History of Baseball

By Padraic Haggerty

The game of baseball was invented by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, New York in 1839. Cooperstown, New York is the location of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. In 1876, the National League was founded. In 1901, the American League was founded and Nap Lajoie won the Triple Crown with a .426 average with 14 home runs and 125 runs batted in. In 1903, Major League Baseball had its first ever World Series (also known as the Fall Classic) and it was played a best of 5 wins out of 9 games between the Boston Red Sox (then known as the Boston Americans) and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boston beat Pittsburgh in the series 5 games to 3. Unfortunately, there was no World Series in 1904. In 1905, baseball had its second ever World Series but it was a best of 4 wins out of 7 games and it was between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics. New York beat Philadelphia in the series 4 games to 1. In 1906, the Chicago Cubs set a regular season record by winning 116 games but lost the World Series in 6 games against their interleague rivals, the Chicago White Sox. In 1907, the Chicago Cubs won their first ever World Series title by sweeping the Detroit Tigers. In 1908, the Chicago Cubs won their second ever World Series title by beating the Detroit Tigers in 5 games and the Cubs during that era had the famous double play combination, Tinker to Evers to Chance and a pitching staff that was led by Mordecai Brown (nicknamed Three Finger because of 2 of his fingers being cut off by a corn chopper at his uncle's farm) who won 29 games that season and during those days, the Cubs did not play in Wrigley Field. They played at the West Side Grounds. In 1909, Ty Cobb (the guy who is nicknamed the Georgia Peach and always spiked the catcher while sliding into home) won the Triple Crown with a .377 average with 9 home runs and 107 runs batted in and the Pittsburgh Pirates won their first ever World Series title by beating the Detroit Tigers in 7 games.

In 1910, during a Washington Senators Opening Day game at Griffith Stadium, William Howard Taft became the first president to throw out the first pitch and the Chicago Cubs won their fourth ever National League pennant but lost the World Series in 7 games against the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1911, Shoeless Joe Jackson batted .408 with 233 hits in 147 games for the Cleveland Indians (then known as the Cleveland Naps). He was nicknamed Shoeless Joe because he once played a games in just his socks while he was playing for Greenville in the minor leagues and Ty Cobb called him the greatest left fielder of all time and Shoeless Joe's glove was the place where triples went to die and Ty Cobb won the first American League MVP award and Frank Schulte of the Chicago Cubs won the first National League MVP award. In 1912, the Boston Red Sox won their second ever World Series title and their first ever as the Boston Red Sox by beating the New York Giants in 7 games and played their first season at Fenway Park and the Detroit Tigers played their first season at Tiger Stadium (then known as Navin Field). In 1913, the New York Giants were in the World Series again but lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in 7 games. In 1914, Babe Ruth played his first season the major leagues for the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Athletics won their second straight American League pennant but got swept in the World Series in 4 games by the Boston Braves and Wrigley Field began to be constructed. In 1915, the Boston Red Sox won their third ever World Series title by beating the Philadelphia Phillies who had their first ever World Series appearance that year in 5 games. In 1916, Harry Frazee bought the Boston Red Sox and then won the World Series again by beating the Brooklyn Dodgers (then known as the Brooklyn Robins) in 5 games and Babe Ruth got his first chance that year to pitch in the World Series and pitched 29 ⅔ consecutive scoreless World Series innings during the Red Sox's greatest years and the Chicago Cubs played their first season at Wrigley Field (then known as Cubs Park). In 1917, the Chicago White Sox won their second World Series title by beating the New York Giants in 6 games. In 1918, Babe Ruth became an outfielder and the Red Sox let him play outfield on the days he would not pitch and then hit 11 home runs and the Boston Red Sox won their fifth World Series title and their first ever at Fenway Park by

beating the Chicago Cubs in 6 games. In 1919, Babe Ruth set a home run record of 29 home runs and the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series in 8 games against the Cincinnati Reds and then the commissioner of baseball banned 8 of the players including the great Shoeless Joe Jackson for life even though Shoeless Joe Jackson batted .375 in the series, committed 2 errors, and had 12 hits including the series' only home run. In December 1919, the Boston Red Sox owner, Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 and it started “The Curse of the Bambino”.  In 1920, baseball had its first fatality that ended the dead ball era. As a result, the Indians were in New York with Carl Mays on the mound who threw high and inside to the Cleveland Indians' shortstop, Ray Chapman and the ball hit him in the temple and then he died the next morning. After that, baseball got its first ever real ball with a white leather cover stitched with red thread and then the era of the home run hitter began and Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs and set a single season slugging percentage record of .847. However, the Cleveland Indians won the World Series that year by beating the Brooklyn Robins 5 games to 2. In 1921, Babe Ruth hit 59 home runs and then the Yankees won their first ever American League pennant but lost to the World Series 5 games to 3 against the New York Giants. In 1922, Rogers Hornsby won his first Triple Crown with a .401 average with 42 home runs and 152 run batted in and the Yankees were in the World Series again but got swept in 4 games by the New York Giants. In 1923, the New York Yankees went to the Bronx to play their first season at Yankee Stadium which became the first triple deck park and the first structure to be called a stadium so that all the fans can watch Babe Ruth and it was the rookie year for Lou Gehrig (nicknamed “The Iron Horse”) and then in the first ever game at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees played the Red Sox and the Yankees beat them 4-1 with a game winning 3 run home run by Babe Ruth who hit 41 home runs in the season. After that, Yankee Stadium was nicknamed, "The House That Ruth Built" and then the New York Yankees won their first ever World Series title by beating the New York Giants in 6 games. In 1924, the Washington Senators won their first and only World Series title by beating the New York Giants in 7 games and the seventh game ended in the 12th inning with the ball hitting a pebble for a bad hop to Giants' infielder, Freddie Lindstrom. In 1925, Rogers Hornsby won his second Triple Crown with .403 average with 39 home runs and 143 runs batted in and the Washington Senators won their second straight pennant but lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 7 games. In 1926, Babe Ruth set a record for a number of home runs in World Series game (3) but the Yankees lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. In 1927, Cubs Park became Wrigley Field and Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs for the Yankees and Lou Gehrig finished with 47 and the Yankees won 110 games during the regular season and then the Yankees swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. In 1928, Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs for the Yankees again and then the Yankees won the World Series again by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1929, baseball began to have numbers on the backs of all of the team's uniforms and the Chicago Cubs went to the World Series again but lost in 5 games to the Philadelphia Athletics.

In 1930, the Philadelphia Athletics won the World Series again by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games. In 1931, the Philadelphia Athletics played the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series again but they lost in 7 games. In 1932, Jimmie Foxx (nicknamed Double X) hit 58 home runs for the Philadelphia Athletics. On October 1, 1932, during the third game of the World Series, in the top of the 5th inning at Wrigley Field, Babe Ruth pointed to the center field bleachers after taking 2 strikes with Charlie Root on the mound and then hit a home run exactly where he pointed and it was known as “The Called Shot” and then the Yankees went on to sweep the Cubs in the World Series. In 1933, Jimmie Foxx won the American League Triple Crown with a .356 average with 48 home runs and 163 runs batted in and Chuck Klein won the National League Triple Crown with a .368 average with 28 home runs and 120 runs batted in and baseball had its first ever All Star Game (also known as the Midsummer Classic) and it was played at Comiskey Park and Babe Ruth it the first ever All Star Game home run and the New York Giants won the World Series again by beating the Washington Senators in 5 games. In 1934, during the All-Star

