sport t shirts: Baseball

Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

GRADY SIZEMORE BIOGRAPHY

Grady Sizemore III was born on August 2, 1982, in Seattle, Washington to Donna and Grady Sizemore II. (Click here for today's sports birthdays.) Grady’s mom worked as an accountant. His father was an insurance adjuster.

The Sizemores lived in Everett, an easy drive north of Seattle. Like Derek Jeter, Grady was the product of a mixed-race marriage. Donna is white, while Grady II is African-American.

Grady II was a pretty fair baseball player in his day and enjoyed a good career in college. By contrast, he encouraged his sons (Grady and his younger brother, Corey) to play whatever sport was in season.

Grady’s baseball career started at 18 months, when his parents bought him a Fat Albert baseball bat. The first time he gripped it, his stance was so perfect that the Sizemores felt compelled to snap a picture. The family still has it today. By age four, Grady was hitting overhand pitching with an aluminum bat.

Grady Sizemore

CURTIS GRANDERSON PROFILE

Born: 1981/03/16
Age: 30
Height: 6-1
Weight: 185
Place of birth: Blue Island, IL
Bats/Throws: L / R

Curtis Granderson was born on March 16, 1981 in Blue Island, Illinois. (Click here for a complete listing of today's sports birthdays.) His parents, Curtis Sr. and Mary, were both educators and impressed upon him the importance of staying in school. Curtis Sr. worked as a gym teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary, and Mary taught science at Curie High School.

The Grandersons lived in Lynwood, a southern suburb of Chicago. A gifted student, Curtis heeded the advice of his parents and spent plenty of time hitting the books. Intelligent and articulate, he felt right at home in the classroom.

His parents were there to catch every one of their son's highlights. Mary never seemed to miss a game, and Curtis Sr. coached a couple of his boy's Little League teams.

With Chicago close by, Curtis rooted for the Cubs and White Sox. When he discovered WTBS, he began following the Atlanta Braves, especially after they rose to prominence in the National League. The player Curtis most identified with, however, was Ken Griffey Jr. He marveled at Junior's combination of speed and power at the plate and loved the way he roamed the outfield.

Curtis Granderson

Friday, October 28, 2011

JOHN SMOLTZ PROFILE

JOHN SMOLTZ BIOGRAPHY

Johnathan Andrew "John" Smoltz (born May 15, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is best known for his prolific career of more than two decades with the Atlanta Braves, in which he garnered eight All-Star selections and received the Cy Young Award in 1996. Though predominantly known as a starting pitcher, Smoltz was converted to a reliever in 2001, following his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and spent four years as the team's closer before returning to a starting role. In 2002 he became only the second pitcher in history to have had both a 20-win season and a 50-save season (the other being Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley). He is the only pitcher in major league history to top both 200 wins and 150 saves. He became the 16th member of the 3,000 strikeout club on April 22, 2008 when he fanned Felipe Lopez of the Washington Nationals in the third inning in Atlanta.

Smoltz threw a four-seam fastball that was clocked as high as 98 miles per hour, a strong, effective slider, and an 88–91 mph split-finger fastball that he used as a strikeout pitch. He also mixed in a curveball and change-up on occasion, and in 1999, he began experimenting with both a knuckleball and a screwball, though he rarely used either in game situations.

John Smoltz was an All-State baseball and basketball player at Waverly High School in Lansing, Michigan and in college at Michigan State University before the Detroit Tigers drafted him in the 22nd round of the 1985 amateur draft. He was the 574th selection of the draft.

Smoltz played first for the Lakeland Tigers minor league team and then moved on to the Glens Falls Tigers in 1987. On August 12, 1987, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves. The 1987 Tigers were in a three-team race, chasing the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East division lead. In need of pitching help, Detroit sent their 20-year-old prospect to the Braves for the 36-year-old veteran Doyle Alexander.

Monday, October 24, 2011

MICHAEL YOUNG PROFILE

Born: 1976/10/19
Age: 34
Height: 6-1
Weight: 200
Place of birth: Covina, CA
Bats/Throws: R / R
Seasons: 11
Drafted by: the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 (5th round)

Michael Brian Young was born on October 19, 1976 in Covina, California. His mom Anna called him B as a boy and his dad Fred called him Mikey. Michael’s parents were both U.S.-born, but his mother’s family was from Mexico. English was spoken in the Young home, although Michael picked up Spanish over the years. Today, he can converse with his Latino teammates in the majors.

