San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California since their founding in 1969. They play in the National League Western Division.

Pre 1970s: The Beginnings
The Padres adopted their name from the Pacific Coast League team which arrived in San Diego in 1936. That minor league franchise won the PCL title in 1937, led by then-18-year-old San Diegan Ted Williams.
In 1969, the San Diego Padres joined the ranks of Major League Baseball as one of four new expansion teams, along with the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals), the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots (now the Milwaukee Brewers). Their original owner was C. Arnholt Smith, a prominent San Diego businessman and former owner of the PCL Padres whose interests included banking, tuna fishing, hotels, real estate and an airline. Despite initial excitement, the guidance of longtime baseball executive Buzzie Bavasi and a new playing field, the team struggled; the Padres finished in last place in each of its first six seasons in the NL West, losing 100 games or more four times. One of the few bright spots on the team during the early years was first baseman and slugger Nate Colbert, an expansion draftee from the Houston Astros and still (as of 2007) the Padres' career leader in home runs. The 70s: Winfield, Jones, Fingers and Ozzie


Although the Padres continued to struggle after Colbert's departure via trade to the Detroit Tigers in 1974, they did feature star outfielder Dave Winfield, who came to the Padres in 1973 from the University of Minnesota without having played a single game in the minor leagues. Winfield was also drafted by the Minnesota Vikins of the National Football League, the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association and the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association.
Winfield took over where Colbert left off, starring in the Padres outfield from 1973 until 1980, when he joined the New York Yankees. In seven seasons, Winfield played in 1,117 games for San Diego and collected 1,134 hits, 154 home runs and drove in 626 runs. But most importantly, he helped the team out of the National League West basement for the first time in 1975, under the guidance of manager John McNamara, who took over the club at the start of the 1974 season.
Winfield's emergence as a legitimate star coincided with the turnaround of a promising young left-handed pitcher named Randy Jones, who had suffered through 22 losses in 1974. Jones became the first San Diego pitcher to win 20 games in 1975, going 20-12 in 37 outings as the Padres finished in fourth place with a 71-91 record, 37 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.
Jones won 22 games in 1976, winning the Cy Young Award in the process, another franchise first. The club set a new high with 73 wins, but fell to fifth place.
Jones slipped to 6-12 in 1977, and not even the acquisition of future hall-of-fame relief pitcher Rollie Fingers could help the Padres escape the second division. Only Winfield and fellow outfielder George Hendrick cracked the 20-homer barrier, and the pitching staff was filled with a group of unknowns and youngsters, few of whom would enjoy much success at the major league level.
The 1978 season brought hope to baseball fans in San Diego, thanks to the arrival a young shortstop named Ozzie Smith, who arrived on the scene and turned the baseball world on its ears with an acrobatic style that redefined how the position should be played in the field. The Padres hosted the all-star game that summer. The National League won the contest 7-3 thanks to an MVP performance by Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey, who would play a crucial role for San Diego in the not-too-distant future.
Winfield and Fingers represented the team at the game, but conspicuously absent was starting pitcher Gaylord Perry, who joined the Padres after spending three years with the Texas Rangers. At 39 years of age and coming off a 15-14 season with Texas, little was expected of the future hall-of-famer. All Perry did that summer was post a 21-6 record and a 2.73 earned run average, edging Montreal's Ross Grimsley to earn the Padres' second Cy Young Award in three seasons. San Diego also picked up another first that summer, compiling an 84-78 mark for manager Roger Craig, the only time in 10 seasons the team finished a season with a winning percentage above .500.
The good times didn't last, as the Padres closed out the decade with another losing season in 1979, a 68-93 record that cost Craig his job. Winfield was the lone bright spot, leading the National League with 118 RBIs.

Washington Padres?
Before the 1974 season began, the Padres were on the verge of being sold to Joseph Danzansky, who was planning to move the franchise to Washington, D.C. by the beginning of the 1974 season. People were so convinced the transfer would happen that new uniforms were designed. Even the baseball card companies were fooled. About half of the Padres' player cards printed by Topps that season displayed "Washington National League" as the team name. But C. Arnholt Smith changed his mind, and instead sold the Padres to McDonald's' co-founder Ray Kroc, who was not interested in moving the team and kept the team in San Diego. The nation's capital would have to wait until after the 2004 season, when the Montreal Expos, the Padres' sister National League expansion team in 1969, transferred to the District of Columbia and became the Washington Nationals.

1984: The First Pennant
The 1984 season began with a shock: Ray Kroc died of heart disease on January 14. Ownership of the team passed to his third wife, Joan B. Kroc. The team would wear Ray's initials, "RAK" on their jersey's left sleeve during the entire season.
Fortunately, happier times were ahead for the team. The Padres finished at 92-70 in 1984 and won the National League West championship, despite having no players with 100-RBI and only two batters with 20-HR. They were managed by Dick Williams and had an offense that featured veterans Steve Garvey, Garry Templeton, Graig Nettles, Alan Wiggins as well as Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn, who captured his first of what would be eight National League batting championships that year (he would also win in 1987-89 and from 1994-97; Gwynn shares the National League record with Honus Wagner). Gwynn, who also would win five National League Gold Gloves during his career, joined the Padres in 1982 following starring roles in both baseball and basketball at San Diego State University (he still holds the school record for career basketball assists), and after having been selected in the previous year by both the Padres in the baseball draft and by the then San Diego Clippers in the National Basketball Association draft. The Padres pitching staff in 1984 featured Eric Show (15-9), Ed Whitson (14-8), Mark Thurmond (14-8), Tim Lollar (11-13), and Rich "Goose" Gossage as their closer (10-6, 2.90 ERA and 25 saves).
In the 1984 NLCS, the Padres faced the NL East champion Chicago Cubs, who were making their first post-season appearance since 1945 and featured NL Most Valuable Player Ryne Sandberg and Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe. The Cubs would win the first two games at Wrigley Field, but the Padres swept the final three games at then San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium (the highlight arguably being Steve Garvey's dramatic, game winning home run off of Lee Smith in Game 4) to win the 1984 National League pennant.
In the 1984 World Series, the Padres faced the powerful Detroit Tigers, who steamrolled through the regular season with 104 victories (and had started out with a 35-5 record, the best ever through the first 40 games). The Tigers were managed by Sparky Anderson and featured shortstop and native San Diegan Alan Trammell and outfielder Kirk Gibson, along with Lance Parrish and DH Darrell Evans. The pitching staff was bolstered by ace Jack Morris (19-11, 3.60 ERA), Dan Petry (18-8), Milt Wilcox (17-8), and closer Willie Hernandez (9-3, 1.92 ERA with 32 saves). Jack Morris would win games 1 and 4 and the Tigers would go on to win the Series 4-games-to-1.

1985-95: Tough Times Following a Pennant
After the Padres won the pennant in 1984, they had some tough times. Tony Gwynn continued to win batting titles (including batting .394 in 1994). The Padres would come close in 1985. They would field seven All-Stars. However, they collapsed at the end of the season.
In 1987, rookie catcher Benito Santiago hit in 34 straight games, earning him the NL Rookie of the Year Award. However, the Padres finished dead last in 1987. The next season, rookie second baseman Roberto Alomar would make his debut, forming a double play combination with veteran shortstop Garry Templeton. In 1989, the Padres finished 89-73 thanks to Cy Young Award-winning closer Mark Davis. Between 1989 and 1990, friction dominated the Padres' clubhouse as Tony Gwynn had constant shouting matches with slugger Jack Clark. But as the franchise player, Gwynn prevailed as Clark finished his career with the Red Sox.
Midway through the 1990 season, Joan Kroc wanted to sell the team. But she wanted a commitment to San Diego. So Kroc sold it to television producer Tom Werner. After the ownership change, the old brown that remained in Padres uniforms since their inception were supplanted by navy blue, a nod to the vintage 1940's PCL franchise colors. In 1992, the Padres lineup featured the "Four Tops": Gary Sheffield, Fred McGriff, Tony Fernández, and Tony Gwynn. However, Fernandez would go to the New York Mets, McGriff went to the division-winning Atlanta Braves, and Sheffield would go to the expansion Florida Marlins. Although extremely unpopular at the time, it was the Sheffield trade that brought in pitcher Trevor Hoffman, who was virtually unknown to Padres fans. While Sheffield led Florida to a World Championship in 1997, Hoffman would be the next franchise player behind Dave Winfield and Tony Gwynn. The Padres would finish dead last in the strike-shortened 1994 season, but Gwynn hit .394 that year. After that season, the Padres made a mega-trade with Houston reeling in Ken Caminiti, Steve Finley, and others. In November 1995, Kevin Towers was promoted from scouting director to general manager.

1996-97: Building a Winner
In 1996, under new owner John Moores (a software tycoon who purchased controlling ownership in the team in 1994 from Tom Werner, who subsequently formed a syndicate that purchased the Boston Red Sox) and team president Larry Lucchino, and with a team managed by former Padres catcher Bruce Bochy (a member of the 1984 NL championship squad), the team won the NL West in an exciting race, sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in the final series of the regular season. The '96 team featured Gwynn, who won his seventh National League batting championship, National League MVP Ken Caminiti, premier leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson, pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, first baseman Wally Joyner and outfielder Steve Finley. The Padres had led the NL West early in the season only to falter June, but came back in July and battled the Dodgers the rest of the way. However, they were defeated in the National League Division Series by the Tony La Russa-led St. Louis Cardinals, 3 games to 0.
The Padres suffered an off-year in 1997, plagued by a pitching slump. The one silver lining was Tony Gwynn's eighth and final National League batting title, won in the final days of the season after a down-to-the wire duel with the Colorado Rockies' Larry Walker. Walker barely missed becoming the first Triple Crown winner in baseball since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

1998: The Second Pennant
In 1998, Henderson and Valenzuela were gone, but newly acquired (from the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins) pitcher Kevin Brown had a sensational year (his only one with the Padres) and outfielder/slugger Greg Vaughn hit 50 home runs (overlooked in that season of the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa race). Managed by Bruce Bochy and aided by the talents of players such as Tony Gwynn, Ken Caminiti, Wally Joyner, Steve Finley, pitcher Andy Ashby and premier closer Trevor Hoffman (4-2, 1.48 ERA and 52 saves), the Padres had their best year in history, finishing 98-64 and winning the NL West division crown.
The Padres went on to defeat the Houston Astros in the 1998 NLDS, 3 games to 1, behind solid pitching by Brown and Hoffman, and home runs by Greg Vaughn, Wally Joyner and Jim Leyritz (who homered in 3 of the 4 games).
In the 1998 NLCS, the Padres faced the Atlanta Braves, who had won the National League East with an astonishing 106-56 record. The offense was paced by talent such as Andres Galarraga, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and Javy López. Their pitching staff had the perennial big-3 of Greg Maddux (18-9, 2.22 ERA), Tom Glavine (20-6, 2.47 ERA), and John Smoltz (17-3, 2.90 ERA), as well as Kevin Millwood (17-8, 4.08 ERA) and Denny Neagle (16-11, 3.55 ERA). However, it was the Padres that would prevail, 4 games to 2, with ace Kevin Brown pitching a complete game shutout in game 2 (winning 3-0). Steve Finley caught a pop fly for the final out, as the Padres clinched the series.
In the 1998 World Series the Padres faced the powerhouse New York Yankees, who had steamrolled through the season with a 114-48 record and drew acclaim as one their greatest teams of all time. There was no offensive player with more than 30 home runs, in contrast to the teams of the 1920's, or 1950's, but they had four players with 24+ and eight with 17+. Yankee pitching had been paced by David Cone (20-7, 3.55), Andy Pettite (16-11, 4.24), David Wells (18-4, 3.49), Hideki Irabu (13-9, 4.06) and Orlando Hernández (12-4, 3.13). Mariano Rivera, their closer, was excellent once again (3-0, 1.91 ERA with 36 saves).
The Yankees swept the Padres 4 games to 0. Mariano Rivera closed out 3 of the 4 games. One of the few bright spots of the series for the Padres was a home run by Tony Gwynn, not normally a power hitter, in Game 1 that hit the facing of the right-field upper deck at Yankee Stadium and put the Padres ahead briefly, 5-2. But the Yankees would score 7 runs in the 7th inning en route to a 9-6 victory.