Game, Carl Hubbell struck out five of baseball's best hitters which were Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin and it was Babe Ruth’s final season with the Yankees and Lou Gehrig won the Triple Crown with a .363 average with 49 home runs and 165 runs batted in and the All-Star Game was at the Polo Grounds and the Detroit Tigers were back in the World Series but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. In 1935, Babe Ruth played his final major league season but was with the Boston Braves and the All-Star Game was at Cleveland Municipal Stadium and the Detroit Tigers won their first ever World Series title by beating the Chicago Cubs in 6 games. In 1936, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Honus Wagner became the first 5 Hall of Fame inductees and the All Star Game was at National League Park which was home of the Boston Bees and then the Yankees won their first ever World Series title without Babe Ruth by beating the New York Giants in 6 games. In 1937, Joe Medwick won the Triple Crown with a .374 average with 31 home runs and 154 runs batted in and the New York Yankees won their sixth World Series title by beating the New York Giants in 5 games. In 1938, Hank Greenberg hit 58 home runs for the Detroit Tigers and the Yankees won their seventh World Series title by sweeping the Chicago Cubs. In 1939, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio began their careers in the major leagues and the Yankees won their eighth World Championship and their fourth consecutive by sweeping the Cincinnati Reds and during July, Lou Gehrig gave a farewell speech and said "Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth”. At the end of Lou Gehrig’s career, he played 2,130 consecutive games.  In 1940, the Cincinnati Reds won their second World Series Championship by beating the Detroit Tigers in 7 games.  In 1941, Ted Williams batted .406 to become the last player to bat .400 in a full season and Joe DiMaggio had a 56 game hitting streak and the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series in 5 games. In 1942, Ted Williams won his first Triple Crown with a .356 average with 36 home runs and 137 runs batted in and the Yankees won a second straight American League pennant again but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in 5 games. In 1943, the New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series in 5 games. In 1944, the St. Louis Browns won their first ever American League pennant but lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games. In 1945, the Chicago Cubs won their first National League pennant since 1935 but lost the World Series in 7 games to the Detroit Tigers and there was a fan named William Sianis who owned the Billy Goat Tavern and brought his pet goat named Murphy during Game 4 at Wrigley Field and it was called “The Curse of the Billy Goat”. In 1946, the Boston Red Sox won their first American League pennant since 1918 but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. In 1947, Ted Williams won his second Triple Crown with a .343 average with 32 home runs and 114 runs batted in and Jackie Robinson began to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first African American to play in the major leagues and the date of his debut was April 15, 1947 and he became the first player to win the Rookie of the Year Award and then Jackie Robinson helped them get to the World Series but they lost to the New York Yankees in 7 games. In 1948, the Boston Braves won their first National League pennant since their first and only World Championship in 1914 but they lost to the Cleveland Indians in 6 games and Gene Bearden became the first ever knuckleball pitcher to start a World Series game. Alvin Dark won the Rookie of the Year Award. In 1949, the New York Yankees won the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers again in 5 games. Roy Sievers won the first American League Rookie of the Year Award and Don Newcombe won the first National League Rookie of the Year Award.   In 1950, the Philadelphia Phillies (then also known as The Whiz Kids) won their first National League pennant since 1915 but got swept by the New York Yankees. In 1951, in the bottom of the 9th inning in a one game playoff game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, The Dodgers were leading 4-2 with Ralph Branca on the mound with 2 out and 2 men on base and Bobby Thomson hit a game winning home run to win the National League pennant for the Giants 5-4 and it was known as “The Shot Heard 'Round the World” and on deck was Willie Mays but the Giants lost the World Series to the

Yankees in 6 games and it was Joe DiMaggio's final major league season and Gil McDougald was the American League Rookie of the Year Award winner and the Rookie of the Year of the National League was Willie Mays. In 1952, the Yankees became the second Yankees team to win 4 consecutive World Series Championships by beating the Dodgers in 7 games. In 1953, the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee to become the Milwaukee Braves and the New York Yankees became the first team ever to win 5 straight World Series titles by beating the Dodgers in 6 games. In 1954, the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Orioles and Hank Aaron played his first major league season for the Milwaukee Braves and during the first game of the World Series, Willie Mays made an unbelievable basket catch on the long fly ball hit by Vic Wertz and it was known as “The Catch” and then the Giants went on to sweep the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series. In 1955, the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City to become the Kansas City Athletics and the Brooklyn Dodgers won their first ever World Series title by beating the New York Yankees in 7 games and during the first game, Jackie Robinson stole home and Johnny Podres won the first World Series MVP award. In 1956, during Game 5 of the World Series, Don Larsen threw the first and only World Series perfect game and then went on to beat the Dodgers in 7 games and behind the plate during that perfect game was Yogi Berra who won the most World Championships as a player (10) and Mickey Mantle won the Triple Crown by batting .353 with 52 home runs and 130 runs batted in and Don Larsen was the MVP of the series. Don Newcombe that season won baseball’s first ever Cy Young Award. The American League MVP was Mickey Mantle and the MVP of the National League was Don Newcombe. In 1957, the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series for the first time since 1914 when they were the Boston Braves by beating the New York Yankees in 7 games and the MVP of the series was Lew Burdette. Mickey Mantle won the American League MVP Award again and the MVP of the National League was Hank Aaron. In 1958, the Milwaukee Braves played the New York Yankees in the World Series again but lost to them in 7 games and the MVP of the series was Bob Turley and the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco to become the San Francisco Giants. In 1959, the Dodgers won their first ever World Series title as the Los Angeles Dodgers by beating the Chicago White Sox in 6 games and it was the White Sox’s first appearance in the World Series since 1919 and the MVP of the series was Larry Sherry.   In 1960, The Washington Senators moved to Minnesota to become the Minnesota Twins and Ted Williams played his last major league season and hit a home run in his final major league at bat and the Yankees went back to the World Series but lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 7 games and manager Casey Stengel got fired at age 70 and Bill Mazeroski won the World Series for the Pirates in Game 7 10-9 by hitting the first ever home run to end a World Series and the MVP of the series was Bobby Richardson. In 1961, the Los Angeles Angels became baseball's first expansion team and during their first ever game, Ty Cobb threw out the first pitch and during a game at Griffith Stadium, John F. Kennedy threw out the first pitch during Opening Day and Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record by hitting 61 home runs and Mickey Mantle finished with 54 and then the Yankees went on to win the World Series by beating the Cincinnati Reds in 5 games and the MVP of the series was Whitey Ford and Roger Maris became the American League MVP and the National League MVP was Frank Robinson. In 1962, the Los Angeles Angels moved to Anaheim to become the California Angels and New York had a new baseball team in the National League which was an expansion team combined with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants and they called them the New York Mets and there was another expansion team called the Houston Colt .45’s and Maury Wills and Leon Wagner won the first All Star Game MVP Awards and one All Star Game was played at RFK Stadium (then known as D.C. Stadium) and the other one was at Wrigley Field and the Los Angeles Dodgers played their first season at Dodger Stadium and the San Francisco Giants won their first National League pennant as the San Francisco Giants but lost to the New York Yankees in 7 games and Whitey Ford broke the consecutive scoreless World Series innings record by pitching 33 consecutive scoreless World Series innings and the MVP of the series was

Ralph Terry. In 1963, the St. Louis Cardinals became the first ever major league team to start their entire starting infield in an All Star Game and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series title as the Los Angeles Dodgers by sweeping the New York Yankees and the MVP of the series was Sandy Koufax. In 1964, the New York Mets played their first season at Shea Stadium and on Father's Day, Jim Bunning threw the first perfect game in Phillies history and the Phillies were also beaten one game with a no hitter by Sandy Koufax tying Bob Feller for most no hitters (3) and on September 21st, the Phillies had a 5 ½ game lead over the Cincinnati Reds but then ended the season with 10 straight losses and the New York Yankees were in the World Series for the fifth straight year but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games and Mickey Mantle set a record for the most career World Series home runs (18) and the MVP of the series was Bob Gibson. In 1965, the Houston Colt 45's played their first season at the Astrodome which was Major League Baseball's first domed stadium and became the Houston Astros and Sandy Koufax broke Bob Feller's no hitter record of 3 by throwing 4 no hitters and his fourth no hitter was a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs and it was the eighth major league perfect game and the Dodgers won the World Series again by beating the Minnesota Twins in 7 games and Sandy Koufax was the MVP of the series again. In 1966, Frank Robinson won the American League MVP Award to become the only player to win an MVP Award in both leagues and the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta to become the Atlanta Braves and the Baltimore Orioles won their first ever World Series title by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers and Frank Robinson was the MVP of the series and he also won the Triple Crown with a .316 average with 49 home runs and 122 runs batted in. In 1967, Carl Yastrzemski became the last player to win the Triple Crown in the 20th century with a .326 average with 44 home runs and 121 runs batted in and the Boston Red Sox won their first American League pennant since 1946 but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games again with Jim Lonborg trying to beat Bob Gibson who was the World Series MVP again. In 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland to become the Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers won their third World Series title by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games and the MVP of the series was Mickey Lolich. In 1969, Major League Baseball had 4 more expansion teams which were the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Pilots, the San Diego Padres, and the Montreal Expos who were the first canadian team in the major leagues and baseball began the divisional era and the Chicago Cubs held an 8 game lead over the Mets but then a fan threw a black cat onto the field and then the Cubs all the games and then the New York Mets won their first ever World Series title by beating the Baltimore Orioles in 5 games and the MVP of the series was Donn Clendenon.