Baseball was Michael’s favorite sport as a child. From the age of four, he planned to become a pro player. The talent was there and so was the teaching. Fred would talk technique and strategy as long as his son would listen.

A construction worker who put in a day's labor for a decent wage, Fred never made a big deal about what he did for a living. Michael admired his father, and over the years, he went from mischief-maker to a kid with an incredible work ethic. On the diamond, Michael was one of those players who loved practice as much as the games, and he was always in motion, always hustling. That impressed youth coach Garth Daniels, who spent extra time tutoring Michael on the fine points of hitting. Daniels did a great deal to boost Michael’s confidence overall.

Michael Young

Saturday, September 10, 2011

DEREK JETER BIOGRAPHY

Date of Birth:26 June 1974,
Pequannock, Morris County, New Jersey, USA

Birth Name: Derek Sanderson Jeter
Nickname: DJ Mr. November Captain Clutch
Height: 6' 3" (1.91 m)

Athlete, professional baseball player. Born Derek Sanderson Jeter on June 26, 1974, in Pequannok, New Jersey. From an early age, Jeter showed that he had all the makings of a baseball great. In his senior year at Kalamazoo Central High School, he won several national sports awards. He was named the 1992 High School Player of the Year by the American High School Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year, and USA Today's High School Player of the Year.

After graduation, Jeter was picked by the New York Yankees in June 1992 draft. He first played in the minor leagues, hitting .295 with five home runs in the 1993 season. And Jeter's performance on the field only improved the next year. In 1994, he was selected as Minor League Player of the Year by several publications, including The Sporting News and Baseball America.

In 1995, Jeter got his first shot at the major leagues when Yankees shortstop Tony Fernandez was put on the disabled list. Jeter made his debut on May 29 against the Seattle Mariners. The next year, in his first full season as a major league baseball player, he batted .314 with 10 home runs. The skilled shortstop also performed well in the infield-his fielding percentage was .969. He helped the Yankees win the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. Jeter won the 1996 American League Rookie of the Year Award for that season.

Jeter has been an outstanding player in the major leagues since his rookie season. He helped the Yankees with more World Series wins in 1998, 1999, and 2000. In 2000, Jeter was named Most Valuable Player in the World Series and the All-Star Game. He also received Gold Glove Awards in 2004 and in 2005 for his performance on the field. As a consistently strong athlete, he has earned the respect and admiration of coaches, sports commentators, peers, and fans. So far Jeter has a career battling average of .316 and average fielding percentage of .975. In 2009, Jeter passed Lou Gehrig's record with this 2,722nd hit — the most in franchise history.

Off the field, Jeter has garnered a lot of attention for his quiet confidence and good looks. He has appeared in numerous commercials and signed a deal with Avon Products, Inc., in 2006 to create a fragrance for men called Driven.

Jeter has also used his celebrity and his prominent position as a sports star to help children. In 1996, he established the Turn 2 Foundation to encourage young people to be healthy and academically successful, to become leaders, and to stay away from drugs and alcohol. The foundation supports and creates programs to achieve these goals.

DEREK JETER PICTURES

Derek Jeter

source

Friday, August 12, 2011

CAM NEWTON

Cameron "Cam" Jerrell Newton born May 11, 1989 in College Park, Georgia is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Auburn Tigers. Newton is the son of Cecil Newton, Sr., who played strong safety for two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and the younger brother of Cecil Newton, Jr., a former center for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL.

Newton was initially a member of the Florida Gators before transferring to Blinn College, where his team won a national junior college football championship. Newton was then recruited by head coach Gene Chizik of Auburn University and transferred once more. He became just the third player in major college football history to both rush and pass for 20 or more touchdowns in a single season. His performance earned him the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding college football player, despite a major controversy concerning his eligibility that embroiled the second half of the season, and led Auburn to their second national championship in school history.

CAM NEWTON PROFILE

Date of birth: May 11, 1989

Place of birth: College Park, Georgia

Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Weight: 248 lb (112 kg)

Career information

College: Auburn NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1

Career history

* Carolina Panthers (2011–present)

Roster status: Active

Career highlights and awards

* 2009 NJCAA National Football Champion

* AP Player of the Year (2010)

* Walter Camp Award (2010)

* Maxwell Award (2010)

* Davey O'Brien Award (2010)

* Manning Award (2010)

* Heisman Trophy (2010)

* 2× BCS National Championship (2009, 2011)

* First-Team All-American

source