1999-2003: Tough Times Following a Pennant Part II
The Padres opened their 1999 season in Monterrey, Mexico versus the Colorado Rockies. The Padres struggled after the 1998 season, but Tony Gwynn got his 3,000 hit in Montreal in 1999, and then retired as one of the greatest hitters of all time in 2001. After five straight losing seasons in Qualcomm Stadium (1999-2003), the Padres moved into newly built Petco Park.

2004 season: PETCO Park Opens
PETCO Park is situated in downtown near San Diego's Gaslamp District, the main entrance located just two blocks from the downtown terminal of the San Diego Trolley light-rail system. With new amenities and a revitalization of the downtown neighborhood, fan interest renewed. Modeled after recent successes in downtown ballpark building (such as San Francisco's AT&T Park), and incorporating San Diego history in the form of the preservation of the facade of the historic Western Metals Company building (now the left-field corner, the corner of the building substituting for the left field foul pole), the new Petco Park is a sharp contrast to their previous home at Qualcomm (Jack Murphy) Stadium which was a cookie-cutter type football-baseball facility located in an outer, mostly commercial-industrial, area of the city near an interstate interchange.
With the ocean air prevalent and a sharp, clean park to play in, the Padres began to win again. The new stadium also acquired a reputation as a pitchers' park, with notable complaints from some of the Padres batters themselves (deep center field and evenings with dense foggy air). The Padres finished the 2004 season with an 87-75 record, good enough for 3rd in the NL West.
The team somewhat rebranded itself going into the 2004 season, with new colors (navy blue and sand brown), new uniforms and a new advertising slogan, "Play Downtown", referring to the near-downtown location of the new ballpark.

2005 season: The Best of the Worst and the Worst of the Best
In 2005, the Western Division Champion Padres finished with the lowest-ever winning percentage for a division champion (or for that matter, a postseason qualifier) in a non-strike season, 82-80. Three teams in the stronger Eastern Division finished with better records than San Diego but failed to qualify for the play-offs, including second-place Philadelphia, which won 88 games and all six of its contests with the Padres. There had been some speculation that the Padres would be the first team in history to win a division and finish below .500, but their victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 30 gave them their 81st victory. In the NLDS, the reigning National League champion St. Louis Cardinals, who finished the season with the majors' best record, swept the Padres in three consecutive games. Thus the Padres finished the season with an overall regular-and-post-season record of 82-83, the first post-season qualifier in a normal-length season to lose more games than it won overall. The Padres remain one of five National League teams (the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos, and the Milwaukee Brewers) to have never won a World Series.
The 2005 Padres featured bright spots, however, including ace pitcher Jake Peavy, the NL strikeout leader, and closer Trevor Hoffman, who claimed his 400th save.

2006 season: Another Division Title
The Padres started April 2006 with a 9-15 record and were stuck in the cellar of the NL West.
However, after going 19-10 in May, the club moved into first place in the division. Closer Trevor Hoffman was elected to the 2006 MLB All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, threw one inning in that game and got the loss. On September 24 (the last home game of the regular season), Hoffman became the all-time saves leader when he recorded his 479th career save, breaking Lee Smith's record of 478. (Hoffman's career total as of the end of the season was 482.) Hoffman's 2006 campaign (2.14 ERA, 46 saves in 51 opportunities through 65 games pitched) was one of his best. The 2006 Padres would attribute their success largely to the team's pitching staff. Their ERA was 3.87, first in the NL and trailing only the Detroit Tigers in all of MLB.
On September 30, 2006, the Padres clinched a playoff berth with a 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the final game of the season, the Padres defeated the Diamondbacks 7-6 to win back to back division titles for the first time in team history (they were tied with the Dodgers for the division title, but because of winning the season series against them, the division title went to them and the wild card went to the Dodgers). The Padres opened the 2006 National League Division Series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, October 3, 2006. After losing the first two games at home (5-1 and 2-0 respectively), they won game 3 at Busch Stadium 3-1, but were eliminated with a 6-2 loss in Game 4, when the Cardinals, who trailed 2-0 before their first at-bat, scored six unanswered runs (two in the first, and four in the sixth) for the win.
Overall the Padres have a post-season record of 12-22; they have lost 10 of their last 11 games since winning the National League pennant in 1998.
One key offseason trade between the San Diego Padres' General Manager, Kevin Towers, and the Texas Rangers' General Manager, Jon Daniels, would prove to have a dramatic impact on their 2006 season. The Padres dealt starting pitcher Adam Eaton, middle reliever Akinori Otsuka, and minor-league catcher Billy Killian in exchange for starting pitcher Chris Young (a star at Princeton University), left fielder Terrmel Sledge, and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez would take over the everyday duties at first base, batting .304 with a club-leading 24 home runs and 82 RBI in his first year as a full-time starter. Sledge would hit .229 in limited major league action. Chris Young proved to be the real story, however, as he would go 11-5 with a 3.46 ERA (6th best in the National League) and allowed just 6.72 hits per 9 innings pitched - best in the majors.
2006 also ended up being the last year of Bruce Bochy's tenure as the manager of the Padres, taking the managerial position for their divisional rivals, the San Francisco Giants. He was replaced by Bud Black, a San Diego State University alumni and former pitching coach of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

2007 season: Falling Short
On Sunday, April 1, 2007, Major League Baseball's 2007 Opening Night, the Padres announced that they had agreed to terms on a four-year contract with 1B Adrian Gonzalez, keeping him in San Diego until 2010 with a club option for 2011. Prior to this contract agreement the Padres had offered to renew Gonzalez's contract during the offseason at $380,500, only $500 over the league minimum for the 2007 season.
The Padres' 2007 season began April 3 in an away game against the San Francisco Giants, winning it 7-0 in front of a capacity crowd of 42,773 at AT&T Park, defeating $126 million staff-ace Barry Zito in his Giants debut. The Padres bullpen has continued to be the team's strength as in recent years, opening the season with 28 1/3 scoreless innings, a Major League record to start a season. At the start of the season the Padres starting rotation order was as follows: Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Clay Hensley (injured, replaced by Justin Germano), Greg Maddux, David Wells (now with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the remainder of the 2007 season).
On June 4, 2007, Jake Peavy was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA in May. The next day, Trevor Hoffman was named the “DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award” for May 2007. The award recognizes the most outstanding relief pitcher during each month of the regular season.
On June 6, 2007, Trevor Hoffman became the first pitcher in major league history to record 500 saves, 498 of them coming as a Padre (the first 2 were as a Florida Marlin).
The Padres ended the regular season in an 89-73 tie for the NL wild card with the Colorado Rockies. In a cruel piece of irony, on September 29, 2007, the Padres were within one out and one strike of clinching the National League Wild Card berth, but Tony Gwynn, Jr., son of the longtime Padres legend, tripled against Hoffman to tie the game. The Padres went on to lose that game, and the one that followed, even though the Milwaukee Brewers had been eliminated from the pennant race and had nothing left to play for. The Padres then met the Rockies on October 1, 2007 in Denver for a one-game playoff to decide the wild card winner. Despite having Jake Peavy start the game and bringing in Trevor Hoffman in the bottom of the 13th inning to try to hold an 8-6 lead, the Padres' season ended when the Rockies rallied to win 9-8. It ended on a controversial call on a sacrifice fly where many questioned whether Matt Holliday ever touched home plate, leaving Padre fans saying "Holliday never touched home!"
To many Padres fans, however, the last call at the plate seemed irrelevant. Between Hoffman's two blown saves in the last three games, the Rockies' incredible surge at the end of the season and the season-long slump by the Padres' offense, a Padres postseason appearance just wasn't meant to be.
On November 15, Jake Peavy won the National League Cy Young Award by unanimous ballot. He was the fourth Padre to capture the pitching award.
The Padres entered the 2007-08 offseason with a number of questions, including the ability of Trevor Hoffman to close games past his 40th birthday, the ongoing inability to hold runners on base (the Padres' caught-stealing ratio in 2007 was one of the worst in baseball history), two holes in the back of the starting rotation, and the possible departure of Mike Cameron to free agency. The two holes in the rotation were filled by former Dodger Randy Wolf and Mark Prior and the club dealt for Jim Edmonds to replace Cameron. Additionally, Milton Bradley was signed by the Texas Rangers.
The Padres signed Mark Prior to a one-year deal in the off-season. Prior, a University of San Diego HS graduate (now Cathedral HS), joins a team that consists of players that were also local prep stars, Brian Giles (Granite Hills HS), Adrian Gonzalez (Eastlake HS), and Oscar Robles (Montgomery HS). Recent Padres teams had also included Dave Roberts (Rancho Buena Vista HS), David Wells (Point Loma HS), and Marcus Giles (Granite Hills HS).

2008 season: Another Try
The Padres will start the 2008 campaign March 31, in San Diego against the Houston Astros. San Diego will be attempting to win their third division title in four years and fifth straight winning season.

Spring Training Games
The team plays spring training games at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. They share the stadium with the Seattle Mariners.
During the 1980s (and continuing through 1994), the Padres held Spring Training in Yuma, Arizona. Due to the short driving distance and direct highway route (170 miles, all on Interstate 8), Yuma was very popular with Padres fans, and many fans would travel by car from San Diego for Spring Training games. The move from Yuma to Peoria (announced during the 1994 baseball strike) was very controversial, but was defended by the team as a reflection on the low quality of facilities in Yuma and the long travel necessary to play against other Arizona-based Spring Training teams (whose sites are all in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, both rather far from Yuma).

