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Derek Lowe was the winning pitcher in game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, in which the Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees by a 10-3 score. In 1986, Roger Clemens recorded the win in the Sox' 8-1 victory over the California Angels. And in 1903, Hall-of-Famer Cy Young was the winning pitcher in the Red Sox 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in game 7 of that year's World Series.

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Luis Tiant set the record in 1973 as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox when he recorded a total of 23 complete games with no shutouts. Tiant won 20 games that year and finished with an ERA of 3.34.

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The Washington Nationals (formerly Montreal Expos) have retired jersey #10 in honor of both Rusty Staub and Andre Dawson. The New York Yankees have similarly retired jersey #8 to honor two Hall-of-Famers: Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey.

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In the 1996 NLCS the Atlanta Braves were down 3 to 1 against the Cardinals and cam back to win the 1996 NLCS. The Braves went on to lose the 1996 World Series to the New York Yankees 4 games to 2. 1996 was also Manager Joe Torre's first year with the Yankees.

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It happened in 1985, the first year of the best of 7 format, when the Kansas City Royals trailed the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 and came back to win the ALCS. 4-3. The Royals went on to win the 1985 "Show-Me Series" World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3. Interestingly enough, after game 4 of the Wold Series the Royals also found themselves down 3 games to 1 and again had to win 3 in a row to take a series.

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Hall-of-Famer Juan Marichal earned this dubious distinction three times. In 1963, Marichal won 25 games but lost in the Cy Young voting to Sandy Koufax, who also won 25 that year. In 1966, Marichal won 25 games but again lost out to Koufax, who tallied 27 victories. In 1968, Marichal won 26 games but was overshadowed by the outstanding season turned in by Bob Gibson, who won 22 games and compiled an astounding 1.12 ERA.

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The Rockies are the 2nd team in MLB history to win their first 7 playoff games. The first team in MLB history to accomplish this feat was the 1976 Cincinnati Reds.

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Babe Ruth led the Sox to a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs in game 1 of the 1918 World Series with a complete-game shutout. And in 1975, Luis Tiant tossed a complete-game shutout to lead the Red Sox to a 6-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in game 1 of that year's Fall Classic.

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The ALCS has been around since 1969 when Major League Baseball reorganized into divisions. The first ALCS series to award an MVP was the 1980 series between the Royals and the Yankees. The winner of the MVP for the 1980 ALCS was Frank White of the Kansas City Royals. The Royals swept the Yankees in 3 games to become the first American League expansion team to win the Pennant. The Royals went on to lose to the Phillies in the 1980 World Series 4 games to 2.

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The first pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the Cy Young Award was Randy Johnson. The "Big Unit" is also the only Diamondback pitcher to win the Cy Young award. To his credit, though, he won the Cy Young award 4 times with the Diamondbacks (1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002). Randy also won the Pitching Triple Crown (earned run average, wins, and strikeouts) in 2002.

Singe beginning play in 1993, no Colorado Rockies pitcher has ever won the Cy Young Award.

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The NLCS has been around since 1969 when Major League Baseball reorganized into divisions. The first NLCS series to award an MVP was the 1977 series between the Dodgers and the Phillies. The winner of the MVP for the 1977 NLCS was Dusty Baker of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers took that series 3 games to 1. The Dodgers went on to lose in the 1977 World Series to the New York Yankees 4 games to 2.

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Baseball's MVP award has been in existence since 1931. In that first year, the following players won the award:

• American League - Lefty Grove, a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics
• National League - Frankie Frisch, a second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals

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Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Award "is given annually to a player who demonstrates the values Clemente displayed in his commitment to community and understanding the value of helping others." Each team nominates a team member for the award. The winner is selected from the 30 team nominees during the World Series. The Roberto Clemente award was first given in 1971 to Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants.

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According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest continuously operated ballpark in the world is Fuller Field in Clinton, Massachusetts. Clinton is a small town located 35 miles west of Fenway Park in Boston, the oldest Major League Baseball ballpark. Fuller Field has been in operation continuously since 1878.

See: Historic ballpark scores in Guinness record book

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The Hank Aaron awarded is awarded the best hitter in the American League and the National League. It is voted upon by a combination of baseball writers (70%) and fans (30%). 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place votes are weighted differently and the player with the most points wins. The award was instituted in 1995 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record. The first winners were:

• AL - Manny Ramirez with the Cleveland Indians
• NL - Sammy Sosa with the Chicago Cubs

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The Cy Young Award was introduced in 1956 as an honor given annually to the best pitcher in the Major Leagues. When first introduced, the award was a combined award for the American League and National League. In 1967 the award was expanded to recognize the best pitcher in the American League and the best pitcher in the National League.

The award is voted by 28 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Each member casts a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place vote. The formula used to determine the winner is 5F + 3S + T, where F is the number of first place votes, S is second place votes, and T is third place votes.

All of that being said, the winner of the first Cy Young Award in 1956 was the National League's Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers who went 27-7 with a 3.06 ERA.

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The 1904 World Series was boycotted by the New York Giants so the second World Series was played in 1905. Ironically, it was won by the same New York Giants who boycotted the 1904 Series. They beat the Philadelphia Athletics 4 games to 1.

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The first World Series, between the Boston Pilgrims (now the Boston Red Sox) and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903, was played at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds in Boston. The Pilgrims (Red Sox) won the Series.

"Up the road from Third Base to Huntington The boys will always sing and sway..." - Tessie, Dropkick Murphys

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US Cellular Field in Chicago has the deepest left and right field distances to the fence in he American League. The distance is 347 feet for both left and right field to the fence.

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National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson finished the 1968 season with a 1.12 ERA over 304.7 innings pitched. This figure, which for much of the 1968 season had held below 1.00, became the lowest ERA among pitchers who pitched 300 innings.

