Major League Baseball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Major League Baseball
Current season or competition: 2008 Major League Baseball season
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1869
Commissioner	Bud Selig[1]
No. of teams	30[2]
Country(ies)	United States  Canada
Most recent champion(s)	Boston Red Sox
Most championships	New York Yankees (26)[3]
TV partner(s)	FOX, ESPN, and TBS
Official website	MLB.com

Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball composed of 30 teams. More specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has existed between them since 1903. Each season consists of 162 games, which generally begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the first Sunday in October, with the playoffs played in October and sometimes in early November. The same rules and regulations are played between the two leagues with one exception: the American League operates under the Designated Hitter Rule, while the National League does not. Utilization of the DH Rule in Interleague play, the All-Star and World Series games are determined by the home team's league rules. In 2000, two leagues were officially disbanded as separate legal entities with all rights and functions consolidated in the commissioner's office.^[4] MLB effectively operates as a single league and as such it constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues of North America.

MLB is controlled by the Major League Baseball Constitution that has undergone several incarnations since 1876 with the most recent revisions being made in 2005. Under the direction of Commissioner of Baseball (currently Bud Selig), Major League Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts. As is the case for most North American sports leagues, the "closed shop" aspect of MLB effectively prevents the yearly promotion and relegation of teams into and out of the Major League by virtue of their performance. Private enterprises is mostly funded by Major league Baseball, but also partially funded directly by public taxes. Major League Baseball maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of minor league baseball. This is due in large part to a 1922 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Federal Baseball Club v. National League, which held that baseball is not interstate commerce and therefore not subject to federal antitrust law. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years.^[5][6]

The production/multimedia wing of MLB is New York-based MLB Advanced Media, which oversees MLB.com and all 30 of the individual teams' websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the League itself, but it is indeed under the same ownership group and revenue-sharing plan. MLB Productions is a similarly-structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media.

Contents 1 History of Major League Baseball 1.1 Rise of Major League Baseball 1.2 The dead ball era 1.3 The major leagues move west 1.4 Pitching dominance and rules changes 1.5 The Power Age 2 Current Major League franchises 3 Major League Baseball uniforms 4 All-Star Game 5 Post-season 6 MLB steroid policy 7 Major League Baseball ethnic demographics 8 MLB blackout policy 9 Major League Baseball on television 9.1 International Broadcasting of Major League Baseball 10 See also 10.1 Players, ownership, ballparks and officials 10.2 Statistics, milestones and records 10.3 Post-season awards 10.4 In-season awards 10.5 Exhibition and playoffs 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links

[edit] History of Major League Baseball

Main article: History of baseball in the United States

[edit] Rise of Major League Baseball

In 1870, a schism developed between professional and amateur ballplayers. The NABBP split into two groups. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was formed in 1871.^[7] It is considered by some to have been the first major league. Its amateur counterpart disappeared after only a few years.

The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, which still exists, was established in 1876 after the National Association proved ineffective. The emphasis was now on "clubs" rather than "players". Clubs now had the ability to enforce player contracts, preventing players from jumping to higher-paying clubs. Clubs in turn were required to play their full schedule of games, rather than forfeiting scheduled games once out of the running for the league championship, as happened frequently under the National Association. A concerted effort was made to reduce the amount of gambling on games which was leaving the validity of results in doubt.

The early years of the National League were tumultuous, with threats from rival leagues and a rebellion by players against the hated "reserve clause", which restricted the free movement of players between clubs. Competitive leagues formed regularly, and also disbanded regularly. The most successful was the American Association (1881–1891), sometimes called the "beer and whiskey league" for its tolerance of the sale of alcoholic beverages to spectators. For several years, the National League and American Association champions met in a postseason championship series—the first attempt at a World Series.

The Union Association survived for only one season (1884), as did the Players League (1890).^[8][9] Both leagues are considered major leagues by many baseball researchers because of the perceived high caliber of play (for a brief time anyway) and the number of star players featured. However, some researchers have disputed the major league status of the Union Association, pointing out that franchises came and went and contending that the St. Louis club, which was deliberately "stacked" by the league's president (who owned that club), was the only club that was anywhere close to major league caliber.^[10]

In fact, there were dozens of leagues, large and small, at this time. What made the National League "major" was its dominant position in the major cities, particularly New York City, the edgy, emotional nerve center of baseball. The large cities offered baseball teams national media distribution systems and fan bases that could generate revenues enabling teams to hire the best players in the country.

