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119-791: The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies . They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico , at an elevation of 5,100 feet (1,555 m) above sea level . In 2003, the Calgary Cannons moved from Alberta to Albuquerque and became the Isotopes playing in

238-455: A = m 1 x 1 + m 2 x 2 + . . . + m N x N {\displaystyle {\overline {m}}_{a}=m_{1}x_{1}+m_{2}x_{2}+...+m_{N}x_{N}} where m 1 , m 2 , ..., m N are the atomic masses of each individual isotope, and x 1 , ..., x N are the relative abundances of these isotopes. Several applications exist that capitalize on

357-511: A chemical symbol is used, e.g. "C" for carbon, standard notation (now known as "AZE notation" because A is the mass number , Z the atomic number , and E for element ) is to indicate the mass number (number of nucleons) with a superscript at the upper left of the chemical symbol and to indicate the atomic number with a subscript at the lower left (e.g. 2 He , 2 He , 6 C , 6 C , 92 U , and 92 U ). Because

476-688: A championship pennant. The first true minor league is traditionally considered to be the Northwestern League of 1883 to 1884. Unlike the earlier minor associations, it was conceived as a permanent organization. It also, along with the NL and the American Association (AA), was a party to the National Agreement of 1883 . Included in this was the agreement to respect the reserve lists of clubs in each league. Teams in

595-505: A double pairing of 2 protons and 2 neutrons prevents any nuclides containing five ( 2 He , 3 Li ) or eight ( 4 Be ) nucleons from existing long enough to serve as platforms for the buildup of heavier elements via nuclear fusion in stars (see triple alpha process ). Only five stable nuclides contain both an odd number of protons and an odd number of neutrons. The first four "odd-odd" nuclides occur in low mass nuclides, for which changing

714-490: A flat-fee purchase amount of $ 5,000 for the contract of any player from an NA member league team. This measure was leveled primarily at the Baltimore Orioles , then a Triple-A team that had dominated the minors by keeping players longer than many competitors, allowing the players to more fully develop, driving up their sale value to major-league teams and giving Baltimore a talent advantage. Deprived of this option by

833-419: A given element all have the same number of electrons and share a similar electronic structure. Because the chemical behaviour of an atom is largely determined by its electronic structure, different isotopes exhibit nearly identical chemical behaviour. The main exception to this is the kinetic isotope effect : due to their larger masses, heavier isotopes tend to react somewhat more slowly than lighter isotopes of

952-407: A glowing patch on the plate at the point it struck. Thomson observed two separate parabolic patches of light on the photographic plate (see image), which suggested two species of nuclei with different mass-to-charge ratios. He wrote "There can, therefore, I think, be little doubt that what has been called neon is not a simple gas but a mixture of two gases, one of which has an atomic weight about 20 and

1071-667: A higher level of play. These leagues are intended almost exclusively to allow players to hone their skills; no admission is charged and no concessions are sold. As of the 2024 season, the Arizona Complex League and Florida Complex League seasons commence in early May and conclude in late July in order to provide players with previous experience in the Dominican Summer League with a full season in stateside professional baseball without having to compete for playing time with newly drafted players selected in

1190-591: A limited membership which excluded less competitive and financially weaker teams. Professional clubs outside the NL responded by forming regional associations of their own. There was a series of ad hoc groupings, such as the New England Association of 1877 and the Eastern Championship Association of 1881. These were loose groups of independent clubs which agreed to play a series of games over the course of one season for

1309-468: A nonoptimal number of neutrons or protons decay by beta decay (including positron emission ), electron capture , or other less common decay modes such as spontaneous fission and cluster decay . Most stable nuclides are even-proton-even-neutron, where all numbers Z , N , and A are even. The odd- A stable nuclides are divided (roughly evenly) into odd-proton-even-neutron, and even-proton-odd-neutron nuclides. Stable odd-proton-odd-neutron nuclides are

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1428-427: A nucleus. As the number of protons increases, so does the ratio of neutrons to protons necessary to ensure a stable nucleus (see graph at right). For example, although the neutron:proton ratio of 2 He is 1:2, the neutron:proton ratio of 92 U is greater than 3:2. A number of lighter elements have stable nuclides with the ratio 1:1 ( Z = N ). The nuclide 20 Ca (calcium-40)

1547-405: A product of stellar nucleosynthesis or another type of nucleosynthesis such as cosmic ray spallation , and have persisted down to the present because their rate of decay is very slow (e.g. uranium-238 and potassium-40 ). Post-primordial isotopes were created by cosmic ray bombardment as cosmogenic nuclides (e.g., tritium , carbon-14 ), or by the decay of a radioactive primordial isotope to

1666-506: A proton to a neutron or vice versa would lead to a very lopsided proton-neutron ratio ( 1 H , 3 Li , 5 B , and 7 N ; spins 1, 1, 3, 1). The only other entirely "stable" odd-odd nuclide, 73 Ta (spin 9), is thought to be the rarest of the 251 stable nuclides, and is the only primordial nuclear isomer , which has not yet been observed to decay despite experimental attempts. Many odd-odd radionuclides (such as

1785-478: A radioactive radiogenic nuclide daughter (e.g. uranium to radium ). A few isotopes are naturally synthesized as nucleogenic nuclides, by some other natural nuclear reaction , such as when neutrons from natural nuclear fission are absorbed by another atom. As discussed above, only 80 elements have any stable isotopes, and 26 of these have only one stable isotope. Thus, about two-thirds of stable elements occur naturally on Earth in multiple stable isotopes, with