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Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan has his number retired by three Major League teams. The Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros have each retired jersey #24 in his honor, while the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have retired the jersey number (#20) worn by Ryan while he was a member of the Angels.

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In his rookie season, 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves, Hank Aaron wore number 5. He switched to number 44 in 1955, also with Milwaukee. Another interesting Aaron rookie fact - his salary for his first year in the majors was $5,000.

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The save became an official Major League Baseball statistic in 1969. A save is earned by a pitcher who:

• Finishes the game won by his team
• Does not receive the win
• And one of the following:
• Enters the game with a lead of 3 runs or less and pitches at least one inning
• Enters the game with the tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck
• Pitches effectively for at least 3 innings

The blown save became official in 1998.

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On September 28, 1960, in the bottom of the 8th inning with the count 1-1, Ted Williams hit a home run off of Orioles pitcher Jack Fisher to give the Fenway faithful one last treat before retiring. The Red Sox won the game 5-4 but would go on to finish the 1960 season in second to last place.

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The first Wild Card team to make the MLB playoffs and then go on to win the World Series was the Florida Marlins who beat Cleveland in the 1997 Wold Series 4 games to 3. Since then it has been done 3 other times: in 2002 when the Angels beat San Francisco 4-3, in 2003 when the Marlins beat the New York Yankees 4-2, and in 2004 when the Boston Red Sox beat St. Louis 4-0.

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September 14, 2007's game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Fenway Park was the second longest 9 inning game in Major League Baseball history at 4 hours and 43 minutes. The Red Sox lost that game 8-7.

The longest 9 inning game also features the same two teams. On August 18, 2006 the Red Sox and Yankees went at it for 4 hours and 45 minutes at Fenway Park. The Yankees also prevailed in that game 14-11. These same two teams also own the record for the longest double hitter at 8 hours and 40 minutes on August 18, 2006 at Fenway Park. The Red Sox lost both ends of the double hitter (as well as a lot of sleep) 12-4 in the opener, and 14-11 in the closer (the longest game).

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Hall of famer Ty Cobb was the first of only two players to accomplish this feat. He first did it in 1907, 1908, and 1909. He then did it for five consecutive seasons (1911-1915) and again for three consecutive seasons (1917-1919).

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American League

• 1969 East Division champion: Baltimore Orioles
• 1969 West Division champion: Minnesota Twins
• 1994 East Division champion: New York Yankees (no playoffs)
• 1994 Central Division champion: Chicago White Sox (no playoffs)
• 1994 West Division champion: Texas Ranges (no playoffs)
• 1994 Wild Card team: Cleveland Indians, although with no playoffs in 1994 the honor was meaningless. The first American League Wild Card team to actually compete in the playoffs was the New York Yankees in 1995.

National League

• 1969 East Division champion: New York Mets
• 1969 West Division champion: Atlanta Braves
• 1994 East Division champion: Montreal Expos (no playoffs)
• 1994 Central Division champion: Cincinnati Reds (no playoffs)
• 1994 West Division champion: Los Angeles Dodgers (no playoffs)
• 1994 Wild Card team: The first National League Wild card team in the no playoff year of 1994 was the Atlanta Braves. The first National League Wild Card team to compete in the playoffs was the Colorado Rockies in 1995.

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Though 2006, the Yankees have won the American League East every year since 1998, 9 years in a row. The Baltimore Orioles were the last team to win before that in 1997. In that 9 years stretch, the Yankees won 3 World Series titles (1998, 1999, & 2000), lost the World Series twice (2001 & 2003), lost the ALCS once (to Boston in 2004), and lost the ALDS three times.

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• The International League Governor's Cup Championships have been around since 1933. Since then, Rochester has the most championships with 10, last winning it all in 1997.
• The older PCL Championships have been around since 1903. Since 1903, the San Francisco Seals had 14 championships. The Seals ceased operations in San Francisco in 1957. They are now the Tucson Sidewinders. The Los Angeles Angels, who played in the PCL in LA until 1957 have 12 championships. The LA franchise has since moved to other cities and now is the third incarnation of the Portland Beavers. For active PCL teams, Albuquerque has 8 championships, and the three incarnations of the Portland Beavers also have 8 championships.

See: Triple-A Baseball Championships for 2007 Triple-A Championship information.

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• Baltimore Orioles - Terry Crowley
• Chicago White Sox - Mike Andrews
• Detroit Tigers - Gates Brown

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Nine Major League Baseball players have hit 50 or more home runs in multiple season. They are:

See: Major League Baseball Single Season Home Run Clubs

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The overall youngest, and also youngest for the National League, was Amos Rusie who threw his no hitter on July 31, 1891 (New York Giants 6, Brooklyn Grooms 0) at the age of 20 years 2 months. The youngest for the American League was Vida Blue who threw a no hitter on September 21, 1970 (Oakland 6, Minnesota 0) at the age of 21 years 1 month.

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There are four Major League Baseball Players tied with four seasons of 50 or more home runs. They are:

• Babe Ruth: 54 in 1920, 59 in 1921, 60 in 1927, and 54 in 1928
• Mark McGwire: 52 in 1996, 58 in 1997, 70 in 1998, and 65 in 1999
• Sammy Sosa: 66 in 1998, 63 in 1999, 50 in 2000, and 64 in 2001

See: Major League Baseball Single Season Home Run Clubs

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Babe Ruth was the first player to set the single season home run record over 50 with 54 in 1920. He then broke his own record in 1921 with 59, and again in 1927 with 60. No other player has accomplished this feat more than once.

