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119-667: By September 1994, the city of Battle Creek had committed to stadium improvements in order to bring the Madison Hatters franchise to their city. C.O. Brown Stadium had been constructed in 1989 for amateur baseball, and it was substantially improved prior to obtaining the Midwest League franchise. After temporarily being known as the Battle Creek Golden Kazoos, the team adopted the name of Michigan Battle Cats. The team agreed to become an affiliate of

238-583: A checked swing to end the bottom of the 14th inning. Out of offensive reserves, the Phillies moved left fielder Raúl Ibañez to first base and sent Oswalt to play left field. Oswalt acquired one putout in the outfield, but later hit into the final out of the Phillies loss by grounding out in the bottom of the 16th inning. The previous Phillies pitcher to play a position was Bill Wilson , who played third base for one-third of an inning on August 6, 1971. On September 12, Oswalt pitched his first complete game as

357-426: A .200 average. The Cardinals won the 1946 Series when Enos Slaughter scored the go-ahead run all the way from first base on a base hit to left field. The throw from Leon Culberson was cut off by shortstop Johnny Pesky , who relayed the ball to the plate just a hair too late. Some say Pesky hesitated or "held the ball" before he turned to throw the ball, but this has been disputed. Along with Williams and Pesky,

476-506: A 14–7 record, an ERA of 3.18 and 154 strikeouts. Although he started off the 2008 season slowly (0–3, 9.00 ERA), a solid second half helped Oswalt reach his highest win total since 2005. Oswalt was able to accomplish this despite landing on the disabled list on July 19 for the first time since 2006. He also set an Astros team record with 32 1 ⁄ 3 scoreless innings. He finished the 2008 season throwing 208 2 ⁄ 3 innings, his fifth consecutive year of 200 or more innings pitched,

595-639: A 17–10 record, an ERA of 3.54 and 165 strikeouts. Oswalt is one of 10 major league pitchers who won at least 11 games in each year from 2004 to 2008. In 2009, Oswalt played for the United States in the World Baseball Classic , appearing in two games. He was the winning pitcher in the contest versus the Netherlands, but was pulled from the semifinal against Japan in the fourth inning after giving up 6 runs. On July 29, Oswalt

714-686: A 2.49 earned run average, and D. J. Houlton went 14–5 with a 3.14 earned run average. The team was sold again and after the season they switched their affiliation to the New York Yankees and renamed the franchise as the Battle Creek Yankees . Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston . The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as

833-572: A 20–12 record, including a career-best 10-game winning streak from April 10 to July 26, with a 2.94 ERA, and was named to his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game as the National League All-Star Final Vote winner. He was fourth in Cy Young Award balloting, won by Chris Carpenter . In the postseason that year, Oswalt started 4 games and went 3–0. His two seven inning one-run performances netted him

952-489: A 3.44 earned run average and 138 strikeouts. The team's attendance, 171,794, was eighth in the 14-team league and a marked improvement over the Madison Hatters' attendance of 69,060 the year before. The 1996 season was less successful, as the Battle Cats finished in fourth place in the five-team division in both the first and second halves, with a 31–38 in the first half and 29–40 in the second half. The only player from

1071-629: A Phillie in a 3–0 win against the New York Mets , allowing four hits and striking out six. In the 2010 NLDS , Oswalt pitched Game 2 of the Phillies' three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds; he gave up four runs in five innings, but the Phillies came back to win 7–4. In the 2010 NLCS against the San Francisco Giants, Oswalt won Game 2 by allowing only one run in eight innings, which was his ninth postseason start without

1190-758: A club record for 68 years. That year Foxx also set a club-record of 175 runs. In 1939, the Red Sox purchased the contract of outfielder Ted Williams from the minor league San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League , ushering in an era of the team sometimes called the "Ted Sox". Williams consistently hit for both high power and high average, and is generally considered one of the greatest hitters of all time. The right-field bullpens in Fenway were built in part for Williams' left-handed swing, and are sometimes called "Williamsburg". Before this addition, it

1309-612: A dominant team in the new league, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903 and winning four more championships by 1918. However, they then went into one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history, dubbed the " Curse of the Bambino " after its alleged inception due to the Red Sox' sale of star player Babe Ruth to the rival New York Yankees two years after their World Series championship in 1918. The Sox endured an 86-year wait before

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1428-606: A five-year extension with the Astros totaling $ 73 million with an option for a 6th year. He again finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting, won by Brandon Webb . On September 18, while pitching against the Cincinnati Reds , Oswalt recorded his 1,000th strikeout, becoming the eighth player in Astros history to reach the milestone. Before the 2007 season, Roy Oswalt received the second-highest Pitcher Player Value Ranking from Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview Edition. He

1547-508: A half-game lead for the final series of the season, but lost the first two of those three and were eliminated from the pennant race. The Red Sox won the AL pennant in 1975. The 1975 Red Sox were as colorful as they were talented, with Yastrzemski and rookie outfielders Jim Rice and Fred Lynn , veteran outfielder Dwight Evans , catcher Carlton Fisk , and pitchers Luis Tiant and eccentric junkballer Bill "The Spaceman" Lee . Fred Lynn won both

1666-459: A loss. Oswalt entered Game 4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, attempting to preserve a tie game. However, he could only get two outs in the inning as Oswalt allowed two hits before Juan Uribe drove the winning run from third base on a sacrifice fly. In Game 6, facing elimination, Oswalt allowed two runs in six innings but left with the game tied; the Giants later broke the tie to win that game and

1785-502: A major professional sports record. Both Neil Diamond 's " Sweet Caroline " and the Standells ' " Dirty Water " have become anthems for the Red Sox. As of the end of the 2024 season, the franchise's all-time regular-season record is 9,955–9,263–83 (.518). The name Red Sox , chosen by owner John I. Taylor after the 1907 season, refers to the red hose in the team uniform beginning in 1908. Sox had been previously adopted for

