Major League Baseball (foreign name: Major League Baseball , referred to as MLB) is the highest-level professional baseball league in North America. [1] was jointly established by the National League and American League in 1903 and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States.
The league has a total of 30 teams, the fifteenth team belongs to the national league, and the fifteenth team belongs to the American league.
History
Baseball is the earliest professional sport developed in the United States. The first professional league (National Association, National Association, 1871-1875) was established in 1871, but due to the problems in the early days, it was taken over by the current National League five years later.
National League will take back all the power to run the team, so there is no guarantee of the rights of players. The monopoly market of the National League has caused the birth of the National League to continue to challenge the National League. These new leagues have absorbed players and coaches who were fired by the National League and introduced more new ideas to attract fans.
Before the major league structure was stable, there were four short-lived professional leagues, and they were established in sequence: the American Association (1882-1891), the Union Association (1884), the Player League (1890) and the Federal League (1914-1915). Another pillar of the major leagues - the American League was established in 1901. Due to poor management of the National League, the 12 teams were reduced to eight teams, namely: Boston Beaneaters (predecessor of Atlanta Braves ), Brooklyn Superbas (predecessor of
Los Angeles Dodgers), Chicago Orphans (predecessor of Chicago Cubs ), Cincinnati Red, and New York Giants (New York) Giants, the predecessor of San Francisco Giants ), Philadelphia Phillies , Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. The result of a large number of players and coaches has given another league a living space. The AFC absorbed these released resources and established eight teams,
, five of which are located in cities without NFC teams, namely Baltimore Orioles (predecessor of New York Yankees ), Cleveland Blues (predecessor of Cleveland Indians), Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers (predecessor of Baltimore Orioles) and Washington Senators (predecessor of Washington). Senators, predecessor of Minnesota Twins), and the other three teams are stronger and compete with the NFC fans: Boston Somersets (predecessor of Boston Red Sox ), Chicago White Stockings (predecessor of Philadelphia Athletics (predecessor of Oakland Sportsmen ).
Two years later, the total number of viewers in the American League began to rise above the National League. As the United Nations League continues to attract NFC stars to change jobs with high salaries, in order to avoid losing both sides, the NFC agreed to negotiate with the American League. At the end of 1902, the Second League held the " Cincinnati Conference" to unify the competition system, rules and management, and also began to hold the so-called "World Competition", and the champions of the Second League fought against the championship.
Evolution of the competition system
Before 1969, the two leagues held competitions respectively, and the record of the routine competition directly determined the league championship, and the two league champions held the world competition with seven battles and four victory systems.With the addition of eight new teams in the 1960s, namely: Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senator in 1961 (later moved to Arlington, Texas and renamed the Texas Rangers);
Houston 45 pistols in 1962 (later changed to Astros) and the New York Metropolis, as well as the 1969 Montreal Expo (later moved to Washington DC and renamed the Washington National), San Diego Padres, Kansas Royal and Seattle pilots (later moved to Milwaki and renamed the Milwaki Brewers), each league increased from eight teams to 12 teams. In order to increase the viewability and tension of the game, the major leagues changed the playoffs to the second round. First, the leagues are divided into six teams in the east and west zones according to their geographical location, and the championships in each division are determined according to the results of the routine match. The first round is called the league championship battle, and the East and West zone champions in the second league will face each other (seven battles and four victories). The winner is the league champion and advances to the second round (still called the World Championship). After the league implemented the zoning system, new team actions were added three times:
977: Seattle Mariners, Toronto Bluebirds
993: Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins
998: Arizona Ring Tampa Bay Manta Rays
In 1994, the total number of teams had reached 28, with seven teams in each district. The major leagues revised the playoff system again and changed it to three rounds (see the playoffs section), and changed the division to three districts in each league (East, Central and West districts), so that the divisions to which the team belongs can fully meet the geographical location of the location. Unfortunately, a major league player strike occurred in 1994, which led to the miscarriage of the World Series, which made these new systems not officially implemented until the 1995 season.
teams
league has a total of thirty teams, the fifteenth team belongs to the national league, and the fifteenth team belongs to the American league. The second league is divided into three districts according to the U.S. geographical area. The champions of each district and the best team except the division champion team, namely the Wild Card, can participate in the playoffs.
regular match
Each team plays 162 games in the season, and the number of times they fight with the same opponent is not certain. Generally speaking, other teams in the division will have the most times. Since 1997, there have been cross-league games. One team and the opponents of another league have to play 12 to 18 games (including 162 games). The game is not a match-based system, and the ranking of the division is determined by the winning rate. The winner of each district is the champion of the district. Fate:
Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees
Los Angeles Dodge vs. San Francisco Giants
Chicago Bears vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Star Game
Every July, the National League and the American League Star Games are held, and are held by cities.
playoff
If the second team tied for the first place in the division, the second team will play one extra game and decide the championship (the home game is determined by the league president tossing a coin), but if the second place in other divisions in the same league is not as good as the second team (that is, the loser in the extra game is a wildcard team), the extra game will be cancelled and the competition results will determine the championship.
