The AL and NL of the MLB. OMG, what? Lol.
Major League Baseball (yup, MLB), the pinnacle of pro-baseball. What every little boy dreams of being when he is growing up. Which is why he tortures you with watching a dozen games a week (or so it seems). Here’s your MLB survival guide, key terms, facts and name dropping that will drop the jaws of your friends.
The Major League.
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-Made up of 30 pro teams
-There are two leagues within the MLB: American & National (that would be the AL and the NL of MLB).
-There are 14 teams in the American League and 16 teams in the National League.
-Each league is broken down into three divisions: East, West & Central.
-The Difference between them: The American league has a 10th player: the designated hitter.
-Designated hitter is a player that comes in to replace the pitcher in the lineup when the team is up at bat.
Names to throw around:
David Ortiz, aka Big Papi, from the Red Sox (however, if your man likes the Yankees, DO NOT mention the Red Sox!)
Jason Giambi, the Yankees (vice versa, don’t mention him to a Red Sox lover)
Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas, most commonly known for his time in the 90s on the Chicago White Sox. You will totally wow with that trivia fact.
-In 1997 MLB introduced Interleague play meaning the AL and the NL teams play each other during the season, not just for the championship game.
-Pitcher’s Duel: Exciting competetion between the two opposing pitchers. Both give up few runs and base hits, keeping the score low and tensions high.
Matzusaka on the mound in the 2008 ALCS against Tampa Bay
Roger Clemens. The one and only time you can mention the Yankees and the Red Sox together because he played for both, and had the respect of the fans of both teams. One of 4 players to have 4,000 strikeouts in his career. He is also the only player to have his 4,000the strikeout come during his 300th game win. He lead the Yankees to two World Series wins and won the coveted Cy Young pitching Award 7 times.
Randy Johnson: Throws a 100 mph fastball! He is another one of the 4 players to ever have 4,000 strikeouts. Played for the Seattle Mariners and is now on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Won Cy Young Award 5 times. He’s nicknamed “the Big Unit,” partially because he is 6′10″!
Pedro Martinez, Andy Petitte and Daisuke Matzusaka: If you can say it, that would be impressive enough
Bonus Points: Sandy Kofax. This will frighten people if you know it since he played from 1955-66. Just throw around Kofax, curveball and the Brooklyn Dodgers and watch the boys spit their beer across the room in shock.
MLB Seasons:
-The Pre-Season is called Spring training. It starts towards the end of February. Teams from all over the country migrate south to train in the warmer, thawed-out climates. Think of it like their summer homes.
-There are two spring training leagues:
Grapefruit = teams that migrate to Florida.
Cactus = teams that play in Arizona.
-The regular season runs from the first Sunday in April to the first Sunday in October.
-Regular season = 162 games. So if you feel like the season is never-ending, well, it kinda is.
-The post-season, or playoffs, begin in October. Guys live for this.
About the author: Jennifer Taglione is the owner of this fabulous website Stiletto Sports. Despite writing well over 500 posts, she still maintains that she is not a sports writer! She is however a huge fan of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Sanchez, the Celtics, and totally kicks butt on March Madness brackets! Connect with her by following her on Twitter @StilettoSportsJ and subscribing to her weekly newsletter. For more info check out the About the Editor page!
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