1904-585: A man on third in the top of the ninth, a spitball got away from Chesbro and Lou Criger scored the go-ahead run and the Americans won their second pennant. However, the NL champion New York Giants declined to play any postseason series , but a sharp public reaction led the two leagues to make the World Series a permanent championship, starting in 1905. In 1906 , Boston lost 105 games and finished last in

2023-602: A member club of the American League (AL) East Division . Founded in 1901 as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the team's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912 . The "Red Sox" name was chosen by the team owner, John I. Taylor , c.  1908 , following the lead of previous teams that had been known as the " Boston Red Stockings ", including the Boston Braves (now

2142-608: A non-musical stage play called My Lady Friends , which opened on Broadway in December 1919. According to the book, My Lady Friends had been financed by Ruth's sale to the Yankees. The sale of Babe Ruth came to be viewed as the beginning of the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry , considered the "best rivalry" by American sports journalists. In the December 1920, Wally Schang , Waite Hoyt , Harry Harper and Mike McNally were traded to

2261-547: A pennant race against the New York Highlanders . A predecessor to what became a storied rivalry, this race featured the trade of Patsy Dougherty to the Highlanders for Bob Unglaub . In order to win the pennant, the Highlanders needed to win both games of their final doubleheader with the Americans at the Highlanders' home stadium, Hilltop Park . With Jack Chesbro on the mound, and the score tied 2–2 with

2380-457: A single. It was followed by singles by Kevin Mitchell and Ray Knight . With Mookie Wilson batting, a wild pitch by Bob Stanley tied the game at 5. Wilson then hit a slow ground ball to first; the ball rolled through Bill Buckner 's legs, allowing Knight to score the winning run from second. Roy Oswalt Roy Edward Oswalt ( / ˈ oʊ z w ɑː l t / ; born August 29, 1977)

2499-517: A spectacular catch of a Joe Morgan line drive and doubled off Ken Griffey at first base to preserve the tie. In the bottom of the 12th inning, Carlton Fisk hit a deep fly ball that sliced towards the left-field foul pole above the Green Monster . As the ball sailed into the night, Fisk waved his arms frantically towards fair territory, seemingly pleading with the ball not to go foul. The ball complied, and bedlam ensued at Fenway as Fisk rounded

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2618-483: A then-club record 9 straight starts before getting a no-decision in an extra innings' Astros loss to the St. Louis Cardinals . Injuries plagued Oswalt in 2003, but he still recorded a 10–5 record over 21 starts. He started a team no-hitter against the New York Yankees on June 11. Oswalt left after one inning, and 5 more Astros continued to no-hit the Yankees. He rebounded in 2004 with the first 20-win season of his career,

2737-562: Is an American former professional baseball pitcher . Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros . He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies , Texas Rangers , and Colorado Rockies . Oswalt was selected by the Astros in the 1996 MLB draft . He made his MLB debut with Houston, in 2001 , finishing his rookie season with a win–loss record of 14–3. Oswalt

2856-655: Is now playing in Atlanta . In 1901, the upstart American League established a competing club in Boston. (Originally, a team was supposed to be started in Buffalo , but league ownership at the last minute removed that city from their plans in favor of the expansion Boston franchise.) For seven seasons, the AL team wore dark blue stockings and had no official nickname. They were simply "Boston", "Bostonians" or "the Bostons"; or

2975-637: Is often shortened to "Bosox" or "BoSox", a combination of "Boston" and "Sox" (similar to the "ChiSox" in Chicago or the minor league "WooSox" of Worcester, a minor league affiliate of Boston). Sportswriters sometimes refer to the Red Sox as the Crimson Hose and the Olde Towne Team . Recently, media have begun to call them the "Sawx" casually, reflecting how the word is pronounced with a New England accent . However, most fans simply refer to

3094-569: The Atlanta Braves ). The team has won nine World Series championships , tied for the third-most of any MLB team, and has played in 13 World Series. Their most recent World Series appearance and win was in 2018 . In addition, they won the 1904 American League pennant , but were not able to defend their 1903 World Series championship when the New York Giants refused to participate in the 1904 World Series . The Red Sox were

3213-570: The Beloit Snappers in three straight games to become the Midwest League champions. Catcher John Buck hit .282 with 10 home runs. Left fielder Jason Lane hit .299 with 23 home runs and his 104 runs batted in tied for the league lead. Pitcher Carlos Hernández went 6–6 with a 3.82 earned run average and 115 strikeouts. On May 28, Hernández pitched a no-hitter, beating the West Michigan Whitecaps 2–0. The next season

3332-566: The Boston Red Sox (the Madison Hatters had been affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals , but St. Louis switched its Midwest League affiliate to Peoria ). The league also reorganized its 14 franchises from two divisions to three and adopted a three-round post-season playoff including first- and second-half winners from each division plus wildcards. Michigan played in the Eastern Division. The league's records recognize both

3451-467: The Chicago White Sox by newspapers needing a headline-friendly form of Stockings , as "Stockings Win!" in large type did not fit in a column. The team name "Red Sox" had previously been used as early as 1888 by a 'colored' team from Norfolk, Virginia. The Spanish language media sometimes refers to the team as Medias Rojas , a translation of "red socks". The official Spanish site uses

3570-712: The Gulf Coast League , where he gave up only two runs in five starts. He was then called up to the Auburn Doubledays of the New York–Penn League , where he went 2–4 the rest of the way. Oswalt split 1998 between the same two teams. In 16 innings of work with the Gulf Coast Astros, he struck out 27 batters and walked just one. Oswalt was promoted again to Auburn, where he recorded the league's fourth-lowest ERA (2.18). During