Logos and Colors
The San Diego Padres have used six different logos and three different color combinations throughout their history. Their first logo depicts a friar swinging a bat with Padres written at the top while standing in a sun-like figure with San Diego Padres on the exterior of it. The "Swinging Friar" has popped up on the uniform on and off ever since (he is currently on the left sleeve of the jersey), and is currently the mascot of the team. The original team colors were the brown and yellow of the original logo.
In 1985, the Padres switched to using a script-like logo in which Padres was written sloped up. That would later become a script logo for the Padres.
In 1989, the Padres took the scripted Padres logo that was used from 1985-1988 and put it in a tan ring that read "San Diego Baseball Club" with a striped center. In 1991, the logo was changed to a silver ring with the Padres script changed from brown to blue. The logo only lasted one year, as the Padres changed their logo for the third time in three years, again by switching colors of the ring. The logo became a white ring with fewer stripes in the center and a darker blue Padres script with orange shadows. In 1992, the team's colors were also changed, to a combination of orange and navy blue.
The logo was completely changed when the team changed stadiums between the 2003 and 2004 seasons, as the logo now looks like home plate at a baseball field with San Diego written in gold font at the top right corner and the Padres new script written completely across the center. Waves finish the bottom of the plate. Navy remains but a sandy beige replaces orange as a secondary color. The team's colors were also changed, to navy blue and sand brown.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won a National League record 10 World Series championships, second only to the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball who have 26.
The Cardinals were founded in the American Association in 1882 as the St. Louis Brown Stockings, taking the name from an earlier National League team. They joined the National League in 1892 and have been known as the Cardinals since 1900. The Cardinals began play in the current Busch Stadium in 2006, becoming the first team since 1923 to win the World Series in their first season in a new ballpark. The Cardinals have a strong rivalry with the Chicago Cubs that began in 1885.

1880s-1930s
The Cardinals were founded in 1882 as a member of the American Association called the St. Louis Brown Stockings, later shortened to the Browns. The club quickly achieved success, winning four AA pennants in a row, 1885-1888. Following these titles St. Louis played in an early version of the World Series, the first two times against the National League's Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs). The 1885 series ended in dispute, but St. Louis won the 1886 series outright, beginning a St. Louis-Chicago rivalry that continues today. The American Association went bankrupt in 1892 and the Browns moved to the National League, leaving much of their success behind for the next three decades. The club changed its name to the Perfectos in 1899 before adopting the Cardinals name in 1900. The Cardinals' fortunes in the National League began to improve in 1920 when Sam Breadon bought the club and made Branch Rickey general manager. Rickey immediately moved the Cardinals to Sportsman's Park to become tenants of their American League rivals, the St. Louis Browns, and sold the Cardinals' ballpark. Rickey used the money from the sale to invest in and pioneer the minor league farm system with the Cardinals, which would produce many great players and lead to new success for the Cardinals.
Led by Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, who won the triple crown in 1922 and 1925, the Cardinals improved drastically during the 1920s. They won their first National League pennant in 1926, and then defeated the favored New York Yankees in seven games to win the World Series. The Cardinals, now led by Frankie Frisch, fell just short in 1927 before claiming another pennant in 1928. However, the Yankees avenged their 1926 loss by sweeping the Cardinals in four games in the World Series. The Cardinals, though, kept winning in the new decade, claiming back-to-back pennants in 1930 and 1931. The Cardinals matched up with the Philadelphia Athletics in both World Series, losing in 1930 but returning to win the 1931 series. In 1934 the team, nicknamed the Gashouse Gang for their shabby appearance and rough tactics, again won the pennant and then the World Series over the Detroit Tigers. Dizzy Dean won 30 games that season, the last National League pitcher to reach that mark. Joe Medwick won the triple crown in 1937, the last National League hitter achieve the feat, but the Cardinals failed to win another pennant until the end of the decade.

1940s-1970s
Outfielder Stan "The Man" Musial joined the Cardinals in 1941. Known to loyal fans as "Ol' Number 6", Musial spent 22 years in a Cardinals uniform and won three NL MVP Awards. In 1968, a statue of Musial was constructed outside Busch Stadium to honor his career. During World War II the Cardinals dominated the National League, winning three straight pennants from 1942-1944. The 1942 "St. Louis Swifties" won a franchise record 106 games and defeated the Yankees in the World Series. The team posted the second best records in team history with 105 wins in both 1943 and 1944. The Cardinals fell to the Yankees in the 1943 World Series in a rematch of the previous year. The 1944 World Series was particularly memorable as the Cardinals met their crosstown rivals, the St. Louis Browns, in the "Streetcar Series" with the Cardinals prevailing for their fifth title. In 1946 the Cardinals finished the season tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers, but claimed the pennant in a three-game playoff series. The Cardinals then won the World Series in seven games against the Boston Red Sox. In the bottom of the eighth inning in game seven with the score tied at 3-3, Enos Slaughter scored on a "Mad Dash" from first on a double to left-center to win the game and the series.
Rickey left the Cardinals to become general manager of the Dodgers in 1942, and after their 1946 win the Cardinals slid back to the middle of the National League for the next two decades. In 1953 the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the Cardinals and August "Gussie" Busch became team president. He soon purchased Sportman's Park from St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck and renovated and renamed the ballpark Busch Stadium. The Browns, who had not been as successful or popular as the Cardinals in three decades, realized they could not compete with the deep pockets of the brewery. After the 1953 season, the Browns left St. Louis to become the Baltimore Orioles, and the Cardinals were left as the only major league team in town.
The Cardinals achieved another period of success in the 1960s with the help of a trade and a dominating pitcher. In 1964 the Cardinals traded pitcher Ernie Broglio and two other players to the rival Cubs for outfielder Lou Brock and two other players. The trade, since nicknamed Brock for Broglio, has become definitive of a trade which in retrospect is ridiculously lopsided. The Cardinals would prove to be on the good side of the trade as Brock would replace Musial, who had retired at the end of 1963, in leftfield and become a Hall of Famer. Behind Brock and pitcher Bob Gibson, who won 20 games for the first time, the Cardinals won the 1964 World Series over the Yankees. In 1966 the Cardinals moved to the new Busch Memorial Stadium and hosted the MLB All-Star Game that summer. The next year the team reached and won the 1967 World Series over the Red Sox. Gibson pitched three complete game wins, allowing only three earned runs, and was named World Series MVP for the second time (he was also MVP in 1964). In 1968, nicknamed the "Year of the Pitcher" for the domination of pitching over hitting throughout the majors, the Cardinals' Bob Gibson proved to be the most dominant pitcher of all. Gibson's earned run average of 1.12 is a live-ball era record and he won both the NL Cy Young Award and NL MVP Award. Behind Gibson's season the Cardinals reached the 1968 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Gibson would pitch another three complete games and set the a World Series record with 35 strikeouts, including a single game record 17 in Game 1. However, a key error by Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood in Game 7 allowed the Tigers to win the series. Gibson would win a second Cy Young Award in 1970, but the Cardinals would fail to win a pennant during the next decade.

1980s-present
The Cardinals returned to their winning ways in 1981, however a rule change because of the strike-shortened season left the Cardinals out of the playoffs. Despite having the best overall record in the NL East, the Cardinals finished in second in both halves of the strike-split season. But just like in 1964, a trade would propel the Cardinals upward. Before the 1982 season began the Cardinals acquired shortstop Ozzie Smith from the San Diego Padres via a trade. With Smith, and playing a form of baseball nicknamed Whiteyball after manager Whitey Herzog, the Cardinals won the 1982 World Series over the Milwaukee Brewers. Whitey's Cardinals return to the 1985 World Series against the Kansas City Royals. The series was nicknamed the "I-70 Series" after the highway that connects the in-state rivals. The Royals won in seven games, but the series in most remembered for a blown call by umpire Don Denkinger in Game 6 that turned the tide of the series for the Royals. The Cardinals would also reach the 1987 World Series, losing to the Minnesota Twins. The Cardinals hit another period of little success in the early 1990s. That changed in 1996 when the Cardinals hired Tony La Russa away from the Oakland Athletics. The team won the NL Central that season and defeated the Padres in the NLDS before falling to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. In 1998 the Cardinals were the focus of the baseball world as slugging first baseman Mark McGwire broke the single season home run record by hitting 70 home runs. McGwire's epic pursuit of the record along with the Cubs' Sammy Sosa helped to re-popularize baseball after the 1994 strike.
The start of the new millennium coincided with a new era of success for the Cardinals as the team, led primarily by Albert Pujols, won the NL Central in six of seven years. The Cardinals would fall short in the post-season in 2000, 2001, and 2002 before missing the playoffs altogether in 2003. However, in 2004 the Cardinals won 105 games for the best record in baseball. They then defeated the Dodgers in the NLDS and the Houston Astros in an epic seven game NLCS to reach the 2004 World Series. But the Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox, who won their first World Series in 86 years. The Cardinals won 100 games and another Central Division title in 2005, but lost in an NLCS rematch to the Astros. The Cardinals moved to the new Busch Stadium in 2006 and finally overcame the playoffs. The team struggled during the season, winning only 83 games. However that was enough to win a very weak Central division. In the playoffs the Cardinals caught fire and defeated the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, and then the New York Mets in another incredible seven game NLCS. In the 2006 World Series the Cardinals faced the heavily-favored Detroit Tigers, but won in five games for the franchise's tenth World Series title.
The 2000's also brought an incredible amount of tragedy to the Cardinals as several deaths struck the franchise. On June 18, 2002 long-time Cardinals radio broadcaster Jack Buck passed away at the age of 77. Just four days later, and much more shockingly, Cardinals starting pitcher Darryl Kile died the night before a game in Chicago against the Cubs. Kile was only 33 years old when he suffered heart failure in his sleep. Five years later, on April 29, 2007, Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock, age 29, was killed in a car accident while driving drunk when his vehicle collided with a stopped tow truck that was aiding a disabled motorist.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions. The Pirates are also sometimes referred to as the Bucs or Buccos (derived from buccaneer).

Pre-1900
Professional baseball has been played in the Pittsburgh area since 1876. The teams of the era were "independents", barnstorming throughout the region and not affiliated with any organized league, though they did have salaries and were run as a business organization. In 1882 the strongest team in the area joined the American Association as a founding member. Their various home fields in the 19th century were in a then-separate city called Allegheny City, across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh. The team was listed as "Allegheny" in the standings, and was sometimes called the "Alleghenys" (not the "Alleghenies") in the same generic way that teams from Boston, New York, and Chicago were sometimes called the "Bostons", the "New Yorks", and the "Chicagos", in the sportswriting style of that era. After five mediocre seasons in the A.A., Pittsburgh became the first A.A. team to switch to the older National League in 1887. At this time, the team renamed itself the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, although Allegheny remained a separate city until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907.
In those early days, the club benefited three times from mergers with defunct clubs. The A.A. club picked up a number of players from a defunct Columbus, Ohio, team in 1885.
In 1890, they merged with the Players' League franchise in the city after that league folded. Most of the rebel league's player contracts were assigned to National League and American Association clubs, mostly to their previous clubs provided they had been "reserved" by their former teams' owners. Highly regarded second baseman Lou Bierbauer, who had previously played with the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association, was awarded to the Alleghenys on the grounds that the Athletics had not reserved him. This led to loud protests by the Athletics, and in an official complaint, an A.A. official claimed the Alleghenys' actions were "piratical." This incident (which is discussed at some length in The Beer and Whisky League, by David Nemec, 1994) quickly accelerated into a schism between the leagues that contributed to the demise of the A.A. Although the Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing, they made sport of being denounced for being "piratical" by renaming themselves "the Pirates" for the 1890 season. The nickname was first acknowledged on the team's uniforms in 1912. That same season of 1890, the team experienced their worst season record in franchise history going 23-113.
In 1900, the Pirates picked up several players from the defunct Louisville Colonels club, which shared an owner with Pittsburgh, when the N.L. contracted from 12 to 8 teams after the 1899 season. Despite their nickname, the Pirates at least waited until Louisville had folded, unlike what happened in 1899 to the Cleveland Spiders and, to a lesser extent, the Baltimore Orioles, who were also part of two-team ownerships.

