At this time the Negro Leagues were almost as popular as the white major leagues. ... Finally on April 9, 1947 he was official called up to the major leagues by the Dodgers. ... Before Jackie broke the color barrier he wasn't even allowed to think about playing professional baseball in the major leagues. ... Jackie suggested that Major League Baseball hire a black third-base coach and a black manager. ... He was the first Negro to play baseball in the major leagues. ...

• Word Count: 1346
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Since the very beginning when the Major League Baseball first began, in 1869, catchers were picked up for their defensive, not their offensive abilities. ... He placed him on the Hatillo Tigres, an amateur league team full of players about ten years older than him, long before Molina was eligible for the Major League Baseball draft. ... Louis Cardinals selected him in the fourth round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. ... Because of his free-swinging tendency, he has a walk rate (7.1%) below the Major League average (8.4%). ... I got these stats from http://baseball.about.com/od/major...

• Word Count: 1358
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

By the time he was in his later teens, Ruth was a prospect for major league baseball (Ruth, 13). ... Jack Dunn was known for picking up youngsters who he thought had major league potential. ... He made his major league debut in Fenway Park on July 11, 1941. He pitched in that game against the Cleveland Indians (Family of Babe Ruth and Babe Ruth League Inc.). ... Ruth once again announced his retirement and played his last major league game on May 30, 1935. ...

• Word Count: 1426
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Ruth started his minor league career with the Baltimore Orioles as a pitcher in the "Golden Age of Sport". With his talent and strength he was sent to the major leagues to play with the Boston Red Sox, before the end of the season, sold by Jack Dunn (owner of the International League's Baltimore Orioles) for $2,500. ... Ruth had twenty-two wins that year which put him at the top of the league. ... In 1930 the American League's batting average was .288, whereas the Yankees average grew to .309, the highest in Yankee league history. ... Because of Babe Ruth the American League won,...

• Word Count: 2397
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

Chris Smith, in his story "Derek Jeter Opens the Door", wrote "At 40, he is ancient for a major leaguer, but up close he is leaner than he appears in uniform" (Smith, Page 1). Jeter worked especially hard on keeping his body up to par with the rest of the younger players in the league. ... In 1992, Jeter was signed by the Yankees and there has yet to be another major league player to come up through their minor league system with the same professionalism and loyalty he has. ... In the minor leagues, people said I couldn't hit, I couldn't field, then I couldn...

• Word Count: 2017
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Remembering The "Iron Horse" As a first baseman for the New York Yankees baseball team, Lou Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games from 1925 to 1939, setting a major league record and had a career batting average of .340. He once hit four home runs in a game, and to this day still holds many other major league records. ... The audience that Gehrig is speaking to that day obviously is the fans at Yankee Stadium, but he isn't only speaking to the fans there at that moment, but also to all the people listening on radio and all the fans throughout his seventeen years in the league that he...

• Word Count: 1480
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

That next spring, Derek was invited to major league camp. ... In 1994, Derek was named the Minor League Baseball Player of the year and by 1996 was playing shortstop for the most prestigious franchise in baseball, the New York Yankees (Jockbio, 2011). ...

• Word Count: 1289
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School