The resulting bidding war for players led to widespread contract-breaking and legal disputes. One of the most famous involved star second baseman Napoleon Lajoie, who in 1901 went across town in Philadelphia from the National League Phillies to the American League Athletics. Barred by a court injunction from playing baseball in the state of Pennsylvania the next year, Lajoie was traded to the Cleveland team, where he played and managed for many years.^[11]

The war between the American and National caused shock waves throughout the baseball world. At a meeting at the Leland Hotel in Chicago in 1901, the other baseball leagues negotiated a plan to maintain their independence. On September 5, 1901 Patrick T. Powers, president of the Eastern League announced the formation of the second National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the NABPL or "NA" for short.^[12]

Ban Johnson had other designs for the NA. While the NA continues to this day, he saw it as a tool to end threats from smaller rivals who might some day want to expand in other territories and threaten his league's dominance.

After 1902 both leagues and the NABPL signed a new National Agreement. The new agreement tied independent contracts to the reserve-clause national league contracts. Baseball players were a commodity, like cars. $5,000 bought your arm or your bat, and if you didn't like it, find someplace that would hire you. It set up a rough classification system for independent leagues that regulated the dollar value of contracts, the forerunner of the system refined by Rickey and used today.^[13]

It also gave the NA great power. Many independents walked away from the 1901 meeting. The deal with the NA punished those other indies who had not joined the NA and submitted to the will of the 'majors.' The NA also agreed to the deal to prevent more pilfering of players with little or no compensation for the players' development. Several leagues, seeing the writing on the wall, eventually joined the NA, which grew in size over the next several years.

[edit] The dead ball era

Main article: Dead ball era

At this time the games tended to be low scoring, dominated by such pitchers as Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, and Grover Cleveland Alexander to the extent that the period 1900–1919 is commonly called the "dead ball era". The term also accurately describes the condition of the baseball itself. Baseballs cost three dollars apiece, a hefty sum at the time, equaling approximately 65 inflation adjusted US dollars as of 2005; club owners were therefore reluctant to spend much money on new balls if not necessary. It was not unusual for a single baseball to last an entire game. By the end of the game, the ball would be dark with grass, mud, and tobacco juice, and it would be misshapen and lumpy from contact with the bat. Balls were only replaced if they were hit into the crowd and lost, and many clubs employed security guards expressly for the purpose of retrieving balls hit into the stands—a practice unthinkable today.

As a consequence, home runs were rare, and the "inside game" dominated—singles, bunts, stolen bases, the hit-and-run play, and other tactics dominated the strategies of the time.^[14] Hitting methods like the Baltimore Chop were put into use to increase the number of infield singles.^[15]

The foul strike rule was a major rule change that, in just a few years, sent baseball from a high-scoring game to one where scoring any runs became a struggle. Prior to this rule, foul balls were not counted as strikes: thus a batter could foul off a countless number of pitches with no strikes counted against him. This gave an enormous advantage to the batter. In 1901, the National League adopted the foul strike rule, and the American League followed suit in 1903.

[edit] The major leagues move west

Walter O'Malley is considered by baseball experts to be "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era."^[16] Following the 1957 Major League Baseball season, he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles, and New York's Dodgers fans felt betrayed.^[17] O'Malley was also influential in getting the rival New York Giants to move west to become the San Francisco Giants. He needed another team to go with him, for had he moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals—1,600 mi (2,575.0 km) away—^[18][19] would have been the closest National League team. The joint move would make West Coast road trips more economical for visiting teams.^[20] O'Malley invited San Francisco Mayor George Christopher to New York to meet with Giants owner Horace Stoneham.^[20] Stoneham was considering moving the Giants to Minnesota,^[21] but he was convinced to join O'Malley on the West Coast at the end of the 1957 campaign. Since the meetings occurred during the 1957 season and against the wishes of Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick, there was media gamesmanship.^[22] When O'Malley moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn the story transcended the world of sport and he found himself on the cover of Time.^[23] The cover art for the issue was created by sports cartoonist Willard Mullin,^[24] long noted for his caricature of the "Brooklyn Bum" that personified the team. The dual moves broke the hearts of New York's National League fans but ultimately were successful for both franchises – and for Major League Baseball as a whole.^[17] In fact, the move was an immediate success as well since the Dodgers set a major league single-game attendance record in their first home appearance with 78,672 fans.^[20] In the years following the move of the New York clubs, Major League Baseball expanded to include three other California based teams, as well as two in Texas and one each in Minnesota, Seattle, Colorado, and Arizona. In addition, the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, Missouri and eventually to Oakland, California.