1901–1945
Bolstered by former Colonels shortstop Honus Wagner (who was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area) and player/manager Fred Clarke, the 1901–1903 Pirates completely dominated the National League, in part because they lost few star players to the rival American League. However, owing to injuries to their starting pitchers, they lost the first modern World Series ever played, in 1903 to Boston. Deacon Phillippe pitched five complete games, winning three of them, but it was not enough. With largely the same star players, the Pirates would continue to be a strong team over the next few years, and got their first World Series title in 1909, defeating the Detroit Tigers in seven games, the same year they opened Forbes Field.
The Pirates originally played in Recreation, Union and Exposition Parks, all in what was then Allegheny City. Allegheny City was annexed by Pittsburgh in December, 1907. Accordingly, the Pirates did not play their first major league game in Pittsburgh until 1908—over 25 years after their founding.
The decline of Honus Wagner, considered by many to be the greatest shortstop ever, led to a number of losing seasons, culminating in a disastrous 51-103 record in 1917; however, veteran outfielder Max Carey and young players Pie Traynor and Kiki Cuyler, along with a remarkably deep pitching staff, brought the Pirates back into the spotlight. The Pirates recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win the 1925 World Series over the Washington Senators, and reached the 1927 World Series before losing in a sweep to the New York Yankees, who at that time had built the most dominant team in baseball. The 1927 season was the first for the sharp-hitting combination of brothers Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner, who along with shortstop Arky Vaughan ensured that the Pirates had plenty of Hall of Fame-caliber position players through 1941. However, the Pirates' crushing defeats of 1927 and 1938 (they lost the pennant to the Chicago Cubs in the final days of the 1938 season) were tremendous setbacks.

1946-1969
The post-World War II years were not kind to the Pirates, despite the presence of a genuine star in Ralph Kiner, who led the National League in home runs for seven consecutive seasons (1946 through 1952). But the team around Kiner placed in the first division only one time — in 1948 — and in 1952 compiled one of the worst records in major league history, winning 42 and losing 112 games (.273) and finishing 54½ games out of first place. In 1946, the long era of ownership by the Barney Dreyfuss family came to an end when a syndicate that included entertainer Bing Crosby bought the team. By 1950, Columbus, Ohio-based real estate tycoon John W. Galbreath emerged as majority owner, and his family would run the team for another 35 years and supervise its rise to the top of the NL.
Galbreath's first major move, the hiring of Branch Rickey as general manager after the 1950 campaign, was initially a great disappointment to Pittsburgh fans. Rickey had invented the farm system with the Cardinals and broken the baseball color line with the Dodgers — and built dynasties at each club. But in Pittsburgh, he purged the Bucs' roster of its higher-salaried veterans (including Kiner in 1953) and flooded the team with young players. Many of those young players faltered; however, those who fulfilled Rickey's faith in them — pitchers Vern Law and Bob Friend, shortstop Dick Groat, second baseman Bill Mazeroski and especially outfielder Roberto Clemente, drafted from Brooklyn after his only minor league season (1954) — would form the nucleus of the Pirates' 1960 championship club. Moreover, Rickey put into place one of baseball's most successful farm and scouting systems that kept the team competitive into the late 1970s. But all this was not evident when Rickey retired due to ill health in 1955, with the Pirates still struggling to escape the NL basement.
The postwar Pirates would have only one winning season until 1958, Danny Murtaugh's first full season as their manager. Murtaugh is widely credited for inventing the concept of the closer by frequently playing pitcher Elroy Face late in close games. The 1960 team featured eight All-Stars, but was widely predicted to lose the World Series to a powerful New York Yankees team. In one of the most memorable World Series in history, the Pirates were defeated by more than ten runs in three games, won three close games, then recovered from a 7-4 deficit late in Game 7 to eventually win on a walk-off home run by Mazeroski, a second baseman better known for defensive wizardry. (The 1960 Pirates were the only team between 1945 and 2001 to have not succumbed to the so-called "Ex-Cubs Factor" in the postseason. They were also unique for winning a World Series on a home run, a feat duplicated by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, though it should be noted that Joe Carter's home run came in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series--Mazeroski is the only Game 7 walk-off in World Series history.)
The 1960s would continue with extremely solid defensive play by Mazeroski and the first Puerto Rican superstar, Roberto Clemente. Clemente was regarded as one of the game's best all-time hitters, and possessed a tremendous arm in right field. Although not the first black-Hispanic baseball player (an honor belonging to Minnie Minoso), Clemente's charisma and leadership in humanitarian causes made him an icon across the continent. During his playing career, Clemente was vastly overlooked. Looking back, however, many consider Clemente to have been the greatest right fielder in baseball history.
Even with Clemente, however, the Pirates struggled to post winning marks from 1961-64, and Murtaugh was replaced by Harry Walker in 1965. With Walker, a renowned batting coach, at the helm — and the hitting of Clemente, Matty Alou, Manny Mota and others — the Pirates fielded contending, 90-plus win teams in both 1965 and 1966. However, Pittsburgh had no answer for the pitching of the Dodgers and the Giants, and finished third each season. In 1967, they fell back to .500, and did not contend through the rest of the 1960s.

1970–1979 and "The Family"
Slugger Willie Stargell became a fixture in the Pittsburgh lineup in the late 1960s, and the Pirates returned to prominence in 1970. Murtaugh returned as manager and the Pirates' home field, Forbes Field, was demolished in favor of the multi-purpose Three Rivers Stadium. In 1970, the Pirates won their first of five division titles over the next seven years, and won their fourth World Series in 1971 behind a .414 Series batting average by Clemente. They also thought they had a genuine superstar pitcher (historically rare for the Pirates) in Steve Blass, who pitched two masterful games in the World Series and had excellent seasons in 1968 and 1972.
In 1971, the Pirates also became the first Major League Baseball team to field an all-black starting lineup. That lineup, on September 1, was Rennie Stennett, Gene Clines, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Cash, Al Oliver, Jackie Hernandez, and Dock Ellis.
Clemente died in a plane crash on December 31, 1972 while accompanying a shipment of relief supplies to the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. He had reached the milestone of 3,000 career hits, a standup double, just a few months earlier, on September 30, 1972, in what would prove to be his last regular-season hit. The Baseball Hall of Fame waived its usual waiting requirement and inducted Clemente immediately. Pittsburgh would eventually erect a statue and name a bridge and park near the stadium after him. In 1973, Blass suffered a mysterious breakdown in his pitching abilities and posted an outrageous 9.85 ERA. To this day, pitchers who suddenly lose the ability to throw strikes are said to have "Steve Blass disease." Some speculated that the emotional shock of his friend Clemente's death contributed to his breakdown. He retired soon afterwards; he has since been one of the Pirates' radio and TV announcers for almost two decades.
Stargell, speedy Omar Moreno and power-hitting but ostentatious and unpopular Dave Parker became the keystones of the mid-seventies Pirates as Chuck Tanner took over as manager in 1977 (following Danny Murtaugh's untimely death on December 2, 1976).
Adopting the popular song "We Are Family" by the Philadelphia disco group Sister Sledge as their theme song, The 1979 Pirates cruised to the pennant. "We Are Family" was elevated from theme song to anthem status (and is still nearly synonymous with the '79 Bucs), with fans chanting "Fam-a-lee!" from the stands. The Pirates faced the Baltimore Orioles again in the World Series, which (like 1971) they won in seven games, on October 17, 1979. During the 1979 championship season, a Pirate player was designated as Most Valuable Player in every available category: All-Star Game MVP (Dave Parker), NL Championship Series MVP (Willie Stargell), World Series MVP (Willie Stargell), and National League MVP (Willie Stargell, shared with Keith Hernandez of the Cardinals).

1980s and early 1990s: The Leyland era
Following was a period of decline until the Pirates were regarded as the worst team in baseball during the mid-1980s. Jim Leyland took over as manager, and the Pirates gradually climbed out of the cellar behind young and exciting players such as "outfield of dreams" Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, and Andy Van Slyke; infielders Jay Bell, Sid Bream, and Jose Lind; and pitchers Doug Drabek and Stan Belinda.
As a rookie in 1982, Johnny Ray played in every game and was named the Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News.
In 1988, the young team finished 85-75 and seemed ready to compete for a pennant. The Pirates would indeed win the division three straight times in 1990–92, but the 1989 season was a major setback, with injuries depleting the squad and leading to a 5th-place finish. Among the low points of the season was a game on June 8, 1989, where the Pirates became the first team in major-league history to score 10 runs in the first inning and nevertheless lose the game. Pirates broadcaster (and former pitcher) Jim Rooker famously vowed that if the team blew the lead, he would walk home from Philadelphia—a vow he fulfilled after the season while raising money for charity.
The Pirates would win the first three division titles of the 1990s, but failed to advance to the World Series each time, the second two losing closely contested seven-game series to the Atlanta Braves.

1990s–2007: The McClatchy/Littlefield era
After the 1992 season, manager Jim Leyland set out to rebuild the team, giving up several high-payroll players in favor of a younger crew. The Pirates have been unable to come up with a winning season since, accumulating a 15-year losing streak. The longest losing streak was set by the Philadelphia Phillies accounting for 16 seasons which lasted from 1933- 1948, the longest in any of the country's four major professional sports leagues. The closest to a winning team was the 1997 "Freak Show" team, which finished second in the NL Central. It was eliminated during the season's final week, despite having a losing record and a payroll of only $9 million.
The failure of the Pirates to compete in these years has been blamed on "small market syndrome": teams located in smaller cities such as Pittsburgh, Tampa, and Kansas City are at a competitive disadvantage against larger markets such as New York City and Boston without a salary cap or similar agreement, as exist in the country's other three major professional team sports, the NHL, NFL, and NBA. Questionable personnel decisions have also played a part, as the Pirates spent millions on players such as Derek Bell, Jeromy Burnitz, and Tony Armas, Jr. for little or no return. However, other small-market teams such as the Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics and Florida Marlins have been successful under similar economic constraints.
In 2001, the Pirates opened a new stadium, PNC Park. Due to its simple concept and strategic usage of the Pittsburgh skyline, it is frequently regarded as currently the best park in baseball.
General manager Dave Littlefield was installed July 13, 2001, midway through the 2001 season and began overhauling the team to comply with owner Kevin McClatchy's dictum to drastically reduce the payroll. Enigmatic but talented third baseman Aramis Ramírez was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2003 for a fairly minimal return under pressure to dump his $6 million salary for 2004, and he proceeded to become a star for the Cubs. Brian Giles was one of the National League's best hitters for several years, but he and his $9 million salary were also traded in 2003 to the San Diego Padres for youngsters Oliver Pérez, Jason Bay, and Cory Stewart. Pirate fans found this trade much more palatable in the short run, as Pérez led the majors in strikeouts per inning and Bay won the Rookie of the Year Award award in 2004, while Giles put up a subpar season by his standards. After the 2004 season, Jason Kendall went to the Oakland Athletics in a cross-exchange of high-salary players. Though this rash of trades has not been popular in Pittsburgh, it is generally accepted that it can mostly be attributed to the aforementioned "small market syndrome."
Illustrating the Pirates' rebuilding efforts, at the close of the 2005 season, the team fielded the youngest roster in baseball, with an average age of 26.6. (The next youngest team was the Kansas City Royals, with an average age of 27.1.) During the course of the season, 14 players were called up from its Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, 12 of whom made their first major league appearance. On September 6, manager Lloyd McClendon was fired after 5 losing seasons as manager. On October 11, Jim Tracy was hired as the new manager.
The 2006 season got off to a slow start with the Pirates losing their first six games. Manager Jim Tracy earned his first win as the new Pirate's skipper on April 9 against the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates hosted the All Star Game at PNC Park. The Pirates went into the game with a disastrous and disappointing 30-60 record. During the second half of the season, the Pirates made a successful turn around and finished the second half with a 37-35 record. This is the first time the Pirates have finished the second half of the season with a winning record since 1992. Third baseman Freddy Sanchez won the National League batting title for the 2006 season with an average of .344.
2007 was a year of transition for the Pirates. After 52 seasons with Newsradio 1020 KDKA AM, the Pirates switched their flagstation affiliate to WPGB FM Newstalk 104.7.
In addition, Robert Nutting replaced McClatchy as majority owner, becoming the sixth majority owner in Pirates history. On July 6, 2007, Kevin McClatchy announced he is stepping down as the Pirates CEO at the end of the 2007 season.
On September 7, 2007, Nutting fired general manager Dave Littlefield.

