Saint Junípero Serra Ferrer O.F.M. (1713 – 1784), popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda. He founded a mission in Baja California and established eight of the 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco, in what was then Spanish-occupied Alta California in the Province of Las Californias of New Spain.
The Padres became a Major League franchise in 1969, but the San Diego Padres were in existence long before then. The Padres' first season came in 1936 in the Pacific Coast League after Hollywood Stars owner Bill Lane opted to move his team to San Diego.
The “Padres” moniker, it's a tribute to the city's history. It was the Franciscan Friars -- Father Junípero Serra and Don Caspar de Portolá -- who founded the first Spanish colony in southern California and the name stems directly from the priests who established the first Spanish Missions in California in 1769.
Originally known as the Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides, the team began play in 1961 as members of the Class A South Atlantic League. In 1963, they joined the Class A Carolina League and became known as the Tidewater Tides. The Tides were replaced by a Triple-A International League team in 1969. The Triple-A Tides carried on the history of the Class A team that preceded them. The club rebranded as the Norfolk Tides in 1993
1897, Willie Keeler (Baltimore Orioles) had a 44-game hitting streak to start the season, breaking the previous single season record of 42 set by Bill Dahlen. Keeler had a hit in his final game of the 1896 season, giving him a National League-record 45-game hitting streak.
George Sisler (St Louis Browns) had hits in his first two games returning from the injury before going hitless on September 18, 1922. Sisler's 41 game hitting streak remained an AL record until Joe DiMaggio (New York Yankees) set the MLB record with his 56-game hitting streak in 1941. His run lasted from May 15 to July 16, during which he had a .408 batting average.
Roberto Clemente Award presented by Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberoth for Baylor's unselfish and caring work with cystic fibrosis.
The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media.
Baseball has been a part of the Simpsons storylines on several occasions.
1990-Nov-08: Dancin' Homer - season 2 episode 5 - Homer tells his bar buddies the story of how his drunken antics at a baseball game with his boss landed him a job as a dancing mascot for the Springfield Isotopes
1992-Feb-20: Homer at the Bat – season 3 episode 17 - The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's softball team is surprisingly successful thanks to Homer, but Mr. Burns decides to call in Major League Baseball ringers for the championship game anyway especially after making a $1 million dollar bet that his team will win. Features – Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Ken Griffey, Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, José Canseco, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Scioscia
2025-Apr-27: Abe League of Their Moe – season 36 episode 15 - After Grampa and Moe recruit a Macedonian slugger to play in Springfield, it strains their friendship and the very integrity of baseball. The episode features guest stars Kevin Burkhardt, Steve Gelbs, Kevin Millar
During Major League Baseball's 1998 season, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs pursued the league's long-standing and highly coveted single-season home run record (61), set in 1961 by Roger Maris. The season-long chase culminated on September 8, 1998, when McGwire, facing Sosa and the Cubs, hit his 62nd home run of the season to break the record. McGwire finished the season with 70 home runs, while Sosa finished with 66
Sosa and McGwire shared Sports Illustrated magazine's 1998 "Sportsman of the Year" award.