1904-481: A second or third promotion for a minor league player, although some high first-round draftees, particularly those with experience playing college baseball , begin at this level. Below the High-A level is Single-A, named "Class A" before 2021, when it was also known as Single-A or Full-Season A, and "Low-A" for the 2021 season. This classification has three leagues: the 8-team California League , known as Low-A West for

2023-424: A single stable isotope (of these, 19 are so-called mononuclidic elements , having a single primordial stable isotope that dominates and fixes the atomic weight of the natural element to high precision; 3 radioactive mononuclidic elements occur as well). In total, there are 251 nuclides that have not been observed to decay. For the 80 elements that have one or more stable isotopes, the average number of stable isotopes

2142-497: A stable (non-radioactive) element was found by J. J. Thomson in 1912 as part of his exploration into the composition of canal rays (positive ions). Thomson channelled streams of neon ions through parallel magnetic and electric fields, measured their deflection by placing a photographic plate in their path, and computed their mass to charge ratio using a method that became known as the Thomson's parabola method. Each stream created

2261-516: A statement, asserting that it is "unnecessary and unacceptable to wipe out one-quarter of minor league teams" and characterized the proposal as a way "to improve the profitability of MLB". Manfred rebuked Minor League Baseball for releasing the negotiations to the public and threatened to cut ties with MiLB altogether. The following changes, which represent the first significant overhaul of minor league classifications since 1963, have since been implemented: When MLB teams announced their affiliates for

2380-455: A steady supply of players, as many NA and independent teams could not afford to keep their doors open without the patronage of Major League Baseball. The leagues of the NA became subordinate to the major leagues, creating the first minor leagues in the current sense of the term. Other than the Pacific Coast League (PCL), which under its president Pants Rowland tried to become a third major league in

2499-517: A temporary replacement. There are currently three leagues in this classification: the 12-team Eastern League , known as Double-A Northeast for the 2021 season, with teams in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S., the eight-team Southern League (known as Double-A South for the 2021 season) with teams in the Deep South, and the 10-team Texas League (known as Double-A Central for

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2618-622: A total 30 + 2(9) = 48 stable odd-even isotopes. There are also five primordial long-lived radioactive odd-even isotopes, 37 Rb , 49 In , 75 Re , 63 Eu , and 83 Bi . The last two were only recently found to decay, with half-lives greater than 10 years. Actinides with odd neutron number are generally fissile (with thermal neutrons ), whereas those with even neutron number are generally not, though they are fissionable with fast neutrons . All observationally stable odd-odd nuclides have nonzero integer spin. This

2737-681: Is aluminium-26 , which is not naturally found on Earth but is found in abundance on an astronomical scale. The tabulated atomic masses of elements are averages that account for the presence of multiple isotopes with different masses. Before the discovery of isotopes, empirically determined noninteger values of atomic mass confounded scientists. For example, a sample of chlorine contains 75.8% chlorine-35 and 24.2% chlorine-37 , giving an average atomic mass of 35.5 atomic mass units . According to generally accepted cosmology theory , only isotopes of hydrogen and helium, traces of some isotopes of lithium and beryllium, and perhaps some boron, were created at

2856-547: Is 251/80 ≈ 3.14 isotopes per element. The proton:neutron ratio is not the only factor affecting nuclear stability. It depends also on evenness or oddness of its atomic number Z , neutron number N and, consequently, of their sum, the mass number A . Oddness of both Z and N tends to lower the nuclear binding energy , making odd nuclei, generally, less stable. This remarkable difference of nuclear binding energy between neighbouring nuclei, especially of odd- A isobars , has important consequences: unstable isotopes with

2975-630: Is Orbit, a yellow, orange, and red alien (similar to the Houston Astros' mascot of the same name ). In 2016, Forbes listed the team as the 14th-most valuable Minor League Baseball team with a value of $ 34 million. The Isotopes were preceded in minor league baseball play by the Albuquerque Dukes of the 1915 Rio Grande Association , followed by the Albuquerque Dons and Albuquerque Cardinals , who played as members of

3094-493: Is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), including teams affiliated with MLB clubs. Entering the 2021 season, the number of full-season MLB-affiliated minor leagues with teams in the United States and Canada was reduced to 11, with a total of 120 teams (four per each of the 30 MLB franchises). There are also two affiliated rookie leagues based in the United States, with teams based at

3213-641: Is a radioactive form of carbon, whereas C and C are stable isotopes. There are about 339 naturally occurring nuclides on Earth, of which 286 are primordial nuclides , meaning that they have existed since the Solar System 's formation. Primordial nuclides include 35 nuclides with very long half-lives (over 100 million years) and 251 that are formally considered as " stable nuclides ", because they have not been observed to decay. In most cases, for obvious reasons, if an element has stable isotopes, those isotopes predominate in

3332-663: Is because the single unpaired neutron and unpaired proton have a larger nuclear force attraction to each other if their spins are aligned (producing a total spin of at least 1 unit), instead of anti-aligned. See deuterium for the simplest case of this nuclear behavior. Only 78 Pt , 4 Be , and 7 N have odd neutron number and are the most naturally abundant isotope of their element. Elements are composed either of one nuclide ( mononuclidic elements ), or of more than one naturally occurring isotopes. The unstable (radioactive) isotopes are either primordial or postprimordial. Primordial isotopes were

3451-435: Is denoted with symbols "u" (for unified atomic mass unit) or "Da" (for dalton ). The atomic masses of naturally occurring isotopes of an element determine the standard atomic weight of the element. When the element contains N isotopes, the expression below is applied for the average atomic mass m ¯ a {\displaystyle {\overline {m}}_{a}} : m ¯

