Randall David Johnson was born on September 10, 1963. He was born in Walnut Creek, California. Randy watched the world closely and helped him develop an interest in photography. He was much taller then the kids his age. His height did not make him any less coordinated and he was a great athlete and dominated the game. Because of his height was naturally a good basketball player. He was not at good at baseball but he liked the sport better. He threw very hard but could not control the ball very well. His father was 6-6 and saw great potential in Randy as a pitcher and wanted to see him thrive. Randy practiced pitching by throwing tennis balls at a strike zone he taped to his garage door. When he was 8 years old he went to Little League tryouts …show more content…
He was the 34th overall pick in the draft. He wanted to stay in school for his senior year but the Expos convinced him that they could fix his mechanics. On his first Minor League team in Jamestown he did not win 1 game in 8 starts. The coach told him that wins were not the goal and they wanted him to find a comfortable pitching motion. His next season in Class-A he led the league in walks but batters only batted .211 against him. In 1987 he was promoted to Class-AA and went 11-8 and led the league in strikeouts. In 1988 he was promoted to Class-AAA and his coach finally fixed his mechanics for good. He was moved up to the Major Leagues late that season and started 4 games. He won 3 of them and only walked 7 batters through 30 innings. His next season people thought he might be Rookie of the year but after a few bad starts was sent back down to Class-AAA. He was moved back up a little later and got advice from Nolan Ryan to land on his foot. It helped Johnson a lot. His fastball even hit 102 mph. In his final 11 starts he went 5-2. Hopes were looking up for Randy. Randy married his longtime girlfriend, Lisa. They had four children together. In 1993 he was lights out. Randy was 19-8 with a 3.24 ERA. In 1995 Randy went 18-2 and struck out 294 people in 214 innings. Like many predicted, he won the Cy Young Award that year. In 2001 Randy had another great year and won his 3rd straight Cy Young Award. He led the league with a
ballplayer who was nicknamed "Knucksie" because of his usage and skill level with the knuckleball.
Roger was recruited by legendary coach Bud Wilkinson to play for the University of Oklahoma, but with a professional baseball contract looming, Roger gave up his scholarship at the University of Oklahoma to pursue a career in baseball. He signed a $15,000 contract to play for the Cleveland Indians organization.
In 1983, at the age of twenty-three, Cal lead the Orioles to a World Series victory. He always seemed the favorite every group would vote for as player of the year. There were two reasons. First was his outstanding performance on the field. Second was the way Cal handled himself off the field. He loves being a role model for children, so he tries to be the best person he can in order to set a good example.
Jackson worked extremely hard to get to his current position in life. He practiced non stop it seemed like. In high school, college, and throughout the pros, Jackson worked to get better at baseball, football, and track. He was able to work hard and become a star at all three. It helped that Jackson loved to be around the games, as a kid he and other neighborhood kids would play “stickball”, a form a baseball using a tree branch and a beat up tennis ball. As a teenager he would be working out or practicing constantly at his high school trying to get better (Jackson and Schaap 43).
On December 18, 1886 Tyrus Raymond Cobb was born into the famliy of W. H. Cobb and his fifteen year old wife Amanda Chitwood. Ty grew up in the southern town of Royston, Georgia. Ty’s father W. H. Cobb was a schoolteacher and a college graduate at a time when there were few. W. H. raised Ty on a 100 acre farm where he taught Ty the values of hard work and preservance. Ty’s mother Amanda Chitwood was only twelve when she married W.H.. She had Ty at the age of fifteen and lived to see her son get elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.(http.//wso.williams.edu/~jkossutn/cobb/dad.htm)
Jackie Robinson was an amazing athlete. He played four sports and was named the region's Most Valuable Player in baseball in 1938, at a time when black people were not so readily accepted into the the sports world. With hard work and perseverance Jackie went to the University of California, in Los Angeles, where he became the university's first student to win varsity letters in four sports. Jackie was also a lieutenant in the U.S army, but he never saw combat. He then moved to Honolulu, Hawaii where he became a semi professional football player. After he was in the army he went to the Negro Leagues. During his time in the Negro Leagues, Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was looking to bring black prospects into Major League Baseball (MLB) to break the color barrier of
Joseph Jefferson Jackson was born in the small town of Brandon Mill, South Carolina on July 16, 1888. (Lieber, 2006) At the age of 6, Joe’s family moved to Greenville, South Carolina, a town of about 13,000 people. (Frommer, 6) When Joe Jackson turned fifteen years old, he name his bat “Black Betsy”, which will be used for the rest of his career. (Frommer, 7+8) When he reached the age of twenty, Jackson married Katie Wynn, a young girl from Greenville County, South Carolina. (Fleitz, 2006) The marriage took place on July 19, 1908. While in the batters box, Jackson would sing his favorite song, “I’m Sorry I Made You Cry.” (Frommer, 44) On December 5, 1951, Joe died in his favorite town of Greenville, South Carolina due to a fatal heart attack. (Fleitz, 2006)
In 1902, the Ruth’s sent their son away to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, which was both a reformatory and an orphanage. Ruth developed a love for sports, particularly baseball, which served as his escape from the strict environment at St Mary’s. From an early age he showed potential as an athlete, and in his late teens he had developed into a professional candidate. His tough southpaw pitching attracted Jack Dunn, manager of the minor league Baltimore Orioles. In 1914, the Orioles signed Ruth to his first professional baseball contract. He became the team’s youngest member, and was befittingly nicknamed “Babe.”
