Tony Graffanino

Ryan Braun

Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983 in Mission Hills, California), nicknamed The Hebrew Hammer, is an American right-handed All-Star left fielder who broke into Major League Baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007.

He won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2007, during which he led the National League in slugging percentage. He also won the Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year, the Baseball America Rookie of the Year, the Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball NL Rookie of the Year, and the Players Choice NL Most Outstanding Rookie Awards. Over the prior decade, the only other NL hitter to win all 5 awards was Albert Pujols, in 2001.

Braun's father, Joe, is Israeli-born, and immigrated to the United States at the age of seven. Braun is of Jewish descent. "It's something that draws a lot of interest and something I take pride in," Braun said. His nickname is "The Hebrew Hammer." It references his Jewish heritage, former Brewer Hank Aaron (whose nickname was "Hammerin' Hank"), and the movie The Hebrew Hammer, starring Adam Goldberg. It is also the nickname of former teammate Gabe Kapler, and in the past was a nickname for Al Rosen and Hank Greenberg.

Braun is one of the highest-drafted Jewish ballplayers in the history of professional baseball. The New York Yankees made Ron Blomberg the number one pick in the 1967 draft. Braun was considered the best Jewish minor league baseball prospect in 2006, and became major league baseball's first Jewish Rookie of the Year the following season. In each of 2007 and 2008, Braun hit more home runs (34 and 37) than all but 3 of the top 10 career Jewish home run hitters had hit in their best seasons. Only Hank Greenberg (58), Shawn Green (49), and Al Rosen (43) hit more in a single year. In 2008, with his career 69th home run he passed Art Shamsky and Lou Boudreau for 10th on the all-time list (directly behind Kapler) for home runs by Jewish major leaguers.

Braun's younger brother, middle infielder Steve Braun, played for the University of Maryland, College Park. He signed with the Brewers in 2008 as a free agent, and played for Helena, Montana in the Pioneer League.

Braun was a 4-year letterman on the Granada Hills High School baseball team, and 3-year team captain and MVP. He played shortstop, and also pitched until his junior year. As a sophomore in 2000 he recorded the highest batting average of his prep career (.456), while posting a .654 on base percentage. During his junior year he hit .421, with a .668 OBP. Braun capped off his high school career by batting .451 as a senior, with an OBP of .675, and breaking the school record for career home runs (with 25).

He was a two-time all-area selection by the Los Angeles Times, and a three-time choice by the Los Angeles Daily News. Braun was rated the 6th-best shortstop prospect in the country by Team One Baseball as a senior, and rated among the top 100 overall prospects by Baseball America. He graduated in 2002, but went undrafted as he told teams that he intended to go to college.

Offered scholarships to Stanford University and UC-Berkeley, he instead attended the University of Miami. He chose Miami for its academics, its athletics, and its social scene, noting: "I think the girls were the deal closer on the recruiting trip." There, Braun was named "National Freshman of the Year," as well as a 1st-team "Freshman All-American," by Baseball America in 2003. He was also named 1st-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He clinched the awards by batting .364 with 76 RBIs and 17 home runs. As a sophomore shortstop/DH, Braun hit .335 and slugged .606, stealing 21 bases.

During his junior year, his final and most successful at Miami, Braun batted .396 with 18 home runs, a .726 slugging percentage, 76 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases. He was 9th in slugging, and 10th in RBIs, in NCAA Division I, and was named to Baseball America's 2005 College All-American Team as the DH. He moved from shortstop to third base during the year. His performance earned Braun a spot as one of the finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, the most prestigious individual award in college baseball.

The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Braun in the 1st round (5th overall) in the 2005 Amateur Baseball draft as a third baseman, and Braun signed for $2.45 million. Assigned to the Helena Brewers in the Advanced Rookie Pioneer League in 2005, Braun batted .341/.383/.585 in 10 games. He was then promoted to the West Virginia Power in the Single-A South Atlantic League, where he hit .355/.396/.645, and was rated the 5th-best prospect in the league. His most memorable moment there was when he hit a walk-off grand slam to lead the Power into the playoffs. Following the 2005 season he was rated by Baseball America as the Brewers' Best Minor League Hitter for Average, and the 5th-best prospect in the South Atlantic League, and the 3rd-best prospect in the Brewers organization.