3570-628: Is observationally the heaviest stable nuclide with the same number of neutrons and protons. All stable nuclides heavier than calcium-40 contain more neutrons than protons. Of the 80 elements with a stable isotope, the largest number of stable isotopes observed for any element is ten (for the element tin ). No element has nine or eight stable isotopes. Five elements have seven stable isotopes, eight have six stable isotopes, ten have five stable isotopes, nine have four stable isotopes, five have three stable isotopes, 16 have two stable isotopes (counting 73 Ta as stable), and 26 elements have only

3689-486: Is usually that these veteran players will be in the majors by the end of the season, as their salaries tend to be higher than those of most prospects. One level below Double-A is the High-A level, named "Class A-Advanced" before 2021. This classification has three leagues: the 12-team Midwest League , known as High-A Central for the 2021 season, covering the Midwest, the six-team Northwest League , known as High-A West for

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3808-672: The Arizona Complex League and Florida Complex League , known as the Arizona League and Gulf Coast League, respectively, before 2021, and one Caribbean-based league, the Dominican Summer League . The U.S.-based Rookie leagues play a schedule of approximately 60 games and are named "complex leagues" because games are played at their parent clubs' spring training complexes. Rosters consist primarily of newly drafted players who are not yet ready for

3927-568: The Arizona Complex League or Florida Complex League , and international summer baseball teams in the Dominican Summer League . While major league teams play a 162-game schedule, minor league seasons are shorter. As of 2022 , a complete season in Triple-A is 150 games, Double-A is 138 games, and High-A and Single-A are each 132 games. In addition to the below organized leagues, the off-season Arizona Fall League has six teams that play approximately 30 games apiece in autumn, with rosters comprising

4046-772: The Arizona-Texas League from 1932 to 1941. In 1946, the Albuquerque Dukes began a long era of play as members of the West Texas-New Mexico League . Albuquerque's previous minor-league team was the Los Angeles Dodgers -affiliated Albuquerque Dukes , which won several PCL championships in the 1970s and 1980s. The team was sold to Marshall Glickman and Mike Higgins, who moved it to Oregon in March 2000 and renamed it

4165-474: The Big Bang , while all other nuclides were synthesized later, in stars and supernovae, and in interactions between energetic particles such as cosmic rays, and previously produced nuclides. (See nucleosynthesis for details of the various processes thought responsible for isotope production.) The respective abundances of isotopes on Earth result from the quantities formed by these processes, their spread through

4284-447: The CNO cycle . The nuclides 3 Li and 5 B are minority isotopes of elements that are themselves rare compared to other light elements, whereas the other six isotopes make up only a tiny percentage of the natural abundance of their elements. 53 stable nuclides have an even number of protons and an odd number of neutrons. They are a minority in comparison to

4403-610: The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players of 1871 to 1875, commonly referred to as the National Association, comprised all fully professional teams. This system proved unworkable, however, as there was no way to ensure competitive balance, and financially unsound clubs often failed in midseason. This problem was solved in 1876 with the formation of the National League (NL), with

4522-695: The Northwest League and Midwest League promoted with 75% of their teams. The Carolina League dropped to Low-A with seven of its ten teams and added five from the old South Atlantic League in trade; the SAL in turn moved to High-A with half of its previous 12-team roster, filling it out with two Carolina League High-A holdovers, one Midwest League returnee, and three formerly short-season New York-Penn League promotees. On February 12, 2021, Major League Baseball announced new league alignments for all 120 affiliated Minor League Baseball clubs effective as of

4641-695: The Pacific Coast League . The team was affiliated with the Florida Marlins until 2008 and the Dodgers from 2009 to 2014. In conjunction with Major League Baseball 's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Isotopes were organized into the Triple-A West , which was renamed the Pacific Coast League in 2022. The team won division titles in 2003, 2009, and 2012; it has never won a league championship. The Isotopes' mascot

4760-469: The Portland Beavers . In January 2001, a group of businessmen led by Ken Young and Mike Koldyke agreed to buy the Calgary Cannons with the intention of bringing the team to Albuquerque for the 2003 season. But Young and Koldyke told the city of Albuquerque that they would only buy the team if the city would fund a new stadium or renovate the existing Albuquerque Sports Stadium . In May 2001,

4879-567: The United States Congress signed a letter sent to Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred opposing the proposal, noting that it "is not in the best interest of the overall game of baseball" and that it would "devastate our communities, their bond purchasers and other stakeholders affected by the potential loss of these clubs." A response from MLB highlighted that the proposal aims to improve player travel and working conditions. On November 21, 2019, Minor League Baseball released

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4998-410: The binding energy of the nucleus (see mass defect ), the slight difference in mass between proton and neutron, and the mass of the electrons associated with the atom, the latter because the electron:nucleon ratio differs among isotopes. The mass number is a dimensionless quantity . The atomic mass, on the other hand, is measured using the atomic mass unit based on the mass of the carbon-12 atom. It

5117-465: The fissile 92 U . Because of their odd neutron numbers, the even-odd nuclides tend to have large neutron capture cross-sections, due to the energy that results from neutron-pairing effects. These stable even-proton odd-neutron nuclides tend to be uncommon by abundance in nature, generally because, to form and enter into primordial abundance, they must have escaped capturing neutrons to form yet other stable even-even isotopes, during both