In 1970, the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to become the Milwaukee Brewers and Ernie Banks (nicknamed Mr. Cub) hit his 500th major league home run for the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates played the first half of their season as the last season at Forbes Field and moved to Three Rivers Stadium in the second half of the season and the Baltimore Orioles won their second World Series title by beating the Cincinnati Reds in 5 games and the MVP of the series was Brooks Robinson. In 1971, Joe Torre won the National League MVP and the new Washington Senators moved to Arlington, Texas to become the Texas Rangers and the Philadelphia Phillies played their first season at Veterans Stadium and Rick Wise threw a no hitter against the Cincinnati Reds and hit 2 home runs during it and the Baltimore Orioles won their second straight American League pennant but lost the World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 7 games and the MVP of the series was Roberto Clemente. In 1972, Milt Pappas of the Chicago Cubs threw the last Wrigley Field no hitter of the 20th century and Steve Carlton (nicknamed Lefty) won his first Cy Young Award for the Philadelphia Phillies with a 27-10 record with 310 strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.97 and during the second game of the World Series, Jackie Robinson threw out the first pitch 10 days before his death and the Athletics won their first ever World Series title as the Oakland Athletics by beating the Cincinnati Reds in 7 games and the MVP of the series was Gene Tenace and Jackie Robinson during one of the World Series games threw out the first pitch 10 days before his death. In 1973, George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees for $8.7 million and was the first MLB team owner to embrace free agency and the American League began to allow designated hitters and the New

York Mets won their second National League pennant but lost to the Oakland Athletics in 7 games and the MVP of the series Reggie Jackson. In 1974, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record of 714 home runs by hitting home run number 715 and the Oakland Athletics won their third straight World Series title by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games and the MVP of the series was Rollie Fingers. In 1975, the Boston Red Sox won their first American League pennant since 1967 but lost to the Cincinnati Reds in 7 games and in Game 6 at Fenway Park in the bottom of the 12th, Carlton Fisk hit a game winning home run by waving it fair and the Red Sox won the game 7-6 but they lost Game 7 with Carl Yastrzemski flying out to Cesar Geronimo for the last out and the MVP of the series was Pete Rose and Frank Robinson became the manager of the Cleveland Indians to become the first African American major league manager. In 1976, the New York Yankees won their first American League pennant since 1964 by beating the Kansas City Royals in 5 games with a Chris Chambliss game winning home run but got swept by the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series and the MVP of the series was Johnny Bench and it was the first time that Major League Baseball allowed designated hitters in the World Series and the Reds’ pennant was against the Philadelphia Phillies who won 101 games during the regular season and were the first Phillies team to win 100 games in a season. In 1977, there were another 2 expansion teams which were the second canadian major league club, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners and the Phillies won 101 games during the regular season again but lost the NLCS to the Dodgers and during Game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, Reggie Jackson hit three home runs by hitting three straight off of three different pitchers and his third home run was 475 feet and then the Yankees went on to beat the Dodgers in 6 games. After that 3 homer game by Reggie Jackson, he was nicknamed "Mr. October" and then he won his second World Series MVP. In 1978, Tom Seaver threw his first and only major league no hitter and the Phillies went to their third straight NLCS but lost to the Dodgers again and during the American League East playoff game between the Yankees and the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Bucky Dent hit a homerun over the Green Monster to win the game for the Yankees and then the Yankees won their 22nd World Series title by beating the Dodgers in 6 games again and the MVP of the series was Bucky Dent. Unfortunately, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner was not satisfied and he kept tinkering with his team and feuding with his best players and casting them off quickly because of them not performing high enough to his expectations and was constantly interfering with his managers and replaced them 17 times during his first 17 years as owner of the Yankees including former Yankee second baseman Billy Martin being hired and fired as the Yankees' manager 5 times and then Steinbrenner became baseball's most hated man since the Brooklyn Dodgers owner, Walter O'Malley when he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles, California. In 1979, the Baltimore Orioles played the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series again but lost to them in 7 games and the Pirates that year became the first all African American major league club and the first major league team to win a World Series by coming from behind a 3-1 deficit and the MVP of the series was Willie Stargell.   In 1980, the Philadelphia Phillies won their first National League pennant since 1950 by beating the Houston Astros in 5 games and they won their ever World Series title by beating the Kansas City Royals in 6 games and the second out in the top of the 9th was a foul pop up by Frank White to Bob Boone who bobbled the ball into the glove of first baseman, Pete Rose and for the final out, Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson on a 1-2 pitch with bases loaded and the MVP of the series was Mike Schmidt (nicknamed Schmitty) who was also voted the MVP in the National League and Schmidt lead the Phillies and the National League in home runs (48) and runs batted in (121) and Steve Carlton was the National League Cy Young Award winner and he was 24-9 with 286 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.34. The American League MVP was Royals infielder George Brett. In 1981, Nolan Ryan broke Sandy Koufax's no hitter record with a 5th major league no hitter. Steve Carlton won another Cy Young Award for the Phillies and the New York Yankees played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series again but lost to them in 6 games and there were 3 World Series MVP’s which were Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager. In 1982, Rollie Fingers became the first pitcher to record 300 career saves and Rickey Henderson stole 130 bases

and Steve Carlton won his third Cy Young Award for the Phillies and the Minnesota Twins played their first season at the Metrodome and the Milwaukee Brewers won their first American League pennant but lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games and the MVP of the series was Darrell Porter. In 1983, at Yankee Stadium between the Yankees and Royals, George Brett got a disqualified home run because of a pine tar incident and the Baltimore Orioles won their third World Series title by beating the Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games and the MVP of the series was Rick Dempsey. In 1984, the Chicago Cubs appeared in their first ever National League Championship Series but lost to the San Diego Padres in 5 games and then the Detroit Tigers won their fourth ever World Series title by beating the San Diego Padres in 5 games and the MVP of the series was Alan Trammell. In 1985, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's all-time hits record with career hit number 4,192 and the Kansas City Royals won their first ever World Series title by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games by coming from behind a 3-1 deficit and the MVP of the series Bret Saberhagen and the All Star Game was at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and Dave Parker of the Cincinnati Reds won the first ever Home Run Derby and the All Star Game MVP was LaMarr Hoyt. In 1986, at a game at Fenway Park between the Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners, Roger Clemens became the first pitcher to strike out 20 batters in a game and the All Star Game was at the Astrodome and the MVP was Roger Clemens and there were 2 Home Run Derby winners which were Wally Joyner and Darryl Strawberry and the Red Sox won their first American League pennant since 1975 by beating the California Angels in 7 games but when the Red Sox were one out away in Game 6 of the World Series in the bottom of the 10th inning up by 2 runs against the Mets at Shea Stadium, the Mets came from behind ending the game with infamous error with a ground ball hit by Mookie Wilson going in between Bill Buckner's legs and Ray Knight scored the winning run and then the Mets won Game 7 to win the World Series and the MVP of the series was Ray Knight. In 1987, at a game at Three Rivers Stadium between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies with Don Robinson on the mound, Mike Schmidt hit his 500th career home run and the All Star Game was at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and the MVP was Tim Raines and the Home Run Derby winner was Andre Dawson and Catfish Hunter got elected into the Hall of Fame and the Minnesota Twins won their first ever World Series title by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games and the MVP of the series was Frank Viola and Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs was voted the National League's Most Valuable Player and Steve Bedrosian became the first closer in Phillies history to win a National League Cy Young Award and he led the National League with 40 saves and Mark McGwire won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and set a new rookie single season home run record by hitting 49 home runs and the Rookie of the Year in the National League was Benito Santiago. The National League MVP was Andre Dawson and the American League MVP was George Bell. In 1988, Goose Gossage became the second player in major league history to save 300 career games and Jose Canseco became the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season and the Chicago Cubs played their first ever night game at Wrigley Field. During Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium with 2 outs, a full count, and Mike Davis on second as the tying run, and Steve Sax on deck, and Dennis Eckersley on the mound, the Dodgers were trailing the Athletics 4-3 and the injured player, Kirk Gibson hit a game winning home run to win the game for the Dodgers 5-4 and there was also a game winning homerun in the third game in Oakland by Mark McGwire. After that, the Dodgers went on to win the World Series by beating the Athletics in 5 games and the MVP of the series was the Dodgers' ace pitcher, Orel Hershiser. In 1989, the Toronto Blue Jays played their first season at Rogers Centre (then known as the SkyDome) and the Chicago Cubs made the National League Championship Series for the third time but lost to the San Francisco Giants in 5 games and the Oakland Athletics won their fourth World Series title by sweeping the San Francisco Giants and they were the first team to sweep a World Series since 1976 and the MVP of the series was Dave Stewart. Also, Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers won his second MVP award and became the the third player to win two MVP awards while playing different positions, after Hank Greenberg and Stan Musial. Also, during the late 1980's, while Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco were with Oakland, they were known as the Bash Brothers and during a game in Toronto in the American

