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Archive for the ‘Hall of Fame’ Category

Early Wynn Jr. was a popular right-hand baseball  pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Senators. He was introduced and became a part of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

During the entirety of his career, he established a presence of a hard-nosed pitcher who always gives blazing fastballs making him so intimidating all the batters feared him. Wynn was born in Hartford, Alabama and was introduced to the world of big leagues when he was just 19 when he started out with the Washington Senators.

With his retirement coming in 1963, he was the last major leaguer who still get to play regardless if he started in the 1930s. He also became the pitching coach of Sa, McDowell, Luis Tiant, Steve Hargan and Sonny Siebert.

Photo via baseball-almanac.com

Ashburn was the one who took over Harry ‘The Hat’ Walker’s position as the center fielder in 1948. He was known for his speed as he batted .333 and stolen bases with 32 and an amazing leadoff man. He may not have extreme power at all times, but he has a very keen eye which made him earn a lot of walks. He was traded to Chicago Cubs in the 1959 season and in 1962 became the original member of New York Mets.

It was in 1962 when he turned out to become a broadcaster for the Phillies and was a sports columnist for the Philadelphia newspaper from 1974 to 1991. He passed away due to a heart attack in New York.

Photo via hickoksports.com

Adrian Constantine Anson or more popularly known as Cap Anson was a professional player of baseball in both the Major League and the National Association. He was able to play for a total of 27 seasons and was hailed to be one of the greatest baseball players of his time.

He managed the New York Giants after his retirement as a player and left the Colts. He ran a few businesses in Chicago which included a billiards hall which ran a semi-professional baseball team called as Anson’s Colts. A lot of his business plans failed though which led him to bankruptcy.

He was included in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

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Known to be the legendary baseball manager, Sparky is one of the most popular managers in the entire baseball history. He started with the Cincinnati Reds and ended up with Detroit Tigers, all these from 1970 to 1995. Regardless of how tough the going was, he was able to lead these two teams to heights of success.

He was the only baseball manage to have won the World Series in the American League and the National League. He was also the first to win a hundred games in one season for both leagues. He is the ambassador for baseball and also a world renowned speaker.

Sparky is a philanthropist and the founder of CATCH, a charitable institution for underprivileged kids in Detroit. He started this in 1987.

Photo via baseballguru.com

Alston was just a boy when he discovered he was a pitcher and the nickname Smokey was what he earned for all his fastballs. He grew up very fond of basketball and baseball all throughout his educational years from gradeschool to college.

It was in 1954 when Smokey was promoted to become manager of the Dodgers. The Dodgers under Smokey’s management won the International League twice and finished in second place for the following year. From then on, success made up Alston’s trademark. He was voted manager of the year in years 1955, 1959 and 1963.

He died in Oxford, Ohio on October 1, 1984.

Photo via Britannica.com

Born In Mobile, Alabama, this former all time home run king of the baseball world, played as an outfielder for a total of 23 years for the Milwaukee Braves and Brewers. He is a world record holder for various baseball accomplishments including 2,297 batted runs, 1,477 extra base hits, 6,856 total bases and with more than thirty home runs. He also belongs in the list of top 5 career runs and hits.

His record for the most career home runs which reached 755 was beaten by Barry Bonds with 756 home runs on August 7 of 2007. In year 1999, in commemoration of the 25^th anniversary of Babe Ruth’s record being beaten by Hank, the Hank Aaron Award was presented by the Major League Baseball – a prestigious award that was given yearly by the best hitter in every league. In 2002, Hank Aaron was given the honor to be awarded with the Presidential Medal Freedom.

Photo via hankaaronbiography.com

Lou Gehrig aka “Iron Horse”, won the Triple Crown in 1934, leading the American League in batting average (.363), home runs (49), and runs batted in (RBIs; 165).

Lou sacrificed many body injuries to play the consecutive MLB games.  Not as popular as his teammate, Babe Ruth. Lou was a tremendous baseball player; from 1926 to 1938 he hit at least 100 runs for 13 straight seasons,.  He made an American League record of 184 RBIs and hit 493 home runs in 1931.

Unfortunately, in 1938, Lou Gehrig was too ill to play baseball.  He was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a deadly disease that affects the central nervous system.  Lou Gehrig has no choice but to retire from baseball. He was the first player to have the honorable rite of retiring his uniform number, 4 presented by the Yankees. Lou Gehrig was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.  And 2 years later, Lou Gehrig died of ALS at the age of 37.  A movie was made in memory of the great player, his life story entitled “The Pride of the Yankees”.

(Photo via repairstemcell.wordpress.org)

Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson was an exceptionally talented and disciplined baseball hitter, with a career average of .317. He was known as the most aggressive and successful base runner of his era. But these statistic achievements were not the real reason for his significance. In 1947, Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers. As the first black man to openly play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated African-Americans to the Negro leagues for six decades.

In 1999, he was named by Time magazine on its list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Also in 1999, he ranked number 44 on the Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team as the top vote-getter among second basemen.

Jackie Robinson did it all. He scared the pitchers, rattled the fielders, broke the batting record books but most importantly he opened the doors for the blacks in Major League Baseball. Baseball was a sport that was run by the Whites and played by the Whites, this had changed forever.

In 1962, Jackie Robinson was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Jackie Robinson died at the premature age of 53 in 1972. After his death the Jackie Robinson Foundation was instituted. It provides scholarships to 141 students annually who are sent to more than 60 colleges all over the country.

Does the name “George Herman Ruth, Jr.” ring a bell? Or should I say “Babe” Ruth. For those who haven’t known, Ruth was regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American Culture and has been named as the greatest baseball player in history. Also known as “the Bambino” and “the Sultan of Swat”, He played in American Major League Baseball from 1914-1935. Ruth Started as a Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and later on joined New York Yankees as a full-time right fielder. He became one of the league’s most productive hitters and won seven pennants and four World Series titles with the Yankees. His home run hitting prowess and enigmatic personality made him a baseball celebrity in the Roaring Twenties. Ruth retired in 1936 and became one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In a 1999 ESPN poll, he was ranked as the third-greatest US athlete of the century, behind Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. The name Babe Ruth will forever be remembered as the supreme baseball player in the Professional League

MLB, it’s not just a game. Major league Baseball donated $1 million thru UNICEF to help children in Haiti. “Major League Baseball believes it is crucial to help the Haitian community in this time of need,” Selig said. “It is difficult for us to imagine the catastrophic toll this earthquake has taken on the people of Haiti, a land not far from the United States. We hope this contribution will help aid in the relief efforts and we encourage our fans to make a donation as well. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all who have been affected by this unimaginable natural disaster.” This is an extension of MLB’s “Going Beyond” effort on behalf of its 30 clubs. They are also encouraging concerned citizens to visit the UNICEF website.
The Yankees also donated $500,000 in support to relief efforts. “The catastrophic event has devastated an entire nation and will have far-reaching effects in the worldwide Haitian community,” the Yankees said in a statement. “The Yankees hope their donation will inspire people throughout the United States to do everything they can to aid the people of Haiti in their time of need.”
Free-agent infielder Miguel Tejada, another Dominican native is preparing a container van with supplies needed for aid. He’s also encouraging all of his MLB colleagues, particularly Dominicans, to step up and help the victims.