5236-425: The isotope concept (grouping all atoms of each element) emphasizes chemical over nuclear. The neutron number greatly affects nuclear properties, but its effect on chemical properties is negligible for most elements. Even for the lightest elements, whose ratio of neutron number to atomic number varies the most between isotopes, it usually has only a small effect although it matters in some circumstances (for hydrogen,

5355-436: The residual strong force . Because protons are positively charged, they repel each other. Neutrons, which are electrically neutral, stabilize the nucleus in two ways. Their copresence pushes protons slightly apart, reducing the electrostatic repulsion between the protons, and they exert an attractive nuclear force on each other and on protons. For this reason, one or more neutrons are necessary for two or more protons to bind into

5474-421: The s-process and r-process of neutron capture, during nucleosynthesis in stars . For this reason, only 78 Pt and 4 Be are the most naturally abundant isotopes of their element. 48 stable odd-proton-even-neutron nuclides, stabilized by their paired neutrons, form most of the stable isotopes of the odd-numbered elements; the very few odd-proton-odd-neutron nuclides comprise

5593-595: The 1950s and early 1960s. In 1949, the peak of the postwar minor league baseball boom, 448 teams in 59 leagues were members of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, with the number of teams falling to 324 in 1952, and 243 in 1955. By the end of 1963, only 15 leagues above Rookie-level survived in the United States and Canada. After the 1962 season, the Triple-A American Association—which had lost key markets such as Milwaukee , Kansas City , Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Houston to

5712-475: The 2003 season, Albuquerque saw immediate success as their new team won the 2003 Central Division Title and in addition to that, entered the 2003 Pacific Coast League Playoffs. In 2008, the Albuquerque Isotopes achieved a new feat when they reached a new franchise record in attendance with over 590,000 fans. In July 2009, Albuquerque received an unusual amount of nationwide attention following

5831-523: The 2021 season on December 9, 2020, each of the 30 MLB teams had one affiliate at four levels—Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, and Low-A—for a total of 120 affiliated teams. Approximately 40 teams lost their MLB affiliations; the Fresno Grizzlies were demoted from Triple-A to Low-A; and the majority of surviving clubs at High-A and Low-A swapped levels, with the former Florida State League and California League dropped down nearly as intact units and

5950-466: The 2021 season) with teams in the Southwest and Great Plains. Some players jump to the majors from this level, as many of the top prospects are put here to play against each other rather than against minor and major league veterans in Triple-A. A small handful of players might be placed here to start, usually veterans from foreign leagues with more experience in professional baseball. The expectation

6069-486: The 2021 season, located entirely in California , the 12-team Carolina League , known as Low-A East for the 2021 season, and the 10-team Florida State League , known as Low-A Southeast for the 2021 season. All three leagues were demoted from High-A to Single-A effective with the 2021 season. These leagues are a mix of players moving up from Rookie leagues, as well as the occasional experienced first-year player. Most of

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6188-673: The 2021 season, with teams in the Pacific Northwest, and the 12-team South Atlantic League , known as High-A East for the 2021 season, with teams in the eastern states. All three leagues were reclassified prior to the 2021 season, with the Midwest League and the South Atlantic League promoted from Single-A and the Northwest League promoted from Class A Short Season. This level of play is often

6307-520: The 2021 season. Contrary to previously published reports indicating that realignment would retain the names of the existing minor leagues, Major League Baseball elected to abandon the names of existing minor leagues in favor of a new, class- and region-based naming system. Triple-A was divided into two leagues: Isotope The term isotope is derived from the Greek roots isos ( ἴσος "equal") and topos ( τόπος "place"), meaning "the same place"; thus,

6426-588: The 2023 season. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Colorado Rockies 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated September 4, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB  •  Pacific Coast League → Colorado Rockies minor league players Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball ( MiLB )

6545-522: The Dominican Summer League who have not yet been assigned to a domestic affiliate, as well as players placed on the minor league 60-day and full-season injured lists—during the minor league season, with a limit of 175 domestic players during the offseason. During the minor league season, the following roster limits for each classification are used: Triple-A Double-A High-A Single-A Rookie Off-season leagues Showcase league Partner leagues The earliest professional baseball league,

6664-487: The Isotopes were organized into the Triple-A West . Albuquerque ended the season in fourth place in the Eastern Division with a 52–68 record. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner. However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called

6783-603: The July Major League Baseball draft . This adjusted schedule also allows the top Rookie-level prospects in each organization to be promoted to class Single-A for the final two months of the professional baseball season upon the conclusion of the complex league seasons. As of the 2024 season, each major league club may have no more than 165 players assigned to the rosters of their domestic affiliates (i.e., Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, Single-A, and complex-league Rookie)—excluding international players assigned to

6902-553: The Major Leagues since 1953—disbanded. The surviving International and Pacific Coast leagues absorbed the four remaining American Association franchises. Meanwhile, at the Double-A level and below there were even more significant changes: Designations below Class A disappeared because the lower levels could not sustain operation during a large downturn in the financial fortunes of minor league baseball, due to factors including

7021-625: The NL and the AA could only reserve players who had been paid at least $ 1,000. Northwestern League teams could reserve players paid $ 750, implicitly establishing the division into major and minor leagues. Over the next two decades, more minor leagues signed various versions of the National Agreement. Eventually, the minor leagues allied to negotiate jointly. In the late 1890s, the Western League run by Ban Johnson decided to challenge