3689-495: The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame on August 3, 2019. Oswalt threw the following five pitches: Oswalt's repertoire and approach evolved over time. His changeup was originally a rarely used circle change . However, in 2010, he changed the grip to make it more similar to a " fosh " grip. Originally a fastball-curveball pitcher, Oswalt made his changeup part of his standard repertoire. He threw it only 4% of

Michigan Battle Cats - Misplaced Pages Continue

3808-584: The NLCS MVP award, including a three-hit seven strikeout game in Game 6. Oswalt went 15–8 in 2006 and was named to his second consecutive All-Star team and his final ERA led NL (2.98), and also struck out 166 batters while walking 38. On August 9 of that year, Oswalt hit his first and only career home run in the second inning in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates , hitting a two-run homer off of Shawn Chacon . On August 29, 2006, Oswalt's 29th birthday, he signed

3927-540: The National Hockey League 's Pittsburgh Penguins and partially owns RFK Racing of the NASCAR Cup Series . They are consistently one of the top MLB teams in average road attendance, while the small capacity of Fenway Park prevents them from leading in overall attendance. From May 15, 2003, to April 10, 2013, the Red Sox sold out every home game—a total of 820 games (794 regular season) for

4046-568: The National League , then the only major league in baseball. Johnson had changed the name of the league to the American League prior to the 1900 season. In 1901, the league created a franchise in Boston, called the "Boston Americans", to compete with the National League team there. Playing their home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds , the Boston franchise finished second in the league in 1901 and third in 1902. The team

4165-467: The Weir High School football team as a quarterback and the baseball team as a pitcher. He could throw in the mid 80s with good control, but his relatively slight stature (5'10", 150 lbs.) scared away scouts. Oswalt reflected, "I always heard that I was too small." Weir itself was very small in size, making it difficult for scouts to hear about Oswalt. Nonetheless, he was recruited to join

4284-451: The disabled list due to a back injury. Overall, his season was considered to be disappointing, perhaps due to his back problems. In the 2011 NLDS , Oswalt started Game 4 with the Phillies leading the St. Louis Cardinals while needing only one more win to advance. Despite being spotted with two runs by the offense in the first, Oswalt allowed five runs in six innings and took the loss. The Phillies also lost Game 5 and were eliminated from

4403-403: The "Americans" or "Boston Americans" as in "American Leaguers", Boston being a two-team city. Their 1901–1907 jerseys, both home, and road, just read "Boston", except for 1902 when they sported large letters "B" and "A" denoting "Boston" and "American". Newspaper writers of the time used other nicknames for the club, including "Somersets" (for owner Charles Somers ), "Plymouth Rocks", "Beaneaters",

4522-468: The "Collinsites" (for manager Jimmy Collins )", and "Pilgrims". For years many sources have listed "Pilgrims" as the early Boston AL team's official nickname, but researcher Bill Nowlin has demonstrated that the name was barely used, if at all, during the team's early years. The origin of the nickname appears to be a poem entitled "The Pilgrims At Home" written by Edwin Fitzwilliam that was sung at

4641-402: The 1870 season, Wright was hired by Boston businessman Ivers Whitney Adams to organize a new team in Boston, and he brought three teammates and the "Red Stockings" nickname along. (Most nicknames were then unofficial—neither club names nor registered trademarks—so the migration was informal.) The Boston Red Stockings won four championships in the five seasons of the new National Association ,

4760-506: The 1907 home opener ("Rory O'More" melody). This nickname was commonly used during that season, perhaps because the team had a new manager and several rookie players. John I. Taylor had said in December 1907 that the Pilgrims "sounded too much like homeless wanderers." The National League club in Boston, though seldom called the "Red Stockings" anymore, still wore red trim. In 1907, the National League club adopted an all-white uniform, and

4879-597: The 1915 season, Tris Speaker was traded to the Cleveland Indians . The Red Sox went on to win the 1916 World Series , defeating the Brooklyn Robins . Harry Frazee bought the Red Sox from Joseph Lannin in 1916 for about $ 675,000. In 1918, Babe Ruth led the team to another World Series championship over the Chicago Cubs . Prior to the sale of Babe Ruth, multiple trades occurred between

Michigan Battle Cats - Misplaced Pages Continue

4998-478: The 1975 World Series, "We won that thing 3 games to 4." In 1978, the Red Sox and the Yankees were involved in a tight pennant race. The Yankees were 14 + 1 ⁄ 2 games behind the Red Sox in July, and on September 10, after completing a 4-game sweep of the Red Sox (known as "The Boston Massacre"), the Yankees tied for the divisional lead. On September 16 the Yankees held a 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 game lead over

5117-410: The 1996 team who went on to a long major league career was their weak-hitting shortstop, Rafael Betancourt (who hit just .167); he would later find success as a relief pitcher. In 1997 the Battle Cats went 38–31 in the first half, but that was only good for second place, 11 games behind West Michigan. In the second half they dropped to fourth place with a 32–36 record. They nevertheless qualified for

5236-560: The 1999 season, when Oswalt was with the Class A Michigan Battle Cats in the Midwest League , he began suffering pain in his upper shoulder. A month after the season was over, he was still suffering pain. Team doctors diagnosed the pain as tendinitis earlier in the year, although Oswalt was convinced that his shoulder was torn. A few days after returning home, he was checking the spark plug wires on his pickup truck. He touched one of

5355-475: The 2013 season and went to work for his former agent. Oswalt, along with former teammate Lance Berkman signed a one-day contract with Houston to officially retire as an Astro on April 5, 2014. Oswalt was first eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. He received 4 votes, or 0.9%, which is less than the 5% threshold and thus became ineligible for further consideration. Oswalt was inducted into