[edit] Pitching dominance and rules changes

By the late 1960s, the balance between pitching and hitting had swung in favor of the pitchers. In 1968 Carl Yastrzemski won the American League batting title with an average of just .301, the lowest in history.^[25]

That same year, Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain won 31 games — making him the first pitcher to win 30 games in a season since Dizzy Dean.^[26] St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson achieved an equally remarkable feat by allowing an ERA of just 1.12.^[27]

In 1973 the American League, which had been suffering from much lower attendance than the National League, made a move to increase scoring even further by initiating the designated hitter rule.^[28]

[edit] The Power Age

Routinely in today's baseball age we see players reach 40 and 50 home runs in a season, a feat that even in the 1980s was considered rare. The need of pitchers to combat the rise in power will likely lead to a pitching revolution at some point in the future. Many modern baseball theorists believe that a new pitch, such as the infamous gyroball, will swing the balance of power back to the pitcher. However, the gyroball is still something of a phantom pitch--the only pitchers allegedly able to throw it are Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox and a college pitcher named Joey Niezer. However, during the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Matsuzaka admitted that though he has tried to throw the gyroball, he cannot do so on a consistent basis.^[29] A pitching revolution would not be unprecedented--several pitches have changed the game of baseball in the past, including the slider in the 50's and 60's and the split-fingered fastball in the 70's to 90's. Since the 1990s, the changeup has made a resurgence, being thrown masterfully by pitchers such as Trevor Hoffman, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Johan Santana.^{[30][31][32][33]}

[edit] Current Major League franchises

Main article: Current Major League franchises

Division	Team	Founded	City	Stadium	Reference
American League
East	Baltimore Orioles	19011	Baltimore, MD	Oriole Park at Camden Yards	[34]
	Boston Red Sox	1901	Boston, MA	Fenway Park	[35]
	New York Yankees	19012	Bronx, NY	Yankee Stadium11	[36]
	Tampa Bay Rays	1998	St. Petersburg, FL	Tropicana Field	[37]
	Toronto Blue Jays	1977	Toronto, ON	Rogers Centre	[38]
Central	Chicago White Sox	1901	Chicago, IL	U.S. Cellular Field	[39]
	Cleveland Indians	1901	Cleveland, OH	Progressive Field	[40]
	Detroit Tigers	1901	Detroit, MI	Comerica Park	[41]
	Kansas City Royals	1969	Kansas City, MO	Kauffman Stadium	[42]
	Minnesota Twins	19013	Minneapolis, MN	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome12	[43]
West	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	1961	Anaheim, CA	Angel Stadium of Anaheim13	[44]
	Oakland Athletics	19014	Oakland, CA	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum14	[45]
	Seattle Mariners	1977	Seattle, WA	Safeco Field	[46]
	Texas Rangers	19615	Arlington, TX	Rangers Ballpark in Arlington	[47]
National League
East	Atlanta Braves	18716	Atlanta, GA	Turner Field	[48]
	Florida Marlins*	1993	Miami Gardens, FL	Dolphin Stadium15	[49]
	New York Mets	1962	Queens, NY	Shea Stadium16	[50]
	Philadelphia Phillies	1883	Philadelphia, PA	Citizens Bank Park	[51]
	Washington Nationals	19697	Washington, DC	Nationals Park	[52]
Central	Chicago Cubs	1871	Chicago, IL	Wrigley Field	[53]
	Cincinnati Reds	1882	Cincinnati, OH	Great American Ball Park	[54]
	Houston Astros	1962	Houston, TX	Minute Maid Park	[55]
	Milwaukee Brewers	19698	Milwaukee, WI	Miller Park	[56]
	Pittsburgh Pirates	1882	Pittsburgh, PA	PNC Park	[57]
	St. Louis Cardinals	1882	St. Louis, MO	Busch Stadium17	[58]
West	Arizona Diamondbacks	1998	Phoenix, AZ	Chase Field	[59]
	Colorado Rockies	1993	Denver, CO	Coors Field	[60]
	Los Angeles Dodgers	18839	Los Angeles, CA	Dodger Stadium	[61]
	San Diego Padres	1969	San Diego, CA	PETCO Park	[62]
	San Francisco Giants	188310	San Francisco, CA	AT&T Park	[63]

¹ Milwaukee Brewers 1901; St. Louis Browns 1902-1953

² Baltimore Orioles 1901-1902

³ Washington Senators 1901-1960

⁴ located in Philadelphia 1901-1954, Kansas City 1955-1967

⁵ Washington Senators 1961-1971

⁶ located in Boston 1876-1952; Milwaukee 1953-1965

⁷ Montreal Expos 1969-2004

⁸ Seattle Pilots 1969

⁹ located in Brooklyn 1890-1957

¹⁰ located in New York 1883-1957

¹¹ To be replaced in 2009 by a new stadium also named "Yankee Stadium"

¹² To be replaced in 2010 by a new stadium named "Target Field"

¹³ Hosting 2010 All-Star Game.