7140-581: The NL's position. In 1900, he changed the name of the league to the American League (AL) and vowed to make deals to sign contracts with players who were dissatisfied with the pay and terms of their deals with the NL. This led to a turf war that heated up in 1901 enough to concern Patrick T. Powers , president of the Eastern League, and many other minor league owners about the conflict potentially affecting their organizations. Representatives of

7259-482: The Springfield Isotopes would air in different markets based on clusters of orders from different viewing areas. The team has no working agreements with the rightsholders of The Simpsons . However, statues of Homer , Bart , Lisa , and Marge Simpson (originally created as a promotional item for the 2007 film ) are located at RGCU Field at Isotopes Park. The planned renovation eventually turned into

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7378-607: The Texas League, which had last operated in 1942, and the Southern Association) became Class AA. Class A remained the third-highest classification, with lower levels still ranked Class B through Class D in descending order, with Class D being the equivalent of later Rookie leagues. The impact of the Korean War in 1950 caused a player shortage in many cities below Class B. In 1952, the "Open" classification

7497-671: The Triple-A Inter–American League (1979). None lasted more than a full season. In October 2019, Baseball America reported that Major League Baseball had proposed dramatic changes to MiLB that would take effect after expiration of the Professional Baseball Agreement, which governed the MLB–MiLB relationship, at the end of the 2020 season. This included the elimination of many minor league teams. In mid-November 2019, more than 100 members of

7616-543: The Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage. Albuquerque finished the tournament tied for seventh place with a 6–4 record. In 2022, the Triple-A West became known as the Pacific Coast League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. The franchise was purchased by Diamond Baseball Holdings following

7735-474: The Triple-A level. Such players are eligible to be added to a team's active major league roster. For teams in contention for a playoff spot late in a season, it gives them fresh players, while for teams not in contention, it gives them an opportunity to evaluate their second-tier players against major league competition. Some Triple-A players are "career minor leaguers", former prospects whose skill growth has halted and who are not likely to advance to MLB, unless as

7854-691: The Western states, the other leagues maintained autonomy in name only, being totally economically dependent upon the AL and NL. In 1922, the United States Supreme Court decision Federal Baseball Club v. National League (259 U.S. 200), which grants baseball a special immunity from antitrust laws , had a major effect on the minor leagues. The special immunity meant that the AL and NL could dictate terms under which every independent league did business. By 1925, major league baseball established

7973-429: The almost integral masses for the two isotopes Cl and Cl. After the discovery of the neutron by James Chadwick in 1932, the ultimate root cause for the existence of isotopes was clarified, that is, the nuclei of different isotopes for a given element have different numbers of neutrons, albeit having the same number of protons. A neutral atom has the same number of electrons as protons. Thus different isotopes of

8092-459: The arrival of Manny Ramirez . The outfielder at the time was under intense scrutiny for a suspension he received after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, more commonly known as PEDs, and was slated to play a total of three games with the Albuquerque Isotopes before returning to the major league. The Albuquerque Isotopes ran multiple promotions for the arrival of Manny Ramirez including advertisements, wigs bearing an extreme similarity to

8211-463: The atomic number is given by the element symbol, it is common to state only the mass number in the superscript and leave out the atomic number subscript (e.g. He , He , C , C , U , and U ). The letter m (for metastable) is sometimes appended after the mass number to indicate a nuclear isomer , a metastable or energetically excited nuclear state (as opposed to

8330-640: The beta decay of actinium-230 forms thorium-230. The term "isotope", Greek for "at the same place", was suggested to Soddy by Margaret Todd , a Scottish physician and family friend, during a conversation in which he explained his ideas to her. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in part for his work on isotopes. In 1914 T. W. Richards found variations between the atomic weight of lead from different mineral sources, attributable to variations in isotopic composition due to different radioactive origins. The first evidence for multiple isotopes of

8449-571: The city approved a vote to spend $ 25 million on a renovation. Ken Young and Mike Koldyke then bought the Cannons, moved the team to Albuquerque, and renamed it the Isotopes. The team's name recalls the fictional 'Springfield Isotopes' from the long-running TV series The Simpsons , first appearing in the Season 2 episode " Dancin' Homer " (aired in 1990) in which the main character Homer Simpson temporarily becomes his local baseball team's mascot. In

8568-571: The construction of a new baseball facility, Isotopes Park , around the old playing field. The Isotopes played their first official game in Albuquerque on April 11, 2003, three years after the Dukes left for Portland. At Isotopes Park, the baseball team was greeted by over 12,000 fans in their opening day game. In the Isotopes' opening season, the baseball team saw over 575,000 fans enter their stadium to watch their newly acquired team perform. During

8687-615: The different minor leagues met at the Leland Hotel in Chicago on September 5, 1901. In response to the NL–AL battle, they agreed to form the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL), sometimes shortened to National Association (NA), which would later adopt the trade name "Minor League Baseball". The purpose of the NAPBL at the time was to maintain the independence of

8806-510: The element carbon with mass numbers 12, 13, and 14, respectively. The atomic number of carbon is 6, which means that every carbon atom has 6 protons so that the neutron numbers of these isotopes are 6, 7, and 8 respectively. A nuclide is a species of an atom with a specific number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, for example, carbon-13 with 6 protons and 7 neutrons. The nuclide concept (referring to individual nuclear species) emphasizes nuclear properties over chemical properties, whereas

8925-500: The elemental abundance found on Earth and in the Solar System. However, in the cases of three elements ( tellurium , indium , and rhenium ) the most abundant isotope found in nature is actually one (or two) extremely long-lived radioisotope(s) of the element, despite these elements having one or more stable isotopes. Theory predicts that many apparently "stable" nuclides are radioactive, with extremely long half-lives (discounting