League Championship Series, Jose Canseco hit an upper deck home run into the fifth deck and Bo Jackson became the first player to hit an All Star Game home run as a member of the Kansas City Royals and was the All Star Game MVP and the All Star Game was at Anaheim Stadium and the Home Run Derby winner was Eric Davis.  In 1990, Barry Bonds won his first MVP award and hit 33 home runs and stole 52 bases and led the Pirates to its first ever division title since 1979 and then they won 2 more division titles in 1991 and 1992 but failed to reach the World Series each time and Terry Mulholland threw the first Phillies no hitter at any home stadium in Phillies history and it was at Veterans Stadium against the Giants and Yankee owner, George Steinbrenner was suspended from being the team owner of the New York Yankees because of buying up expensive free agents and trading their prospects away and driving up salaries and paying for a small time hustler for damaging the efforts of one the Yankees’ best players, Dave Winfield and Ken Griffey and his son, Ken Griffey, Jr. became the only father and son to play on the same MLB team and they were with the Seattle Mariners and they hit back to back home runs in a game against the California Angels. Before the event he had with his dad, he robbed a home run from Jesse Barfield by climbing the left center field wall in Death Valley in Yankee Stadium and the All-Star Game was at Wrigley Field and the Home Run Derby winner was Ryne Sandberg and the MVP was Julio Franco. Also, the Cincinnati Reds won their first World Series title since 1976 by sweeping the Oakland Athletics and the MVP of the series was Jose Rijo. In 1991, Robby Thompson became the first Giants player to hit for the cycle and during a game at Wrigley Field, Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs got thrown out of the game and then threw bats out of the Cubs' dugout and the Chicago White Sox moved to a new stadium, Guaranteed Rate Field (then known as Comiskey Park) and Ken Griffey, Jr. crashed into an outfield wall to rob a hit from Ruben Sierra and Rickey Henderson stole his 939th career base to break Lou Brock's all time stolen bases record and Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers threw his seventh major league no hitter and the All Star Game was at the SkyDome and the Home Run Derby winner was Cal Ripken, Jr. Also, the Minnesota Twins won their second World Series title by beating the Atlanta Braves in 7 games including a catch by Kirby Puckett  to rob a home run from Ron Gant in the top of the 3rd and a Kirby Puckett walk off home run in the bottom of the 11th to win 4-3 in Game 6 and a walk off single in the bottom of the 10th by Gene Larkin to drive in Dan Gladden to win 1-0 in Game 7 and they were the first ever major league team to win a World Series a year after finishing dead last and the MVP of the series was Jack Morris. In 1992, Rickey Henderson became the first player ever to steal 1,000 career bases and Ozzie Smith won his 13th ever and 13th consecutive Gold Glove Award and Dennis Eckersley won the American League Cy Young Award and the National League Cy Young Award winner was Greg Maddux and Mickey Morandini of the Philadelphia Phillies completed the ninth unassisted triple play since 1901 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles played their first season at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the All Star Game was at Jack Murphy Stadium and the Home Run Derby winner was Mark McGwire and the MVP was Ken Griffey, Jr. During Game 7 of the National League Championship Series in Atlanta between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves, the Pirates lead the Braves 2-1 with 2 outs and bases loaded but pinch hitter Francisco Cabrera who only had 11 at bats during the regular season drove in 2 runs on a single and the tying run was David Justice and the winning run was Sid Bream who was hobbled by 5 knee surgeries but scored by beating a throw to home by Pittsburgh left fielder, Barry Bonds and then Bonds went to his father, Bobby Bonds' old team, the San Francisco Giants and he wore his dad’s old number, 25 and Bobby returned as first base coach and hitting coach and the World Series became the first international World Series in Major League Baseball history and the Toronto Blue Jays won their first World Series title beating the Atlanta Braves in 6 games and the MVP of the series was Pat Borders. In 1993, George Brett played his last major league season and there were 2 expansion teams which were the Florida Marlins and the Colorado Rockies and the All Star Game was at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the MVP was Kirby Puckett and the Home Run Derby winner was Juan Gonzalez and the Philadelphia Phillies won their first National League pennant since 1983 by beating the Atlanta Braves in

6 games but lost the World Series in 6 games to the Toronto Blue Jays while the Phillies were leading 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th in Game 6 when Mitch Williams gave up a 3 run walk off home run to Joe Carter and the MVP of the series was Paul Molitor. In 1994, the Indians played their first season at Progressive Field (then known as Jacobs Field) and the Rangers played their first season at Globe Life Park in Arlington (then known as The Ballpark in Arlington) and Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers threw the 14th perfect game in major league history and the All Star Game was at Three Rivers Stadium and Ken Griffey Jr. was the Home Run Derby winner and the MVP was Fred McGriff but baseball had no postseason for the first time since 1904 because of a strike even though the Montreal Expos looked like the next baseball dynasty along with Moises Alou, Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, Rondell White, Cliff Floyd, Pedro Martinez, and John Wetteland and they were led by their manager who is Moises Alou’s dad, Felipe Alou and Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres was on a pace to becoming the first player to have a .400 batting average in a full season since Ted Williams when he hit .406 in 1941 but finished with a batting average of .394 and Matt Williams of the San Francisco Giants had a furious home run pace and was close to break Roger Maris’ single season of 61 home runs but finished with 43 and the baseball season got suspended in August and had no postseason for the first time since 1904 and after the strike, at Shea Stadium, fans climbed onto the field to toss dollar bills at the Mets’ players and fans threw baseballs, bottles and cans, hubcaps, and lighters onto the field in Detroit. In 1995, the All Star Game was at The Ballpark in Arlington and the MVP was Jeff Conine and Greg Maddux became the first pitcher to win a fourth consecutive Cy Young Award and Cal Ripken, Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played and Cal Ripken Jr.’s record was 2,632 consecutive games played and the New York Yankees made it to the postseason for the first time since 1981 but lost in the first round in 5 games to the Seattle Mariners and during the fifth game, Ken Griffey, Jr. scored the winning run during the fifth game in Seattle on a walk off RBI double by Edgar Martinez and it was Don Mattingly’s last major league season and during Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, Ken Griffey, Jr. hit two home runs off of David Cone in his postseason debut and Jim Leyritz hit a game winning 2 run home run to give the Yankees a 7-5 victory in 15 innings and after the Yankees made it to the postseason, George Steinbrenner got reinstated to own the Yankees and after the Yankees did not make it to the World Series, he replaced their general manager, Gene Michael and fired their manager, Buck Showalter and the Atlanta Braves won their first ever World Series title as the Atlanta Braves by beating the Cleveland Indians in 6 games and the MVP of the series was Tom Glavine and in Game 6, the final score was 1-0 Braves with a solo home run in the bottom of the 6th inning by David Justice and the Indians’ pennant was won in 6 games against the Seattle Mariners and it was the Indians' first time they won an American League pennant since 1954 and they had Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, David Bell, Dave Winfield, Tony Pena, Sandy Alomar, Jr. (the brother of Roberto Alomar), Kenny Lofton, Jeromy Burnitz, Eddie Murray (the MLB player that got signed out of high school to MLB Baseball, NBA Basketball, and NFL Football which was known as a triple threat), Omar Vizquel, and Cal Ripken Jr's brother, Billy Ripken. The Indians' pitching staff included Dennis Martinez, Alan Embree, John Farrell, Orel Hershiser, and Jason Grimsley. The Braves' pitching rotation included Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz and their closer was Mark Wohlers. Also, the Braves were the first team ever to win the World Series in three different cities. In 1996, Pete Incaviglia of the Philadelphia Phillies hit the second longest home run off of Al Leiter at Sun Life Stadium (then known as Pro Player Stadium) and it was 482 feet and Paul Molitor became the first player to hit a triple to join the 3,000 hit club and Garret Anderson became the first Angels player to collect six hits in a single game and Roger Clemens had another 20 strikeout game but it was against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium and the All Star Game was at Veterans Stadium and the MVP was Mike Piazza and the Home Run Derby winner was Barry Bonds and Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers threw the first no hitter at Coors Field and was the first Japanese pitcher to throw a no hitter and Joe Torre had his first season as manager for the New York Yankees but at first when they decided to give him a chance, the New York Daily News called him “Clueless Joe” and then asked “What is a nice fellow like Torre doing in a place like this?” because of him never being in the World Series as a