If there are more than three teams tied for the first place in the division, a single knockout match will be arranged.
Wild Card Team
Wild Card is another way for each team to participate in the playoffs in addition to the division champion. In addition to the division champion, the top two with the best results in the routine match will be won.
If there are multiple teams with the same winning rate and no division leader, the wild card will be decided in the same way as the division championship play-off.
If multiple teams have the same winning rate but some teams tied for the first place in the division, first refer to the rules of the division championship play-off to decide the division championship. Teams that have not won the division championship will then decide the wild card in a single knockout round.
Team 3: A, B (Home Game A), the winner will face C at home the next day, and the winner will advance. The participating teams will first choose the position against those with better winning rates. If the match scores are the same, the lottery will determine the order of selection.
Team 4: A, B vs. C, D vs. The winner vs. the next day, and the winner advances.The match combination and home court are decided by the draw.
5 or above: No specifications.
Cross-League Events
In 1997, in order to stimulate the market, the major leagues held their first cross-League competition. At that time, the schedule was to play between teams in the same district. In 2002, a new rule was adopted to determine the opponents of cross-League competitions. In principle, the divisional rotation system was adopted. For example, in 2002, the American League East District to the National League West District; the American League Central District to the National League East District; the American League West District to the National League Central District, and the American League Central District will rotate the next year (the home court is one National League and one American League One), but some events are exceptions (hereinafter referred to). This system has given teams that could only meet in the World Championships in the past have the opportunity to fight in the season, and has created more topics. The most eye-catching cross-league events are teams in the same city or state or feudal.
George
Subway Series: New York Yankees vs. New York Metropolis. The subway battle was named after the home courts of the two teams happened to be located next to the subway station. Fans can go back and forth the stadium by subway .
Citrus Series: Tampa Bay Radiance vs. Miami Marlins. Citrus is a specialty of Florida , hence the name.
WindyCityShowdown: Chicago White socks vs.Chicago Bear.
Battle of Ohio (Battlefor Ohio): Cleveland Indian vs. Cincinnati Reds.
Bay Bridge Series: Oakland athlete vs. San Francisco Giants.
LoneStarShootout: Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astronauts. The alias of Texas is "Lone Star State", hence the name.
Atseaaction: Seattle sailors vs. Pittsburgh Pirates.
CalFreeway Series: Los Angeles Anaheim Angel vs Los Angeles Dodge.
70 Interstate War (I-70Series): Kansas City Royal vs. St. Louis Cardinals . Kansas and St. Louis are both located in Missouri , connected by Interstate 70, hence the name.
BorderBattle: Minnesota Twins vs. Milwaukee Brewers. The two cities happen to be located at the second end of Wisconsin and are connected by Interstate 94.
Before the Montreal Expo moved to Washington, DC, the battle between the Montreal Expo and the Toronto Bluebirds was called the Canada Series; the war between the Washington Nationals was changed to the Baltimore Orioles, which was also in the capital area, called the "Beltway Series".
playoffs
playoffs are held after the October regular match every year. The champions of each district in the second league (east, west and middle) and the best winner among the second-place finishes in each district in the league (wild card) will participate, with a total of eight teams. The playoffs are elimination system, with the names of the three rounds: Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series. The first round is five battles and three victories, followed by seven battles and four victories. The following rules are adopted for the opponent's allocation:
2 leagues are separated, so the final (i.e., the World Championship) must be a NFC and an American League team.
The opponent in the first round is the team with the best record against the wild card team, but if the second team belongs to the same division, the second division champion team with the second record against the wild card team. This system will be cancelled later. Regardless of whether the team with the best record and the wild card team are in the same division, they will be the team with the best record against the wild card team. In the 2017 playoffs, the Arizona Diamondbacks won the wild card game, and in the division series against the league's regular season champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who was in the same district, had a total score of 0-3 and were swept out by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Those with better opponents enjoy home advantage, while wildcard teams have no home advantage regardless of their record (except for the World Championship). The home court of the
World Series was in the past two leagues took turns. Since 2003, the side that wins the Star Game has a home advantage. Since 2017, the major leagues have officially abolished the system, that is, the result of the All-Star Game will no longer affect the home advantage of the World Championship, but will instead change to the side with a better record with a home advantage. In 2017, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a regular season record of 104 wins and 58 losses, the Houston Astros had a regular season record of 101 wins and 61 losses, and the Los Angeles Dodgers had a better record. Although the winner of the All-Star Game that year was still the AFC team, the Los Angeles Dodgers achieved a home advantage in accordance with the new system.