See: Major League Baseball Single Season Home Run Clubs

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There are 7 independent professional baseball leagues in North America. Independent leagues have no affiliation with Major League Baseball, hence the name "independent". The leagues are:

• The American Association of Independent Baseball
• The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
• The Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball (CANAM)
• The Frontier League
• The Golden Baseball League (GBL)
• The Northern League
• United League Baseball (ULB)

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• First to hit 20 home runs in a season - Ned Williamson. Ned, who played most of his career with the Chicago White Stockings, hit 27 home runs in 1884.
• First to hit 30 home runs in a season - Babe Ruth. The Big Bam was the first to surpass 30 home tuns, hitting 54 in 1920. This, of course, also made him the first to hit 40 or more and 50 or more in a season... The Babe was also the first to hit 60 or more with 60 in 1927.

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President Ronald Reagan was the first President of the United States to watch a Major League Baseball game from the dugout.

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Hall of Famer Ernie Banks won back-to-back MVP awards in 1958 and 1959. Ernie played for the Chicago Cubs from 1953 to 1971. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

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Two teams were tied for the American League record for the most runs scored in a game:

1. The Boston Red Sox - The Red Sox scored 29 runs on June 8, 1950, against the St. Louis Browns. The Red Sox won the game 29-4.
2. The Chicago White Sox - The Chicago White Sox scored 29 runs on April 23, 1955, against the Kansas City Athletics. Chicago won the game 29-6.

The Major League record is 36 by the Chicago Colts (now the Cubs) against Louisville in the National League on June 29, 1897. Chicago won that game 36-7.

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The site of Boston's old Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds is now occupied by Northeastern University which features a statue of Cy Young outside of Churchill Hall in almost the same spot as the old pitchers mound. The Huntington Avenue Baseball grounds closed in 1912. When the grounds closed the infield dirt and the remaining grass were moved to Fenway Park. The whole name of the ballpark was the Huntington Avenue American League Base Ball Grounds. It existed from 1901 to 1911 and was home to the Boston Red Sox (then known as the Boston Americans) until 1908.

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Orlando Cepeda was the first designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox on April 6, 1973. He went 0 for 6 in that game, a game where the Red Sox beat the Yankees 15 to 5 behind the complete game pitching of Louis Tiant. 1973 was the only year the Cepeda played for the Red Sox.

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Clise Dudley debuted for the Brooklyn Robins on April 18, 1929. He hit a home run on the first pitch of his first at bat, one of only 3 he hit in his five year career. Clise was a pitcher for the Robins 1929 & 1930) and later the Phillies (1931-1933).

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Hall of Famer Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto was the Yankees regular shortstop from 1941-1946 (except three years in the Navy during World War II - 1943-1945). In his years with the Yankees Scooter participated in 9 World Series and was on the winning side 7 times. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

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Player Lou Gehrig (inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939), manager Joe McCarthy (inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1957), and Babe Ruth (inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936) were last on the same team together in 1934 for the New York Yankees.

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The first pitcher to hit five or more home runs in a single season was Art Nehf who hit 5 in 1924 with the New York Giants. Interestingly, in his 15 seasons in baseall, Art only hit a total of 8 home runs.

More recently, Carlos Zambrano, a pitcher for the the Chicago Cubs, hit 6 home runs in 2006. So far, Carlos has 12 home runs in his 7 seasons in the majors.

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The pitcher with the most home runs in a career is Wes Ferrell. Wes hit 38 home runs in 15 seasons for 6 different teams (Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Boston Braves) from 1927 to 1941.

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During his career, current Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona played for five teams:

• 1981-1985 - Montreal Expos
• 1986 - Chicago Cubs
• 1987 - Cincinnati Reds
• 1988 - Cleveland Indians
• 1989-1990 - Milwaukee Brewers

During his 10 seasons, Terry had a .274 batting average and hit 16 home runs. Terry has also managed:

• 1997-2000 - Philadelphia Phillies
• 2004-2007 - Boston Red Sox

Terry Francona's father was Tito Francona. Tito played for 9 teams:

• 1956-1957 - Baltimore Orioles
• 1958 - Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers
• 1959-1964 - Cleveland Indians
• 1965-1966 - St. Louis Cardinals
• 1967 - Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves
• 1968 - Atlanta Braves
• 1969 - Atlanta Braves and Oakland Athletics
• 1970 - Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers

During his 15 seasons, Tito had a .272 batting average and hit 125 home runs.

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During his career, Joe Torre played for four teams:

• 1960-1965 - Milwaukee Braves
• 1966-1968 - Atlanta Braves
• 1969-1974 - St. Louis Cardinals
• 1975-1977 - New York Mets

During his 18 seasons, Joe had a .297 batting average and hit 252 home runs. Joe has also managed:

• 1977-1981 - New York Mets
• 1982-1984 - Atlanta Braves
• 1990-1995 - St. Louis Cardinals
• 1996-2007 - New York Yankees

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• "If you build it, he will come." - Field of Dreams
• "Pick me out a winner, Bobby." - The Natural

See: The Best Baseball Movies

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• What was the date Barry Bonds hit his record breaking 756th home run? - August 7, 2007.
• Who did he hit if off of? - Washington Nationals Pitcher Mike Bacsik.
• In what inning did he hit the home run? - In the 5th inning. The home run gave the Giants a 5-4 lead. Washington went on to win the game 8-6.
• What was the count on Barry Bonds when he hit his 756th home run? - 3 and 2.
• Who caught the 756th home run ball? - Matt Murphy of Queens. He was in San Francisco on his way to Australia. He decided to walk to the ball park to see if he could get a ticket. He probably should have bought a lottery ticket too...

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Cy Young pitched the first no hitter for the Boston Red Sox on May 5, 1904. At the time the team was known as the "Pilgrims".

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Joining "Wake" (Tim Wakefield) with 150 or more pitching wins in a Red Sox uniform are:

• Roger Clemens who pitched for the Sox from 1984 to 1996 and ended up with 192 wins for the Red Sox
• Cy Young who pitched for the Sox from 1901 to 1908 and also ended up with 192 wins for the Red Sox

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Bill Mueller, playing for the Boston Red Sox, hit two grand slams against the Texas Rangers (in the 7th and 8th innings), one from each side of the plate, on July 29, 2003. He hit 3 home runs in that game (the other one was a solo shot in the 3rd). The Boston Red Sox won the game 14 to 7. Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon also hit solo home runs in that game.