5474-741: The AL East for the first time in 11 seasons, and faced the California Angels in the ALCS . The teams split the first two games in Boston, but the Angels won the next two home games, taking a 3–1 lead in the series. With the Angels poised to win the series, the Red Sox trailed 5–2 heading into the ninth inning of Game 5. A two-run homer by Baylor cut the lead to one. With two outs and a runner on, and one strike away from elimination, Dave Henderson homered off Donnie Moore to put Boston up 6–5. Although

5593-490: The AL pennant race until almost the last game. The BoSox had finished the 1966 season in ninth place, but they found new life with Yastrzemski as the team won the pennant to reach the 1967 World Series . Yastrzemski won the American League Triple Crown (the most recent player to accomplish such a feat until Miguel Cabrera did so in 2012), hitting .326 with 44 home runs and 121 runs batted in . He

5712-688: The American League Rookie of the Year award and the Most Valuable Player award, a feat which had never previously been accomplished, and was not duplicated until Ichiro Suzuki did it in 2001. In the 1975 American League Championship Series , the Red Sox swept the Oakland A's . In the 1975 World Series , they faced the heavily favored Cincinnati Reds , also known as The Big Red Machine . Luis Tiant won games 1 and 4 of

5831-412: The American League team saw an opportunity. On December 18, 1907, Taylor announced that the club had officially adopted red as its new team color. The 1908 uniforms featured a large icon of a red stocking angling across the shirt front. For 1908, the National League club returned to wearing red trim, but the American League team finally had an official nickname and remained the "Red Sox" for good. The name

5950-555: The Angels tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox won in the eleventh on a Henderson sacrifice fly off Moore. The Red Sox then found themselves with six- and seven-run wins at Fenway Park in Games 6 and 7 to win the American League title. The Red Sox faced a heavily favored New York Mets team that had won 108 games in the regular season in the 1986 World Series . Boston won the first two games in Shea Stadium but lost

6069-566: The Astros allowed him to drop into the 23rd round of the 1996 MLB draft . By this point, Oswalt had drawn the attention of the Mississippi State Bulldogs , for whom he had long wanted play. The Astros enticed Oswalt with a $ 500,000 signing bonus, and he signed with the club on May 18, 1997. Oswalt would eventually become the latest-drafted player to lead his draft class in career Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement as of 2019 . In 1997, Oswalt played rookie ball in

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6188-518: The Battle Cats finished the first half in second place in the division with a 38–30 record, two games behind. They won the division in the second half, 44–25. In the playoffs they lost in the first round to the South Bend Silver Hawks , two games to none. Shortstop Chris Burke hit .300 with 3 home runs. Pitcher Chad Qualls tied for the league lead in victories, going 15–6 with a 3.72 earned run average and 125 strikeouts. Despite

6307-427: The Battle Cats went 36–36 and finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division. In the second half, though, they improved to 43–25 and won the division. For the overall season they finished tied for second place in the standings for the entire league, four games behind the West Michigan Whitecaps. In the playoffs the Battle Cats lost to West Michigan in the first round, two games to one. Manager Billy Gardner, Jr. won

6426-635: The Double-A Frisco RoughRiders . Throughout the four starts, he went 1–1 with a 5.87 ERA. On June 20, the Rangers announced that Oswalt would make his first start with the major league club on Friday, June 22, a home game against the Colorado Rockies . In his debut with the Rangers, Oswalt pitched 6 2 ⁄ 3 innings. He collected 6 strikeouts, while surrendering 9 hits and one earned run. He received an ovation from

6545-633: The Express, manager Jackie Moore tore up his ticket. Nolan Ryan , owner of the Express and Oswalt's idol, admired his calm demeanor and his aggressiveness so much that he successfully lobbied to keep Oswalt on the roster, where he would go 11–4 with a 1.94 ERA, and record 141 strikeouts over 19 games (18 starts). It was in Round Rock that he met pitching coach Mike Maddux , who counseled the young Oswalt to be economical in his pitch selection by throwing more breaking balls and inducing groundouts early in

6664-460: The Keyboard", and his relationship with the fans was often rocky as he was seen spitting towards the stands on more than one occasion. With Williams, the Red Sox reached the 1946 World Series but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in part because of the use of the "Williams Shift", a defensive tactic in which the shortstop moves to the right side of the infield to make it harder for

6783-480: The Red Sox and the Yankees. On December 18, 1918, outfielder Duffy Lewis , pitcher Dutch Leonard and pitcher Ernie Shore were traded to the Yankees for pitcher Ray Caldwell , Slim Love , Roxy Walters , Frank Gilhooley and $ 15,000. In July 1919, pitcher Carl Mays quit the team and then was traded to the Yankees for Bob McGraw, Allan Russell and $ 40,000. After Mays was traded, league president Ban Johnson suspended him due to his breaking of his contract with

6902-653: The Red Sox beat the New York Giants 4–3–1 in the 1912 World Series best known for Snodgrass's Muff . From 1913 to 1916, the Red Sox were owned by Joseph Lannin . In 1914, Lannin signed a young up-and-coming pitcher named Babe Ruth from the Baltimore Orioles of the International League . In 1915, the team won 101 games and went on to the 1915 World Series , where they beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one. Following

7021-470: The Red Sox featured several other star players during the 1940s, including second baseman Bobby Doerr and center fielder Dom DiMaggio (the younger brother of Joe DiMaggio ). The Red Sox narrowly lost the AL pennant in 1948 and 1949. In 1948, Boston finished in a tie with Cleveland , and their loss to Cleveland in a one-game playoff ended hopes of an all-Boston World Series. Curiously, manager Joseph McCarthy chose journeyman Denny Galehouse to start