Braun began 2006 playing for the A-Advanced Brevard County Manatees, where he earned a spot in the Florida State League All-Star game, and played in the All-Star Futures Game in Pittsburgh. He was rated the top third base prospect in the FSL, and Baseball America rated Braun the best batting prospect in the league. On June 21, Braun was promoted to the Class AA Huntsville Stars (Alabama) of the Southern League. In July he was voted the Brewers' Organizational Player of the Month, and at the end of the season he was voted the 6th-best prospect in the Southern League. Collectively between Class A and Class AA, Braun finished with a .289 average, 22 home runs, 77 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases. He received the 2006 Robin Yount Performance Award as the Milwaukee Brewers Minor League player of the year.

In 2006 in the Arizona Fall League he hit .326/.396/.641 in 92 at-bats for the Scottsdale Scorpions, and was rated as one of the top three prospects in the league. He led the AFL with 16 extra-base hits, tied for tops with 9 doubles, ranked 2nd in slugging percentage and HR/AB ratio (1/15), tied for 2nd in home runs (6), tied for 3rd in RBIs (25), and was voted to the AFL All-Prospects Team.

Baseball America rated Braun the Brewers' # 2 prospect for 2007. He began the year with the Nashville Sounds of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Before being called up to the majors in late May, in 113 at bats he led the PCL with a .726 slugging percentage while batting .354 (6th), with 10 home runs (T-2nd) and a .426 on base percentage (5th). At the same time, Craig Counsell and Tony Graffanino were batting a combined .214 while playing third base for the major league club.

Braun has used as at-bat songs "Superstar," by Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco, "Go Getta," by Young Jeezy, and "My Life" by The Game.

In 2007 Braun had one of the most dominant rookie seasons in the history of the game.

On May 24th, Braun was called up by the Brewers. He hit his first major league home run two nights later, off Padres' starter Justin Germano.

His rookie hazing took place on his first full road trip after being called up. "I had to carry bags. I had to sing on the bus." With headphones to his iPod plugged into one ear, he sang "On Bended Knee" and "Water Runs Dry" by Boyz II Men. "I was into it, but I don't think my voice was too great. I feel like I'm going to have to dress up soon." That did in fact happen later; in September he was inducted into the annual rite of Brewers' rookies being required to put on silly costumes, and wore a hot dog costume for a team flight to Atlanta.

Braun was voted the National League Rookie of the Month for June, after leading all N.L. rookies with 21 RBIs. He hit 6 home runs, tying him for 1st among N.L. rookies, while recording a .716 slugging percentage and a .435 on base percentage. In July he was voted the National League Rookie of the Month for the second straight month, as well as the NL Player of the Month (marking the first time a player won both awards in the same month). He hit a league-leading 11 home runs, with 25 RBIs, while batting .345.

In mid-August, Yost moved Braun from 3rd in the lineup to cleanup, switching him with Prince Fielder. The move was expected to allow Braun to steal more, since when he batted in front of Fielder, it did not make sense for him to risk getting thrown out on steal attempts. In addition, if he were successful stealing, teams could simply counter by walking Fielder. The switch also allowed Yost to move left-handed Geoff Jenkins up in the batting order, behind the right-handed Braun. At the end of August, however, Yost reversed the switch.

In September, as the Brewers sought in vain to capture the pennant, he was 3rd in the NL in runs (27) and RBIs (29), and tied for 5th in home runs (9), while batting .308 with a .644 slugging percentage.

Season Stats. In 2007, during which he played in 113 games and had 492 plate appearances, Braun led the National League with a .634 slugging percentage. He set a new all-time major league rookie slugging percentage record, breaking the record set by Mark McGwire, who slugged .618 for Oakland in 1987.