¹⁴ To be replaced in 2011-2012 by a new stadium named "Cisco Field"

¹⁵ To be replaced in 2011 by a new stadium currently named "New Marlins Stadium"

¹⁶ To be replaced in 2009 by a new stadium named "Citi Field"

¹⁷ Hosting 2009 All-Star Game

^* When the Marlins move out of Dolphin Stadium the team will be renamed the "Miami Marlins"

[edit] Major League Baseball uniforms

Main article: Baseball uniform

A baseball uniform is a type of uniform worn by baseball players, and sometimes by non-playing personnel, such as managers and coaches. It is worn to indicate the person's role in the game and, through use of logos and colors, to identify the two teams and officials.^[64]

The New York Knickerbockers were the first baseball team to use uniforms, taking the field on April 4, 1849 in pants made of blue wool, white flannel shirts and straw hats.^{[65][66][67][65][68]} The practice of wearing a uniform soon spread, and by 1900, all Major League teams had adopted them. By 1882, most uniforms included stockings, which covered the leg, from foot to knee and had different colors that reflected the different baseball positions.^[69] In the late 1880s, the Detroit Wolverines and Washington Nationals of the National League and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the American Association were the first to utilise striped uniforms.^[70][65]

Caps, or other types of headgear with eyeshades, have been a part of baseball uniforms from the beginning.^[71][72] Baseball teams often wore full-brimmed straw hats or no cap at all since there was no official rule regarding headgear.^[73] Completing the baseball uniform are cleats and stockings, both of which have also been around for a long time.

By the end of the 19th century, teams began the practice of wearing one of two different uniforms, one when they played in their own baseball stadium and a different one when they played on the road. It became common to wear white at home and one of gray, solid dark blue, or black on the road. An early examples of this is the Brooklyn Superbas, who started to use a blue pattern for their road uniforms in 1907.

[edit] All-Star Game

Early July marks the midway point of the season, during which a three day break is taken when the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is staged. The All-Star game pits players from the NL, headed up by the manager of the previous NL World Series team, against players from the AL, similarly managed, in an exhibition game. Since 1989, the designated hitter rule is used when the game is played in an AL ballpark; formerly no designated hitters played in the All-Star game. The 2002 contest ended in an 11-inning tie because both teams were out of pitchers, a result which proved highly unpopular with the fans. As a result, for a two-year trial in 2003 and 2004, the league which won the game received the benefit of home-field advantage in the World Series (four of the seven games taking place at their home park). That practice has since been extended indefinitely, since it has become popular with fans. The practice has upset purists over the previous format of the two leagues alternating home-field advantage for the World Series (especially considering that the NL has not won since 1996, thus they have not had home-field advantage in the World Series since 2001). The Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox took some advantage of the rule in 2004 and 2005 respectively, as each team started the Series with two home victories, giving them good momentum for a sweep (the Red Sox doing it again in 2007). However, the rule did not help the Yankees in 2003, as they lost the Series to Florida in 6 games, or the Detroit Tigers in 2006, as they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in 5 games.^[74][75]

The first All-Star Game was held as part of the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois, and was the brainchild of Arch Ward, then sports editor for The Chicago Tribune.^[76] Initially intended to be a one-time event, its great success resulted in making the game an annual one. Ward's contribution was recognized by Major League Baseball in 1962 with the creation of the "Arch Ward Trophy", given to the All-Star Game's most valuable player each year.^[77]

Since 1970, the eight position players for each team who take the field initially have been voted into the game by fans.^[78] The fan voting had been cancelled since 1957 as a result of the Cincinnati ballot-box-stuffing scandal (a local newspaper had printed pre-voted ballots for fans to send in, resulting in seven of the eight positions going to Cincinnati players). The league overruled the vote, adding St. Louis' Stan Musial and Milwaukee's Henry Aaron to the team, and fan voting was eliminated until the 1970 season. In more recent years, internet voting has been allowed.

