Clayton Kershaw Research Paper

Black History Month is a very important one. My favorite person that we can celebrate this month is Hank Aaron. Hank is an incredible baseball player. He set glorious examples for all African Americans who wished to have an accomplished career in baseball. Hank Aaron is one of the best performers I know of.

The Boston Red Sox was founded in 1901. The team was originally named the Boston Americans but later changed to the Boston Red Sox after Boston’s first professional baseball team the Boston Red Stockings, now known as the Atlanta Braves. The Red Sox first played Huntington Avenue Grounds but later moved to Fenway Park in 1912. Fenway Park remains the home of the Sox to this day.

Bryce Harper is the player that you love to have on your own team, but opponents can't stand him! He might have a swagger that annoys opponents, but he is one heck of a baseball player and this year he is breaking out to the superstar everyone expected! He is just 22 years of age and he is one of the most feared hitters in baseball. He has battled injuries to start his career because of what some have termed too much hustle, but this year he has put all together. He is hitting .331 27 home runs and 64 runs batted in the no question NL MVP at this point in the season. He might rub fans and opponents the wrong way but he is fun to watch play baseball I just wish as a Braves fan he was in a different division.

Throughout the history of major league baseball we have seen countless astonishing hitters come pass through, some putting up record breaking numbers, at times too good to be true. Barry Bonds, known as the “homerun king” was able to put up an amazing total of 73 home runs in 2001. The very next season, he continued to present his skill with a .370 batting average. Between 1999 and 2007, Bonds’ stats were shocking, hitting 351 home runs, winning four national league MVP awards, and racking up 780 RBI’s, 69 stolen bases, and just over one thousand hits. Alex Rodriguez, better known as “A-rod” is another huge name when talking about the greatest hitters in baseball. For nine seasons out of Rodriguez’s twenty two season career, 8.5% of the balls he would put into play were home runs. By the end of his lengthy career, he was able to collect 698 home runs, over two thousand RBI’s and runs scored, with over three thousand hits. He was also named All-Star fourteen times. With numbers like these, it is hard to

Zack Greinke, a pitcher on the Los Angeles Dodgers, is considered by many analysts as the most dominating pitcher in baseball.

Dickey is his determination. R.A. Dickey is the fourth knuckleballer in baseball history! R.A. Dickey became an all time knuckleballer when he tore his ACL. R.A. Dickey was always determined to make it to the MLB. R.A. Dickey has inspired me because he changed the way people view the knuckleball. R.A. is one of the most versatile athletes I’ve ever

Thesis: The Fundamentals of baseball can result in a successful pitcher is proper mechanics, good arm motion to hit your target and lots of flexibility/mobility that can result in high velocity meaning speed.

Baseball statistics are meant to be a representation of a player’s talent. Since baseball’s inception around the mid-19th century, statistics have been used to interpret the talent level of any given player, however, the statistics that have been traditionally used to define talent are often times misleading. At a fundamental level, baseball, like any game, is about winning. To win games, teams have to score runs; to score runs, players have to get on base any way they can. All the while, the pitcher and the defense are supposed to prevent runs from scoring. As simplistic as this view sounds, the statistics being used to evaluate individual players were extremely flawed. In an attempt to develop more

Bob Gibson may well have been the most intimidating pitcher in history. He was certainly one of the most successful. The Omaha native excelled at baseball and basketball in high school, and played college hoops for Creighton University before a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. In 1957, he signed

The all time hit champion Pete Rose was banned from baseball and the Hall of Fame for life because of illegal sports betting and tax evasion. Pete Rose was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 14, 1941. His parents names were LaVerne Rose and Harry Rose (Lloyd 2005). Pete’s Dad who had once played semi pro football, had always wanted him to be a football star. When Pete Rose was young, he always wanted to be a star, a baseball star, and throughout his life he was recognized widely as one (Biography.com 2014). He had always had a passion for football and baseball and even when he was offered to go to college with a football scholarship, he denied the request and continued his baseball career. He was offered

Not only are professional baseball players an inspiration; they are also leaders. They have risked life and limb on the field; they inspire us to be better and strive for excellence. For many fans these athletes are

Several years ago, I was talking to my late grandpa who had gone to see Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr. give a speech to some young children. After his speech, a dad stood up and asked “Mr. Griffey, you and I have something in common. I have been playing baseball all my life just like you. We are about the same age and we even come from the same hometown. The only difference between us is that you are a celebrated All- Star ballplayer, and I-- despite decades of hard work-- have never been able to play past college ball. This breaks my heart. I have dedicated my whole life to baseball, but to no avail. My spirit has been completely diminished by all the rejection and disappointment. I was wondering if you have any advice for me, but please do not just dismiss my question and tell me to persevere. I have heard that too many times and

George Herman Ruth Jr. was known to us as Babe Ruth. He was one of the most decorated athletes of all time even though he had a troubled beginning. His baseball career spanned for twenty-two seasons from 1914-1935 and playing for three different teams.

He hit 600 home runs (5th most all time), won 10 gold gloves, and made 13 All Star Games. In almost 150 years baseball history, only the great Willie Mays can match Ken Griffey Jr. in these statistical categories. However, despite these extraordinary stats, Ken Griffey Jr. may be the ultimate “What Could Have Been” player. An incredibly promising career was derailed in the latter half by chronic injuries that robbed him of hundreds of games. If not for these injuries, Griffey was well on his way to becoming the Home Run King (Stark, 2010) and possibly the greatest player ever. Despite these setbacks, Griffey is still revered as one of the greatest and most popular MLB players ever. The savior of baseball in Seattle and the lone star to

For prospects that are forced into the minor leagues for development, the road to the majors has proven a grueling process and the majority of players never make it to the major leagues. Extremely low salaries and bonuses in the minor leagues has become an ongoing, controversial topic between MLB commissioner Bud Selig and minor league players 17. A fast food worker makes between $15,000 and $18,000 a year, which is two or three times as large as minor league players’ average salary, so minor league players are forced to have multiple jobs throughout the year 18. The majority of minor league players lie below the federal poverty level and while MLB salaries are rapidly increasing, minor leagues salaries remain constant. The MLB receives exemptions