walks and he would foul off pitch after pitch. Because of his many foul tips, he became
As an adult, he had to leave home to go try out for baseball. He messed up quite a bit when trying because he was nervous he singled
Hank Aaron was a famous baseball player who was respectful to his teammates and his fans. His nickname was “Hammerin’ Hank”. At one time he led the league in the most home runs. He was born in a poor family and then grew up to be a great professional baseball player. He became one of the most admired baseball players in Major League history.
Ken Griffey Jr. was born in Donora, Pennsylvania on November 21, 1969. After starring at powerhouse Moeller High School in Cincinnati (Joseph, 1997, p. 10) and becoming one of the most hyped prospects ever, Griffey was drafted with the #1 overall pick by the Seattle Mariners, the same team his father, Ken Sr., played for. Entering the league at the age of 19, Griffey became an instant star as the ultimate 5 tool power, a rare breed of speed, power, contact, fielding, and arm strength. In only his second year, he was named the youngest starter in the All Star Game in what would be the first of many appearances in the Summer Classic. He was named the 1997 AL MVP, and was named to the MLB All-Century Team in 1999 (Reader, 1999). In 2000, he asked to be traded to the Cincinnati Reds to move back closer to his family. It was this period in Cincy where his string of injuries began to occur and his career de...
I am trying to raise funds for Robert Johnson's funeral costs. I have had the privilege of working with Rob for the past several years at the American Steakhouse in Dexter, Mo. And I consider myself lucky to have been able to call Robert my friend, one of the best friends I will ever have. Although at first, I thought he was so different and odd, I soon found him to be so kind and one of the most caring people I have ever met. He would literally do anything for you if he considered you his friend. His smile and laugh was contagious and he lightened the mood in any room he entered.
Before the Dodger manager scouted Jackie, he had to ask Jackie to endure racism during the game and in his team. And he decided to just ignore the insult. And last, he became the players for the Dodgers. He was the only African American baseball player in Major League. Because he was black, most of the teammates were not supportive. After the spring training, Jackie advances to the Dodgers. Because of the racism, most of the team member signs that refuse to play baseball with Jackie, but Leo Durocher, manager, insist Jackie will play in the main team. But when manager suspended, New manager(Burt Shotton) came. During the game of Philadelphia phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, Ben Chapman jeered Jackie, caused him to break his bat(because of anger). But with Rickey’s encouragement, he played well during that game. When the game was ended, the action of Chapman created the bad press to the team, causing him to pose with him (for newspaper and magazine). After his teammates Pee Wee Reese, understood the pressure that Jackie’s facing, they had match with Pittsburgh pirates. Rickey hit a homerun against the pitcher(Fritz Ostermueller), who hit him in the head. This Home run boost their team to the world series. However, they lost to New
...on a minor league (AA Southern League), this was a small climax of the movie, and it was great joy to see that he could succeed after being away from the sport so long. The film showed Jimmy moving up from a small professional team to bigger and better teams. He just kept improving and getting recognized by the right people. Eventually he got a call from the major league baseball team, StingRays, and was being drafted to the big leagues. He went to his first game at The Ball Park in Arlington. At Arlington is where the climax of the movie took place, it happened when he took his first step onto the mound to relieve the pitcher. Jimmy came in and saved the game by making three perfect pitches. This was the climax because he had finally reached his goal, a major league baseball player. The movie ended by a little written excerpt saying that he pitched two full seasons in the Major League’s, and now resides in Texas.