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The first opening day night game was on April 18, 1950. In that game, the St. Louis Cardinals, the first major league team to open the season with a night game, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2.

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In 1997, Randy Johnson had two 19 strike out games :

• August 8, 1997 - Seattle Mariners (AL) vs. Chicago White Sox
• June 24, 1997 - Seattle Mariners (AL) vs. Oakland.

In his career, Randy Johnson has also had one 20 strikeout game (May 8, 2001 - Arizona Diamondbacks (NL) vs. Cincinnati), and one 18 strike out game (September 27, 1992 - Seattle Mariners AL at Texas).

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Honus Wagner, who played from 1897 to 1917 (Louisville Colonels from 1897-1899, and the , Pittsburgh Pirates from 1900-1917), stole was the first baseball player to steal third and then home in the same at bat five times in their career. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.

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Adam Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds achieved the dubious distinction when he fanned a record 195 times in the 2004 season. By doing so, Dunn broke a record which had stood for over thirty years. The previous record-holder had been Bobby Bonds, who recorded 190 strikeouts in the 1970 season. At the time, Bonds was a member of the San Francisco Giants, although later in his career he went on to play for seven other teams.

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On May 18, 2004, at the age of 40, Randy Johnson ("The Big Unit") pitched a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. He threw 117 pitches and had 13 strikeouts. The Diamondbacks won the game 2-0.

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The baseball teams with the most no hitters pitched are:

• For the National League - the Los Angeles Dodgers with 20
• For the American League - the Boston Red Sox with 17

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George Herman "Babe" Ruth is the only Major League Baseball player to play four different positions in a World Series including pitcher. Babe Ruth was elected to the first class of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.

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The 1969 New York Mets are the only Major League World team to play a complete World Series without recording a double play. In that World Series, the Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 1, winning four in a row after loosing the opener.

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Hall of Famer Tom Seaver struck out 10 consecutive San Diego Padres on on April 22, 1970. They were the last ten batters of the game. The Mets won the game 2-1.

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Hall of Famer Willie McCovey hit two home runs in his career twice in his career - once in 1973, and the second time in 1977, one of which was a grand slam. McCovey was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.

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At the 1977 All-Star Game, pitcher Jim Palmer gave up 3 home runs (2 in the first inning and the first batter of the third inning). Palmer gave up 5 earned runs in the game and was the losing pitcher. The National League won the game 7-5. The 1977 All-Star Game was also the last one played in Yankee Stadium.

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On October 4, 1986, Minnesota Twins shortstop Greg Gagne hit two inside the park home runs in a single game against the Chicago White Sox in the 2nd and 4th innings. The one in the 4th was a 3-run inside-the-park home run. Minnesota won the game 7-3.

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A player better remembered for his hitting records than pitching records, Babe Ruth, has the most innings pitched in a single World Series game - 14.

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Ken Griffey Jr. has won the home run derby 3 times in 1994, 1998, and 1999.

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In game 6 of the 1967 World Series, the Boston Red Sox became the only team in World Series history to hit 3 home runs in a single inning. The Red Sox hit 3 home runs in the 4th inning of game 6. The dingers were hit (in order) by Rico Petrocelli, Carl Yastrzemski, and Reggie Smith off of right handed pitcher Dick Hughes at Fenway Park on October 11, 1967. The Red Sox won the game 8-4 but went on to lose game 7 and the series.

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On April 29, 2007, Troy Tulowitzki of The Colorado Rockies (against the Atlanta Braves) caught a Chipper Jones line drive, stepped on second to get Kelly Johnson out, and then tagged out Edgar Renteria before he could return to first. Colorado went on to win the game 9-7.

The last unassisted triple play before that was performed by Rafael Furcal of the Atlanta Braves on August 10, 2003 against St. Louis. There have only been 14 unassisted triple plays in the history of Major League Baseball (one of which is disputed - in 1878).

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Randy Johnson, at 38 years 1 month and 18 days old, pitched a complete game shout out in a World Series. He did this in game 2 of the 2001 World Series, beating the Yankees 4-0. The Diamondbacks went on to take the series in 7. Randy Johnson also pitched and won game 6 and game 7 of the series. Randy Johnson won the MVP for the 2001 World Series, along with Curt Schilling.

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Hall of famer Johnny Bench, who earned 10 Gold Glove awards in his career, is the National League catcher with the most Gold Glove awards. He also earned two Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, the Rookie of the Year Award and was selected to 14-time All-Star teams.

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Hall of famer Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th in the 1960 World Series to win the series for Pittsburgh over the Yankees. Another hall of famer, Yogi Berra, playing left field that day, watched the ball go out for the home run.

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Number 14, Ernie Banks, who played for the Chicago Cubs from 1953 to 1971, was the first member of the Cubs to have their uniform number retired. Ernie played on 11 All-Star teams, and won the Golden Glove at short stop in 1960. He hit 512 home runs in his career. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

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Slugger Reggie Jackson ("Mr. October") holds the record for the most strikeouts in a career with 2,597.

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Cy Young holds the record for the most innings pitched in a career with 7,356.

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Satchel Paige was the oldest play to appear in Major League Baseball's All-Star game. He was 47 years old when he played in the 1953 All-Star Game.

Other things baseball:

• Best Baseball Movies
• MLB Spring Training
• More baseball trivia
• Visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame

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Boston Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski, a three-time batting champion (1963, 1967, & 1968), retired from baseball with a .285 lifetime batting average. His 1968 batting crown was achieved with an average of .301, the lowest batting average ever for a batting champion. In his 23 seasons with the Red Sox "Yaz" only hit above .300 6 times, the highest being .329 in 1970 when he finished second for the batting title.