player or a manager and before he managed the New York Yankees, he played for the Mets, the Braves, and the Cardinals and before he managed those three teams, he played for them and when he managed them he only had five winning seasons in 14 seasons as a manager and never reached the World Series and his career as a player was 17 seasons as a catcher and an infielder. Tino Martinez became their new first baseman to replace all time Yankee first baseman, Don Mattingly and the Yankees included Paul O'Neill, Jorge Posada, Joe Girardi, Charlie Hayes, Tim Raines, Wade Boggs, Cecil Fielder, Jim Leyritz, Darryl Strawberry, and Derek Jeter who is also the guy who dreamed of playing for the Yankees ever since the third grade. The pitching staff included Kenny Rogers, Jimmy Key, Jim Mecir, Andy Pettitte, David Cone, Dwight Gooden, and Mariano Rivera and John Wetteland was the closer. Also, the Yankees beat the Orioles in 5 games to win their first American League pennant since 1981 and it was the first time that Joe Torre went to the World Series and they faced one of Joe Torre's old teams, the Atlanta Braves. In the first game of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, the Braves beat the Yankees 12-1 and it was the worst World Series game loss in Yankee history and then Greg Maddux easily beat the Yankees 4-0 in Game 2 and the Yankees won all three games in Atlanta and Game 4 became the longest game in World Series history and then the Yankees won Game 5 1-0. In Game 6 at Yankee Stadium, while the Yankees were leading 3-2 with one out away on a 3-2 pitch by John Wetteland, Mark Lemke popped up to Charlie Hayes but the ball fell into the Braves' dugout but then it happened again and Charlie Hayes caught it and the Yankees won their 23rd World Championship and their first since 1978 and John Wetteland had 4 saves and was the MVP of the series. In 1997, the Braves played their first season at Turner Field and Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson's number, 42 for every MLB team and the Florida Marlins became the first expansion team to win the World Series by beating the Cleveland Indians in 7 games and in Game 7 with bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th, Edgar Renteria drove in Craig Counsell for the winning run and the Marlins beat the Indians to win that game to win the World Series 3-2 and the MVP of the series was Livan Hernandez and during a game in Seattle between the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics, Mark McGwire hit a 538 foot upper deck home run off of Randy Johnson and baseball had its first interleague game which was played between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants and in Miami, Andres Galarraga hit a 529 foot grand slam and it was the longest home run ever hit at Pro Player Stadium and the All Star Game was at Jacobs Field and Tino Martinez of the New York Yankees won the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game MVP was Sandy Alomar, Jr. In 1998, Bud Selig became baseball's new commissioner and the San Diego Padres won their first National League pennant since 1984 but got swept in the World Series by the New York Yankees and the MVP of the series was Scott Brosius and Mark McGwire set a new single season home run record by hitting 70 home runs and Sammy Sosa hit 66 and even though Ken Griffey, Jr. was on a pace with Mark McGwire in the beginning of the season, he finished with 56 and he won the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game was at Coors Field and the All Star Game MVP was at Roberto Alomar and Kerry Wood as a 20 year old rookie had a 20 strikeout game at Wrigley Field against the Houston Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers moved to the National League and there was 2 more expansion teams which were the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In one of the other Yankee games at Yankee Stadium, David Wells threw the 15th perfect game in MLB history against the Minnesota Twins. In 1999, Wade Boggs became the first player to hit a homerun to join the 3,000 hit club and the Mariners played one half of their season as the first year at Safeco Field and one game at Yankee Stadium, David Cone threw the 16th perfect game in MLB history against the Montreal Expos on Yogi Berra Day and Fenway Park had the final All Star Game of the 20th century and an actor named Kevin Costner announced the All Century roster and the starting pitcher for the National League was Curt Schilling of the Philadelphia Phillies and for the American League, it was Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox and he struck out 5 of baseball's best hitters which were Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds, Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies, Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros and then Pedro became the All Star Game MVP and Ken Griffey Jr. won the Home Run Derby. During a game at Three Rivers Stadium between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the

San Francisco Giants, Jeff Kent went 5 for 5 to hit for the cycle and was the first Giants player to hit for the cycle since Robby Thompson in 1991. Also, the Yankees won their 25th World Series title by sweeping the Atlanta Braves and the Yankees were known as the team of the century and the MVP of the series was Mariano Rivera.  In 2000, Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox won the American League batting title with a batting average of .372 and the Giants played their first season at AT&T Park (then known as Pacific Bell Park) and the Tigers played their first season at Comerica Park and the Astros played their first season at Minute Maid Park (then known as Enron Field). Also, the Yankees won their 37th American League pennant by beating the Mariners in 5 games  in Game 2 of the World Series, Mike Piazza hit a foul ball and broke his bat and Roger Clemens who was on the mound picked of a piece of the bat and threw it at him and the New York Yankees won their 26th and 3rd consecutive World Championship by beating the New York Mets in 5 games and it was the first Subway Series since 1956 and Derek Jeter became the first player in history to win the All Star Game MVP and World Series MVP in the same season and it was the Mets’ first time in the World Series since 1986. In 2001, Hideo Nomo threw his second major league no hitter in his debut for the Boston Red Sox and the first no hitter at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Brewers played their first season at Miller Park and the Pirates played their first season at PNC Park and Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese position player to play in the major leagues and he was with the Seattle Mariners and one of his throws was a laser beam strike that threw out Terrence Long at third while the Mariners were playing in Oakland and he led the American League in at bats (692), hits (242), batting average (.350), and stolen bases (56) and he won a Gold Glove Award and was voted the American League's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player and Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his final major league season and hit a homerun in his final All Star Game which was at Safeco Field in Seattle. Also, Barry Bonds hit a new single season home run record of 73 home runs and set a new single season slugging percentage record of .863 and the Yankees went to the World Series for the 5th time in 6 years and the pennant was against the Mariners. In Game 4, the Yankees were trailing the Diamondbacks 3-1 and with Paul O'Neill on first on a 3-2 pitch with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, and Byung-Hyun Kim on the mound, Tino Martinez hit a game tying 2 run home run to tie the game at 3. In the bottom of the 10th still tied at 3, Derek Jeter hit an opposite field game winning solo homer to tie the series at 2 games with a 4-3 victory and he became "Mr. November". In the bottom of the 9th in Game 5, Byung-Hyun Kim was on the mound and the Yankees were trailing 2-0 and Scott Brosius hit a 2 run home run to tie the game at 2. In the bottom of the 12th still tied at 2, Alfonso Soriano drove in Chuck Knoblauch for the winning run on an RBI single to win the game 3-2 but the Yankees lost the sixth game 15-2 with Randy Johnson on the mound. In Game 7, Roger Clemens started for the Yankees and the starter for the Diamondbacks was Curt Schilling. After the Diamondbacks struck first with a 1-0 lead on an RBI by Danny Bautista, he got thrown out thrown out trying for 3 but it was still 1-0 Diamondbacks. Then, the Yankees tied the game at 1 with an RBI by Tino Martinez and the guy who scored was Derek Jeter. After that, the Yankees took a 2-1 lead with a solo home run by Alfonso Soriano and then Randy Johnson who was the starter in Game 6 came out to pitch in relief and kept the Yankees from scoring. In the bottom of the 9th, Joe Torre turned to the Yankees' closer, Mariano Rivera to save the game but Tony Womack hit an RBI double to tie the game at 2 and then the Diamondbacks loaded the bases and the batter was Luis Gonzalez who hit 57 home runs during the regular season and while Mariano Rivera was still on the mound, the Yankees had the infield in and then Gonzalez hit a bloop single to drive in the winning run with a score of 3-2 to win the World Series and Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were both the MVP's of the series. Before the 2002 season began, the Oakland Athletics lost all 3 of their top free agents to richer clubs which were Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen. Giambi went to the Yankees for $120 million for 7 years, Damon went to the Red Sox for $32 million for 4 years, and Isringhausen went to the Cardinals for $28 million for 4 years and John Henry and Tom Werner spent $700 million to by the Boston Red Sox. In 2002, during the All Star Game at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Torii Hunter of the Minnesota Twins robbed a

