According to abbreviationfinder, Major League Baseball ( MLB ) is an organization that unites professional baseball teams in North America.
The league was created in 2000 after the merger of the National (NL) and American (AL) baseball leagues (created in 1876 and 1901, respectively). MLB, along with the NFL (American football), NBA (basketball) and NHL (ice hockey) is one of the “Big Four” of the most popular professional sports leagues in the United States.
There are now thirty teams in MLB (twenty-nine from the United States and one from Canada), while retaining the historic two-league division (with some rule differences between them). The National and American Leagues, in turn, are divided into three divisions each (East, Central and West).
The MLB season consists of Spring Training , Regular Season, Wild Card Game, Division Series, Championship Series, and world series” (World Series).
Spring practice games for MLB teams (“preseason” games) are played from mid-February through the end of March. They not only give players the opportunity to prepare for the start of the championship, but also allow coaches to take a closer look at newcomers. During spring training, many friendly matches are played, which attract many spectators. Teams from the eastern United States spend spring training in Florida (often called the “Grapefruit League”), and from the western – in Arizona (“Cactus League”).
The MLB regular season (regular season) runs from late March/early April to late September. During it, each team in the league plays 162 matches, usually grouped into a series of three (rarely two or four) games between the same rivals. Most meetings are held between teams belonging to the same league (NL or AL), but twenty times a season each team meets opponents from another league (interleague play).
In addition, the All-Star Game is held in the middle of the regular season (mid-July). This is a spectacular match between the “teams” of the National and American Leagues. The league team that wins the All-Star Game receives home stadium advantage during World Series games.
“Post-season” games (playoffs, playoffs ) in the National and American Leagues begin with wild card matches, in which teams with the best ratio of wins and losses, but are not leaders in their division, compete for the right to advance to the next stage. The “divisional series” of each league is played by the winning teams in their respective divisions and the winner of the wild card game. Then in the “champion series” the winners of the American and National Leagues are determined, which in turn meet each other in the “World Series”.
The World Series winning team receives MLB ‘s top honor, the Commissioner’s Trophy. “World Series” have been held since 1903, with the most “titled” teams being the New York Yankees (twenty-seven wins), St. Louis Cardinals (eleven wins), Oakland Athletics (nine wins), San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox (seven wins each).
In addition to the “team” trophies in MLB, there are individual awards that are annually presented to the best baseball players. The most prestigious of these awards – the title of “Most Valuable Player” (Most Valuable Player, MVP). This title is awarded by the Association of Baseball Journalists to what they consider to be their two most outstanding players, one each from the National League and the American League. In addition, the MVPs of the All-Star Game, the Championship Series, and the World Series are selected separately.
The best pitchers in each league receive the Cy Young Award, named after the legendary pitcher who played in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and scored more wins than any other pitcher in American baseball history. In turn, the best hitters receive awards bearing the name of Hank Aaron (Hank Aaron Award) – the MLB record for hitting home runs.
Each year, symbolic “teams” are selected in both leagues, which include players from all field positions who play best in defense (the award is called Gold Glove, “Golden Glove”) and in attack (Silver Slugger, “Silver Bat”).
There are also awards for the best relievers (relief pitcher; pitchers who enter the game after the starting pitcher, usually in the middle innings) – Relief Man Award, closeers (the so-called pitchers playing in the last innings) – Delivery Man Award, the best newcomers – Rookie of the Year, the best managers (coaches) – Manager of the Year, the best “returning” (after injuries) player – Comeback Player of the Year and others. Of particular note is the Roberto Clemente Award.), awarded for sportsmanship, personal contribution to the success of their team and active social activities. In addition, for outstanding service, the name of a retired player may be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Each season, the best MLB batters compete for the highest batting average (BA), number of home runs, and hits that allowed another player on their team to score a point (runs batted in, RBI). If a player manages to rank first in the league in all of these metrics, they are said to have collected a “Triple Crown” (Triple Crown). In turn, for pitchers, the “Triple Crown” is determined by the largest number of wins and strike-outs with the least passing (earned run average, ERA, the average number of missed points in terms of nine innings).
MLB (Major League Baseball) roster | ||||
Division | Team | Year of team creation | Year of joining the league | city, state |
American League ( AL ) | ||||
Oriental | Baltimore Orioles (Baltimore Orioles) |
1894 | 1901 | Baltimore, Maryland |
Boston Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) |
1901 | Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts | ||
New York Yankees (New York Yankees) |
1901 | Yankee Stadium, New York, New York | ||
Tampa Bay Rays (Tampa Bay Rays) |
1998 | St. Petersburg, Florida | ||
Toronto Blue Jays (Toronto Blue Jays) |
1977 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
Central | Chicago White Sox (Chicago White Sox) |
1894 | 1901 | Chicago, Illinois |
Cleveland Indians (Cleveland Indians) |
1894 | 1901 | Cleveland, Ohio | |
Detroit Tigers (Detroit Tigers) |
1894 | 1901 | Detroit, Michigan | |
Kansas City Royals (Kansas City Royals) |
1969 | Kansas City, Missouri | ||
Minnesota Twins (Minnesota Twins) |
1894 | 1901 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
West | Houston Astros (Houston Astros) |
1962 (NL) | 2013 (AL) | Houston, Texas |
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) |
1961 | Anaheim, California | ||
Oakland Athletics |
1901 | Oakland, California | ||
Seattle Mariners (Seattle Mariners) |
1977 | Seattle, Washington | ||
Texas Rangers (Texas Rangers) |
1961 | Arlington, Texas | ||
National League (NL) | ||||
Oriental | Atlanta Braves (Atlanta Braves) |
1871 | 1876 | Atlanta, Georgia |
Miami Marlins (Miami Marlins) |
1993 | Miami, Florida | ||
New York Mets (New York Mets) |
1962 | New York, New York | ||
Philadelphia Phillies (Philadelphia Phillies) |
1883 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
Washington Nationals (Washington Nationals) |
1969 | Washington DC | ||
Central | Chicago Cubs (Chicago Cubs) |
1870 | 1876 | Chicago, Illinois |
Cincinnati Reds (Cincinnati Reds) |
1882 | 1890 | Cincinnati, Ohio | |
Milwaukee Brewers (Milwaukee Brewers) |
1969 (AL) | 1998 (NL) | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
Pittsburgh Pirates (Pittsburgh Pirates) |
1882 | 1887 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
St. Louis Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) |
1882 | 1892 | St. Louis, Missouri | |
West | Arizona Diamondbacks (Arizona Diamondbacks) |
1998 | Phoenix, Arizona | |
Colorado Rockies (Colorado Rockies) |
1993 | Denver, Colorado | ||
Los Angeles Dodgers (Los Angeles Dodgers) |
1883 | 1890 | Los Angeles, California | |
San Diego Padres (San Diego Padres) |
1969 | San Diego, California | ||
San Francisco Giants (San Francisco Giants) |
1883 | San Francisco, California |