runs in 278 at bats. He scored 41 runs, had 48 RBI and 64 base hits in 107 games, the most games he has appeared in since 2007. On January 20, 2011, Jones and the New York Yankees agreed to a contract for the 2011 season for $2 million, with an additional $1.2 million in performance bonuses. In his first Yankees at-bat on April 5th, 2011, Jones hit a home run over the left field wall at Yankees Stadium off the Minnesota Twins' Brian Duensing.

Curt Schilling

Curtis Montague "Curt" Schilling (born November 14, 1966 in Anchorage, Alaska) is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in 1993 and has won World Series championships in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in 2004 and 2007 with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a career postseason record of 11–2. His .846 postseason winning percentage is a major-league record among pitchers with at least 10 decisions.Schilling graduated from Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1985, before attending Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona. Schilling began his professional career in the Red Sox farm system as a second-round pick in what would be the final January draft in MLB. He began his professional career with the Elmira Pioneers, a then Red Sox affiliate. After two and a half years in the minor leagues, he and Brady Anderson were traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1988 for Mike Boddicker. His major league debut was with the Orioles (1988–1990), and he then spent one year with the Houston Astros (1991).

Schilling formed a deep-rooted interest in the board wargame Advanced Squad Leader. Schilling's disappointment at not being able to attend the ASL Oktoberfest (an annual game convention) led him to create his own, The ASL Open, which debuted the weekend of January 15, 1993, in Houston, Texas. The Open was financed out of his own pocket. Schilling also started his own amateur publication entitled Fire for Effect, a bi-monthly featuring "some of the ASL hobby's best writers". When his favorite game was sold along with Avalon Hill to Hasbro, Schilling founded the small gaming company Multi-Man Publishing to maintain ASL and other Avalon Hill titles. He also started a new, professional publication entitled ASL Journal and contributed articles, editorials, and game scenarios. Schilling has played EverQuest and EverQuest II, and has reviewed two of the game's many expansion packs for PC Gamer magazine. Most recently, Schilling has been playing World of Warcraft and has become a regular guest on the popular World of Warcraft podcast, The Instance, with hosts Scott Johnson and Randy Jordan. In a July 2008 interview on The Jace Hall Show, Schilling confirmed this: "My time-sink has been MMOs for the most part, all the way back to Ultima Online, where I started, to EverQuest, EverQuest II. Last couple of years I've been pretty stuck to World of Warcraft." In 2006 Schilling created Green Monster Games, which Schilling stated, despite widespread rumor, was not named after the Fenway left field wall. In early 2007, the company's name was changed to 38 Studios. In January 2008, Schilling announced that he will be focusing on an MMORPG project after his retirement. The new game is being developed under the name Copernicus by 38 Studios. Comic book creator Todd MacFarlane and fantasy author R.A. Salvatore are working with Schilling on the project. In July 2010, the Rhode Island Board of Economic Development approved a $75-million guaranteed loan to 38 Studios. 38 Studios has promised to bring 450 jobs to the state by the end of 2012. The company is developing two products. One is a single-player game called “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning,” which is scheduled for release in the fall of 2011. Executives from 38 Studios introduced the game at the Comic-Con 2010 convention in San Diego.

Curt Schilling 2001 world series game 4 part 1

During the Phillies' pennant run in 1993, Schilling went 16–7 with a 4.02 ERA and 186 strikeouts. Schilling led the Phillies to an upset against the two-time defending National League champion Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series. Although he received no decisions during his two appearances in the six-game series, Schilling's 1.69 ERA and 19 strikeouts (including the first 5 Braves hitters of Game 1, an NLCS record) were enough to earn him the 1993 NLCS Most Valuable Player Award. The Phillies went on to face the defending world champion Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. After losing Game 1, he pitched brilliantly in his next start. With the Phillies facing elimination the day after losing a bizarre 15–14 contest at home in Veterans Stadium, Schilling pitched a five-hit shutout that the Phillies won, 2–0.Schilling was traded to the Diamondbacks on July 26, 2000, for first baseman Travis Lee and pitchers Vicente Padilla, Omar Daal, and Nelson Figueroa. With Arizona, he went 22–6 with a 2.98 ERA in 2001, leading the majors in wins and innings pitched. He also went 4–0 with a 1.12 ERA in the playoffs. In the 2001 World Series, the Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees in seven games. Schilling shared the 2001 World Series MVP Award with teammate Randy Johnson. He and Johnson also shared Sports Illustrated magazine's 2001 "Sportsmen of the Year" award. In 2002, he went 23–7 with a 3.23 ERA. He struck out 316 batters while walking 33 in 259.1 innings. On April 7, 2002, Schilling threw a one-hit shutout striking out 17 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Both years he finished second in the Cy Young Award voting to Johnson. Schilling finished the 2003 season with a 8-9 record and a 2.95 ERA in 168 innings while striking out 194 batters. In November 2003, the Diamondbacks traded Schilling to the Boston Red Sox.The trade to Boston reunited Schilling with Terry Francona, his manager during his final four years with the Philadelphia Phillies. This move meant Schilling and Francona have been part of the rivalries of both New York City baseball teams, though neither were on the New York side (New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox and New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies).