7140-405: The Red Sox, but the Sox won 11 of their next 13 games and by the final day of the season, the Yankees' magic number to win the division was one—with a win over Cleveland or a Boston loss to the Toronto Blue Jays clinching the division. However, New York lost 9–2 and Boston won 5–0, forcing a one-game playoff to be held at Fenway Park on Monday, October 2. The most remembered moment from the game

7259-413: The Red Sox, though 1961 saw the debut of Carl "Yaz" Yastrzemski , Williams' replacement in left field, who developed into one of the better hitters of a pitching-rich decade. Red Sox fans know 1967 as the season of the "Impossible Dream". The slogan refers to the hit song from the popular musical play " Man of La Mancha ". 1967 saw one of the great pennant races in baseball history with four teams in

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7378-404: The Red Sox. The Yankees went to court after Johnson suspended Mays. After the Yankees were able to play Mays, the American League split into two factions: the Yankees, Red Sox and White Sox, known as the "Insurrectos", versus Johnson and the remaining five clubs, a.k.a. the "Loyal Five". On December 26, 1919, the team sold Babe Ruth, who had played the previous six seasons for the Red Sox, to

7497-420: The World Series but after five games, the Red Sox trailed the series 3 games to 2. Game 6 at Fenway Park is considered among the greatest games in postseason history. Down 6–3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Red Sox pinch hitter Bernie Carbo hit a three-run homer into the center field bleachers off Reds fireman Rawly Eastwick to tie the game. In the top of the 11th inning, right fielder Dwight Evans made

7616-502: The Yankees edge the St. Louis Browns in a tight pennant race. After late trades in 1922, a June 15 trading deadline went into effect. In 1923, Herb Pennock was traded by the Red Sox to the Yankees for Camp Skinner, Norm McMillan, and George Murray . The loss of several top players sent the Red Sox into free fall. During the 1920s and early 1930s, the Red Sox were fixtures in the second division, never finishing closer than 20 games out of first. The losses increased after Frazee sold

7735-502: The Yankees for Del Pratt , Muddy Ruel , Hank Thormahlen, Sammy Vick. The following winter, shortstop Everett Scott , and pitchers Bullet Joe Bush and Sad Sam Jones were traded to the Yankees for Roger Peckinpaugh , who was immediately traded to the Washington Senators , Jack Quinn , Rip Collins , Bill Piercy. On July 23, 1922, Joe Dugan and Elmer Smith were traded to the Yankees for Elmer Miller, Chick Fewster, Johnny Mitchell , and Lefty O'Doul . Acquiring Dugan helped

7854-455: The age of 38 in 1957, but there was little else for Boston fans to root for. Williams retired at the end of the 1960 season , famously hitting a home run in his final at-bat as memorialized in the John Updike story "Hub fans bid Kid adieu." The Red Sox finally became the last Major League team to field an African American player when they promoted infielder Pumpsie Green from their AAA farm team in 1959. The 1960s also started poorly for

7973-461: The baseball team at Holmes Community College . At Weir High School, Oswalt played defensive back and wide receiver on the football team, which won a state title his senior year. He graduated in a class with 32 students. Oswalt attended Holmes Community College in Goodman, Mississippi , for two years. Oswalt was spotted by only one MLB scout, James Farrar of the Houston Astros. Convinced that Oswalt's anonymity kept him hidden from other teams,

8092-402: The bases to win the game for the Red Sox 7–6. The Red Sox lost game 7, 4–3 even though they had an early 3–0 lead. Starting pitcher Bill Lee threw a slow looping curve which he called a "Leephus pitch" or "space ball" to Reds first baseman Tony Pérez who hit the ball over the Green Monster and across the street. The Reds scored the winning run in the 9th inning. Carlton Fisk said famously about

8211-455: The bottom of the 10th, a graphic appeared on the NBC telecast hailing Barrett as the Player of the Game and Bruce Hurst as Most Valuable Player of the World Series. A message even appeared briefly on the Shea Stadium scoreboard congratulating the Red Sox as World Series champions. After so many years of abject frustration, Red Sox fans around the world could taste victory. With the count at two balls and one strike, Mets catcher Gary Carter hit

8330-451: The count. As a result of his success at Round Rock, Oswalt was selected to play on the U.S. Olympic baseball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics . In Olympic baseball competition, Oswalt pitched in the semi-finals against South Korea , a game that the U.S. won with a walk-off home run by Doug Mientkiewicz en route to their gold medal finish. Oswalt struck out ten and allowed two runs (1.38 ERA) in his two starts. In 2001, Oswalt started

8449-431: The crowd as he exited. On July 31, the Rangers moved Oswalt to the bullpen after the acquisition of Ryan Dempster . On August 23, Oswalt made a spot start against the Tampa Bay Rays to give Matt Harrison an extra day of rest. However, he was removed after two innings with soreness in his elbow. On September 11, he was diagnosed with a right forearm strain and did not throw for several days. His first appearance since

8568-476: The difference in the Yankees' 5–4 win, which ended with Yastrzemski popping out to Graig Nettles in foul territory with Rick Burleson representing the tying run at third. Although Dent became a Red Sox demon, the Red Sox got retribution in 1990 when the Yankees fired Dent as their manager during a series at Fenway Park. Carl Yastrzemski retired after the 1983 season, during which the Red Sox finished sixth in

8687-657: The fire out of me, and my arm don't hurt no more." He finished 1999 with 143 strikeouts and a club-high 13 wins. Oswalt began 2000 with the Class A Kissimmee Cobras of the Florida State League , going 4–3 with a 2.98 ERA before a player injury on Class AA Round Rock Express of the Texas League led to his promotion. Oswalt was only expected to pitch a few games and had been given a round-trip ticket. But after striking out 15 batters in his first start with