2007-present: New organizational management
The Pittsburgh Pirates began to shape their organizational management as the fall of 2007 came. On September 13, Frank Coonelly, chief labor counsel for Major League Baseball, was introduced as the team's new president. On September 25, 2007, the Pirates announced the hiring of Neal Huntington, formerly a scout in the Cleveland Indians organization, as the team's new general manager. On October 5, 2007, Jim Tracy was fired by the Pirates, leaving them with another search for a manager. Torey Lovullo had originally been named as a leading candidate for the position, but his name was gradually replaced by others in the minor league ranks, one being Ottawa Lynx manager John Russell, who eventually was named the new manager November 5, 2007. He had originally been the third base coach under previous manager Lloyd McClendon from 2003-2005 until he was fired by the previous General Manager Dave Littlefield.
**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 2004 to the present, the Phillies have played their home games at Citizens Bank Park in the South Philadelphia section of the city. The organization is tied with the San Francisco Giants as the fifth-oldest team in the majors, behind the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.
The "Phillies" name originates as a shortened version of the "Philadelphias", as the convention at the time was to call the team by their home city. They are nicknamed "the Fightins' ", or "The Phils". It is a convention in 'Phillies' culture to substitute "F" with "Ph" in various terms or names.
One of the 19th century "Classic Eight" National League franchises, the club was founded in Philadelphia in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers. The "Phillies" name was adopted in 1884, and the names "Quakers" and "Phillies" would coexist and continue until 1889. The team attempted to change names in 1943 to the Philadelphia Blue Jays to change the team's image, but it only lasted two years. At the outset of the 20th century, the team made its home in the Baker Bowl. After much fighting to get out of their lease and the badly aging stadium, they moved into Connie Mack Stadium (then Shibe Park) in 1938, home of their American League rivals, the Philadelphia Athletics. The A's would move in 1954 to Kansas City, Missouri, eventually moving to Oakland to become today's Oakland Athletics.
The Phillies have won one World Series Championship in their history, against the Kansas City Royals in 1980. In addition to their 1980 World Series victory, the Phillies have made four other World Series appearances, losing in 1915 to the Boston Red Sox, in 1950 to the New York Yankees, in 1983 to the Baltimore Orioles, and in 1993 to the Toronto Blue Jays.
On September 30, 2007, the Phillies won the NL East Division for the first time since 1993, overcoming the New York Mets who led the division for most of the season, on the season's last day.
Of the sixteen original American and National League teams (i.e, those in existence prior to the 1961-1962 expansion of the two leagues), the Phillies were the last team to win their first World Series, with their 1980 defeat of the favored Kansas City Royals in six games being their only World Series championship. Due in part to the age of the club, the Phillies became the first team in the four major sports to surpass 10,000 losses in franchise history in 2007.

1994-2005
With the 1994 players' strike, most of the Phillies' fan base was greatly offended, and since then the team had little success either on the field or at the gate for a decade. Both were negatively affected by the realignment of the Atlanta Braves into the National League East in 1994, as the Braves won the division every year until 2006, often by wide margins. Despite the relative lack of success, many current baseball stars rose to prominence during this era in Phillies history, including Scott Rolen, Bobby Abreu, Randy Wolf, Plácido Polanco, and perhaps most notably Schilling. In addition, the nucleus of the current Phillies club (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollies, Brett Myers, and Cole Hamels) was developed during this era.
Former Phillie Larry Bowa was hired as manager for the 2001 season, and led the Phillies to an 86-76 record, first winning season since the 1993 World Series year. They spent most of the first half of the season in first place, and traded first place with the Braves for most of the second half. In the end, they finished two games out of first--the Braves' tightest division race in years. Bowa was named National League Manager of the Year. The Phillies continued to contend for the next few years under Bowa, with the only blemish being an 80-81 season in 2002.
The opening of the new Citizens Bank Park brought fans new hope, and the team was expected to win the NL East. However, they finished a distant second, and Bowa was fired with two games to go in the season.
Charlie Manuel took over as manager for 2005, and kept the Phillies in contention throughout the season; they were only eliminated from wild card contention on the next-to-last day. However, it was not enough to save the job of general manager Ed Wade; he was fired after his eighth season. Soon after, the Phillies hired Pat Gillick, who, ironically, was the general manager of the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays' Championship teams.

2006
Continuing what he had begun in the off-season, Gillick engaged in a flurry of trades in an effort to transform the character of the team and to obtain financial flexibility for what he termed "retooling." On July 26, 2006, the Phillies traded backup catcher Sal Fasano to the New York Yankees for minor league infielder Hector Made. Two days later, the Phillies traded third baseman David Bell, who was due to become a free agent during the off-season, to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitcher Wilfredo Laureano. The team responded well to the changes. All-Star second baseman Chase Utley was free to bat third, and Ryan Howard batted cleanup; more importantly, they assumed a team leadership role along with shortstop Jimmy Rollins. On August 18, Gillick acquired veteran left-hander Jamie Moyer, a native of the Philadelphia suburb of Souderton, Pennsylvania, for the starting rotation. Immediately afterwards, and following a win over the Washington Nationals on August 29, the Phillies record stood at 66-65, trailing the San Diego Padres by a mere half game in the wild-card race. By September 24, the Phillies had captured and lost the wild-card lead and were tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With identical 82-74 records, both teams took to the road for the final six games, the Phillies to Washington and Florida, the Dodgers to Colorado and San Francisco. On September 30, both the Dodgers and Padres won their respective games and as a result, the Phillies were eliminated from playoff contention while two games behind with only one left to play.
Ryan Howard was named the National League's Most Valuable Player, narrowly edging the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols to claim the top honor in the National League.

2007: 10,000 losses and an incredible regular-season finish
The special assistant to the General Manager and long-time Phils coach, John Vukovich, died of brain cancer on March 8, 2007, and was honored on August 10, 2007 by the Phillies organization, which installed a plaque bearing Vukovich's name and accomplishments on the "Wall of Fame" in the Ashburn Alley outfield concourse at Citizens Bank Park. For the 2007 season, the Phillies are also wearing a black circular patch on their right uniform sleeves bearing the letters "VUK" in white.
The Phillies began the 2007 season with a 5-3 home loss on April 2 to the Atlanta Braves after 10 innings. After the first fifteen games, the Phillies limped to a 4-11 record, but then found a five game winning streak to put them back into contention in the National League East. After 40 games, the Phillies finally reached the .500 mark at 20-20.
Heading into the All-Star break the Phillies split their win/loss record at 44-44, hampered by the loss of starting pitchers Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber due to injuries that sidelined them for the remainder of the season. They found a bright spot in young pitcher Kyle Kendrick, who rose from the Phillies' AA team in Reading, Pennsylvania to the Phils starting rotation in 2007.
Three Phillies were named to the 2007 All Star Game in San Francisco, CA. Chase Utley was the starting second baseman for the National League squad and center fielder Aaron Rowand was named as a backup (his first All Star appearance). Starting pitcher Cole Hamels also appeared in his first All Star Game.
On July 15, 2007, the Phillies lost their 10,000th game, 10-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies became the first North American professional sports franchise to lose 10,000 games.
On September 21, Jimmy Rollins became the first player in major league history to collect 200 hits, 15 triples, 25 home runs, and 25 stolen bases in the same season. Rollins also became the 4th player to have at least 20 home runs, 20 triples, 20 doubles, and 20 stolen bases in a season on September 30, securing the feat on the last day of the season with a sixth inning RBI triple.
On September 12, the Phillies were seven games behind the New York Mets in the National League East, and it appeared as if their division hopes were dashed. However, the Mets suffered an epic collapse on the likes of the "Phold of 1964," going 4-11 over the next fifteen games while the Phillies parried with a strong 12-3 record. The Phillies had defeated the Mets in eight consecutive encounters (between July 1, 2007 and September 16, 2007) and ultimately overtook the Mets by one game on September 28. The Phillies fell back into a first-place tie the following day with a Mets win and a Phillies loss, with only one game remaining in the regular season to decide the champion of the National League Eastern Division.
The Mets would lose their final game of the season. Only minutes later, the Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals, clinching the division for the Phillies for the first time in 14 years. The Phillies won the final game behind 44-year old Jamie Moyer, who in 1980 skipped a day of high school to attend that year's Phillies championship parade down Philadelphia's Broad Street.
After their historic comeback, they were swept in three games by the Colorado Rockies after losing 2-1 in Game 3 on October 6, 2007. It was the first time since 1976 that the Phils were swept in a postseason series.
On November 20, 2007, Jimmy Rollins was named National League MVP, edging out Colorado Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday by 17 votes, making this one of the closest contests since the voting format was adopted in 1938. Along with Ryan Howard, they are the first baseball club with back-to-back MVP winners since the San Francisco Giants's Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

2007-08 offseason: Philly favorites
Even though their sweep from the playoffs was a disappointment, the Phillies started on their quest for October baseball in 2008 by trading OF Michael Bourn, RHP Geoff Geary, and 3B Michael Costanzo (since traded to the Baltimore Orioles) to the Houston Astros for RHP Brad Lidge and IF Eric Bruntlett. They also re-signed LHP J.C. Romero to a three-year deal, in addition to bringing back manager Charlie Manuel and the rest of the coaching staff.
The Phillies signed OF Geoff Jenkins to a two-year deal, to be the left-handed part of a platoon with right-handed OF Jayson Werth. They also signed OF So Taguchi to a one-year deal, as a pinch hitter/backup outfielder. With these new outfielders coming into town, the Phillies sold OF Chris Roberson to the Baltimore Orioles. Most recently, the Phillies acquired free-agent 3B Pedro Feliz, formerly of the San Francisco Giants, inking him to a two-year contract worth $8.5 million. These additions relegated IF/OF Greg Dobbs to a utility role, where he excelled last season as the team's primary left-handed pinch hitter. On February 21, 2008 an arbitrator ruled in Ryan Howard's favor, giving him a $10 million salary for the 2008 season.
Major League Baseball's website also recently named the Phillies as the favorites for the National League East championship for 2008. Meanwhile, in the wake of the 2007 season and Carlos Beltran's calling out of the 2008 Phillies' team, the Mets-Phillies rivalry now stands as one of the most intense in baseball.