9044-536: The episode " Hungry, Hungry Homer ", which first aired on March 4, 2001, Homer attempts to thwart the team's plan to move to Albuquerque by going on a hunger strike. Subsequently, when the Albuquerque Tribune asked its online readers to help choose a new name for the Cannons, "Isotopes" received 67 percent of the 120,000 votes cast. "Dancin' Homer" writer Ken Levine said he was surprised when many Albuquerque journalists started calling him regarding

9163-410: The even-even isotopes, which are about 3 times as numerous. Among the 41 even- Z elements that have a stable nuclide, only two elements (argon and cerium) have no even-odd stable nuclides. One element (tin) has three. There are 24 elements that have one even-odd nuclide and 13 that have two odd-even nuclides. Of 35 primordial radionuclides there exist four even-odd nuclides (see table at right), including

9282-435: The flat-fee policy, minor league teams had little choice but to sell players as soon as they drew major-league interest. The earliest classifications used in the minor leagues began circa 1890, for teams that were party to the National Agreement of 1883. The different levels represented different levels of protection for player contracts and reserve clauses : After the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues

9401-446: The following assignments entering the 1902 season: Additional classifications added prior to World War II included: In 1946, with the minor leagues poised for unprecedented growth, the higher-level classifications were changed. Class AAA ("Triple-A") was created and the three Double-A circuits (the Pacific Coast League , International League , and the American Association ) were reclassified into Triple-A. Class A1 (comprising

9520-486: The galaxy, and the rates of decay for isotopes that are unstable. After the initial coalescence of the Solar System , isotopes were redistributed according to mass, and the isotopic composition of elements varies slightly from planet to planet. This sometimes makes it possible to trace the origin of meteorites . The atomic mass ( m r ) of an isotope (nuclide) is determined mainly by its mass number (i.e. number of nucleons in its nucleus). Small corrections are due to

9639-401: The ground state of tantalum-180) with comparatively short half-lives are known. Usually, they beta-decay to their nearby even-even isobars that have paired protons and paired neutrons. Of the nine primordial odd-odd nuclides (five stable and four radioactive with long half-lives), only 7 N is the most common isotope of a common element. This is the case because it is a part of

9758-435: The hair of Manny Ramirez, etc. which ultimately led to a then-attendance record with over 15,000 fans attending the outfielder's opening game with the Isotopes. In addition to this, there was a large amount of harsh criticism towards the team from numerous sports media outlets including ESPN and sports commentators such as Bob Costas . In conjunction with Major League Baseball 's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021,

9877-409: The integers 20 and 22 and that neither is equal to the known molar mass (20.2) of neon gas. This is an example of Aston's whole number rule for isotopic masses, which states that large deviations of elemental molar masses from integers are primarily due to the fact that the element is a mixture of isotopes. Aston similarly showed in 1920 that the molar mass of chlorine (35.45) is a weighted average of

9996-464: The largest number of stable isotopes for an element being ten, for tin ( 50 Sn ). There are about 94 elements found naturally on Earth (up to plutonium inclusive), though some are detected only in very tiny amounts, such as plutonium-244 . Scientists estimate that the elements that occur naturally on Earth (some only as radioisotopes) occur as 339 isotopes ( nuclides ) in total. Only 251 of these naturally occurring nuclides are stable, in

10115-451: The later stages of the negotiations to develop rules for the acquisition of players from their leagues by the NL and the AL. The 1903 agreement ensured that teams would be compensated for the players that they had taken the time and effort to scout and develop, and no NA team was required to sell their players, although most did because the cash was an important source of revenue for most teams. The NA leagues were still fiercely independent, and

10234-539: The leagues involved. Several did not sign the agreement and continued to work independently. Powers was made the first president of the NAPBL, whose offices were established in Auburn, New York . In 1903, the conflict between the AL and NL ended in the National Agreement of 1903 , which created the National Baseball Commission to oversee the major and minor leagues. The NAPBL became involved in

10353-482: The least common. The 146 even-proton, even-neutron (EE) nuclides comprise ~58% of all stable nuclides and all have spin 0 because of pairing. There are also 24 primordial long-lived even-even nuclides. As a result, each of the 41 even-numbered elements from 2 to 82 has at least one stable isotope , and most of these elements have several primordial isotopes. Half of these even-numbered elements have six or more stable isotopes. The extreme stability of helium-4 due to

10472-517: The lightest element, the isotope effect is large enough to affect biology strongly). The term isotopes (originally also isotopic elements , now sometimes isotopic nuclides ) is intended to imply comparison (like synonyms or isomers ). For example, the nuclides 6 C , 6 C , 6 C are isotopes (nuclides with the same atomic number but different mass numbers ), but 18 Ar , 19 K , 20 Ca are isobars (nuclides with

10591-402: The longest-lived isotope), and thorium X ( Ra) are impossible to separate. Attempts to place the radioelements in the periodic table led Soddy and Kazimierz Fajans independently to propose their radioactive displacement law in 1913, to the effect that alpha decay produced an element two places to the left in the periodic table, whereas beta decay emission produced an element one place to

10710-699: The lowest-energy ground state ), for example 73 Ta ( tantalum-180m ). The common pronunciation of the AZE notation is different from how it is written: 2 He is commonly pronounced as helium-four instead of four-two-helium, and 92 U as uranium two-thirty-five (American English) or uranium-two-three-five (British) instead of 235-92-uranium. Some isotopes/nuclides are radioactive , and are therefore referred to as radioisotopes or radionuclides , whereas others have never been observed to decay radioactively and are referred to as stable isotopes or stable nuclides . For example, C