From the first All-Star Game, players have worn their respective team uniforms rather than wearing uniforms made specifically for the game, with one exception: In the first game, the National League players wore uniforms made for the game, with the lettering "National League" across the front of the shirt. ^{[79] [80]}

[edit] Post-season

Total World Series Championships

Rank	Team	Titles
1st	New York Yankees	26
2nd	St. Louis Cardinals	10
3rd	Oakland Athletics	9
4th	Boston Red Sox	7
5th	Los Angeles Dodgers	6
T-6th	Cincinnati Reds	5
T-6th	Pittsburgh Pirates	5
T-6th	San Francisco Giants	5
9th	Detroit Tigers	4
T-10th	Atlanta Braves	3
T-10th	Baltimore Orioles	3
T-10th	Chicago White Sox	3
T-10th	Minnesota Twins	3
T-14th	Toronto Blue Jays	2
T-14th	New York Mets	2
T-14th	Cleveland Indians	2
T-14th	Florida Marlins	2
T-14th	Chicago Cubs	2
T-19th	Arizona Diamondbacks	1
T-19th	Kansas City Royals	1
T-19th	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	1
T-19th	Philadelphia Phillies	1
Further information: World Series

When the regular season ends after the first Sunday in October (or the last Sunday in September), eight teams enter the post-season playoffs. Six teams are division champions; the remaining two "wild-card" spots are filled by the team in each league that has the best record but is not a division champion (best second-place team). Three rounds of series of games are played to determine the champion:

1. American League Division Series and National League Division Series, each a best-of-five game series;
2. American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series, each a best-of-seven game series played between the surviving teams from the ALDS and NLDS; and
3. World Series, a best-of-seven game series played between the champions of each league.

The division winners are seeded 1-3 based on record. The wild-card team is the 4 seed, regardless of its record. The matchup for the first round of the playoffs is usually 1 seed vs. 4 seed and 2 seed vs. 3 seed, unless the wild-card team is from the same division as the 1 seed, in which case the matchup is 1 seed vs. 3 seed and 2 seed vs. 4 seed, as teams from the same division cannot meet in the 1st round. In the first and second round of the playoffs, the better seeded team has home-field advantage, regardless of record.^[81]

The team belonging to the league that won the mid-season All-Star Game receives home-field advantage in the World Series.

As all playoff series are split between the two teams' home fields, "home field advantage" does not play a significant role unless the series goes to its maximum number of games, in which case the final game takes place at the field of the team holding the advantage.^[82]

[edit] MLB steroid policy

Over most of the course of Major League Baseball, steroid testing was never a major issue. However, after the BALCO steroid scandal, which involved allegations that top baseball players had used illegal performance-enhancing drugs, Major League Baseball finally decided to issue harsher penalties for steroid users. The policy, which was accepted by Major League Baseball players and owners, was issued at the start of the 2005 season and went as follows:

A first positive test resulted in a suspension of 10 games, a second positive test resulted in a suspension of 30 games, the third positive test resulted in a suspension of 60 games, the fourth positive test resulted in a suspension of one full year, and a fifth positive test resulted in a penalty at the commissioner’s discretion. Players were tested at least once per year, with the chance that several players could be tested many times per year.^[84]

This program replaced the previous steroid testing program under which, for example, no player was even suspended in 2004. Under the old policy, which was established in 2002, a first-time offense would only result in treatment for the player, and the player would not even be named. But when Congress suggested that the punishment was not enough, the 2005 agreement changed this rule so that first-time offenders were named and suspended.^[85]

In November 2005, MLB owners and players approved even tougher penalties for positive tests than the ones in place during the 2005 season. Under the new rules, a first positive test would result in a 50-game suspension, a second positive test would result in a 100-game suspension, and a third positive test would result in a lifetime suspension from MLB.^[86]

These new penalties are much harsher than the previous ones. The new steroid policy brings MLB closer in line with international rules, as well as with the NFL, which has long taken a tough stance on those caught using steroids.

On March 30, 2006, Bud Selig launched an investigation on the alleged steroid use by players such as Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire and Gary Sheffield as the weight of books like Game of Shadows emerged. The inquiry into steroids' use in baseball is expected to go back no further than 2002, when MLB started testing players for performance-enhancing drugs.

