Tampa Bay Rays

Evan Michael Longoria is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays. Formerly, Longoria was a star infielder for the Long Beach State University baseball team, the 2005 Cape Cod League MVP, and the 2006 Big West Co-Player of the Year. He made his major league debut for the Rays... in 2008, and was named to the American League team for the 2008 MLB All Star Game. Longoria was also named the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year on November 10. Longoria had one of the biggest hits in Rays history when he hit a walkoff homerun in extra innings of the last game of the 2011 season, snapping a tie with the Red Sox in the race for the American League wildcard spot and sending his team into the post season. Born in Downey, California, Longoria graduated from Mary Star of the Sea High School. He was a two-year letterman in baseball and as a senior was a first team All-League selection. Longoria did not receive any scholarship offers to play college baseball. USC was the only program to consider him, but eventually backed out of recruiting him.
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Wade Daniel Townsend is a Minor League Baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He was the Tampa Bay Rays' first-round draft pick out of Rice University in 2005, signing for a $1.5 million bonus. Townsend was initially drafted by the Baltimore Orioles with the eighth pick of the 2004 Draft,... but he returned to Rice to finish his degree and was ruled ineligible to continue negotiation with the Orioles. In college, Townsend spent his first season as a reliever for Rice, which went to the College World Series and finished second in the nation in ERA. Townsend was 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA and six saves as a freshman, recording 51 strikeouts, 22 walks, and 10 wild pitches in 51.1 innings. As a sophomore in 2003, he struggled with his control in his first appearance but came into his own as a weekday starter, pitching Rice's non-conference games against rival Houston and Big 12 opponents. He finished the season 11-2 with a 2.20 ERA, beating defending national champion Texas twice, including once in the CWS, Houston three times, and single wins over Nebraska, Baylor, and Texas A&M.
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Jeffrey Warren Niemann is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. Lamar High School Niemann, who stands 6-foot-9, was the fourth starter for Rice University in his freshman season of 2002, usually starting midweek non-conference games. He posted a 5-1 record with a 3.11... ERA, including a victory over Washington in the decisive seventh game of the 2003 NCAA regional at Rice's Reckling Park. In 2003, he stepped into Rice's weekend rotation and quickly became the nation's most dominant pitcher. He finished the season 17-0 with a 1.70 ERA and 156 strikeouts, being named Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, a consensus first-team all-American, and a finalist for the Rotary Smith Award in helping Rice to its first national championship. Niemann battled injuries as a junior in 2004, but still went 6-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 11 starts, including a complete game victory over Texas A&M in the NCAA regional.
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Wade Daniel Townsend is a Minor League Baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He was the Tampa Bay Rays' first-round draft pick out of Rice University in 2005, signing for a $1.5 million bonus. Townsend was initially drafted by the Baltimore Orioles with the eighth pick of the 2004 Draft,... but he returned to Rice to finish his degree and was ruled ineligible to continue negotiation with the Orioles. In college, Townsend spent his first season as a reliever for Rice, which went to the College World Series and finished second in the nation in ERA. Townsend was 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA and six saves as a freshman, recording 51 strikeouts, 22 walks, and 10 wild pitches in 51.1 innings. As a sophomore in 2003, he struggled with his control in his first appearance but came into his own as a weekday starter, pitching Rice's non-conference games against rival Houston and Big 12 opponents. He finished the season 11-2 with a 2.20 ERA, beating defending national champion Texas twice, including once in the CWS, Houston three times, and single wins over Nebraska, Baylor, and Texas A&M.
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The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American... League's East Division. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles and moved to New York City in 1903 as the New York Highlanders before becoming the Yankees in 1913. From 1923 to 2008, the Yankees' home ballpark was Yankee Stadium; in 2009, they moved into a new ballpark, also called Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have won 27 World Series championships and 40 American League pennants, both MLB records. Forty-three Yankees players and eleven Yankees managers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra. The Yankees have garnered widespread popularity and a dedicated fanbase. In pursuit of winning championships, the franchise has utilized a large payroll to recruit talent, particularly under former owner George Steinbrenner. The Yankees' rivalry with the Boston Red Sox is regarded as one of the most famous in North American professional sports.
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The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of... Major League Baseball 's American League . The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name, and the fact that blue is the traditional colour of Toronto's other professional sports teams, the Maple Leafs and the Argonauts. Nicknamed "the Jays", the team's official colours are royal blue, navy blue, white, and red. An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto in 1977, initially owned by the Labatt Brewing Company. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium, the team began playing its home games at the SkyDome, upon completion of its construction in 1989. Since 2000, the Blue Jays have been owned by Rogers Communications, and in 2004, the SkyDome was purchased by that company, which renamed the venue to Rogers Centre. They are the second MLB team to be based outside the United States, and currently the only team outside the U.S. after fellow Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos, relocated to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season .
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The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was... founded in Detroit in 1894 as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant 10 times . The team currently plays their home games at Comerica Park in Downtown Detroit. The Tigers constructed Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Avenue and began playing there in 1896. In 1912, the team moved into Navin Field, which was built on the same location. It was expanded in 1938 and renamed Briggs Stadium. It was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961 and the Tigers played there until moving to Comerica Park in 2000. The club is a charter member of the American League, one of four clubs still located in its original city. Detroit is also the only member of the Western League, the AL's minor league predecessor, that remains in its original city under its original name.
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The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in 1977, the Mariners are a member of the Western... Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July 1999. From their 1977 inception until June 1999, the club's home park was the Kingdome. The "Mariners" name originates from the prominence of marine culture in the city of Seattle. They are nicknamed "the M's", a title featured in their primary logo from 1987–1992. The current team colors are Navy Blue, Northwest Green , and Metallic Silver, after having been Royal Blue and Gold from 1977–1992. Their mascot is the Mariner Moose. The organization did not field a winning team until 1991, and any real success eluded them until 1995 when they won their first division championship and defeated the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series. The game-winning hit in Game 5, in which Edgar Martinez drove home Ken Griffey, Jr. to win the game in the 11th inning, clinched a series win for the Mariners, and has since become an iconic moment in team history.
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The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the... Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since 1994, the Rangers have played in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The team's name is borrowed from the famous law enforcement agency of the same name. The franchise began in 1961 as the Washington Senators, an expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C., after the city's first ballclub, the original Washington Senators, moved to Minnesota and became the Twins. After the 1971 season, the new Senators moved to Arlington, Texas, and debuted as the Rangers the following spring. The Texas Rangers Baseball Club has made five appearances in the MLB postseason, all following division championships, in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2010, and 2011. In 2010, the Rangers advanced past the Division Series for the first time, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays. Texas then brought home their first American League Pennant after beating the New York Yankees in six games.
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