10829-457: The meaning behind the name is that different isotopes of a single element occupy the same position on the periodic table . It was coined by Scottish doctor and writer Margaret Todd in a 1913 suggestion to the British chemist Frederick Soddy , who popularized the term. The number of protons within the atom's nucleus is called its atomic number and is equal to the number of electrons in

10948-584: The minor leagues, such as Buzz Arlett , Jigger Statz , Ike Boone , Buddy Ryan , Earl Rapp , and Frank Shellenback , as comparable to major league players. Leagues in the NA would not be truly called minor until Branch Rickey developed the first modern farm system in the 1930s. The Commissioner of Baseball , Kenesaw Mountain Landis fought Rickey's scheme, but, ultimately, the Great Depression drove teams to establish systems like Rickey's to ensure

11067-518: The name's unveiling, "We picked it because over the past year it has become a popular name, and it does have something to do with Albuquerque." The " Isotopes " name was deemed appropriate, since New Mexico has a number of well-known scientific and military facilities dealing with nuclear technology, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory , Sandia National Laboratories , and the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP), as well as

11186-421: The neutral (non-ionized) atom. Each atomic number identifies a specific element, but not the isotope; an atom of a given element may have a wide range in its number of neutrons . The number of nucleons (both protons and neutrons) in the nucleus is the atom's mass number , and each isotope of a given element has a different mass number. For example, carbon-12 , carbon-13 , and carbon-14 are three isotopes of

11305-417: The other about 22. The parabola due to the heavier gas is always much fainter than that due to the lighter, so that probably the heavier gas forms only a small percentage of the mixture." F. W. Aston subsequently discovered multiple stable isotopes for numerous elements using a mass spectrograph . In 1919 Aston studied neon with sufficient resolution to show that the two isotopic masses are very close to

11424-689: The other naturally occurring nuclides are radioactive but occur on Earth due to their relatively long half-lives, or else due to other means of ongoing natural production. These include the afore-mentioned cosmogenic nuclides , the nucleogenic nuclides, and any radiogenic nuclides formed by ongoing decay of a primordial radioactive nuclide, such as radon and radium from uranium. An additional ~3000 radioactive nuclides not found in nature have been created in nuclear reactors and in particle accelerators. Many short-lived nuclides not found naturally on Earth have also been observed by spectroscopic analysis, being naturally created in stars or supernovae . An example

11543-525: The other two leagues, as part of a reorganization of the Triple-A level in 1997. The International League features teams from the Atlantic coast and midwestern U.S., while the Pacific Coast League features teams from the Pacific coast and the southwest. Both young players and veterans play for Triple-A teams. Parent clubs often hold players who are on the 40-man roster , but not on the active MLB roster, at

11662-726: The others. There are 41 odd-numbered elements with Z = 1 through 81, of which 39 have stable isotopes ( technetium ( 43 Tc ) and promethium ( 61 Pm ) have no stable isotopes). Of these 39 odd Z elements, 30 elements (including hydrogen-1 where 0 neutrons is even ) have one stable odd-even isotope, and nine elements: chlorine ( 17 Cl ), potassium ( 19 K ), copper ( 29 Cu ), gallium ( 31 Ga ), bromine ( 35 Br ), silver ( 47 Ag ), antimony ( 51 Sb ), iridium ( 77 Ir ), and thallium ( 81 Tl ), have two odd-even stable isotopes each. This makes

11781-591: The parent clubs' spring training complexes in Arizona and Florida , an off-season autumn league, and one affiliated rookie league in the Dominican Republic . Additionally, four independent leagues are in association with MiLB. As of the 2022 season, the minor league system is divided into four classes: Triple-A (AAA), Double-A (AA), High-A (A+), and Single-A (A). Major League Baseball franchises may also maintain one or two complex-based rookie teams in

11900-415: The possibility of proton decay , which would make all nuclides ultimately unstable). Some stable nuclides are in theory energetically susceptible to other known forms of decay, such as alpha decay or double beta decay, but no decay products have yet been observed, and so these isotopes are said to be "observationally stable". The predicted half-lives for these nuclides often greatly exceed the estimated age of

12019-432: The primary exceptions). The vibrational modes of a molecule are determined by its shape and by the masses of its constituent atoms; so different isotopologues have different sets of vibrational modes. Because vibrational modes allow a molecule to absorb photons of corresponding energies, isotopologues have different optical properties in the infrared range. Atomic nuclei consist of protons and neutrons bound together by

12138-457: The properties of the various isotopes of a given element. Isotope separation is a significant technological challenge, particularly with heavy elements such as uranium or plutonium. Lighter elements such as lithium, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are commonly separated by gas diffusion of their compounds such as CO and NO. The separation of hydrogen and deuterium is unusual because it is based on chemical rather than physical properties, for example in

12257-586: The relative mass difference between isotopes is much less so that the mass-difference effects on chemistry are usually negligible. (Heavy elements also have relatively more neutrons than lighter elements, so the ratio of the nuclear mass to the collective electronic mass is slightly greater.) There is also an equilibrium isotope effect . Similarly, two molecules that differ only in the isotopes of their atoms ( isotopologues ) have identical electronic structures, and therefore almost indistinguishable physical and chemical properties (again with deuterium and tritium being