8806-549: The first half, the Battle Cats' 34–34 record placed them in fourth place in their division, but in the second half they won the division with a 48–22 record. (Their overall season record of 82–56 was second in the league.) In the playoffs, they beat the Fort Wayne Wizards in the first round, two games to one, and the Dayton Dragons in the second round, two games to none. In the championship round they swept

8925-399: The first professional league. When a new Cincinnati club was formed as a charter member of the National League in 1876, the "Red Stockings" nickname was commonly reserved for them once again, and the Boston team was referred to as the "Red Caps". Other names were sometimes used before Boston officially adopted the nickname "Braves" in 1912; the club eventually left Boston for Milwaukee and

9044-401: The first starting pitcher to win both awards since Vida Blue in 1971. Despite spending a month and a half on the disabled list in the middle of the season, left-hander Bruce Hurst went 13–8, striking out 167 and pitching four shutout games. Boston sportswriters that season compared Clemens and Hurst to Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax from the 1960s Los Angeles Dodgers . The Red Sox won

9163-608: The first team to win four World Series trophies in the 21st century, with championships in 2004 , 2007 , 2013 and 2018 . The team's history has also been marked by the team's intense rivalry with the New York Yankees , arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports . The Red Sox are owned by Fenway Sports Group , which also owns Liverpool of the Premier League in England,

9282-551: The injury was on September 24 in a game against the Oakland Athletics . He pitched two scoreless innings of relief. The next day, he pitched 1.1 innings. Oswalt agreed to a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies on May 2, 2013. He made his Rockies debut on June 20 against the Washington Nationals , pitching 5 innings and giving up 4 earned runs on 9 hits with 11 strikeouts. Oswalt retired after

9401-517: The late 1940s had retired or been traded. The stark contrast in the team led critics to call the Red Sox' daily lineup "Ted Williams and the Seven Dwarfs". Jackie Robinson was even worked out by the team at Fenway Park, however, owner Tom Yawkey did not want an African American player on his team. Willie Mays also tried out for Boston and was highly praised by team scouts. In 1955, Frank Malzone debuted at third base and Ted Williams hit .388 at

9520-527: The late 1960s and early 1970s, they never finished higher than second place in their division. The closest they came to a divisional title was 1972 when they lost by a half-game to the Detroit Tigers . The start of the season was delayed by a players' strike, and the Red Sox had lost one more game to the strike than the Tigers had. Games lost to the strike were not made up. The Red Sox went to Detroit with

9639-617: The league's Manager of the Year award. Shea Hillenbrand moved to catcher and hit .349 with 19 home runs, leading the league with a .546 slugging percentage. In 1999, the Michigan Battle Cats switched their affiliation from the Boston Red Sox to the Houston Astros . Previously, the Quad City River Bandits had been the Astros' Midwest League affiliate. The Battle Cats finished the first half of

9758-550: The league. In December 1907, Taylor proposed that the Boston Americans name change to the Boston Red Sox. By 1909, center fielder Tris Speaker had become a fixture in the Boston outfield, and the team finished the season in third place. In 1912 , the Red Sox won 105 games and the pennant. The 105 wins stood as the club record until the 2018 club won 108. Anchored by an outfield including Tris Speaker, Harry Hooper and Duffy Lewis , and pitcher Smoky Joe Wood ,

9877-467: The left-handed-hitting Williams to hit to that side of the field. Some have claimed that he was too proud to hit to the other side of the field, not wanting to let the Cardinals take away his game. His performance may have also been affected by a pitch he took in the elbow in an exhibition game a few days earlier. Either way, in his only World Series, Williams gathered just five singles in 25 at-bats for

9996-442: The next two at Fenway, knotting the series at two games apiece. After Bruce Hurst recorded his second victory of the series in Game 5, the Red Sox returned to Shea Stadium looking to garner their first championship in 68 years. However, Game 6 became one of the most devastating losses in club history. After pitching seven strong innings, Clemens was lifted from the game with a 3–2 lead. Years later, Manager John McNamara said Clemens

10115-476: The on-field success, attendance continued to drop, as it had almost every seasonsince the franchise had moved to Battle Creek, and only 66,088 fans attended. For the second straight summer the team was sold. In 2002, the Battle Cats won the Eastern Division's first half with a 42–28 record. They finished the second half tied for third with a 37–33 record. In the playoffs, they lost in the first round to Lansing, two games to one. Pitcher Mike Burns went 14–9 with

10234-404: The only National League (NL) pitcher to do so that year. He went 20–10 despite a career-high 3.49 ERA, and struck out 206 batters. He finished third in Cy Young Award voting, behind his teammate Roger Clemens and, once again, Randy Johnson. He also made his first postseason appearance, going 1–0 with a 4.19 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance. He threw two complete-game shutouts during

10353-465: The playoff game when the young lefty phenom Mel Parnell was available to pitch. In 1949, the Red Sox were one game ahead of the New York Yankees , with the only two games left for both teams being against each other, and they lost both of those games. The 1950s were viewed as a time of tribulation for the Red Sox. After Williams returned from the Korean War in 1953, many of the best players from

10472-474: The playoffs as a wildcard team, but they lost in the first round to the Lansing Lugnuts two games to one. Second baseman Jim Chamblee hit .300 with 22 home runs and 73 runs batted in and led the league with 112 runs scored. First baseman Shea Hillenbrand hit .290 with 3 home runs. Pitcher Chris Reitsma went 4–1 with a 2.90 earned run average and 41 strikeouts. In the first half of the 1998 season,

10591-468: The playoffs. After the 2011 season for the Phillies, the team declined his option, thus making him a free agent. Oswalt was regarded as one of the top starters on the free agent market and was courted by several teams. ESPN 's Jayson Stark reported that Oswalt, only 34 years old and up to that point an elite pitcher, was holding out for the hope of a large salary from a team relatively close to his hometown of Weir, Mississippi . However, several of