Team Uniform
The current team colors, uniform, and logo date to 1992. The main team colors are red and white, with blue serving as a prominent accent. The team name is written in red with a blue star serving as the dot over the "i"s, and blue piping is often found in Phillies branded apparel and materials. The team's home uniform is white with red pinstripes, lettering and numbering. The road uniform is traditional grey with red lettering/numbering. Both bear a script-lettered "Phillies" logo, with the aforementioned star dotting the "i"s across the chest, and the player name and number on the back. Hats are red with a single stylized "P", though for interleague play the cap sports a blue visor with a blue star in the middle of the letter "P". The script "Phillies" and the red trim are similar to the style worn by the team during 1950 to 1969.
During the 2008 season, the Phillies will wear an alternate, cream-colored jersey during home day games in tribute to their 125th anniversary. The uniforms are similar to those worn from 1946 through 1949, featuring no pinstripes and red lettering bordered with blue piping. The accompanying cap is blue with a red bill and a red stylized "P." The uniforms were announced on November 29, 2007, where Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, pitcher Cole Hamels and Hall of Famer Robin Roberts modeled the new uniforms.
From 1970 to 1991, the Phillies sported colors, uniforms, and a logo that were noticeably different from what had come before, or since, but that were widely embraced by even traditionally minded fans. A darker red/burgundy was adopted as the main team color, with a classic pinstripe style for home uniforms. Blue was almost entirely dropped as part of the team's official color scheme, except in one area; a pale blue (as opposed to traditional grey) was used as the base-color for away game uniforms. Yet the most important aspect of the 1970 uniform change was the adoption of one of the more distinctive logos in sports; a Phillies "P" that, thanks to its unique shape and "baseball stitched" center swirl, remains instantly recognizable and admired, long after its regular use has ended. It was while wearing this uniform/logo/color motif that the club achieved its most enduring success, including a World Series title in 1980 and another World Series appearance in 1983. Its continued popularity with fans is evident, as even today Phillies home games can contain anywhere from a quarter to a third of the crowd sporting caps, shirts, and/or jackets emblazoned with the iconic "P" and burgundy color scheme. Occasionally the team plays in throwback uniforms that resemble the style.
For one game in 1979, the Phillies front office modified the uniform into an all-burgundy version with white trimmings, to be worn for Saturday games. They were called "Saturday Night Specials". The immediate reaction of the media, fans, and players alike was negative, with many describing the despised uniforms as pajama-like. As such, the idea was hastily abandoned.
Another uniform controversy arose in 1994 when the Phillies introduced blue caps on Opening Day which were to be worn for home day games only. The caps were unpopular with the players, who considered them bad luck after two losses. The caps were dumped after being used on the field for a month.
Currently, during spring training (except for the 1992 to 1996 seasons, when they were still wearing leftover 70-91 inspired gear) the Phillies wear solid red practice jerseys with pinstriped pants for Grapefruit League home games, and solid blue batting practice jerseys with gray pants for away games.
The Phillies are one of six MLB teams that do not display the name of their city, state or region on their road jerseys, joining the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and, starting in the 2008 season, the Tampa Bay Rays. Additionally, the Phillies are one of only two teams (along with the New York Yankees) to have never worn their batting practice jerseys during a regular season game.

Fan support
Phillies fans have earned a reputation over the years for their generally rowdy behavior. In the 1960s, radio announcers for visiting teams would frequently report on the numerous fights breaking out in Connie Mack Stadium. Immediately after the final game at the old park, many fans ran onto the field and/or dislodged and took parts of the ballpark home with them. Later, at Veterans Stadium, the notorious 700 Level gained a reputation for its "hostile taunting, fighting, public urination and general strangeness."
Memorable incidents include fans throwing batteries at Los Angeles Dodgers' pitcher Burt Hooton during a poor showing in Game 3 of the 1977 NL Championship series, often attributed to the crowd's taunting. In addition, J.D. Drew, the Phillies' No. 1 overall draft pick in 1997, never signed with the Phillies following a contract dispute with the team. Instead, he re-entered the draft the next year and was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. Phillies fans were angered over this disrespect and pelted Drew with batteries. Many sports writers have noted the passionate presence of Phillies fans, including Allen Barra, who wrote: "The biggest roar I ever heard out of Philadelphia fans was in 1980 when Tug McGraw, in the victory parade after the World Series, told New York fans they could 'take this championship and shove it.'"

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball club based in Flushing, Queens, in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1964 to the present, the Mets have played in Shea Stadium. In 2009, they will move into their new home, Citi Field.
The "Mets" name originates from the New York Metropolitans, an 1880s baseball club. They are nicknamed the "Amazin' Mets", or simply the "Amazin's" or "Metropolitans".
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Manhattan in 1962. Then based in the historic Polo Grounds, the Mets shared the venue with the New York Jets for two years, until Shea was completed.
1996-2004: Piazza, Bobby V, Who Let the Mets Out, and the Subway Series
The Mets did not play well in 1996, but the season was highlighted by the play of three young stars. Switch hitting catcher Todd Hundley broke the Major League Baseball single season record for home runs hit by catcher with 41. Center fielder Lance Johnson set single-season franchise records in hits (227), triples (21), at-bats (682), runs scored (117), & total bases (327). And, Left fielder Bernard Gilkey set franchise single-season records in doubles (44), and RBI (117). But things started looking up in 1997, as they missed the playoffs by only four games, and improved by 17 games over 1996. One highlight happened June 16, when the Mets beat the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the first ever regular-season game played between the crosstown rivals. In 1997 Hundley was also having another great season, but he went down with a devastating elbow injury and needed Tommy John surgery midway through the season. For a time, it looked like the Los Angeles Dodgers were going to be shopping their superstar catcher, Mike Piazza, in a trade rather than pay the exorbitant salary that 1997s MVP runner-up was going to demand at the end of the 1998 season. In a puzzling move, on May 14, 1998, the Dodgers sent Piazza to the Florida Marlins, who were purging themselves of high salaries to alleviate their claimed financial problems. The Marlins' move made more sense when, just a week later, they re-traded Piazza to the Mets for Preston Wilson and two prospects. The Dodgers had no free agency problem, the Marlins had young players with small salaries and the Mets had their new lineup-anchoring catcher. When Hundley returned from his injury later in the 1998 season the Mets experimented with playing him in left field. The experiment was short lived, Hundley was in a Dodgers uniform in the 1999 season.
After the 1998 trade, the Mets played well, but missed the 1998 postseason by only one game. With only five games left in the 1998 season, the Mets could not win a single game against both the Montreal Expos at home and the Atlanta Braves on the road, the Mets could have forced a three-way wild card tie by winning their last game. Although it seemed like a terrible ending to a good season, Met fans felt confident that the team was moving in the right direction. After signing Mike Piazza to a seven-year, $91 million contract, the Mets traded Todd Hundley and minor league P Arnold Gooch to the Los Angeles Dodgers for C Charles Johnson and OF Roger Cedeno. They then sent Johnson to the Baltimore Orioles for P Armando Benitez. #REDIRECT The Mets then signed Robin Ventura, Rickey Henderson and Bobby Bonilla to fill out the needs for the start of the 1999 season. John Olerud anchored the heart of the Mets' order.
The Mets started the 1999 season well, going 17-9, but after an eight-game losing streak, including the last two to the New York Yankees, on June 6 the Mets fired their entire coaching staff except for manager Bobby Valentine. On that day, the Mets, in front of a national audience on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, beat the New York Yankees 7-2 and they never looked back. Both Mike Piazza and Robin Ventura started to have MVP-type seasons and Benny Agbayani began to have an important role on the team. Also this was the breakout year for Mets second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, as he had 108 RBI, and Roger Cedeño, who broke the single season steals record for the Mets. After the regular season ended, the Mets played a one game playoff against the Cincinnati Reds to see which team would advance to the playoffs. In that game, Mets ace Al Leiter pitched the best game of his Met career as he hurled a two hit complete game shutout, a 5-0 victory to advance to the playoffs. In the NLDS, the Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3 games to 1, their series-clinching victory coming on an unlikely home run hit by backup catcher Todd Pratt, playing due to a thumb injury to Piazza. The Mets would advance to the 1999 National League Championship Series, their first NLCS since 1988, only to lose to their archrivals, the Atlanta Braves, in six exciting games which included the famous grand slam single by Robin Ventura to win game 5 for the Mets.
In the offseason, the Mets traded Roger Cedeño and Octavio Dotel to the Houston Astros for Derek Bell and Mike Hampton. Todd Zeile was signed to play first base, replacing departing free agent Olerud. The Mets were heading to the 2000 season as a powerhouse in the National League.
2000 began well for the Mets as Derek Bell became the best hitter on the team for the first month. The Mets enjoyed good play the whole year. The highlight of the season came on June 30, when the Mets beat the rival Atlanta Braves in a memorable game at Shea Stadium on Fireworks Night. With the Mets losing 8-1 to begin the bottom of the eighth, they rallied back with two outs to tie the game, capping the 10-run inning with Mike Piazza's three run home run to put the Mets up 11-8, giving them the lead and eventually the win. The Mets easily made the playoffs winning the National League wild card. In the playoffs, the Mets beat the San Francisco Giants in the first round and the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2000 National League Championship Series to win their fourth NL pennant. Mike Hampton was named the NLCS MVP for his two scoreless starts in the series as the Mets headed to the 2000 World Series to face their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees. Unfortunately for the Mets, they were defeated in the much-hyped "Subway Series". Even though they lost 4 games to 1, each game was close, as they scored only three fewer total runs than the Yankees. This was the first all-New York World Series since 1956, when the Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The most memorable moment of the 2000 World Series occurred during the first inning of Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. Piazza fouled off a pitch which shattered his bat, sending a piece of the barrel toward the pitcher's mound. Pitcher Roger Clemens seized the piece and hurled it in the direction of Piazza as the catcher trotted to first base. A brief melee ensued with no punches thrown and Clemens remaining in the game. In July of 2000, Clemens had knocked Piazza unconscious with a fastball to the catcher's head.
In the seasons following the 2000 World Series, the Mets struggled mightily as the result of several poor player acquisitions, including Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeño (again) and Jeromy Burnitz. These acquisitions were made by then-general manager Steve Phillips, who was fired during the 2003 season. Phillips was credited with building the 2000 World Series team, but also blamed for the demise of the Mets' farm system and the poor play of the acquired players. The Mets did have a few bright spots in 2002. Al Leiter became the first major league pitcher to defeat all thirty major league teams with a victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. David Weathers had a career year with a 2.91 era coming out of the bullpen, making him one of the better middle relievers of that season in the league. The Mets though posted a 75-86 record, last in the NL East, in 2002. The Mets' record in 2003 (66-95) was the fourth worst in baseball, and Piazza had missed two-thirds of the season with a torn groin muscle. His steady decline around that time mirrored the Mets' fortunes for the first half of the decade.
In 2004, the Mets made more player additions that turned out to be poor. They signed Japanese shortstop Kazuo Matsui, who never lived up to his potential in two-and-a-half years with the Mets, and Mike Cameron to play center field. General manager Jim Duquette acquired pitcher Kris Benson for third baseman Ty Wigginton at the trade deadline just before sending highly-touted pitching prospect Scott Kazmer to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the disappointing Victor Zambrano. However, the Mets brought up two young infielders with bright futures, David Wrigto and José Reyes, and they have become the best products from the farm system since Strawberry and Gooden. The Mets finished 71-91 in 2004.