12376-451: The right. Soddy recognized that emission of an alpha particle followed by two beta particles led to the formation of an element chemically identical to the initial element but with a mass four units lighter and with different radioactive properties. Soddy proposed that several types of atoms (differing in radioactive properties) could occupy the same place in the table. For example, the alpha-decay of uranium-235 forms thorium-231, whereas

12495-608: The rise of television broadcasts of major league sports across broad regions of the country. As part of the 1963 reorganization, Major League clubs increased their commitments to affiliate with minor league teams through Player Development Contracts, outright ownerships, or shared affiliations and co-op arrangements. The minor league system that evolved following the 1963 reorganization remained in place through 2020, categorizing leagues into one of six classes: Triple-A (AAA), Double-A (AA), Class A-Advanced (High A or A+), Class A (Low A), Class A Short Season, and Rookie. Furthermore, Rookie

12614-441: The same element. This is most pronounced by far for protium ( H ), deuterium ( H ), and tritium ( H ), because deuterium has twice the mass of protium and tritium has three times the mass of protium. These mass differences also affect the behavior of their respective chemical bonds, by changing the center of gravity ( reduced mass ) of the atomic systems. However, for heavier elements,

12733-489: The same mass number ). However, isotope is the older term and so is better known than nuclide and is still sometimes used in contexts in which nuclide might be more appropriate, such as nuclear technology and nuclear medicine . An isotope and/or nuclide is specified by the name of the particular element (this indicates the atomic number) followed by a hyphen and the mass number (e.g. helium-3 , helium-4 , carbon-12 , carbon-14 , uranium-235 and uranium-239 ). When

12852-406: The sense of never having been observed to decay as of the present time. An additional 35 primordial nuclides (to a total of 286 primordial nuclides), are radioactive with known half-lives, but have half-lives longer than 100 million years, allowing them to exist from the beginning of the Solar System. See list of nuclides for details. All the known stable nuclides occur naturally on Earth;

12971-629: The site of the Trinity test . In addition, uranium mining was a significant industry in the state during the Cold War . In the three months after the team's name was announced in September 2002, before the team ever took the field, the team sold more merchandise than the previous Albuquerque Dukes had sold in any single season, and led minor league baseball in merchandising revenue in 2003. The team said they were able to tell when episodes featuring

13090-411: The team name, as Isotopes had been chosen as "the funniest, goofiest name we could come up with" and he never thought it had potential for a real team, while adding that he had always liked the city's previous minor league team, the Albuquerque Dukes , as it was the farm team of the Los Angeles Dodgers he supported. Though team president Ken Young admitted that the name came from the series, he said at

13209-534: The teams in the Florida State League are owned by major league parent clubs and use their spring training complexes. In 2022, the official name of the class became Single-A. Minor leagues with the Rookie classification play a shortened season that traditionally began in mid-June and ended in late August or early September. This lowest level of minor league baseball consists of two US-based leagues,

13328-404: The term minor was seldom used in reference to them, save by the major-market sportswriters. Sports news, like most news generally, often did not travel far in the days before radio and television, so, while the leagues often bristled at the major market writers' descriptions, they viewed themselves as independent sports businesses. Many baseball writers of that time regarded the greatest players of

13447-513: The time it seemed like the PCL would eventually become a third major league. The PCL would revert to Triple-A in 1958, due to increasing television coverage of major league games and in light of the Dodgers and Giants moving to Los Angeles and San Francisco , respectively. A significant reorganization of the minor leagues took place in 1963, caused by the contraction of clubs and leagues during

13566-439: The top prospects associated with each of the six MLB divisions. This classification currently includes two affiliated leagues: the 20-team International League and the 10-team Pacific Coast League , known as Triple-A East and Triple-A West, respectively, for the 2021 season. For most of the 20th century, Triple-A also included the American Association , based in the Midwest, but that league disbanded with its clubs absorbed by

13685-420: The universe, and in fact, there are also 31 known radionuclides (see primordial nuclide ) with half-lives longer than the age of the universe. Adding in the radioactive nuclides that have been created artificially, there are 3,339 currently known nuclides . These include 905 nuclides that are either stable or have half-lives longer than 60 minutes. See list of nuclides for details. The existence of isotopes

13804-410: Was created. The Pacific Coast League (PCL), which had been rated Triple-A since 1946, was the only minor league to obtain this classification, which it held through 1957. At this time, the major leagues only extended as far west as St. Louis, Missouri , and as far south as Washington, D.C. This classification severely restricted the rights of the major leagues to draft players out of the PCL, and at

13923-513: Was first suggested in 1913 by the radiochemist Frederick Soddy , based on studies of radioactive decay chains that indicated about 40 different species referred to as radioelements (i.e. radioactive elements) between uranium and lead, although the periodic table only allowed for 11 elements between lead and uranium inclusive. Several attempts to separate these new radioelements chemically had failed. For example, Soddy had shown in 1910 that mesothorium (later shown to be Ra), radium ( Ra,

14042-422: Was founded in 1901, classifications were redefined: † Draft fee set an amount for a team in a higher class to select a player; n/a for Class A as it would be up to each team to negotiate with an interested major league club. ‡ Protection fee reserved a player to a team, even after a contract expired, preventing the player for seeking employment with any other team. All minor leagues were classified, and had

14161-519: Was further informally subdivided into Rookie Advanced, complex-based Rookie, and international summer baseball. There have also been some failed start-up leagues. During the 1970s, three official minor leagues (members of NAPBL) attempted unsuccessfully to revive unaffiliated baseball (teams not associated with specific MLB franchises) within the organized baseball structure. These were the Class A Gulf States League (1976) and Lone Star League (1977), and

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