10710-486: The rival New York Yankees. The sale was announced on January 6, 1920. In 1919, Ruth had broken the single-season home run record, hitting 29 home runs. It was believed that Frazee sold Ruth to finance the Broadway musical No, No, Nanette . While No, No, Nanette did not open on Broadway until 1925, Leigh Montville's book, The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth , reports that No, No, Nanette had originated as

10829-418: The season in second place with a 35–34 record, but went 41–28 in the second half to win the division. In the first round of the playoffs they lost two games to none to Lansing. First baseman Aaron McNeal hit .310, led the league in hits (with 166), home runs (with 38), and runs batted in (with 131), and captured the league's Most Valuable Player award. Second baseman Aaron Miles hit .317 with 10 home runs and

10948-659: The season with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs , where he went 2–3 before being called up to the MLB when left-hander Wayne Franklin was optioned down. Oswalt finished his rookie campaign in 2001 with a 14–3 record and a 2.73 ERA, including a 12–2 mark with a 2.82 ERA in his 20 starts. He finished second in voting for National League Rookie of the Year , losing unanimously to Albert Pujols . He also placed fifth in Cy Young Award voting, which

11067-547: The season, both against the Milwaukee Brewers . He led all NL starters with the fastest average fastball, at 94.0 miles per hour (151.3 km/h). He won the Darryl Kile Award . In 2005, Oswalt threw a career-high 241 2 ⁄ 3 innings, striking out 184 batters and only walking 48 on the way to his second consecutive 20-win season – the first Astro to do so since Joe Niekro in 1979–80. He notched

11186-505: The second round they defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps two games to one. In the championship round, however, they were swept in three games by the Beloit Snappers . Battle Cats manager DeMarlo Hale was named the league's Manager of the Year. Shortstop Donnie Sadler hit .283 with 9 home runs, led the league in runs scored with 103, and was named to the post-season all-star team. Pitcher Carl Pavano went 6–6 with

11305-543: The series. Going into the 2011 season, the Phillies' top four pitchers ( Roy Halladay , Cliff Lee , Oswalt, and Cole Hamels ) were widely touted as constituting one of the best starting rotations in history. After a strong start to the 2011 season, Oswalt took a leave of absence from the Phillies on April 27, 2011, citing "personal reasons", namely to check on his family and home after a series of devastating tornadoes in Mississippi . He later spent several weeks on

11424-501: The seven-team AL East, posting their worst record since 1966. However, in 1986, it appeared that the team's fortunes were about to change. The offense had remained strong with Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, Don Baylor and Wade Boggs . Roger Clemens led the pitching staff, going 24–4 with a 2.48 ERA , and had a 20-strikeout game to win both the American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards. Clemens became

11543-450: The spark plug wires, causing the truck's engine to start. The truck's electric current flowed through Oswalt's body, and consequently the muscles in his hand tightened on the spark plug wire. Unable to let go of it, Oswalt grasped the wire for what he said felt like two days, but was probably just a minute. He claimed his foot finally slipped off the truck's bumper and which threw him off the truck. Oswalt told his wife, "My truck done shocked

11662-484: The strike zone: "It's often the best pitch for me to throw to a guy who is sitting on a fastball. If I throw it high, a lot of times he'll swing and not catch up to it." Oswalt had good control throughout his career. He appeared in the top 10 in the National League in BB/9 rate seven times, as well as six times in strikeout-to-walk ratio . He also finished four seasons without making an error . He finished his career with

11781-462: The team as the "Sox" when the context is understood to mean Red Sox. The formal name of the entity which owns the team is "Boston Red Sox Baseball Club Limited Partnership". The name shown on a door near the main entrance to Fenway Park, "Boston American League Baseball Company", was used prior to the team's reorganization as a limited partnership on May 26, 1978. In 1901, the minor Western League, led by Ban Johnson , declared itself to be equal to

11900-451: The team to Bob Quinn in 1923. The team bottomed out in 1932 with a record of 43–111, still the worst record in franchise history. However, in 1931, Earl Webb set the all-time mark for most doubles in a season with 67. In 1933, Tom Yawkey bought the team. Yawkey acquired pitchers Wes Ferrell and Lefty Grove , Joe Cronin , a shortstop and manager, and first baseman Jimmie Foxx . In 1938, Foxx hit 50 home runs, which stood as

12019-511: The team won their first American League pennant and, as a result, Boston participated in the first modern World Series , going up against the Pittsburgh Pirates . Aided by the modified chants of " Tessie " by the Royal Rooters fan club and by its stronger pitching staff, the Americans won the best-of-nine series five games to three. In April 1904, the team was purchased by John I. Taylor of Boston. The 1904 team found itself in

12138-401: The team's sixth World Series championship in 2004 . The team's history during that period was punctuated with some of the most memorable moments in World Series history, including Enos Slaughter 's " mad dash " in 1946 , the " Impossible Dream " of 1967 , Carlton Fisk 's home run in 1975 , and Bill Buckner 's error in 1986 . Following their victory in the 2018 World Series , they became

12257-547: The teams on Oswalt's list were not interested, and Stark reported that Oswalt's performance in 2011 prevented other teams from offering the money he expected. On May 29, it was reported that Oswalt had signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers . To get back to form, Roy started four games in the Rangers' minor league system; three games for the Triple-A Round Rock Express and one for

12376-407: The time in 2008, but that jumped to 19% by 2011. He says it also helped compensate for slightly reduced fastball velocity as a result of his age. His curveball was a common 2-strike offering, and his changeup was frequently used in those counts to right-handed hitters. He also often used the change as a substitute for a fastball when he was behind in the count. He liked to work his fastball high in