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Hall of fame great Ted Williams flew 39 combat missions during two tours of duty over two years during the Korean war. He also spent three years as a Marine flight instructor during World War II.

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The last Major League Baseball player to steal second, third, and then home plate during the same inning was Eric Young of the Colorado Rockies on June 30, 1996.

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The Green Monster at Boston's Fenway Park has been 37.17 feet tall since 1917 (five years after Fenway opened). It did not become green until 1947. Other major Fenway Park milestones include:

• Opened 1912 almost a week after the Titanic sank.
• The first game was an 11 inning win over New York.
• The first World Series played at Fenway was in 1912 (Boston beat the Giants).
• First Sunday game at Fenway was in 1932. Prior to that the Sox played Sunday Games at Braves Field because of Fenway's proximity to a Church.
• The largest crowd at Fenway Park was 47,627 for a Yankees doubleheader on September 22, 1935.
• The first night game was played at Fenway Park in 1947.
• Another Fenway icon, "Pesky's Pole" (the right field foul pole) was named by pitcher Mel Parnell after Johnny Pesky hit a home run around the pole to win a game. It is ironic that the pole is named after a man who only hit 6 home runs in Fenway Park.

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The MLB player with the most times stealing home in a career is Ty Cobb with 54 (50 with Detroit and 4 with Philadelphia). Second place goes to Max Carey with 33 (31 with Pittsburgh and 2 with Brooklyn).

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According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the 23 ways for a baseball player to reach first base are:

1. Hit
2. Fielder's choice
3. Forceout at another base
4. Preceding runner put out allows batter to reach first base
5. Sacrifice bunt fails to advance the runner
6. Hit by pitch
7. Error
8. Walk
9. Intentional walk
10. Pinch-runner
11. Dropped third strike
12. Catcher interference
13. Fair ball hits runner
14. Fair ball hits umpire
15. Sacrifice fly dropped
16. Obstruction of runner
17. Fielder interference
18. Spectator interference
19. Fan obstruction
20. Runner out on appeal
21. Failure to deliver pitch within 20 seconds on a three-ball count
22. Four illegal pitches
23. Game suspended with runner on first; if he's traded prior to the makeup game, another player may take his place

Many thanks to Gary Belsky and Neil Fine, executive editors at ESPN The Magazine for allowing Nutty About Sports to use questions from their book 23 Ways to Get to First Base: The ESPN Uncyclopedia.

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The University of Southern California (USC, or Southern California) has the most NCAA Division I Men's College World Series (MCWS) Championships with 12. Second is Texas with six, and Arizona State and LSU are tied for third with five MCWS titles.

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Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox has been tossed out of 130 baseball games. He has been coaching since 1978, all but four of those with Atlanta (the other four were with Toronto).

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Two teams have won three or more world series in a row. They are:

• New York Yankees
• 5 in a row in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, and 1953. In 1954 the New York Giants won the World Series. In 1955 the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series. In 1956 the Yankees won it again. The World Series trophy stayed in New York for 8 years in a row!
• 4 in a row in 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939.
• 3 in a row in 1998, 1999, and 2000. 2000 was the last time they won a World Series.
• The Oakland Athletics
• 3 in a row in 1972, 1973, and 1974.

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The class of 1936, the first class elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, consisted of:

• Ty Cobb
• Walter Johnson
• Babe Ruth
• Christy Mathewson
• Honus Wagner

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The Boston Red Sox have retired six numbers:

1 - Bobby Doerr
4 - Joe Cronin
8 - Carl Yastrzemski
9 - Ted Williams
29 - Carlton Fisk *
42 - Jackie Robinson

The Red Sox criteria for number retirement is that the player must be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and end their career with the Red Sox.

* Carlton Fix was rehired by the Red Sox after he retired from the White Sox so that the Red Sox could retire his number.

Every MLB team has retired 42, Jackie Robinson's number.

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Pitcher Joe Nuxhall made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds on June 10, 1944, at the age of 15 years, 10 months, and 11 days. He pitched for 2/3 of the 9th inning. The reds were behind 13 to 0. His line on the day was 2 hits, 5 walks, and 5 runs. Joe re-debut in the majors in 1952. He played 16 years in the majors, 15 of which were with the Cincinnati Reds. After playing he went on to be a Reds broadcaster. His signature radio signoff phrase was "...Rounding third and heading for home".

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Larry Gowell of the New York Yankees hit a double on October 4, 1972 making him the last American League pitcher to get a hit before the designated hitter rule went into effect in 1973.

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On August 10, 1944, Boston Braves pitcher Red Barrett threw 58 pitches in route to a 2-0 shut out of the Cincinnati Reds. The game was only an hour and fifteen minutes long.

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Thirteen. It happened in Baltimore on July 30, 1971, when Dick Drago of the Kansas City Royals pitched four innings during which he faced thirteen batters and got them all out except Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson, who homered. Another Hall-of-Famer, Jim Palmer, shutout the Royals on two hits through five innings. After 4 and one-half innings, the game was stopped by rain, and went into the books as a 1-0 Orioles win. Thirteen batters is the absolute minimum that a pitcher can possibly face and be credited with a complete game and it would need to happen in this same way.

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Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan signed with the Houston Astros as a free agent following the 1979 season, agreeing to MLB's first million-dollar per year salary and also the first of its kind in any professional team sport.

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Major League Baseball's American League adopted the designated hitter in 1973 allowing someone to be designated to hit for the pitcher. The first designated hitter was the New York Yankees Ron "Boomer" Blomberg, on April 6, 1973. Pitching to "Boomer" was the Boston Red Sox pitcher Louis Tiant. Tiant walked Blomberg.

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Baseball's Triple Crown is earned by any player who leads his league in home runs, batting average, and runs batted in at the end of the season. To date two players have won the Triple Crown twice. They are:

• Rogers Hornsby in 1922 and 1925
• Ted Williams in 1942 & 1947

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Hall-of-Famer Paul Molitor accomplished the feat in game 1 of the 1982 World Series, amassing a total of 5 hits. Despite Molitor's heroics, his Milwaukee Brewers were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

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Rick Monday was selected by the Kansas City Athletics as the first pick in baseball's first amateur draft, held in June of 1965. Monday at the time was an outfielder for Arizona State University. He later went on to enjoy a 19-season career with three different major league franchises, compiling a .264 batting average with 241 home runs and 775 RBI.

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Jack Taylor set the record for the most consecutive complete games pitched in 1906 when he pitched his 185th complete game. Do not look for that record to be broken any time soon. In Major League baseball, 185 is approximately the total number of compete games pitched by all major league pitchers in a year.

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Only two All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) teams were around for the entire existence of the league. Both the Rockford Peaches and the South Bend Blue Sox were in existence from 1943 to 1954. The Peaches won four AAGPBL championships during that period, and the Sox won two.

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The Rockford Peaches were by far the most successful team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) from a championship stand point. They were part of the league from 1943 to 1954 (its entire existence). During that time they won four championships in 1945, 1948, 1949, and 1950. Three other teams are tied for two championships - the Grand Rapids Chicks (1947, and 1953), the Racine Belles (1943, and 1946), and the South Bend Blue Sox (1951, and 1952).

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The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the subject of the 1993 movie A League of Their Own, was a women's professional baseball league which started operations in 1943 and existed for 12 years through 1954. It started with 4 teams in 1943, and at its peak in 1948 had 10 teams.

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Ila Borders was the first woman to win a professional minor league baseball game on July 24, 1998 when she was playing with the Duluth-Superior Dukes. She beat the Sioux Falls Canaries 3 to 1. She was also the first woman to play in a professional minor league baseball game when she debuted in May of 1997 with the St. Paul Saints. She was also the first woman to play in a NCAA or NAIA game game when she pitched for Southern California College on February 15, 1994.

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In 1993, three members of the Toronto Blue Jays took the top three slots of the American League batting championship. They are (in order):

1. John Olerud
2. Paul Molitor
3. Roberto Alomar

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While you would think that marriage proposals are fairly common on the stadium scoreboard, surprisingly at Dodger Stadium they just started doing them this year (2007). So they honestly do not know how many they will do. At Fenway Park in Boston there is a proposal at every home game - making for 81 proposals of marriage. The officials at Yankee Stadium estimated that they do 20 a year (could this confirm what every loyal Red Sox fan would contend, that there is just less love in New York city?).

For more on the Taco Bell marriage promotion see: Propose to Your Beloved on a Nationally Televised Baseball Game.

Thank you Erin for doing the research for this question.

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Three Boston Red Sox pitchers have won five games in April. They are:

• Babe Ruth in 1917
• Pedro Martinez in 2000
• Josh Beckett with his April 26, 2007 win over the Baltimore Orioles

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In setting the new record of 262 hits in a season, Ichiro Suzuki broke the record of George Sisler who hit 257 seasons in 1920 with the St. Louis Browns.

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The New York Giants were the first National League baseball team to win four pennants in a row. They accomplished this feat in 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1924.

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In addition to the Boston Red Sox, four other MLB teams have had four back-to-back home run outbursts. These teams are:

• 1961 Braves - Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock, and Frank Thomas
• 1963 Indians - Woodie Held, Pedro Ramos, Tito Francona, and Larry Brown
• 1964 Twins - Tony Oliva, Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall, and Harmon Killebrew
• 2006 Dodgers - Jeff Kent, J.D. Drew, Russell Martin, and Marlon Anderson

J.D. Drew is the only player to be in the middle of one of these four home run outbursts twice - hitting the second home run of the four each time.

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The Major League Baseball player to play for the most pennant winners and world champions is the Yankees Yogi Berra.

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If you got this right you really know your movies! According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the first baseball movie was Little Sunset from 1915. You can find this out, and other baseball movie trivia at the "Baseball at the Movies" exhibit on the first floor of the Hall of Fame.

Little Sunset did not make the Nutty about Sports list of The 50 Best Sports Movies. The oldest baseball movie to make that list is 1942 classic The Pride of the Yankees.

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The 1942 classic Movie The Pride of the Yankees chronicles the life and career of Yankee great Lou Gehrig. In the movie, Gary Cooper played Lou Gehrig. Babe Ruth also has an acting part in this movie playing himself.

The Pride of the Yankees made the Nutty About Sports 50 Best Sports Movies list at number 19. It was the 5th best baseball movie on the list.

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Major achievements during Jackie Robinson's career include:

1. 1947 National League Rookie of the Year
2. 1949 National League Most Valuable Player
3. 6-time All-Star (1949-1954)
4. Appeared in six World Series and had one Championship when Brooklyn beat the Yankees in 1955
5. Lifetime batting average: .311

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Major League Baseball's top five home run percentage leaders are (as of the end of the 2006 season):

1. Mark McGwire with 9.42%
2. Babe Ruth with 8.5%
3. Barry Bonds with 7.72% (active player)
4. Jim Thome with 7.36% (active player)
5. Manny Ramirez with 7.15% (active player)

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Of active players, Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox has the most grand slams with 20. The closest active player to Manny is Ken Griffey Jr. with 14. The top five all-time grand slam leaders are:

• Lou Gehrig with 23
• Manny Ramirez with 20 (active)
• Eddie Murray with 19
• Willie McCovey with 18
• Robin Ventura with 18

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The Red Sox records for most runs scored and largest margin of victory for their Fenway opener are:

• Most runs (15): 1973 when they beat the Yankees 15 to 5
• Largest margin of victory (11): 2007 when they beat the Mariners 14 to 3

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Boston's Fenway Park played host to its first Major League Baseball game on April 20, 1912. In that game the Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders (later known as the Yankees) 7 to 6 in 11 innings - so the tradition of long, extra innings, Red Sox/Yankees games started from the very beginning...

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The Major League Baseball players who have won the most batting championships are:

1. 11 for Ty Cobb (1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1918, 1919) all with Detroit
2. 8 for:
• Honus Wagner (1900, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911) all with Pittsburgh, and
• Tony Gwynn (1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997) all with San Diego
3. 7 for:
• Rod Carew (1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978) all with Minnesota and
• Rogers Hornsby (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1928) all with St. Louis and
• Stan Musial (1943, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1957) all with St. Louis
4. 6 for Ted Williams (1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1957, 1958) all with Boston

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The Major League Baseball pitchers who have won the most Cy Young awards are:

1. Roger Clemens who has won 7 (1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004)
2. Randy Johnson who has won 5 (1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
3. Steve Carlton who has won 4 (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982) and
   Greg Maddux who has won 4 (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)
4. Sandy Koufax who has won 3 (1963, 1965, 1966) and
   Pedro Martinez who has won 3 (1997, 1999, 2000) and
   Jim Palmer who has won 3 (1973, 1975, 1976) and
   Tom Seaver who has won 3 (1969, 1973, 1975)

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On April 15th, 1968, Houston beat New York 1 to 0 in 24 innings to record the longest shutout in MLB history. In that game, the Houston starter (Don Wilson) went 9 scoreless innings, and one of their relievers (Jim Ray) pitched an additional 7 scoreless innings. The New York starter (Tom Seaver) pitched 10 scoreless innings. The loss went to New York's Les Rohr.

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Two opening day games have gone 15 innings. On April 13, 1926, Washington beat Philadelphia 1 to 0 in a 15 inning game on opening day. On April 19, 1960, Detroit beat Cleveland 4 to 2 in a 15 inning game on opening day.

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The longest game from the stand point of innings was played on May 1, 1920 between Brooklyn and Boston. It lasted 26 innings and ended in a 1 to 1 tie. The longest game from an elapsed time standpoint was a 25 inning game played between Chicago and Milwaukee. The game lasted 8 hours and 6 minutes and was won by Chicago 7 to 6.

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The longest professional baseball game was played on April 18, 1981 at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. In that game, the Pawtucket Red Sox played the Rochester Red Wings, both teams from the triple-A International League. The game lasted a total of 33 innings. It was suspended at the end of the 32nd inning at 4:09 AM. The nineteen remaining fans in the stadium received lifetime passes to McCoy Stadium. The game was resumed at the next meeting between the two teams on June 23rd. The Paw Sox prevailed in the 33rd inning and won the game 3 to 2.

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If you said Hank Aaron you are incorrect. Yes, "Hammerin Hank" holds the record for Major League Baseball with 755 home runs. However, Japanese slugger Sadaharu Oh hit an amazing 868 home runs in a career that spanned from 1959 to 1980. Also, Negro League slugger Josh Gibson is estimated to have hit anywhere from 800 to 1000 home runs during his career. The National Baseball Hall of Fame gives him credit for "ALMOST 800 HOME RUNS IN LEAGUE AND INDEPENDENT BASEBALL".

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Hall-of-Famer Burleigh Grimes, nicknamed "Ol' Stubblebeard", made his major league debut on September 10, 1916 as a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. When the spitball was banned from baseball in 1920, Grimes was named as one of the 17 established pitchers who would be allowed to continue to legally throw the pitch. Making the most of this advantage, Grimes won 270 games over the course of his 19-year career and pitched in four. At the time of his retirement, Grimes was the last remaining spitballer left in the league. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1964.

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Milwaukee's County Stadium, which opened in 1953, was the first of its kind to be completely publicly funded. The stadium was primarily used as the home field for baseball's Milwaukee Brewers and Braves, but was also utilized for football, serving for a time as the home field for the NFL's Green Bay Packers. County Stadium was also the first Major League ballpark built with lights.

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• For the American League it is the New York Yankees with 19 MVP award winners. The last Yankee to win the MVP was Alex Rodriguez in 2005.
• For the National League it is the St. Louis Cardinals with 15 MVP Award winners. The last Cardinal MVP winner was Albert Pujols in 2005.

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The Cy Young award was instituted in 1956. From 1956 to 1966 there was only one winner for both leagues. Since 1967 a Cy Young Award winner has been selected for both the American League and the National League. In the history of the award, the following teams have the most winners:

• For the American League it is a tie between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox, each with 6 Cy Young Award winners. For Baltimore the last winner was Steve Stone in 1980. For the Red Sox the last winner was Pedro Martinez in 2000.
• For the National League it is the Los Angeles Dodgers with 8 Cy Young Award winners. The last Dodger winner was Eric Gagne in 2003.

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• For the American League it is the Boston Red Sox with 25 batting champions. The last Red Sox batting champion was Bill Mueller in 2003. In second place is the Detroit Tigers with 21. The last Detroit batting champion was Norm Cash in 1961.
• For the National League it is the Pittsburgh Pirates, also with 25 batting champions. The last Tiger batting champion was Freddy Sanchez in 2006. In second place is The St. Louis Cardinals with 22. The last Cardinal batting champion was Albert Pujols in 2003.

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The Boston Red Sox currently conduct spring training in Fort Myers, Florida where they have been since 1993. Prior to that, the Red Sox held spring training in Winter Haven, Florida (1966-1992), and Scottsdale, Arizona (1959-1965).