A former Senate Majority Leader, federal prosecutor, and ex-chairman of The Walt Disney Company, George Mitchell was appointed by Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig on March 30, 2006^[87] to investigate the use of performance-enhancing drugs in MLB.^[88] Mitchell was appointed during a time of controversy over the 2006 book Game of Shadows by San Francisco Chronicle investigative reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, which chronicles alleged extensive use of performance enhancers, including several different types of steroids and growth hormone by baseball superstars Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi. The appointment was made after several influential members of the U.S. Congress made negative comments about both the effectiveness and honesty of MLB's drug policies and Commissioner Selig.^[88]

The 409-page report was released on December 13, 2007.^[89]

The report describes motivations for its preparation, including health effects of steroids, legal issues, fair play, and reports that baseball players acted as role models for child athletes. For example, after news coverage in August 1998 that Mark McGwire had used the then-legal androstenedione, a steroid precursor, sales of the supplement increased over 1000%, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that 8% of male high school seniors had used androstenedione in 2001.

Mitchell reported that during the random testing in 2003, 5 to 7 percent of players tested positive for steroid use. Players on the forty-man roster of major league teams were exempt from testing until 2004. One player is quoted: "Forty-man [roster] guys already have all of the [major league] club advantages, and then they could use steroids . . . it was not a level playing field."

According to the report, after mandatory random testing began in 2004, HGH became the substance of choice among players, as it is not detectable in tests.^[90] Also, it was noted that at least one player from each of the thirty Major League Baseball teams was involved in the alleged violations.^[91]

On December 12, 2007, the day before the report was to be released, Bud Selig said, regarding his decision to commission the report, "I haven't seen the report yet, but I'm proud I did it."^[92][93]

After the report was released, Selig held his own news conference at 4:30 pm Eastern Standard Time at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.^[89] In the press conference, Selig called the Mitchell Report "a call to action. And I will act."^[94] Selig indicated that it is possible that some of the players named in the report may face disciplinary actions. "Discipline of players and others identified in this report will be determined on a case-by-case basis. If warranted, those decisions will be made swiftly," said Selig.^[95]

According to ESPN, some people questioned whether Mitchell being a director of the Boston Red Sox created a conflict of interest, especially because no "prime [Sox] players were in the report." Mitchell described his role with the team as that of a "consultant".^[96] Despite the lack of "prime" Boston players, the report had named several prominent Yankees who were parts of World Series clubs. This made some people feel that there was a conflict of interest on Mitchell's part, due to the fierce rivalry between the two teams. Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd, along with his teammates, felt the timing of publicizing Byrd's alleged use was suspicious, as the information was leaked prior to the deciding Game 7 of the 2007 American League Championship Series between the Indians and the Red Sox.^[97] Former U.S. prosecutor John M. Dowd also brought up allegations of Mitchell's conflict of interest. Dowd, who had defended Senator John McCain of Arizona during the Keating Five investigation in the late 1980s, cited how he took exception to Mitchell's scolding of McCain and others for having a conflict of interest with their actions in the case and how the baseball investigation would be a "burden" for him when Mitchell was named to lead it.^[98] After the investigation, Dowd later told the Baltimore Sun that he was convinced the former Senator has done a good job.^[99] The Los Angeles Times reported that Mitchell acknowledged that his "tight relationship with Major League Baseball left him open to criticism".^[100] Mitchell responded to the concerns by stating that readers who examined the report closely "will not find any evidence of bias, of special treatment of the Red Sox".^[100]

[edit] Major League Baseball ethnic demographics

At the start of the 2005 season, there were 750 players on opening day rosters including 204 Latin American Players, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the overall player base. The Dominican Republic had 91 players, followed by Venezuela with 46 and Puerto Rico with 34.^[101]

[edit] MLB blackout policy

Main article: Major League Baseball blackout policy

Major League Baseball has several blackout rules.

A local broadcaster has priority to televise games of the team in their market over national broadcasters. For example, at one time TBS showed many Atlanta Braves games nationally and internationally in Canada. Fox Sports Net (FSN) also shows many games in other areas. If the Braves played a team that FSN or another local broadcaster showed, the local station will have the broadcast rights for its own local market, while TBS would have been blacked out in the same market for the duration of the game. A market that has a local team playing in a weekday ESPN or ESPN2 game and is shown on a local station will see ESPNEWS, or, in the past, another game scheduled on ESPN or ESPN2 at the same time (if ESPN or ESPN2 operates a regional coverage broadcasting and operates a game choice), or will be subject to an alternative programming feed. MLB's streaming Internet video service is also subject to the same blackout rules.