2005-present: King of Queens, The Team.The Time.The Mets of 2006, "Your Season has gone" and The Last Season at Shea
After the 2004 season, Mets ownership made significant changes to their management strategy. With their television contract with the MSG Network expiring by the end of 2005, they announced plans to establish their own cable network to broadcast Mets games, rivaling the Yankee-owned YES Network. This investment in what became known as SportsNet New York was coupled with an aggressive plan to upgrade the performance of the team on the field. Jim Duquette was replaced as general manager by former Expos GM Omar Minaya. Minaya, an ex-Mets assistant GM, achieved notable success in Montreal by making bold player moves on a limited budget. With the Mets, Minaya was given substantial financial resources to develop a winning team by the time the new network launched in 2006.
Minaya began by hiring Yankee bench coach Willie Randolph as manager, then signed two of that year's most sought-after free agents — Pedro Martínez and Carlos Beltrán — to large multi-year deals. Though Beltrán underperformed, Martínez and a rejuvenated Tom Glavine led the pitching staff while Cliff Floyd's power, José Reyes's speed and David Wright's hitting sparked the offense. Despite an 0-5 start to the season, the team finished 83-79, finishing above the .500 mark for the first time since 2001.
After 2005, the departure of Mike Piazza gave Minaya enough financial flexibility to take full advantage of a payroll-reduction effort by the Florida Marlins. All-star first baseman Carlos Delgado and all-star catcher Paul Lo Duca were acquired from Florida in exchange for five prospects. Minaya also improved the bullpen by signing star free agent closer Billy Wagner.
Minaya's offseason moves and his organization of the team during the season paid off in 2006, as the team, led by a franchise record six All-Stars (Beltran, Lo Duca, Reyes, Wright, Glavine, and Martínez), won the division title, their first in 18 years. In a runaway similar to 1986, the Mets led the division from April 6 on, and only spent one day out of first the whole season. They built a lead as high as 16 1/2 games before clinching the division on September 18, becoming the first team in the major leagues to clinch a 2006 playoff berth. The Mets finished the season 12 games ahead of the Phillies, and with the best record in the National League. The Mets achieved this success despite a slew of injuries which included losing Martínez for a month, and starting fifteen different pitchers in games. A 9-1 June road trip through Los Angeles, Arizona and Philadelphia was a turning point for the season.
The Mets 2006 division title ended the Atlanta Braves' streak of 14 straight division titles, and they became the first team besides Atlanta to win the National League East title since the 1994 division realignment. 2006 was also the first time ever that the Mets and Yankees each won their respective divisions in the same year. Both New York teams also had the best records in their respective leagues, 97 wins and 65 losses.
Despite losing Pedro Martínez and Orlando Hernández from their starting rotation due to injury just before the start of the post-season, the Mets swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2006 National League Division Series, relying on their bullpen (with the lowest regular season ERA in the National League) and potent offense. However, in the 2006 National League Championship Series, the Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, the eventual 2006 World Series champions, in seven games, with the decisive blow coming on a ninth-inning home run by Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina off Mets reliever Aaron Heilman.
In the 2006 offseason, the Mets signed veteran outfielder Moises Alou to replace Cliff Floyd in left field and provide a right-handed bat in the middle of the lineup.
After their success in 2006, there were high expectations for the Mets in 2007, and they started the season strong, compiling a 34-18 record through May 31. And although they played basically .500 ball through the summer, the Mets still had a seven game lead in September, with 17 games to go. The Mets, however, would lose 11 of their next 16, allowing the Philadelphia Phillies to tie them with three games left. The Mets lost to the Marlins 8-1 in the final game of the season, while the Phillies went on to win their final game 6-1 against the Nationals and clinch the NL East by one game. The Mets became first team in MLB history to blow a lead of seven or more games with only 17 games to play., and, by one analysis, it was the 2nd worst collapse overall in MLB regular season history. Despite the season ending debacle, Minaya announced that Randolph would remain as manager for the 2008 season.
On January 29, 2008, the Mets agreed to trade four minor league prospects, including outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitcher Philip Humber to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for two-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Johan Santana. He agreed on a six-year contract extension on February 1 worth $150.75 million, the highest amount ever for a pitcher on a long-term contract. The trade was finalized on February 2 when Santana passed his physical.

Citi Field
Main article: Citi Field
On June 12, 2005 a plan was announced for a new Mets ballpark to be built adjacent to Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens. Construction of the new stadium is being paid by the Mets, while "infrastructure improvement" costs at the site are to be paid by the city. The stadium was originally dubbed Mets Ballpark, before a corporate sponser was found. Many fans had hoped the park would be named in honor of Jackie Robinson. The naming rights of the stadium were sold to Citigroup and the name Citi Field was officially announced at the November groundbreaking. Citigroup reportedly agreed to pay $20 million a year for the rights, which would be the most lucrative naming rights deal ever in terms of revenue per year. The final mix of private and public funding has not been settled. As of 2005, Shea Stadium is the sixth oldest stadium among the 30 ballparks in major league baseball, and will be the fifth oldest by the end of the 2008 season as the Washington Nationals are scheduled to move into their new park -- Nationals Park -- before 2009. Shea Stadium is nearly as old as Ebbets Field was when the Dodgers abandoned it. The current site of Shea Stadium is to be a parking lot for Citi Field. Citi Field will be a "retro" park, following current architectural trends in stadium design. It will follow the brick and steel-truss trend begun by the Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1992. The exterior facade will resemble Ebbets Field, former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The new stadium will be an open-air design, designed to give the fans a more personal experience. The stadium will only hold 45,000 fans, which is less than the current capacity of Shea Stadium. According to design notes the lesser capacity creates better sightlines and a more contoured seating configuration, allowing seating closer to the field.
The field, however, will not have a dome or retractable roof installed, as had been discussed for Shea Stadium in the late 1970s, and had been originally planned. This will not negate one of the main complaints with Shea Stadium; that the consistent jet noise from LaGuardia Airport makes it hard to hear well.
Construction of the new stadium began in 2006. Most of the current parking lot was closed off to begin preparing for the installation of the main support columns during the 2006 season, but the official groundbreaking did not take place until November 13, just beyond the left field bleachers of Shea Stadium. The stadium is scheduled to open for the 2009 season.

Uniform color and design
The Mets' colors are blue, orange, and white, symbolic of the return of National League baseball to New York after the Brooklyn Dodgers (blue) and New York Giants (orange) moved to California. Blue, orange and white are also the colors of the New York City flag. The NBA's New York Knicks were the first New York City-area team to use blue and orange as their team colors, and have been followed by the Mets and the NHL's New York Islanders.
Currently the Mets wear an assortment of uniforms. One variation includes solid gray road jerseys with blue piping on the sleeves, the jersey front, and down the side of the pant legs. "NEW YORK" is printed across the front of road jerseys in old english style font. Another uniform combination includes a white home jersey with blue pinstripes and "Mets" written across the front in script. Prior to the 1997 season the Mets introduced "snow white" home jerseys as an alternate home jersey. Like the road uniforms, they feature blue piping but are completely white, devoid of pinstripes, and features the cursive "Mets" written across the front. The standard cap is blue with an orange "NY" logo, which is currently only worn with the two white home jerseys. Before the 1998 season black was added as an official Mets color. Black drop-shadows were added to the blue and orange lettering on the white and gray jerseys. Solid black alternate home and road jerseys with blue piping and blue lettering trimmed in orange and white were introduced. Two alternate caps were also introdced - a black cap with a blue brim and a blue "NY" logo trimmed in orange (worn with the white and gray jerseys) and an all black cap with a blue "NY" logo trimmed in orange and white (worn with the black jerseys).
The Mets wear Coolflo batting helmets, made by Rawlings, with a metallic blue covering only the front and black over the rest.

Logo
The cap logo is identical to the logo used by the New York Giants in their final years, and is on a blue cap reminiscent of the caps worn by the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the primary logo, designed by sports cartoonist Ray Gatto, each part of the skyline has special meaning — at the left is a church spire, symbolic of Brooklyn, the borough of churches; the second building from the left is the Williamsburg Savings Bank, the tallest building in Brooklyn; next is the Woolworth Building; after a general skyline view of midtown comes the Empire State Building; at the far right is the United Nations Building. The bridge in the center symbolizes that the Mets, in bringing back the National League to New York, represent all five boroughs.

***WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are in the Central Division of the National League. The team began in Seattle, Washington for one season before changing names and moving to Milwaukee. The Brewers were part of the American League from their creation as an expansion club in 1969 through the 1997 season, after which they switched to the National League.

1978-83: The Glory Days
The Brewers franchise reached its pinnacle in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their first winning season took place in 1978 when the "Brew Crew" won 93 games and finished behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The next season, Milwaukee finished in second place due to their home run power, led by Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie (who led the league in homers in 1980 along with Reggie Jackson), and Gorman Thomas (whose 45 home runs in 1979 was the Brewers' single season home run record, until Richie Sexson tied the mark in both 2001 and 2003; Prince Fielder surpassed the mark with 50 home runs in 2007). After finishing third in 1980, the Brewers won the second half of the 1981 season (divided due to a players' strike) and played the Yankees in a playoff mini-series they ultimately lost. It was the first playoff appearance for the franchise.
In 1982, the Brewers won the American League pennant. The team's prolific offensive production that season (they lead the league in runs and home runs) earned them the nickname Harvey's Wallbangers (a play on the drink Harvey Wallbanger and the team's manager Harvey Kuenn). In the 1982 American League Championship Series the Brewers defeated the California Angels three games to two and had become the first team to win a playoff series after trailing two games to zero. The Brewers then played the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. The Brewers started out strong, taking the first game of the series 10–0. Mike Caldwell was the winning pitcher. Unfortunately, Hall-of-Famer Rollie Fingers had been injured prior to the postseason, and relief pitching became a problem for the Brewers. St. Louis eventually triumphed in the series, winning four games to three.
During the 1980s the Brewers produced three league MVPs (Rollie Fingers in 1981 and Robin Yount in 1982 and 1989) and two Cy Young Award winners (Rollie Fingers in 1981 and Pete Vuckovich in 1982). Yount is one of only four players in the history of the game to win the MVP award at two positions (shortstop, then center field).