Other locations prior to Scottsdale include: Charlottesville, VA (1901); Augusta, GA (1902); Macon, GA (1903-1906); Little Rock, AK (1907-1908); Hot Springs, AK (1909-1910, 1912-1918, 1920-1923); Redondo Beach, CA (1911); Tampa, FL (1919); San Antonio, TX (1924); New Orleans, LA (1925-1927); Bradenton, FL (1928-1929); Pensacola, FL (1930-1931); Savannah, GA (1932); Sarasota, FL (1933-1942, 1946-1958); Medford, MA (1943-1944); and Atlantic City, NJ (1945).

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Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida, has no dugouts, only benches where the players sit behind a chain-link fence. The stadium, current Spring Training site of the Los Angeles Dodgers, provides what is probably the closest access of fans to players of any Grapefruit League park.

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Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays train every spring at Al Lang Field, located on the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The team's regular-season stadium, Tropicana Field, is located only twelve blocks away.

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A baseball player can earn a golden sombrero by striking out four times in a game. A player who strikes out five times in a game earns "Olympic rings" or a "platinum sombrero", and a player who strikes out six times earns a "horn" or "titanium sombrero". The last player to earn one of these dubious distinctions was Alex Rios of the Toronto Blue Jays who earned a platinum sombrero in a game on July 29, 2006.

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Rusty Staub got 500 or more hits for:

1. Detroit - 582
2. Houston - 792
3. Montreal - 531
4. New York Mets - 720

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The following MLB pitchers have made the most opening day starts:

1. 16 starts - Tom Seaver
2. 14 starts - Steve Carlton, Walter Johnson, and Jack Morris
3. 13 starts - Randy Johnson

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A rare 1909 card of Honus Wagner was sold on eBay in 2000 for $1.265 million. Honus Wagner played for the Louisville Colonels (1897-1899) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1900-1917). He also managed the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1917. In 1905, Honus became the first baseball player to have his name branded into a Louisville Slugger baseball bat.

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Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams, known more for his extraordinary hitting achievements than for stealing bases, was the only other player to have recorded stolen bases in four separate decades. Williams, who only stole 24 bases in his entire career, stole 2 bases in his rookie season (1939) for the Boston Red Sox and had one stolen base in his final season (1960), also with the Red Sox. Among his outstanding achievements were two Triple Crowns (1942 and 1947), two MVP awards (1946 and 1949), six batting championships, four home run championships, and four RBI championships. He was also the last player to hit over .400, finishing with a .406 batting average in 1941.

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Rickey Henderson hit at least one homerun in each of his 25 Major League seasons, starting in 1979, when he homered once as a rookie for the Oakland Athletics, and ending in 2003, when he homered twice in 72 at-bats for the Los Angeles Dodgers. During his entire career, Henderson amassed a total of 297 homers. He is also the holder of several other lifetime and regular-season records, including the all-time record for most leadoff home runs (81).

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Ted Kluszewski, as a first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, had three seasons in which he hit 40 or more homers and struck out 40 or fewer times, making him the only player to do this more than once in MLB history. The three seasons were consecutive (1953, 1954, and 1955). 1955 was also the last time to date that this feat has been accomplished. His homer/strikeout totals in these years were: 40/34 (1953), 49/35 (1954), and 47/40 (1955). The other four players to achieve this distinction were:

• Mel Ott (1929)
• Lou Gehrig (1934)
• Joe DiMaggio (1937)
• Johnny Mize (1948).

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In the years 1956 to 1958, Yankee outfielder Hank Bauer set the record for the longest World Series Hitting streak, a record that still stands to this day. Yankee Derek Jeter came close with a 14 game World Series hitting streak, and owns a 17 game post season hitting streak, as does Boston Red Sox great Manny Ramirez.

Hank Bauer passed away yesterday (2/9/2007) at the age of 84 from cancer. See: Former Yankees OF Hank Bauer dies at 84.

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In spring training of 1951 the Yankees swapped spring training locations with their cross-town rivals the New York Giants and held spring training in the Cactus League in Arizona. That year was Joe DiMaggio's last spring training and Mickey Mantle's first.

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Steve Bedrosian, a pitcher who was used mostly as a reliever throughout his career, pitched one season (1985) exclusively as a starter. In this season he pitched a total of 206 and two-thirds innings for the Atlanta Braves without turning in a complete game, the first time this had ever happened.

Two years later (1987) Bedrosian won the Cy Young award, pitching exclusively as a reliever for the Philadelphia Phillies and earning 40 saves as their closer.

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Mel Ott, a lifetime player for the New York Giants who was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951 with 87.2% of the votes, hit 511 lifetime home runs. Of this number, 323 of them were hit at the Polo Grounds, the Giants home stadium, compared to only 188 hit on the road. The 135-homerun disparity is the greatest in MLB history.

Ott also managed the giants between 1942 and 1948, serving as player-manager during most of that span.

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In 1968 Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski won the batting championship with a batting average of .301. That is the lowest batting average for a batting championship in Major League Baseball history. The year before, 1967, "Yaz" won the triple crown with a .326 batting average, 121 RBIs, and 44 home runs.

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The only two players to win MLB's Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same year are:

• Fred Lynn in 1975 with the Boston Red Sox
• Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners

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Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, the "Yankee Clipper", was not elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame until 1955, his third year of eligibility. This is the guy with the famous record 56 game hitting streak (1941), with a lifetime batting average of .325, who played on 13 all-star teams, who played in no less than ten World Series, and who won the MVP award three times (1939, 1941, and 1947). How he could not have been elected in in his first year of eligibility staggers the imagination.

Joe DiMaggio also had a 61 game hitting streak in 1933 playing for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League.

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In 1965, future hall-of-famer Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox got a hit off of pitcher Satchel Paige. At the time, Paige was listed as 59 years old, although it is widely believed that he was older.

Satchel Paige, who started his career in the Negro Leagues, became the oldest player to make his major league debut when he was sold to Cleveland in 1948. He was 42 at the time.