For example, Oregon residents reported about their situation. They're in the Oakland Athletics broadcast territory, but their cable systems don't carry the Athletics' games. And they're subject to blackouts of the games on Extra Innings and MLBTV.com, two sources of watching baseball games.^[102] The original policy was created so local teams could protect their rights. However, reports like the ones in Oregon have grown resentment by the fans. Some outraged fans have sent a letter to Dish Network, demanding the blackout policy be removed.

[edit] Major League Baseball on television

Main article: Major League Baseball television contracts

Major League Baseball is in the transition to a new set of television contracts. The league has three current broadcast partners: FOX, ESPN and TBS.

It was announced on July 11, 2006 that FOX Sports will remain with MLB through 2013 and broadcast FOX Saturday Baseball throughout the entire season, rather than the previous May to September format.^[103] FOX will also hold rights to the All-Star Game each season. FOX will also alternate League Championship Series broadcasts, broadcasting the American League Championship Series in odd-numbered years and the National League Championship Series in even-numbered years as part of the new contract. FOX will continue to broadcast all games of the World Series, which will begin on a Tuesday evening rather than the current Saturday evening format.

ESPN will continue to broadcast Major League Baseball through 2013 as well, beginning with national Opening Day coverage.^[93] ESPN will continue to broadcast Sunday Night Baseball, Monday Night Baseball, Wednesday Night Baseball, and Baseball Tonight. ESPN also has rights to the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game each July.

TBS will air Sunday afternoon regular season games (non-exclusive) nationally from 2008 to 2013. In 2007, TBS began its exclusive rights to any tiebreaker games that determine division or wild card champions at the end of each regular season in the event of a tie with one playoff spot remaining, as well as exclusive coverage of the Division Series round of the playoffs.^[104] TBS carries the League Championship Series that are not included under FOX's television agreement; TBS shows the National League Championship Series in odd-numbered years and the American League Championship Series in even-numbered years as part of the new contract through 2013.^[105]

In January 2009, MLB plans to launch the MLB Network which will air 16 live games that year.^[106]

[edit] International Broadcasting of Major League Baseball

• ESPN Deportes televises a large number of Major League Baseball games in Spanish, which air throughout Latin America.^[107]

• Five shows MLB on Sunday and Wednesday in the United Kingdom, (including the All-Star Game and the Post Season Games, but not including Spring Training) usually starting at 1 a.m. BST. It is currently presented by Johnny Gould and Josh Chetwynd as "MLB on Five".^[108]
• CBC, Rogers Sportsnet, and TSN televise Toronto Blue Jays games in Canada.^[109]
• Rogers Sportsnet also carries ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, FOX Saturday games, the All-Star Game, most playoff games, and the World Series.^[110]

[edit] See also

Further information: Category:Years in baseball

• 1972 Major League Baseball strike
• 1981 Major League Baseball strike
• 1994 Major League Baseball strike
• 19th century National League teams
• Continental League - proposed by William Shea as a "third major league"; folded before play began, but forced majors to expand.
• Current Major League Baseball Players by Nationality
• History of baseball, for a detailed history of the Major Leagues.
• Index of Professional Sports teams in the United States and Canada
• List of current Major League Baseball announcers
• List of Major League Rivalries
• List of MLB seasons
• List of Major League Baseball free agents
• Major League Baseball television contracts
• Major League Baseball transactions
• Major League Baseball Draft
• MLB All-Century Team
• MLB All-Time Team
• Major League Baseball scandals
• Major North American professional sports leagues
• Minor League Baseball, for a list of Minor League teams.
• Negro League baseball
• Pesäpallo (Finnish baseball)
• Timeline of Major League Baseball

[edit] Players, ownership, ballparks and officials

• Baseball Commissioners
• List of highest paid baseball players
• List of major league players with articles
• List of Major League Baseball principal owners
• List of Major League Baseball stadiums
• List of Major League Baseball retired numbers
• List of Major League Baseball teams by payroll
• List of TV markets and major sports teams

