15-525: Gino Nicholas Cimoli (December 18, 1929 – February 12, 2011) was an American professional baseball outfielder . He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers , St. Louis Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , Milwaukee Braves , Kansas City Athletics , Baltimore Orioles , and Los Angeles Angels from 1956 through 1965. He was an MLB All-Star in 1957, and
30-572: A black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Baseball league Organized baseball leagues include: Townball is a popular tradition in the Upper Midwest , with grassroots support at
45-734: A member of the 1960 World Series champions. A high school all-star at Galileo High School in San Francisco, Cimoli signed as an amateur free agent with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. He would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Dodgers on April 19, 1956. On April 15, 1958, Cimoli became the first Major League batter to step into the batter's box on the West Coast when the Los Angeles Dodgers and
60-480: A single off Bobby Shantz , advanced to second on Virdon's bad-hop grounder, which struck Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat, then scored on Dick Groat 's single, the first run in a five-run inning to give the Pirates a 9–7 lead. The Pirates gave the lead away in the ninth before finally winning the game in the bottom half on Bill Mazeroski 's lead-off home run. On June 15, 1961, the Pirates traded Cimoli to
75-428: A traffic accident. Cimoli, then 60 years old and still working for the company, was now referred to as "The Lou Gehrig of UPS." [1] Professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in
90-764: The Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since the 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and
105-767: The Milwaukee Braves for Johnny Logan . The Kansas City Athletics selected Cimoli from the Braves in the Rule 5 draft after the season. The Athletics released Cimoli on May 29, 1964, and he signed with the Baltimore Orioles that day. Released by the Orioles before the 1965 season, Cimoli signed with the California Angels on April 10, 1965. He appeared in his final major league game on May 7, and
120-627: The New York Yankees in seven games. He was primarily the Pirates' fourth outfielder in 1960 and often platooned with center fielder Bill Virdon . After left fielder Bob Skinner injured his thumb in Game 1 of the World Series, Cimoli started Games 2–6 in left field. Cimoli returned to the bench in Game 7 when Skinner returned. In the eighth inning, with the Pirates trailing 7–4, Cimoli, pinch-hitting for pitcher Roy Face , led off with
135-730: The Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues, the China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During
150-649: The San Francisco Giants played their first game of the season at Seals Stadium in San Francisco. After the season, the Dodgers traded Cimoli to the St. Louis Cardinals for Wally Moon and Phil Paine . After the 1959 season, the Cardinals traded Cimoli to the Pittsburgh Pirates with Tom Cheney in exchange for Ron Kline . Cimoli played on the Pirates' 1960 championship team, which defeated
165-651: The United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are
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#1732797471435180-469: The United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ") is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of
195-594: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with the major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at
210-471: The oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in
225-424: Was released on May 14. Cimoli's baseball card in 1958 (No. 286, Topps) in which the background was painted out, shows him swinging a bat, without the bat — which was also painted out. (Source: Baseball Hall of Shame 4 , Nash & Zullo) After retiring from baseball, Cimoli worked as a delivery driver for United Parcel Service where, in 1990, the company honored Cimoli for completing 21 years of service without
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