home run from Barry Bonds and then Barry Bonds congratulated him and Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first player ever to have 6 hits including 4 home runs in a single game and the Oakland Athletics as one of the poorest clubs won the exact same number of games as the richest club, the New York Yankees (103) and during one game at Fenway Park with Billy Koch on the mound, the Athletics won the game with Terrence Long robbing Manny Ramirez of a game winning home run and during a game against the Kansas City Royals on September 4th, the Athletics started off with an 11-0 lead in 3 innings but then they blew it including a 3 run home run in the top of the 8th by Mike Sweeney. After that, the Athletics ended up winning 12-11 on a walk off pinch hit solo home run by Scott Hatteberg and it set an American League record of 20 consecutive wins. After the Athletics were in the playoffs, they got eliminated in 5 games in the first round by the Minnesota Twins. Also, the San Francisco Giants went to the World Series for the 16th time in their history and it was Barry Bonds’ first time ever in the World Series. Unfortunately, they lost to the Anaheim Angels in 7 games and it was the first ever World Series with both Wild Card teams and Barry Bonds had 30 trips to the plate hitting 4 home runs and his batting average was .471 and the MVP of the series was Troy Glaus. In 2003, Bill Mueller of the Boston Red Sox hit his first 3 homer game including 2 grand slams and 9 runs batted in and was the fourth Red Sox player to hit 2 grand slams in a single game following Jim Tabor in 1939, Rudy York in 1946, and Nomar Garciaparra in 1999 and then he became the American League batting champion by batting .326 and won the American League Silver Slugger Award for third baseman by hitting 45 doubles and 19 home runs and when the Yankees played the Cubs in an interleague game, they had their first trip to Wrigley Field since when they swept the Cubs in the 1938 World Series and the Athletics made the postseason for the fourth consecutive season and played their first game back in Philadelphia during a road trip and the Reds played their first season at Great American Ball Park and Eric Gagne of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first relief pitcher to win a Cy Young Award since Dennis Eckersley in 1992 and during a game in Toronto, Carlos Delgado of the Toronto Blue Jays had a 4 homer game and Kevin Millwood of the Philadelphia Phillies threw a no hitter at Veterans Stadium against the Giants and the final out was a fly out to center fielder Ricky Ledee by Marquis Grissom. Also, Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs and Rafael Palmeiro of the Texas Rangers both hit their 500th career home run and Barry Bonds stole his 500th career base and the Marlins clinched the NLDS by beating the Giants in 4 games with Ivan Rodriguez tagging out J. T. Snow on a throw by Jeff Conine for the final out and before the 2003 season began, the Red Sox were trying to move away from Fenway Park but the owners, John Henry and Tom Werner decided to renovate it instead. Afterwards, the Red Sox made the postseason as the American League Wild Card and were led by Nomar Garciaparra, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramirez and the pitching staff included Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, and Tim Wakefield who failed to make the major leagues as a first baseman before mastering the knuckleball. In the American League Championship Series, they faced their dreaded division rivals and long time nemesis, the New York Yankees who were known as the Evil Empire by their team president, Larry Lucchino and during Game 3 at Fenway Park, there was a brawl and Pedro Martinez threw down the Yankees' 72 year old bench coach, Don Zimmer. In Game 7 at Yankee Stadium, like in Game 3, Roger Clemens who was the Red Sox's former ace started for the Yankees and Pedro Martinez started for the Red Sox. Unfortunately, in the bottom of the 8th inning with the Red Sox leading the Yankees 5-2, manager Grady Little left Pedro in the game and then the Yankees tied the game at 5. After that, in the bottom of the 11th inning with Tim Wakefield on the mound, Aaron Boone led off with a game winning home run off the first pitch of the at bat and the Yankees won 6-5 to win their 39th American League pennant. For the Chicago Cubs during 2003, their 2 ace pitchers, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior were the top 2 leaders for the Cubs and the major leagues in strikeouts (Kerry Wood with 266 and Mark Prior with 245). In the National League Championship Series, they faced the Florida Marlins and in the first game at Wrigley Field, Sammy Sosa hit his first ever postseason home run but then the Cubs lost 9-8 in the 10th but the Cubs won 12-3 in Game 2. In Game 6 at Wrigley Field, the Cubs were one win away from winning their first National League pennant since 1945 and in the top of the 8th, they were 5 outs away and were leading 3-0 with Juan Pierre on second for the Marlins, Luis

Castillo at bat, Ivan Rodriguez on deck, and Mark Prior on the mound for the Cubs. On a 3-2 pitch going into foul territory with left fielder Moises Alou running after the ball, he reached into the stands to try to get the Cubs 4 outs away but he was robbed by a Cub fan named Steve Bartman. After that, the Marlins rallied for 8 runs before the end of the inning and then the Marlins won Game 7 by routing the 5-3 Cub lead against Kerry Wood who also hit a 2 run home run that game to tie the game at 3 before another 2 run home run by Moises Alou and went onto the World Series to beat the Yankees in 6 games and the MVP of the series was the starter for Game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium that threw a 2-0 shutout, Josh Beckett and Jack McKeon (nicknamed Trader Jack) who was then their manager was 72 years old and was the oldest manager to win a World Series and during Game 4 in Miami, Alex Gonzalez hit a game winning home run to tie the series. In 2004, the Red Sox went after Curt Schilling by sending their general manager, Theo Epstein to Arizona to have Thanksgiving dinner with him in 2003 and then signed Keith Foulke and the Yankees went after Alex Rodriguez to challenge Curt Schilling and before that, A-Rod became one of the only players ever to win an MVP award while playing for a last place team and it was the Texas Rangers and Jim Thome of the Philadelphia Phillies hit his 400th career home run and on Father's Day in St. Louis, Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds hit his 500th career home run and Randy Johnson threw the 17th perfect game in MLB history and became the oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game and it was the first no hitter in Diamondbacks history and Barry Bonds won his 7th MVP Award and Roger Clemens won his 7th Cy Young Award and Ichiro Suzuki broke George Sisler’s single season hits record of 257 hits with 262 hits. Also, the Phillies played their first season at Citizens Bank Park and in their first game, Bobby Abreu hit the first official home run in that stadium and and the Padres played their first season at Petco Park and the Red Sox made the playoffs as the Wild Card again but before the playoffs, they traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs but during the Wild Card, the Red Sox won 98 games and the Yankees won 101 and during a game at Fenway in July, Jason Varitek began to fight Alex Rodriguez for saying something to Bronson Arroyo but then the Red Sox came from behind a big deficit which ended with a Bill Mueller game winning home run with Mariano Rivera on the mound. In the third game of the American League Division Series against the Anaheim Angels at Fenway Park with Mike Timlin on the mound, there was a game tying grand slam by Vladimir Guerrero and then in the bottom of the 10th, David Ortiz hit a game winning 2 run home run to send the Red Sox to the American League Championship Series and they faced the Yankees in that series again. In Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, Mike Mussina started for the Yankees and Curt Schilling started for the Red Sox but he had been hobbled by an ankle injury and he lasted just 3 innings and it was his shortest career postseason outing and the Yankees took a 6-0 lead. In the top of the 7th while trailing 8-0, the Red Sox scored 5 runs to cut the Yankee lead to 3 and then scored 2 more to cut the lead to 1 but the Red Sox ended up losing the game 10-7. The Red Sox also lost in Game 2 3-1 with Pedro Martinez as the Boston starter and ever since he was left in the game in the bottom of the 8th in the 7th game of the 2003 ALCS, Yankee fans called out to him "Who's your daddy?!" In Game 3 at Fenway Park, the Red Sox lost the game 19-8. In the bottom of the 9th in Game 4 with nobody out, the Red Sox trailed the Yankees 4-3 and Kevin Millar led off with a walk with Mariano Rivera on the mound and Dave Roberts who was picked up from the Dodgers on a mid-season trade was pinch running. On the first pitch of the next at bat with Bill Mueller at the plate and after 3 pickoff attempts, Dave Roberts stole second and then Bill Mueller hit a ground ball up the middle for an RBI single to drive in Dave Roberts to tie the game at 4. Then in the bottom of the 12th, Manny Ramirez led off with a single and then David Ortiz hit a game winning 2 run home run to win the game for the Red Sox 6-4. In Game 5, in the bottom of the 8th, Dave Roberts scored the tying run to tie the game at 4 on a Jason Varitek sacrifice fly and before that, David Ortiz hit a solo home run to cut the Yankee lead to 1 with Tom Gordon on the mound. In the bottom of the 14th, David Ortiz won another game by hitting an RBI single by driving in Johnny Damon to win the game 5-4. In Game 6 at Yankee Stadium, Curt Schilling pulled off a medical miracle with a bloody sock from a bleeding ankle and when Bronson Arroyo was pitching, Alex Rodriguez slapped his glove trying to get to first base but then was called out on a replay review and Yankee fans threw baseballs and beer bottles onto the