[edit] Statistics, milestones and records

• 20–20–20 club
• 300 win club
• 300 Wins-3000 K's club
• 3000 hit club
• 3000 strikeout club
• 300-300 club
• 30-30 club and 40-40 club
• 50 home run club
• 50 stolen bases and 50 doubles
• 500 home run club
• All time career wins by a manager
• Baseball Hall of Fame
• Baseball statistics: BA, ERA, etc.
• Batting title
• Hitting for the cycle
• Hitting streak
• Home run in final at-bat
• Home run in first at-bat
• List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues - Major League Baseball in a global context (31,000 per game)
• List of lifetime home run leaders through history
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of major league players with 2,500 games played
• List of MLB individual streaks
• List of most common Major League Baseball post-season matchups
• List of most experienced baseball players never to play in a World Series
• Major League Baseball attendance records
• Major League Baseball franchise post-season droughts
• Major League Baseball home run milestones
• Major League Baseball titles leaders
• Major League Baseball titles streaks
• MLB Single Season Records
• Perfect game
• Triple crown
• Unassisted triple play

[edit] Post-season awards

• Comeback Player of the Year Award
• Cy Young Award
• Edgar Martinez Award
• Hank Aaron Award
• Manager of the Year Award
• Most Valuable Player Award
• Rawlings Gold Glove Award
• Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award
• Rookie of the Year Award
• Silver Sluggers
• The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award (prior to 2001, TSN Fireman of the Year)

[edit] In-season awards

• Player of the Month
• Player of the Week

[edit] Exhibition and playoffs

• AL Wildcard winners (since 1994)
• All-Star Game
• American League Championship Series (ALCS)
• American League Division Series (ALDS)
• American League pennant winners 1901-68
• MLB China Series
• MLB division winners (since 1969)
• MLB Japan Opening Day 2008
• National League Championship Series (NLCS)
• National League Division Series (NLDS)
• National League pennant winners 1876-1900
• National League pennant winners 1901-68
• NL Wildcard winners (since 1994)
• One Game Playoffs
• Spring training
• World Baseball Classic
• World Series

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

v • d • e Major League Baseball (2008)
AL	East	Central	West
	Baltimore Orioles	Chicago White Sox	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
	Boston Red Sox	Cleveland Indians	Oakland Athletics
	New York Yankees	Detroit Tigers	Seattle Mariners
	Tampa Bay Rays	Kansas City Royals	Texas Rangers
	Toronto Blue Jays	Minnesota Twins
NL	East	Central	West
	Atlanta Braves	Chicago Cubs	Arizona Diamondbacks
	Florida Marlins	Cincinnati Reds	Colorado Rockies
	New York Mets	Houston Astros	Los Angeles Dodgers
	Philadelphia Phillies	Milwaukee Brewers	San Diego Padres
	Washington Nationals	Pittsburgh Pirates	San Francisco Giants
		St. Louis Cardinals
Post-Season: World Series · ALCS · NLCS · ALDS · NLDS
All-Star Game · World Baseball Classic · Baseball awards · Hall of Fame · MLBPA · TV contracts Baseball year-by-year · Minor leagues · Negro leagues · All-American Girls Professional Baseball League · Federal League · History of baseball

v • d • e Professional baseball leagues Americas Major American League · National League Minor Triple-A: International League · Pacific Coast League · Mexican League Double-A: Eastern League · Southern League · Texas League Class A Advanced: California League · Carolina League · Florida State League • Class A: Midwest League · South Atlantic League • Class A Short-Season: New York - Penn League · Northwest League Rookie: Appalachian League · Arizona League · Dominican Summer League · Gulf Coast League · Pioneer League · Venezuelan Summer League Independent American Association · Atlantic League · Can-Am League · Continental Baseball League · Frontier League · Golden Baseball League  · Northern League · United League Baseball Winter Affiliated: Arizona · Dominican Republic · Hawaii · Mexico · Venezuela Independent: Arizona · Colombia · Puerto Rico · Texas Defunct Major: National Association · American Association · Union Association · Players' League · Federal League · Negro Leagues · All-American Girls Professional Baseball League · Continental League · Cuban League · National Association of Base Ball Players • Minor: List of defunct minor leagues • Independent: List of defunct independent leagues Asia Japan Nippon Professional Baseball: Central League · Pacific League • Minor: Western League · Eastern League • Independent: Shikoku-Kyūshū Island League · Baseball Challenge League Other South Korea: Korea Baseball Organization Taiwan: Chinese Professional Baseball League China: China Baseball League Philippines: Baseball Philippines Defunct Japanese Baseball League · Taiwan Major League Other Current Division Elite (France)  · Bundesliga (Germany) · Serie A1 (Italy)  · Honkbal Hoofdklasse (Netherlands) · División de Honor de Beisbol (Spain) · Elitserien (Sweden) Defunct Australian Baseball League · International Baseball League of Australia · Israel Baseball League