1984-93: Rollercoaster
Following their two playoff years, the club quickly retreated to the bottom of the standings, never finishing higher than fifth (out of seven) in their division from 1983 to 1986. Hope was restored in 1987 when, guided by rookie manager Tom Trebelhorn, the team began the year with a 13-game winning streak. Unfortunately, they followed that hot start with a 12-game skid in May. But "Team Streak" eventually posted a strong third-place finish. Highlights of the year included Paul Molitor's 39-game hitting streak and the only no-hitter in team history, pitched by Juan Nieves on April 15.
On that day, Nieves became the first (and so far, only) Brewer and first Puerto Rican-born Major Leaguer to pitch a no-hitter, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 7–0 at Memorial Stadium. The final out came on a climactic diving catch in right-center field by Robin Yount of a line drive hit by Eddie Murray. The game also was the first time the Orioles were no-hit at Memorial Stadium.
In 1988 the team had another strong season, finishing only two games out of first (albeit with a lesser record than the previous year) in a close playoff race with four other clubs. Following this year, the team slipped, posting mediocre records from 1989 through 1991, after which Trebelhorn was fired. In 1992, reminiscent of the resurgence which greeted Trebelhorn's arrival in 1987, the Brewers rallied behind the leadership of rookie manager Phil Garner and posted their best record since their World Series year in 1982, finishing the season 92–70 and in second place, four games behind that year's eventual World Champion Toronto Blue Jays.
Hope of additional pennant races was quickly dashed, however, as the club plummeted to the bottom of the standings the following year, finishing an abysmal 26 games out of first. Since 1992, highlights were few and far between as the franchise failed to produce a winning season, having not fielded a competitive team due to a combination of bad management and financial constraints that limit the team relative to the resources available to other, larger-market clubs. With new management, structural changes in the economics of baseball, and the advent of revenue sharing, the Brewers were able to become competitive once again.

1994-98: Realignment/"We're taking this thing National"
In 1994, Major League Baseball adopted a new expanded playoff system. This change would necessitate a restructuring of each league from two divisions into three. The Brewers were transferred from the old AL East division to the newly created AL Central.
Before the 1998 regular season began, two new teams—the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays—were added by Major League Baseball. This resulted in the American League and National League having fifteen teams. However, in order for MLB officials to continue primarily intraleague play, both leagues would need to carry a number of teams that was divisible by two, so the decision was made to move one club from the AL Central to the NL Central.
This realignment was widely considered to have great financial benefit to the club moving. However, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Commissioner (then club owner) Bud Selig decided another team should have the first chance to switch leagues. The choice was offered to the Kansas City Royals, who ultimately decided to stay in the American League. The choice then fell to the Brewers, who, on November 6, 1997 elected to move to the National League. Had the Brewers elected not to move to the National League, the Minnesota Twins would have been offered the opportunity to switch leagues.
Some baseball fans believe that the Brewers were moved, rather than other teams, due to the large amount of Wisconsin residents who are actually Cubs and Braves fans. Moving Milwaukee into the NL guaranteed that these fans would come to see more games.
Also, Milwaukee was not totally unfamiliar with the National League, having been the home of the NL Braves for 13 seasons (1953-65).

1999-2003: Building Miller Park
Miller Park was opened in 2001, built to replace Milwaukee County Stadium. The stadium was built with $310 million of public funds, drawing some controversy, and is one of the few professional sporting stadiums with a retractable roof. Miller Park is the only sporting facility to have a fan-shaped retractable roof. Miller Park has a seating capacity of 42,200.
The park was to have opened a year earlier, but an accident during its construction, which resulted in the deaths of three workers, forced a year's delay and $50 million to $75 million in damage. On July 14, 1999, the three men lost their lives when the Lampson "Big Blue" crane, one of the largest in the world, collapsed while trying to lift a 400 ton right field roof panel. A statue commemorating the men now stands between the home plate entrance to Miller Park and Helfaer Field.
The Brewers made renovations to Miller Park before the 2006 campaign, adding both LED scoreboards in left field and on the second-tier of the stadium, as well as a picnic area in right field, shortening the distance of the right-field fence. The picnic area was an immediate hit and sold out for the season before the year began.

2004-Present: Attanasio era
On January 16, 2004, Selig announced that his ownership group was putting the team up for sale, to the great relief of many fans who were unhappy with the team's lackluster performance and poor management by his daughter, Wendy Selig-Prieb, over the previous decade. In September 2004, the Brewers announced they had reached a verbal agreement with Los Angeles investment banker Mark Attanasio to purchase the team for $180 million. The sale to Attanasio was completed on January 13, 2005, at Major League Baseball's quarterly owners meeting. Since taking over the franchise, Attanasio has worked hard to build bridges with Milwaukee baseball fans, including giving away every seat to the final home game of 2005 free of charge and bringing back the classic "ball and glove" logo of the club's glory days on "Retro Sunday" home games, during which they also wear versions of the team's old pinstriped uniforms.

In 2005, under Attanasio's ownership, the team finished 81–81 to secure its first non-losing record since 1992. With a solid base of young talent assembled over the past five years, including Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, J. J. Hardy, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart, the Brewers show renewed competitiveness. Further encouraging this sentiment, the Brewers have hired former stars Yount (bench coach; resigned in November of 2006) and Dale Sveum (third base coach), both very popular players for the Brewers in the '80s.
In 2006 the Brewers' play disappointed fans, players, and management. They began the season 5–1 and had a 14–11 record at the end of April. On Mother's Day Bill Hall hit a walk off home run with his mother in the stands, a play that was shown on ESPN throughout the summer. However, soon starters JJ Hardy, Rickie Weeks, and Corey Koskie were lost to injuries, and the Brewers were forced to trade for veteran infielders David Bell and Tony Graffanino. They also suffered setbacks when losing starting pitchers Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka for a substantial amount of time, forcing Triple A starters Ben Hendrickson, Dana Eveland, Carlos Villanueva, and Zach Jackson into starting roles at different points in the year. Shortly before the All Star break the Brewers climbed to one game above .500, but then lost their next three to the Chicago Cubs and would never return to .500. After the All Star break closer Derrick Turnbow blew four straight save opportunities. This led to the Brewers being far enough down in the standings that management decided to trade free agent-to-be Carlos Lee to the Texas Rangers for closer Francisco Cordero, outfielder Kevin Mench, and two minor league prospects. Cordero replaced Turnbow as the Brewers closer and had immediate success, successfully converting his first 13 save opportunities. On August 24 the Brewers completed a sweep of the Colorado Rockies to climb to less than five games out in both the NL Central Division and NL Wild Card races, but then Milwaukee went on a 10-game losing streak that ended any postseason hope. The Brewers did rebound and play well in September including a four-game sweep of San Francisco, but it was too little too late. The Brewers ended the season with a 75–87 record.
At the end of the season, Attanasio stated that he and General Manager Doug Melvin would have to make some decisions about returning players for the 2007 season. With young players waiting in the minor leagues, during the off-season the key additions were starting pitcher and 2006 NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan, starter Claudio Vargas, reliever Greg Aquino, catcher Johnny Estrada, and returning Brewer Craig Counsell. The Brewers parted ways with 2006 starters Doug Davis and Tomo Ohka, as well as fan favorite Jeff Cirillo, who wanted more playing time with another team.

2007: The Return to Relevance
Before the 2007 season, the buzz surrounding the Brewers greatly increased They were dubbed a "sleeper team" and "contenders in the NL" by numerous sports analysts and magazines. ESPN's Peter Gammons and Dan Patrick both picked The Crew to beat out the defending champion Cardinals and re-vamped Chicago Cubs to win the NL Central. To celebrate the successful 1982 Milwaukee Brewers team, the franchise decided to have the 2007 season be named as the "25th Anniversary of '82", with more fan giveaways than any other Major League Baseball team except the Pittsburgh Pirates, and more discounts and deals than any other time in Brewers' history.
ESPN.com's lead story on August 29 stated: ".... Then there are the Brewers. The strange, impossible-to-figure-out Brewers. They once had the best record in the majors, were 14 games over .500 twice, and led the division by as many as 8½ games on June 23. Since then, and there's no nice way of saying it; they've reeked.". The Brewers cast this negativity to the side, and rebounded in September. Despite poor performances from the usually steady Chris Capuano and more nagging injuries to Ben Sheets, The Crew found themselves in a heated pennant race with Chicago's North Siders. The team's playoff drive took a hit late in the year, however, losing three of four games in a crucial series in Atlanta, dropping The Crew to a season-high 3.5 games out of first. The Brewers won the first two games of their final homestand of the season to pull within two games of the Cubs, but faced a near impossible task with the club's elimination number down to only three and the wild card leading Padres coming to town. The club played well, but the Cubs clinched on the final Friday of the season. On September 29th the Brewers beat Padres 4-3 in extra innings to secure a winning season. The game was tied in the ninth inning by a triple by Tony Gwynn, Jr. in a highlight reel play that was repeated often during the 2007 post season. That win, and the win the next day, by the Brewers kept the Padres from advancing to the playoffs. The irony, of course, being that Gwynn's father was easily the most popular Padre of all-time. Milwaukee finished at a respectable 83-79, only two games behind Chicago, the club's best finish since 1992.
First baseman Prince Fielder made history in 2007, becoming the first Brewer and the youngest player ever to reach the 50 home run mark in a single season. For his effort, he finished third in the 2007 National League Most Valuable Player voting, garnering 284 total points including 5 first place votes. Third baseman Ryan Braun was also rewarded for his historic season by being named 2007 NL Rookie of the Year.

Radio and television
As of 2007, the Brewers' flagship radio station was WTMJ, 620AM. Bob Uecker, a winner of the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame, joined the Brewers in 1970, when the team moved from Seattle, and has been there ever since. Jim Powell also shares play-by-play duties; he joined the Brewers in 1996.
Most of the team's television broadcasts are aired on FSN Wisconsin. Brian Anderson, who has worked on The Golf Channel, took over as the Brewers' play-by-play announcer for the 2007 season. He replaced Daron Sutton, who joined the Arizona Diamondbacks in place of Thom Brennaman, now of the Cincinnati Reds. The color commentator is Bill Schroeder, a former major league catcher who played six of his eight seasons for the Brewers.
In February 2007, the Brewers, FSN Wisconsin, and Weigel Broadcasting came to an agreement to air 15 games and one spring training game over-the-air on WMLW (Channel 41) in Milwaukee in the 2007 season, with FSN Wisconsin producing the telecasts and Weigel selling air time for each of those games. Several additional games were added through the season due to rain postponements and other factors. Weigel also airs a few broadcasts per year with Spanish language play-by-play on its Telemundo affiliate, WYTU (Channel 63). Before this, the last over-the-air non-Fox broadcast of a Brewers game was on WCGV in the 2004 season. Games also aired on WVTV, WISN and WTMJ in past years; WTMJ was the original TV broadcaster in 1970.

**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG