There is only one number in all of major league baseball that is retired throughout the league. ... The number is 42, and it belongs to the first African-American to play Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson. ... Today, some of the most significant records in all of baseball are held by African-Americans. ... On the other side of the color line, the star African-American player, Julius, forced the black players to play their absolute best, despite their feelings toward the white players. ... They proved that the players, who play hard together, are not only players, but brothers. ...

• Word Count: 1266
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Some examples: Cal Ripken Jr. was an all-state soccer player in high school before he signed to play professional baseball. Deion Sanders, football and baseball professional, was an all-state basketball player in high school. ... Jackie Joyner-Kersee was a star basketball player in high school before becoming an Olympic gold medallist in track. ... This trend of specialization has taken the greatest toll on baseball. ... One example is Tucson's Amphitheater High, which got nine Mexican baseball players in "98 (A. ...

• Word Count: 1495
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

One of the sports I specialized in was baseball. I had played baseball since I was four years old. ... It was during this baseball season that I really felt I had developed into a strong player who could help his team. ... The coach let us all know that with so many strong players on the field making cuts would be difficult. ... Some players quit on their own to avoid being cut, but still more cuts were needed. ...

• Word Count: 978
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

When a high school baseball player who is hoping for a college scholarship watches a big league slugger hitting the ball 450 feet he feels like he needs to do something to get that extra edge. ... (Yesalis) This is directly related to the professional ranks in which it is believed that 50% of all professional baseball players use steroids. ... Baseball is one of the most controversial sports and is seeing the most use of steroids. ... Another baseball player, Ken Caminiti, admitt...

• Word Count: 2665
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

He grew up loving the sport of baseball, while basketball was then his second choice. ... He was only the 6th player to start as a freshman under Dean Smith in the schools history. ... (Dolan 67) Even though he was such a great player, he was criticized by people stating, "Michael will never win a championship if he doesn't became a team player. ... He decided to go back to the sport he played as a young child, which was baseball. ... Jordan later decided that baseball wasn't for him and went back to the N.B.A. in 1995. ...

• Word Count: 1444
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

This field is the striving point for every Division 1 baseball team. ... Most of the top players that have ever played the game have not been able to set foot on this dream. ... I was given the opportunity to prove myself and play here six times for two state titles as a high school player. ...

• Word Count: 610
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

After Kobe's success, every star high school player wanted a piece of the cash. ... Though being drafted in baseball does not forfeit your college eligibility, only 4 of the 61 high school players drafted chose to go to college (www.baseballamerica.com). ... His Major League Baseball career was over. ... After surviving from the scare, he only he had his millions he made once while playing baseball. ... However when his baseball career went sour, he could no longer afford to live his lavish lifestyle. ...

• Word Count: 1444
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

High School Baseball In high school, the most enjoyable part of one's Friday nights will somehow include football games and basketball games. ... What the players wear during a game and how many players on the team is diverse also. To play football, a team must have eleven players on the field. ... A basketball player does not need all of this protective gear. ... When playing basketball, if a player hits another player in any way, or fouls, then the person he/she fouls will get to make free throws. ...

• Word Count: 659
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

It takes place the first day of the 1971 baseball season at Flint Middle School, here, Billy Baggs shows up for his second year of baseball. ... This causes Abner to tell his son Billy to give up baseball and continue to work on the farm. ... First the sadness of not being able to play baseball thanks to his dad. ... Using skill and ability, the town team is defeated by Billy's squad of country players and immediately grabs the attention of the city. Then Billy is faced with another decision, the one of where to play baseball the next season. ...

• Word Count: 882
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

"One and done" is a term used to describe a player who stays in college for a single year before leaving and enter the draft for the NBA. ... A player who feels like they are ready for the pros, the player only needs to stay eligibility for a single semester to enter the draft. ... Most of the top players in the country are leaving after only one year of college. ... If the league is concerned about the state of college basketball and the top players that coming in and leaving after one season, it should consider using the draft model similar to the Major League Baseball draft. ... With this...

• Word Count: 651
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

High school has many challenges for students, one of mine being on the baseball team and keeping up with all of the other players in this challenging sport. ... My response to him was that I'll try my best, because baseball is very competitive and if I have to get dirty on a play to better the chance for my team to win, then I will get dirty. ... There was no way I was going to play baseball at the time when I could barely walk. ...

• Word Count: 828
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

College coaches are used to recruiting players, but now they have to concentrate on keeping the players. ... When the star players leave college early for the NBA they are leaving their fans that have stuck by them and been loyal to them as players. ... A college player leaving for the NBA early can have the same type of loyalty effect as a professional baseball player leaving one team to play for another when the money is better. ... This is not entirely the players' fault. ... When a college lures a player by using fancy cars, money, girls, and other incentives then how should the playe...

• Word Count: 3613
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

He played basketball, baseball, and football. Initially his favorite of the three was baseball, but it was through backyard games with his older brother Larry that he fostered his love for basketball. ... He was determined to beat Larry and he was determined to make the Laney High School varsity basketball team.2 Michael had worked hard to achieve his goal of making varsity, he was a good player, but he was not a team player and he was cut from the team. ... He spent hours in his driveway practicing his shot, he worked on his conditioning and his fundamentals, and most importantly he learned h...

• Word Count: 2036
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

All my life I have played a wide variety of sports and learned to understand the importance of respecting each individual player, while working together as a team. I have played on football, baseball, soccer, and hockey teams. ...

• Word Count: 381
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

This is a question I have asked myself through high school when I was ready to go play baseball up at Husson. ... "Still, it's not surprising that the football and basketball players may want to be paid. ... I feel like, as much money as universities make, some of that should come down to the players, as well.... They have to bribe college players as it is to get them to come to their school to play sports. ... Players deserve something better than what they are getting. ...

• Word Count: 1186
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

"You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out it was the other way around all the time.... It was now my senior year and I was on a school bus with forty-five guys on the way to a baseball game two hours away in Lake Charles. ... I spent several minutes looking up at the "intimidator" board with all of Barbe's program stats that included things such as: players taken in the MLB draft, 30 win seasons (my school has never had a 30 win season and this school has a stat on how many 30 win seasons they have had), highest winning p...

• Word Count: 710
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

In High School I played Soccer, Basketball and Baseball, so I heard the stereotypes towards my friends and teammates and sometimes towards myself. ... A classmate painted a portrait of this incident and called it "The Football Player." ... There have been accusations of coaches doing players homework, paying off teachers, and buying their players expensive merchandise. ... An example of the amount of money college's hand to their athletes is football players. NCAA allows 86 players to be on scholarship on a football team. ...

• Word Count: 997
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In High School I played Soccer, Basketball and Baseball, so I heard the stereotypes towards my friends and teammates and sometimes towards myself. ... A classmate painted a portrait of this incident and called it "The Football Player." ... There have been accusations of coaches doing players homework, paying off teachers, and buying their players expensive merchandise. ... An example of the amount of money college's hand to their athletes is football players. NCAA allows 86 players to be on scholarship on a football team. ...

• Word Count: 1079
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

If the coaches players don't get how to a fundamental or doesn't understand what to do, the coach needs to be fair to the player and explain it to them. ... In coaching, they are always under pressure because either a player can't get the fundamental correctly and they have their biggest game in about a week and the coach wants the player to stand out they start to feel under pressure. ... Coaching would fit perfectly for me because the players need to be able to listen to me like I'm their leader. ... Whatever sport you love; basketball, football, softball, baseball, socce...

• Word Count: 1641
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Most movies, television shows, and people make cheerleaders out to be blonde ditz" who date football players. ... I was the only football player in my high school that had the opportunity to date a cheerleader. ... There are a lot of football players with their macho attitude that believe cheerleading is for wimps and give cheerleaders no credit. ... Football players tend to be called dumb jocks, while cheerleaders are ditz. ... What does a sport like football, basketball, or baseball have that cheerleading does not? ...

• Word Count: 992
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Unfortunately, society is not as understanding with games like basketball and baseball. ... A players' jersey may be sold in a bookstore for $45, but the players aren't allowed to see a dime of the actual revenue. ...

• Word Count: 698
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Is Steroid Use Worth The Risk? Why do athletes take steroids? Almost all steroid users are taking steroids because they believe it is the only way to develop muscle and strength. Further more, almost all athletes are taking steroids because they want to get as much strength and size as they possib...

• Word Count: 524
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

This excerpt taken from the beginning of Varsity Blues, which premiered in 1998, shows the way of life for high school football players. ... Similar events like this one have also taken place, one involving a former professional baseball player and manager. In April 1999, Ray Knight former Cincinnati Reds coach and player was charged with simple battery, disorderly conduct, and affray (fighting in a public place). ...

• Word Count: 1153
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The movie, Varsity Blues, shows the way of life for high school football players. ... Similar events like this one have also taken place, one involving a former professional baseball player and manager. In April 1999, Ray Knight former Cincinnati Reds coach and player was charged with simple battery, disorderly conduct, and affray (fighting in a public place). ...

• Word Count: 1042
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Team sports like football, baseball, and basketball became more competitive and serious natured. ... We all knew that some players had more money than others by the type of cars their parents drove. ... Johnathan was one of the players that I became good friends with. ... There were very little similarities between all of us except that we were the better players on the team. ... Players were well known to every one including priests and congressmen. ...

• Word Count: 1852
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School