field but then the closer, Keith Foulke got the save to win the game for the Red Sox 4-2 to force Game 7. In Game 7, in the top of the first inning with Manny Ramirez on first, David Ortiz hit a 2 run home run to give the Red Sox an early 2-0 lead. In the top of the 2nd, the Red Sox extended their lead 6-0 on a Johnny Damon grand slam. In the top of the 4th, Johnny Damon hit a 2 run home run into the upper deck to extend their lead 8-1 and he was 3 for 3 with 6 runs batted in. In the top of the 8th, the Red Sox added their lead 9-3 with a solo home run by Mark Bellhorn off the foul pole and then the Red Sox ended up winning the American League pennant by beating the Yankees 10-3 and it was the Red Sox’s first American League pennant since 1986. In Game 1 at Fenway Park, Tim Wakefield became the first knuckleball pitcher to start a World Series game since Gene Bearden in 1948 and then in Game 4, at Busch Stadium, the Boston Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series title since 1918 and the Cardinals won 105 games that year during the regular season and the MVP of the series was Manny Ramirez who had a batting average of .412 with 1 home run and 4 runs batted in and it was the Cardinals’ first World Series appearance since 1987. In 2005, the Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. to become the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves won their 14th consecutive division title. In Game 5 of the National League Championship Series in the top of the 9th with Brad Lidge on the mound, the Astros were leading 4-2 and Albert Pujols hit a towering 470 foot 3 run home run to give the Cardinals the 5-4 lead but in Game 6, the Houston Astros won their first ever National League pennant but got swept in the World Series by the Chicago White Sox and it was the White Sox's first World Series title since 1917 and their first appearance in the World Series since 1959 and the MVP of the series was Jermaine Dye and during the Game 2 at U.S. Cellular Field, Scott Podsednik hit a game winning home run to win the game 7-6 off of Brad Lidge. In 2006, Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies hit a new Phillies single season home run record by hitting 58 home runs and he drove in 149 runs and hit .313 and went back to back in Phillies Home Run Derby winners with Bobby Abreu and David Ortiz hit a new Red Sox single season home run record by hitting 54 home runs. Also, the Cardinals played their first season at the new Busch Stadium and the Oakland Athletics made it to the American League Championship Series but got swept by the Detroit Tigers with Huston Street giving up a game winning 3 run home run to Magglio Ordonez. After that, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers in 5 games to win their tenth World Championship and their first since 1982 and the MVP of the series was David Eckstein. In 2007, the Phillies had back to back MVP award winners and the National League MVP was Jimmy Rollins who set a new record for at bats in a single season (716) and Alex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas, and Jim Thome hit their 500th career home run and Thome became the first player to hit a walk off home run to hit a 500th career home run and during a double header game in Baltimore, the Rangers beat the Orioles by a score of 30-3 and Barry Bonds hit his 756th career home run to break Hank Aaron's career home run record and the Texas Rangers became the first team to score 30 runs in a single game. Also, Trevor Hoffman became the new all-time saves leader and the first to have 500 and 600 saves and the Phillies won the National League Eastern Division title in the last game of the season and went to the postseason for the first time since 1993 but got swept by the Colorado Rockies in the first round and then the Rockies swept the Diamondbacks win their first ever National League pennant but got swept in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series and the MVP of the series was Mike Lowell. In 2008, the Nationals played their first season at Nationals Park and the Yankees played their last season in The House That Ruth Built and that legendary version of Yankee Stadium had the All Star Game. In the Home Run Derby, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers hit one of his home runs exactly where Reggie Jackson hit his third home run of the final game of the 1977 World Series but the Home Run Derby winner was Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins. Also, the Philadelphia Phillies won their second straight division title, beat the Milwaukee Brewers in 4 games to move on to the National League Championship Series and then beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games to win their first National League pennant since 1993. Also, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the Tampa Bay Rays before the season started because every time they were the Devil Rays, they finished dead last. In the World Series, they faced the Tampa Bay Rays who won their first ever American

League pennant by beating the Boston Red Sox in 7 games. In Game 1 at Tropicana Field, Chase Utley gave the Phillies an early 2-0 lead with a 2 run home run in his first World Series at bat and the Phillies won the game 3-2. In Game 2, the Rays beat the Phillies 4-2 to tie the series. In Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park, Jamie Moyer got his first ever World Series start and became the second oldest man ever to start a World Series game and in the bottom of the 6th, Ryan Howard who hit 48 home runs during the regular season gave the Phillies an extended lead of 4-1 by hitting his first home run of the postseason by going back to back with Chase Utley. In the bottom of the 9th with the game tied at 4, the Phillies had the bases loaded with nobody out and catcher Carlos Ruiz hit an infield single with Evan Longoria throwing the ball over Dioner Navarro's head and Eric Bruntlett scored the winning run and the Phillies took a 2-1 series lead with a victory of 5-4. In Game 4, Ryan Howard hit 2 home runs, Jayson Werth hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th, and in the bottom of the 5th, the starting pitcher, Joe Blanton became the first pitcher to hit a World Series home run since Ken Holtzman of the Oakland Athletics in 1974 and then the Phillies won that game 10-2. In Game 5, with the game tied at 2 at the end of the top of the 6th inning, the game was rained out and it was the first suspended game in World Series history. Two days later, in the bottom of the 6th inning, Geoff Jenkins led off with a pinch hit double and then Jimmy Rollins sacrificed him to third. After that, Jayson Werth popped up to Akinori Iwamura but he dropped the ball and then Geoff Jenkins scored to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead but Rocco Baldelli tied the game at 3 with a solo home run in the top of the 7th. Also, with Akinori Iwamura at the plate and Jason Bartlett on second and J. C. Romero on the mound, Bartlett tried to score on a ground ball to Chase Utley but he threw him out at home. In the bottom of the 7th, Pat Burrell led off with a double in his last at bat as a Phillie and Eric Bruntlett was the pinch runner and then with Chad Bradford on the mound, Pedro Feliz drove in the go ahead run to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. In the top of the 9th, with Fernando Perez on second with one out away, Eric Hinske came up to the plate as a pinch hitter and he was the replacement for the Rays' injured player, Cliff Floyd who had a torn labrum and his only at bat before then was in Game 4 when he shot a pinch hit home run into center field. Brad Lidge then struck out Eric Hinske for the final out for the Phillies to win their first World Series title since 1980 and Brad Lidge was 48 for 48 in save opportunities (41 for 41 in the regular season and 7 for 7 in the postseason) and the MVP of the series was Cole Hamels. In 2009, Gary Sheffield hit his 500th career home run and the New York Yankees played their first season at the new Yankee Stadium and the New York Mets played their first season at Citi Field. Also, Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox threw the 18th MLB perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. In one game at Citi Field, Eric Bruntlett of the Philadelphia Phillies ended a game with an unassisted triple play. The Phillies won their 3rd consecutive division title against the Houston Astros and beat the Dodgers in 5 games to win their second straight National League pennant but lost the World Series to the Yankees in 6 games and the MVP of the series was Hideki Matsui and it was the Yankees' 27th World Championship and the first since the 2000 season and the Yankees won 103 games during the regular season.

In 2010, the Minnesota Twins played their first season at Target Field and on Mother's Day, Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics threw the 19th MLB perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. In Miami, Roy Halladay threw the second Philadelphia Phillies perfect game and the 20th in major league history and it was also the second perfect game of the season. Also, Ichiro Suzuki had a 10th consecutive 200 hit season and Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first no hitter in Rockies history and Matt Garza threw the first no hitter in Rays history and Edwin Jackson threw the second no hitter in Diamondbacks history with 150 pitches and when Jason Heyward was playing in his major league debut for the Atlanta Braves, he hit a 476 foot home run in his first major league at bat and the Phillies also won their 4th consecutive division title and in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park against the Cincinnati Reds, Roy Halladay threw the second no hitter in postseason history and then the Phillies swept the Reds in the series but then lost to the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series in 6 games and it was the Giants' first National League pennant since 2002 and the Texas Rangers won their