12495-467: The top five pitchers (along with Santana, Roy Halladay , Jake Peavy , and Justin Verlander ). On September 26, 2007, it was reported that Oswalt was suffering from pain in his left side and it was decided to shut him down for the remainder of the season so as not to risk a more serious injury. He finished the 2007 season throwing 212 innings, his fourth consecutive year of 200 or more innings pitched,

12614-491: The variant "Los Red Sox". The Red Stockings nickname was previously used by the Cincinnati Red Stockings , who were members of the pioneering National Association of Base Ball Players . Managed by Harry Wright , Cincinnati adopted a uniform with white knickers and red stockings and earned the famous nickname, a year or two before hiring the first fully professional team in 1869. When the club folded after

12733-448: The winner of the post-season playoffs and the team with the highest overall season record as champions. In 1995, their first season, the Battle Cats won the first half division championship with a 36–32 record, while their second half record of 39–31 left them one game behind the Fort Wayne Wizards . Their overall season record of 75–63 was fourth in the league. In the first round of playoffs they beat Fort Wayne two games to none, and in

12852-509: The youngest player in Major League Baseball to hit his 100th home run, a record that stands today. He was struck just above the left cheek bone by a fastball thrown by Jack Hamilton of the California Angels on Friday, August 18, 1967, and sat out the entire next season with headaches and blurred vision. Although he did have a productive season in 1970, he was never the same. Although the Red Sox were competitive for much of

12971-481: Was Bucky Dent 's 7th inning three-run home run in off Mike Torrez just over the Green Monster, giving the Yankees their first lead. The dejected Boston manager, Don Zimmer , gave Mr. Dent a new middle name which lives on in Boston sports lore to this day, uttering three words as the ball sailed over the left-field wall: "Bucky Fucking Dent!" Reggie Jackson provided a solo home run in the 8th that proved to be

13090-419: Was a back-to-back 20-game winner in 2004 and 2005 . He helped lead the Astros to their first World Series appearance in 2005 , and was named Most Valuable Player of the 2005 National League Championship Series (NLCS). When Oswalt left the Astros in 2010, both his wins (143) and strikeouts totals (1,593) ranked second in franchise history to Joe Niekro (144) and Nolan Ryan (1,866), respectively. Oswalt

13209-460: Was a three-time All-Star , selected from 2005 to 2007. Oswalt was born and raised in Weir, Mississippi , the son of Billy Joe and Jean Oswalt. Billy was a Vietnam War veteran and logger . Oswalt grew up with his older brother, Brian, and their older sister, Patricia. Jean was an avid baseball fan and taught her kids about the game. Oswalt grew up rooting for the Atlanta Braves . Oswalt joined

13328-557: Was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies for J. A. Happ and two minor league players, center fielder Anthony Gose , and shortstop Jonathan Villar , playing for Class-A Advanced and Class-A, respectively. On August 24, Oswalt became the first Phillies pitcher to field in a non-pitching position in 39 years. In a game against the Houston Astros, Phillies' first baseman Ryan Howard was ejected after arguing

13447-433: Was named the league's Most Valuable Player, just one vote shy of a unanimous selection as a Minnesota sportswriter placed Twins center fielder César Tovar first on his ballot. But the Red Sox lost the series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson stymied the Red Sox, winning three games. An 18-year-old Bostonian rookie named Tony Conigliaro slugged 24 home runs in 1964. "Tony C" became

13566-540: Was named, along with McNeal, to the post-season all-star team. Pitcher Roy Oswalt went 13–4 with a 4.46 earned run average and 143 strikeouts, and Tim Redding went 8–6 with a 4.97 earned run average and 141 strikeouts. In 2000, the Midwest League reorganized into two divisions; Michigan played in the six-team Eastern Division, while the Western Division comprised the other eight teams. The playoffs continued to last three rounds and to include eight teams. In

13685-421: Was originally owned by C.W. Somers . In January 1902, he sold all but one share of the team to Henry Killilea . The early teams were led by manager and star third baseman Jimmy Collins , outfielders Chick Stahl , Buck Freeman , and Patsy Dougherty , and pitcher Cy Young , who in 1901 won the pitching Triple Crown with 33 wins (41.8% of the team's 79 wins), 1.62 ERA and 158 strikeouts. In 1903,

13804-612: Was over 400 feet (120 m) to right field. He served two stints in the United States Marine Corps as a pilot and saw active duty in both World War II and the Korean War , missing at least five full seasons of baseball. His book The Science of Hitting is widely read by students of baseball. He is currently the last player to hit over .400 for a full season, batting .406 in 1941. Williams feuded with sports writers his whole career, calling them "The Knights of

13923-572: Was rated the best in the NL ahead of Brandon Webb and Chris Carpenter, and was only below the 2006 Triple Crown winner Johan Santana . On July 5, 2007, it was announced Oswalt would replace an injured John Smoltz on the National League All-Star team, making it Oswalt's third consecutive All-Star game appearance. He did not pitch in the All-Star Game , however. On August 13, 2007, Sports Illustrated named Oswalt as one of

14042-470: Was suffering from a blister and asked to be taken out of the game, a claim Clemens denied. The Mets then scored a run off reliever and former Met Calvin Schiraldi to tie the score 3–3. The game went to extra innings, where the Red Sox took a 5–3 lead in the top of the 10th on a solo home run by Henderson, a double by Boggs and an RBI single by second baseman Marty Barrett . After recording two outs in

14161-788: Was won by Randy Johnson . He won the Sporting News NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award . He pitched 24 consecutive scoreless innings before giving up a home run to Andrés Galarraga of the San Francisco Giants . The 2002 season was another step forward for Oswalt, who finished the season with a 19–9 record, striking out a career-high 208 batters and finishing with an ERA of 3.01. He tied with Éric Gagné for fourth in Cy Young voting, losing once again to Johnson. From July 27 to September 8, he won

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