San Francisco Giants

Timothy Leroy Lincecum is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He was nicknamed "The Freak" and "The Franchise." Because of these nicknames, he was also nicknamed "The Freaky Franchise" and also "Big Time Timmy Jim". He throws... right-handed and bats left-handed. Lincecum was known for his long stride, unorthodox mechanics, and ability to generate high velocity despite his slight build: originally listed as 5'11" and 165 pounds, Lincecum put on about 15 pounds prior to the 2011 season. His repertoire included a two-seam fastball that he throws at 91–95 mph, a changeup that he gripped like a split-fingered fastball , a curveball, notable for its sharp 12–6 action, a slider , and a power four-seam fastball that ranged between 93–97 mph. Lincecum attended Liberty Senior High School in Renton, Washington, where he played two seasons of varsity baseball. As a senior he won state player of the year and led his school to the 2003 3A state championship title.
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David Allan Aardsma is an American professional baseball pitcher, currently a free agent. He is the first player alphabetically in the list of all-time Major League Baseball players, having displaced Hank Aaron upon his MLB debut. Aardsma was born in Denver, Colorado, and attended Cherry Creek... High School in Colorado, which was also the high school of Major Leaguers Josh Bard, John Burke, Brad Lidge, Darnell McDonald, and Donzell McDonald. He graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 2000. He attended Penn State in his freshman year of college. He transferred to Rice University in 2001, where he remained for the rest of his college tenure. At Rice, Aardsma became a dominant closer, where he set school single-season and career saves records in 2002-2003. In the 2003 College World Series, Aardsma earned two wins and a save as the Owls won their first national championship. In 2002, Aardsma was a Summer League First-Team All-American. The right-hander was drafted in the 1st round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants. He went to the San Jose Giants , and played brilliantly.
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The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The team is a member of the Central Division of Major League... Baseball's National League and plays its home games at Miller Park. The team is so named because of the city's association with the brewing industry. Originating in Seattle, Washington, as the Seattle Pilots, the club played for one season in 1969 before being acquired in bankruptcy court by current MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and then moved 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 moved to the National League Central Division. Milwaukee had previously been a National League city when its team was the Milwaukee Braves . In 1982, Milwaukee won the American League East Division and the American League Pennant, earning their only World Series appearance to date. In the Series, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to three. In 2008, the Brewers achieved their first postseason berth in the 26 years since their World Series appearance as the wildcard team in the National League.
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The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in... 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times. They and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the only MLB California teams to originate in California; the Dodgers and Giants are originally from New York, and the Athletics are originally from Philadelphia. 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. The team's name, Spanish for "fathers", refers to the Spanish Franciscan friars who founded San Diego in 1769. 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 , the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots . Their original owner was C.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's... National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming the Dodgers definitively by 1932. The team moved to Los Angeles before the 1958 season. They played their first four seasons in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving to their current home of Dodger Stadium, the third-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball . The Dodgers have won 6 World Series titles and 21 National League pennants. Eight different Cy Young Award winners have pitched for the Dodgers, producing a total of ten Cy Young Awards . In the modern era, the team, then known as the Robins, won league pennants in 1916 and 1920, losing the World Series both times, first to Boston and then Cleveland. In 1941, as the Dodgers, they captured their third National League pennant, only to lose again to the New York Yankees.
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The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's... National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National League . The team is currently owned by a family trust of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, and was previously owned by the Chicago Tribune and, prior to the Tribune, by the Wrigley Company. The Cubs have not won the World Series in 103 years, a longer championship drought than that of any other major North American professional sports team, and are often referred to as "The Lovable Losers" because of this distinction. They are also known as "The North Siders" because Wrigley Field, their home park since 1916, is located in Chicago's north side Lake View community at 1060 West Addison Street. The Cubs have rivalries with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the cross-town White Sox. The club played its first games in 1870 and was founded professionally in 1871.
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The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club... was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890. The Reds have won five World Series titles, one American Association pennant, nine National League pennants and nine division titles. The Reds played in the National League West between 1969 and 1993 and since 1994 in the National League Central. Since 2003, the Reds have played at Great American Ball Park, built next to their home from 1970, Riverfront Stadium. Bob Castellini has owned the Cincinnati Reds since 2006. The original Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball's first openly all-professional team, were founded as an amateur club in 1866, and became fully professional in 1869. The Red Stockings won 130 straight games throughout 1869 and 1870, before being defeated by the Brooklyn Atlantics. Star players included brothers Harry and George Wright, Fred Walterman, and pitcher Asa Brainard. The 1869 Red Stockings made an eastern swing of 21 games and went undefeated.
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