first ever American League pennant by beating the Yankees in 6 games but lost to the Giants in the World Series in 5 games and it was the Giants' first World Series title since 1954 and their first ever as the San Francisco Giants and the MVP of the series was Edgar Renteria and Buster Posey won the National League Rookie of the Year award and the Rangers' outfielder, Josh Hamilton was the American League MVP. After the postseason no hitter and perfect game, Roy Halladay became the first National League Cy Young Award in Phillies history since Steve Bedrosian in 1987. In 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies won their 5th straight National League Eastern Division title and became the new winningest Phillies team by winning 102 games but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Cardinals in 5 games with a final out with Ryan Howard's injured Achilles Tendon and the Texas Rangers won their second ever and consecutive American League pennant but lost to the Cardinals in 7 games and the MVP of the series was David Freese who hit a walk off home run in the 10th to force Game 7 and during Game 3 in Arlington, Albert Pujols had a three homer game and the Cardinals won that game 16-7 and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers won his first ever Cy Young award and Justin Verlander won his first Cy Young award and his first MVP award for the Detroit Tigers and Derek Jeter became the first player to have 3,000 career hits as a Yankee and became known as Mr. 3,000 and Mariano Rivera became baseball’s new all-time saves leader. In 2012, Jim Thome hit his 13th career walk off homer and the Florida Marlins became the Miami Marlins and played their first season at Marlins Park and Philip Humber threw the 21st MLB perfect game and Matt Cain threw the 22nd perfect game and the first in Giants history and Felix Hernandez threw the 23rd perfect game and the 3rd perfect game of the season and Johan Santana threw the first no hitter in Mets history and during a game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards between the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers, Josh Hamilton went 5 for 5 with a double and 4 home runs. Miguel Cabrera won his first ever MVP award and became the first player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski of in 1967 with a .330 average, 44 home runs, and 139 runs batted in and Buster Posey won his first MVP award and the Tigers won their first American League pennant since 2006 by sweeping the New York Yankees and during the first game at Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter while diving for a grounder broke his ankle. Unfortunately, the Tigers got swept in the World Series by the San Francisco Giants and the MVP of the series was Pablo Sandoval because he hit three home runs in the first game at AT&T Park in San Francisco and the National League Rookie of the Year was Bryce Harper and the American League Rookie of the Year was Mike Trout. In 2013, the Houston Astros moved to the American League West and Chris Davis hit 53 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles and Miguel Cabrera was the American League MVP again and it was Mariano Rivera's last major league season and Mariano Rivera also became the last player to wear 42 and the Boston Red Sox won their 12th American League pennant by beating the Detroit Tigers in 6 games and during the second game at Fenway Park, David Ortiz hit a game tying grand slam to tie the game at 5 with Torii Hunter trying to catch it in the bullpen but fell and hit his head and then Jarrod Saltalamacchia knocked in the winning run to win 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th. After that, Shane Victorino during Game 6 which was also at Fenway Park hit his second ever postseason grand slam and then they won their first World Series title at Fenway Park since 1918 by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games and the MVP of the series was their designated hitter, David Ortiz and the 2013 Boston Red Sox were the first team to win a World Series a year after finishing dead last since the 1991 Minnesota Twins. In 2014, Derek Jeter played his final major league season and hit a walk off single in his final game in Yankee Stadium and had an infield single in his last major league at bat in his career and his last at Fenway Park and the Kansas City Royals won their first American League pennant since 1985 by sweeping the Baltimore Orioles but lost the World Series to the Giants in 7 games and the MVP of the series was Madison Bumgarner and the Giants' pennant was won in Game 5 on a Travis Ishikawa game winning 3 run home run off of Michael Wacha of the Cardinals in AT&T Park and Mike Trout won the American League MVP Award and Clayton Kershaw won his third National League Cy Young Award and first National League MVP Award and he was the first pitcher to win a National League MVP Award since Bob Gibson in 1968 and the American League Cy Young Award winner was Corey Kluber. In 2015, Cole Hamels threw a no hitter in his last start for the Philadelphia

Phillies at Wrigley Field and it was the first Wrigley Field no hitter since 1972 by a former Cubs’ ace, Milt Pappas and it was the 13th no hitter in Phillies history and Clayton Kershaw struck out 301 batters and was the first pitcher to strike out more than 300 batters since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2002 and in one game at Dodger Stadium, Jake Arrieta threw his first major league no hitter in his first season with the Cubs and was later named the National League Cy Young Award winner and Joe Maddon had his first season as the Cubs' manager and was named National League Manager of the Year and the Cubs played their first playoff series against their dreaded rivals and long time nemesis, the St. Louis Cardinals who won 100 games and the Cubs beat them in 4 games and they had their first ever playoff series clinch at Wrigley Field and went to their first NLCS since 2003 but got swept by the New York Mets and it was the Mets' first National League pennant since 2000 and the Toronto Blue Jays played in their first postseason since 1993 but lost in the ALCS in 6 games to the Kansas City Royals and then the Royals beat the New York Mets in 5 games to win their first World Series title since 1985 with a Game 5 7-2 victory in 12 innings including a 5 run 12th inning and the MVP of the series was Salvador Perez. The American League Rookie of the Year was Carlos Correa and the National League Rookie of the Year was the Cubs' third baseman, Kris Bryant and Joe Maddon won the National League Manager of the Year Award in his first year as the Cubs’ manager. In 2016, Jake Arrieta threw his second no hitter with the Cubs against the Reds and the Cubs won that game 16-0 and Max Scherzer became the fourth pitcher to strike out 20 batters in a single game and Ichiro stole his 500th base and David Ortiz became the third player to record 600 career doubles and 500 career home runs and Kris Bryant became the first player to hit three home runs and two doubles in a single game. Also, during the Home Run Derby, Giancarlo Stanton set a new record for most home runs in a Home Run Derby with 61 home runs and during the All Star Game, Eric Hosmer became the first Kansas City first baseman to start an All Star Game since John Mayberry, Sr. in 1973 and hit the first Kansas City All Star Game home run since Bo Jackson in 1989 and then became the MVP of the All Star Game and the Chicago Cubs became the first team to have their entire infield to start an All Star Game since the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals and the first scoring of the game was from a home run by Kris Bryant in the All Star Game. In addition, Ichiro Suzuki became the second player to hit a triple to join the 3,000 hit club and Max Scherzer struck out 200 batters for the 5th consecutive season and Alex Rodriguez played his final game at Fenway Park and David Ortiz hit a 414 foot home run to become the third player to hit 1,000 extra-base hits as a member of the Boston Red Sox joining Carl Yastrzemski with 1,157 and Ted Williams with 1,117 and Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees became the first teammates to hit a homerun in their major league debuts in the same game and became the fourth and fifth players to hit a home run in their first career major league at bat in Yankee history and in major league history and it happened at Yankee Stadium and during the day of the 1996 Yankees ceremony, Aaron Judge also made a similar catch of Paul O’Neill when he caught the final out of a 1-0 victory when John Wetteland saved the game for Andy Pettitte in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series. Also, Mookie Betts became the 21st major league player to hit 3 home runs in a  game twice in one season and the first Red Sox player to have 2 3 home run games and was also the first Red Sox player to hit 3 home runs in a single game since Bill Mueller in 2003 and the Chicago Cubs won their first division title since 2008 in 146 games and it was the fewest number of games the Cubs needed to win the division since 1969 and the Cubs ended the season with 103 wins and the Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers to win their first division title since 2007. Also, the Los Angeles Dodgers won their fourth consecutive division title with a Charlie Culberson game winning home run in the 10th and it was Vin Scully’s last game announcing the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. In the American League Wild Card game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays won 5-2 in the 11th on a game winning home run by Edwin Encarnacion and then swept the Texas Rangers to move on to the American League Championship Series and they faced the Cleveland Indians after they swept the Boston Red Sox and then the Indians beat the Blue Jays in 5 games to win their first American League pennant since 1997. In the National League Wild Card game between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field, the pitching matchup was Noah Syndergaard against Madison Bumgarner

and the Giants beat the Mets 3-0 and then the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants in 4 games to head to the National League Championship Series. The Chicago Cubs played that series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In Game 6 at Wrigley Field, former Cubs’ ace pitcher Kerry Wood threw out the ceremonial first pitch and the Cubs beat the Dodgers 5-0 ending the game with a double play to win their first National League pennant since 1945 and Cubs’ ace pitcher Kyle Hendricks became the first pitcher to lead the league in earned run average and go to the World Series the same season since Randy Johnson in 2001. In Game 1 at Progressive Field, Kyle Schwarber returned to the Cubs’ lineup as the designated hitter for the World Series. In Game 4 at Wrigley Field, Carlos Santana hit the first World Series home run at Wrigley Field as a first baseman since Lou Gehrig in 1932. In Game 7, Corey Kluber started for the Indians and Kyle Hendricks started for the Cubs and former Indians player Jim Thome threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Corey Kluber became the first pitcher to start Game 1, 4, and 7 in the World Series since Bob Gibson in 1967 and Kyle Hendricks pitched 17 consecutive scoreless World Series innings and Dexter Fowler led off the game with a solo home run and he was the first player ever to lead off with a home run in a World Series Game 7 and it was the final major league game for David Ross who also hit a home run that game. Afterwards, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings to win their first World Series title since 1908 by becoming the first team to win a World Series be coming from behind a 3 games to 1 deficit since the 1985 Kansas City Royals and the MVP of the series was Ben Zobrist who had a .357 average with 10 hits in the series. The winning pitcher was Aroldis Chapman and Mike Montgomery got the save. The American League MVP was Mike Trout and the National League MVP was Kris Bryant. The American League Cy Young Award winner was Rick Porcello who led the major leagues in wins (22) and the National League Cy Young Award winner was the major league strikeout leader, Max Scherzer and he was 20-7 with 284 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.96.