Major League Baseball
Most titles in the last 25 years
Yankees (four), Blue Jays/Marlins/Red Sox/Twins (two)
Fun facts
-The Commissioner's Trophy is the only championship trophy of the "Big Four" leagues that is not named after a particular person. -Jackie Robinson's #42 was retired by all teams in 1997 (on the 50th anniversary of Robinson's first game) -There was no World Series in 1994 due to a players' strike. -The Green Monster, the name given to the left field wall in Fenway Park (Boston), is 37 feet tall. -The Triple Crown (awarded to a player when he leads the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in) has not been claimed in 41 years.
Biggest Problems
-different set of rules for each league (designated hitter in the AL vs. pitchers batting in the NL) -no salary cap -playoff game start/end times
Minor leagues
240 teams in five different levels — Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, Class A Short-season, and Rookie.
International flavor
28% non-American - players from countries including the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and Australia.
Team breakdown
30 teams divided into two leagues (American and National) with three divisions (East, Central, West) in each league.
Best places to see a game
AT&T Park - San Francisco Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia Petco Park - San Diego PNC Park - Pittsburgh Safeco Field - Seattle
Season and games
April Fools Day-Halloween (162 regular season games, 3 rounds of playoffs)
Averages
Average player salary: $3.15 million Average ticket price: $25.40 Average length of game: 2.5 to 3 hours Average stadium size: 44,234 Average attendance: 32,600 Average player age: 28.9 years old
Best rivalries
Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants
Team of the decade
Boston Red Sox — .563 winning percentage, two AL championships, two World Series titles since 2000
Commissioner
Bud Selig, since 1992 - regarded as the most out-of-touch commissioner currently serving
Tortured franchises (years without a World Series championship)
Chicago Cubs (100 years) Cleveland Indians (60 years) San Francisco Giants (54 years)
Non-players/coaches you should look up on Wikipedia
Hank Steinbrenner (owner, Yankees), Billy Beane (general manager, Athletics), and Omar Minaya (general manager, Mets)
All-Star Game info
Held in July, fans and coaches/players/managers help select final rosters, every team has at least one representative, and homefield advantage in the World Series goes to the winner of the game.
Draft information
Held in June, over 1000 picks made of high school and college players; draft order determined by winning percentage.
Best foreign player name
Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs)
Most telling statistics you may not know about
OBP (on-base percentage) and WHIP (Walks + Hits divided by Innings Pitched)
Best play-by-play voices
Vin Scully, Harry Kalas, and Jon Miller
Postseason business
three division winners and one wild card team make the playoffs in each league; first round is best-of-five, all other rounds are best-of-seven.