On March 23, 2009, Schilling officially announced his retirement from professional baseball after 20 seasons. Schilling ended his career with a 216-146 record, 3.46 ERA and 3116 strikeouts, 15th-most in MLB history. Having last pitched in 2007, Schilling is eligible for the 2013 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.Schilling holds the major league record for consecutive starts pitched without allowing an unearned run. In doing so, he broke his own major league record of 53 straight starts. In the game in which he broke his own record, he tied the American League record for extra-base hits allowed in a game with 10.During the prime of his career, Schilling was capable of reaching and sustaining speeds of 94-98 mph on his four-seam fastball. Throughout his career, he was characterized by a determination to go deep into ballgames, routinely pitching past the sixth and seventh innings. He combined his endurance with pinpoint control, especially on his fastball. Schilling's "out" pitch was a split-finger fastball, which he generally located beneath the strike zone (resulting in many swinging strikeouts). He also possessed an above-average changeup, a decent slider, and mixed in an occasional curveball, though he mainly alternated between his fastball and splitter. Though his velocity decreased in later years (to the 89-93 range on his fastball), his control remained excellent, and he is currently second in career strikeout to walk ratio.[Schilling campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2004, while certain members of the ownership of the Red Sox campaigned for the challenger, Senator John F. Kerry (D). Schilling said he was encouraged to run for Kerry's seat in the U.S. Senate in 2008 as a Republican (although he declined to say who had encouraged him) according to the Boston Herald. However, Schilling was quoted in The Boston Globe as saying that he intended to pitch in 2008, which would preclude a Senate run.[Schilling is a supporter of care for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) sufferers. His organization, Curt's Pitch for ALS, allows fans and organizations to sponsor him, donating to the ALS Association for every strikeout he throws. He also donated to the charity his $25,000 winnings in a celebrity version of Jeopardy! that originally aired on November 9, 2006. In the 2004 playoffs, after the operation on his ankle, Schilling wrote "K ALS" (short for "strike out ALS") on his shoe, knowing that the cameras would be focusing on his foot numerous times while he was pitching. He also does a weekly radio show with WEEI in Boston that raises over $100,000 each year for ALS patients and research.

Miguel Tejada

Miguel Odalis Tejada (born on May 25, 1974, in Baní, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants. He began his first six seasons of his career with the Oakland Athletics, where he began his streak of 1,152 consecutive games, that ended with the Baltimore Orioles on June 22, 2007. In 2002, he was awarded the AL MVP award, and he was the MVP of the 2005 All-Star Game. His nickname is "La Gua Gua" which means "the bus" in certain Spanish dialects, as Tejada is known to drive in runs. On February 11, 2009, he pleaded guilty to one count of perjury for lying to Congress in his testimony on whether or not Rafael Palmeiro lied about his steroid use. Tejada developed quickly into a top-notch prospect, showing early signs of power. He reached the Majors towards the end of the 1997 season, joining a struggling Oakland Athletics club. Though he only hit .202 in 26 games that year, the A's saw potential in the 23-year-old Tejada. This was bolstered by his performance with the Edmonton Trappers (AAA) in the Pacific Coast League during the season, and returning to the minors to lead the Trappers to a PCL championship that year. He was rewarded with the starting shortstop job beginning in 1998.

HR de Miguel Tejada en la Serie del Caribe Santiago 2008

Tejada's breakout year came in 2002. With the departure of Jason Giambi to the New York Yankees during the offseason, and a leg injury to slugger Jermaine Dye, the A's lost two of their key offensive players. Tejada hit .308 with 34 homers and led the A's to their second Western Division title in three years. Their campaign included an American League record 20 game winning-streak. Tejada contributed one-out, game-winning hits in the 18th and 19th games of that run: a three-run homer off Minnesota Twins closer Eddie Guardado for a 7-5 victory and a bases-loaded single against Kansas City Royals reliever Jason Grimsley to break a 6-6 tie. Tejada also showed modest speed on the basepaths with 18 steals over a two-year stretch. His performance was rewarded with the 2002 American League MVP award. For the third straight year, though, the A's fell in the fifth game of the ALDS, this time to the Minnesota Twins.By the end of the 2003 season, Tejada had established himself as one of baseball's premier shortstops. The A's elected not to re-sign the free agent, citing budget concerns and a young Bobby Crosby coming through the system, so Tejada signed a six-year, $72 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles during the offseason.Tejada scored his 1,000th career run on July 7, 2008, at PNC Park. In the 2008 All-Star Game Tejada singled leading off the top of the eighth stole second with one out and advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on Padres' first baseman Adrian Gonzalez"s sacrifice fly.Tejada signed a one year contract with the San Francisco Giants.

Miguel Tejada Best Performance

Miguel Tejada Serious Pose

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Miguel Tejada Poster

Miguel Tejada Catch The ball Perfectly