Starting from the 2012 season, the number of wild card slots has been increased from one team to two teams (i.e., the second team with the highest winning rate of the division champions in the United Nations League, except for the second team with the highest winning rate in the division championship). The first and second teams in each league must first play a single game elimination and death battle. The winning team can qualify for the wild card team and the league's regular season champion team. The divisional game is divided into five games and three victories.
specified strike
The American League began to adopt the DH system in 1973. The pitchers of the United Nations do not need to go out to strike, and the National League has always kept the pitchers on the field and the pitchers usually ranked ninth. Judging from the data from previous years, since pitchers must strike, the average strike rate will be lower than that of the American League and the average defense rate will be lower. When two league teams fight (inter-league matches, star matches or world competitions), the rules will be adopted for which league belongs to the home court.
draft
American professional base every year takes the Amateur draft on the first Tuesday in June, and the official name is the First-Year Player Draft. There are 50 rounds of drafts, and starting from 2005, the draft pick is determined completely based on the team's winning rate (in the past, the National League and the American League team must be interspersed), starting from the team with the lowest winning rate, and starting from the team with the highest winning rate. The draft will be two days away, but the league also has a schedule for the third day in case of emergencies. The first day usually takes 20 rounds, and the remaining 30 rounds are left until the next day. The team that is on the turn of
has 2 minutes to consider. Next, scout will usually immediately call to notify the selected player, and the team has 15 days to sign a contract with the player alone. If the team fails to sign the player within 15 days, the player will obtain free player qualifications. If the high school player chooses to enter a 4-year university, the team still reserves the right to sign the contract before the player arrives at school. If a player chooses to enter a 2-year college, the team can sign a contract the week before the next year's draft pick. This method is called the Draft-and-Follow program. The advantage of this approach is that the team can observe one more player for almost one more year, which makes some teams particularly like players who choose 2-year colleges in the second half of the draft.
amateur draft is not a world draft yet. Only players with the qualifications of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and other American local residents need to go through this draft. Players from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Central America and other places are not allowed to sign contracts.
Personal Award of the Year
Ceyang Award
Hank Allen Award
Hank Allen Award
MVP
Gold glove award
Hank Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
Best coach of the year
Best Newcomer of the year
Best rescue pitcher of the year
Silver bar award
Team record
World Series champion most times: New York Yankees, 27 times
Most times: New York Yankee, 39 times
has not won the World Championship (including predecessor, sorted by establishment):
National League: Milwaukee Brewers (1969), San Diego Padres (1969), Colorado Rockies (1993)
American League: Texas Rangers (1961), Seattle Sailors (1977), Tampa Bay Stings (1998)
has not participated in the World Championship (including predecessor) , sorted according to the order of establishment):
American League: Seattle Mariners (1977)
Cultural Exchange Ambassador
On April 3, 2015, MLB Major League Baseball (China) officially announced that it will appoint Chinese singer Jane Zhang as the cultural exchange ambassador of MLB Major League Baseball (China). This is the first time that MLB has awarded this title in China.
in China
Mission Statement
In the next decade, MLB's goal is to popularize and promote baseball among the Chinese people, making baseball one of the Chinese's own sports and one of the most popular sports. There are many potential baseball players in China waiting to be discovered and trained by MLB, establish and improve the youth baseball training system, and allow Chinese baseball players to step onto the world's highest level of MLB and achieve success. This is MLB's long-term commitment to the development of Chinese baseball.
promotes the popularization and development of baseball in China
In 2003, the MLB Major League Baseball and Chinese Baseball Association signed a cooperation agreement to jointly promote the popularization and development of baseball in China. The Chinese Baseball Association grants Major League Baseball team clubs the right to inspect and sign players. MLB selects young coaches in China to study in the United States, and carries out cooperation projects such as youth baseball development plan, Sino-US baseball player exchanges, referee training and other cooperation projects. As part of the 2003 cooperative development agreement, Major League Baseball sent former MLB player and head coach Jim Loeffbrey and pitcher Bruce Hurst as head coach and pitcher coach of the Asian Championships Chinese national baseball team respectively. At the 2005 Japan World Cup baseball qualifiers, the Chinese team successfully advanced to the World Cup qualifiers. In 2007 and 2008, MLB continued to invite Chinese national baseball teams to participate in spring training and autumn training matches to prepare for the Olympics. The Chinese national baseball team won its first victory over Chinese Taipei team at the Olympics.
2006 WBC World Baseball Elite Championship, Chinese baseball player Wang Wei scored the first home run of the Chinese team in the World Baseball Elite Championship against the Japanese team. In the 2009 WBC World Baseball Elite Championship, the Chinese national baseball team defeated the Chinese Taipei team with a score of 4-1 to win. CCTV Sports Channel, Beijing TV , Shanghai Culture and Radio Media and Guangdong TV conducted full-time follow-up reports, and millions of viewers in China watched the game.
On March 31, 2010, the Chinese Baseball Association and MLB Major League Baseball signed a strategic cooperation agreement again and officially announced it to the public. The two sides said that they will carry forward the past based on the basis and achievements of previous cooperation, carry out a series of popularization, training of coaches and referees, and training of youth baseball, and work together to promote the development of China's baseball. At the same time, MLB Major League Baseball will provide coaching training, technical guidance and other practical and effective help to Chinese national baseball teams to prepare for the Asian Games.
On August 1, 2010, MLB Major League Baseball once again joined hands with the Chinese Baseball Association to hold the 2010 CBA-MLB China Youth Baseball Summer Camp. The young campers recruited from all over the country were trained for three weeks, and the mature international baseball teaching experience was used to improve children's baseball awareness and skills, and accumulate reserve strength for the development of Chinese youth baseball.
On the eve of the 12th National Games baseball qualifiers, in order to improve the professional level of baseball referees, the CBA China Baseball Association joined hands with MLB Major League Baseball to open a national baseball referee training class. Two senior referees from MLB, Deflin Fernando Colon and Eric Lee Loveless, arrived at Wuxi to serve as lecturers in this baseball referee training class. The training class offers three parts: theory class, observation class and practical class, which are divided into two modes: indoor and outdoor. This training class for referees will undoubtedly help improve the overall referee's referee's level of referees and create an ideal environment for Chinese baseball to achieve a qualitative leap.
2 February 27, 2019, three Chinese baseball players, Zhao Lun, , Ekin and Kou Yongkang, officially signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers team of Major League Baseball (MLB) on the 27th. This is the first time that the same team of the MLB Professional Baseball team has signed three mainland Chinese players.
On August 15, 2019, the strategic cooperation conference of China Baseball Professional League (CNBL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) and the 2019 Vocational Baseball Opening Games reception were held in Tianjin on the 15th. As the core institution leading the development of China's professional baseball league in the future, the China Baseball Professional League has been officially established and signed a strategic cooperation agreement with MLB, a professional baseball league that represents the highest level in the world.
On October 30, 2019, the Baseball Industry Development Forum was held in Beijing. The "2019 China Baseball Population White Paper" was released at the forum. The white paper pointed out that at present, there are about 8.5 million baseball participants, about 21 million baseball active people, and the total radiated population of about 20 million baseball groups, the total radiated population of China's baseball is about 41 million. The 2019 China Baseball Population White Paper was released by the Major League Baseball (MLB) China. According to the survey, China's baseball active population is mainly distributed in East China, North China, and , and , especially in the three cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. At the same time, the scarcity of baseball venues, expensive equipment prices, and poor venue quality are important reasons that hinder people from participating in baseball. Baseball facilities, equipment and other resources and training services need to be improved.
MLB Beijing Representative Office established
In January 2007, the MLB China Representative Office was established in Beijing. This is the second representative office of MLB in Asia.
MLB China Championship [9]
In March 2008, the MLB China Championship started for the first time. At the Wukesong Olympic Baseball Stadium in Beijing, the prestigious Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres played two consecutive games, and the audience was enthusiastic about participating, and the baseball field was full every day.
MLB and Tencent signed a strategic cooperation agreement
In April 2018, MLB and Tencent signed a multi-year strategic cooperation agreement, which became MLB's exclusive digital media partner in China. The two parties cooperated in depth on online communities, offline activities, etc. to jointly develop the commercial value of MLB and baseball in the Chinese market.
MLB PLAY BALL! Youth Baseball Development Plan
MLBPLAY BALL! It is the MLB Major League Baseball youth flagship project in China, aiming to promote and develop the development of baseball in Chinese primary schools. Through cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the project officially began in September 2007.
In 2009, more than 100,000 primary school students (ages 8 to 12) from 120 primary schools in five cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Wuxi, joined the program. The regular season hit a climax in major cities, and the national finals were held in Shanghai in May.
2010 MLB PLAY BALL! Since the regular season started on March 20, after five weeks of fierce city competition, Beijing Wanquan Primary School Tigers, Beijing Xidan Primary School Yankees, Tianjin Beicang Primary School Diamondbacks, Shanghai Gaodong Primary School Diamondbacks, Wuxi New District Experimental Primary School Cardinals, and Guangzhou Jinghui Sports School Metropolis Team, a total of 6 teams entered the MLB PLAY BALL! "Diamond Cup" competition with their strong strength and outstanding performance. On May 30, at the Beijing Fengtai Sports Center, the Beijing Wanquan Primary School Tigers won the championship in the MLB PLAY BALL! "Diamond Cup" finals with the Beijing Xidan Primary School Yankees.
March 2011, MLB PLAY BALL! The Youth Baseball League kicked off in five cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Wuxi. The participating schools include MLB PLAY BALL! There are 120 primary and 8 secondary schools within the Youth Baseball Development Program, which also marks the MLB PLAY BALL! The Junior Baseball League has a middle school team participating for the first time. On May 29, at the Beijing Touchdown Baseball Manor, after 5 fierce and exciting games, the Beijing Dacheng School Diamondbacks defeated the Beijing Fengtai Experimental School White Sox with a score of 3:2 and won the 2011 MLB PLAY BALL! Major League Baseball League "Diamond Cup" Championship.
March 17, 2012, the annual MLB PLAY BALL! The Youth Baseball League has started in five major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuxi and Tianjin. A total of 133 schools participated in this league. Following the first time in 2012, eight middle schools in Tianjin participated in MLB PLAY BALL! After the league, eight middle schools in Guangzhou also joined MLB PLAY BALL in 2012! May 26-27, 2012 MLB PLAY BALL! The "Diamond Cup" competition of the Five Cities Youth Baseball League was staged in Wuxi New District Experimental Primary School . In the end, Beijing Wanquan Primary School won 14:0, won four games and four wins, without losing a single point, creating MLB PLAY BALL! The record of "Diamond Cup".
March 23, 2013, MLB PLAY BALL! The Five Cities Youth Baseball League was officially launched at Guangzhou Huajing Primary School. Teams from 120 primary schools and 32 middle schools in five cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Wuxi, were competing fiercely. In 2013, 16 new middle schools participated in the junior high school competition, and the middle school group expanded from the original 16 teams to 32. After all 152 teams passed the fierce divisional competition and city championship competition, the champion teams of the five urban primary school groups and the runner-up teams from the finals held in the venue participated in the MLB PLAY BALL held in mid-to-late May! The "Diamond Cup" finals finally won the 2013 MLB PLAY BALL from Beijing! "Diamond Cup" champion. Meanwhile, 2013 MLB PLAY BALL! The official website has established a game data statistics system, and the team can log in to the official website to check the statistics of players and teams.
On November 24, 2013, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, became the sixth city of MLB PLAY BALL! The project successfully filled the long-standing gap in the development of youth baseball in the southwest region and provided a new impetus for the development of youth baseball in China! The official launch of the Chengdu competition area is the result of the joint efforts of the Chengdu Education Commission and the MLB Major League Baseball. The cooperation model between the two parties has created MLB PLAY BALL! The precedent of the project also laid the foundation for baseball to take root and sprout in more cities.
By 2014, more than 200,000 primary and secondary school students (ages 8 to 14) from 189 primary and secondary schools in six cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Wuxi and Chengdu, joined the program. MLB PLAY BALL! The Youth Baseball League sets its climax in major cities from March to May every year, and the champion teams of each city compete for the "Diamond Cup" championship in May every year.
From May 25 to 26, 2019, the 12th MLB PlayBall! The "Diamond Cup" finals of the Youth Baseball League were staged at the MLB Nanjing Baseball Development Center. The Beijing Dacheng School Diamondbacks defeated Zhongshan Dongsheng Primary School Dodgers 12:0 and won the national championship of the "Diamond Cup" for the third consecutive year. Zhongshan Dongsheng Primary School Dodgers and Beijing Xinghe Experimental Rockies ranked second and third. The first MLB PlayBall! Youth Baseball League was held in 2008. Now that MLB PlayBall! has entered its twelfth year of development, the competition specifications, technical investment, attention and influence have also ushered in a comprehensive upgrade.At present, the MLB PlayBall! Youth Baseball Promotion Program has reached nearly 200 primary schools across the country, with a total of more than 1.2 million students in school contacting baseball through this program. As the level of the event continues to improve, this event has also become a place for baseball's tomorrow's star. Through this event, many baseball teenagers also have a bigger stage to pursue their baseball dreams and embark on a new journey. Among the seven Chinese players who have signed with the MLB American professional baseball team, 6 of them have come from this event.