He was also 5th in the league in at bats per home run (13.3; behind Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Barry Bonds, and Adam Dunn) and OPS (1.004; behind Bonds, Chipper Jones, Fielder, and Matt Holliday), tied for 5th in home runs (34; behind Fielder, Howard, Dunn, and Holliday), and 8th in batting average (.324) among hitters with at least 490 plate appearances.

He also led the Brewers in batting average and slugging percentage, and was 2nd behind Fielder in home runs, runs (91), and RBIs (97), tied for 2nd in triples (6), and 3rd in obp (.370) and steals (15) -- despite not having played in the first 48 games of the season. Braun obliterated the club rookie records of 28 home runs and 81 RBIs, set by Fielder in 2006. A projection of his statistics over 162 games put him at 49 homers and 139 RBIs.

Home Run Pace.

On July 7th Braun became the fastest Brewer ever to hit his 10th major league home run, hitting it in his 38th game, shattering the previous record of 61. He hit his 15th home run in the 50th game of his career, and his 20th in his 64th game, making him the fastest to 15 and 20 since Albert Pujols got there in the 49th and 63rd games of his career in 2001. He was also the fastest to 20 in Brewers history. He hit his 25th home run in his 82nd game, quicker than any player since Mark McGwire in 1987, becoming just the 21st player ever to hit that many homers as a rookie. He broke the Brewer rookie record of 28 home runs on September 9th. Braun hit his 30th home in his 94th game. No player had hit as many homers in so few at-bats since Mark McGwire hit 30 in 84 games during the 1986 and 1987 seasons. His 34 home runs for the season were just 4 behind the NL rookie record of 38 home runs, shared by Frank Robinson (1956) and Wally Berger (1930), and were the fifth-highest total ever for an NL rookie.

NL Batting Title Race. Braun had the 8th-highest batting average in the National League in 2007, among players with 490 or more plate appearances. He finished with 492 plate appearances, 10 short of the number needed to qualify for the NL batting title. Though he didn't have a high enough batting average to take advantage of it, an exception to the qualification rule kicks in and a player is awarded the title if he falls short of 502 plate appearances, but would still have the highest batting average if enough hitless at-bats were added to his total to enable him to reach the 502 mark.

In 2007, Braun led all NL rookies in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, extra base hits, home runs, and at bats per home run. He was 2nd in RBIs and runs (behind Troy Tulowitzki; 2 and 10 fewer, respectively, in 158 fewer at bats) and in triples (behind Hunter Pence), 3rd in hits, and tied for 4th in stolen bases.

He was 4th in strikeouts (behind Young, Tulowitzki, and Mark Reynolds; with the highest strikeout ratio of rookies with at least 400 at bats, at 24.83%; Young was 2nd, at 24.78%), 3rd to Carlos Ruiz (in 77 more at bats) and Tulowitzki (in 158 fewer at bats) in grounding into double plays (13), and tied for 5th in caught stealing (5).

Since 1947, Pujols was the only other NL rookie to hit at least .320 with 30 homers. Of all prior NL Rookies of the Year, only Pujols and Willie McCovey hit for higher batting averages in their rookie year.

Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year. Braun was voted the 2007 NL Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award. The vote was by 488 major league players and 30 managers.

Baseball America Rookie of the Year. Braun was awarded the 2007 Baseball America Rookie of the Year.

Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball NL Rookie of the Year. Braun won the Baseball Prospectus 2007 Internet Baseball NL Rookie of the Year Award. He had 666 first place votes, versus 487 for Tulowitzki and 16 for Pence.

Topps Rookie All-Star Third Baseman. Braun was a unanimous selection as the 2007 Topps Rookie All-Star Third Baseman. The selection was the result of the 49th annual Topps balloting of Major League managers.

Brewers' Top Newcomer. In October, he was voted the Brewers' Top Newcomer. The award was voted by the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

NL MVP vote. Braun was mentioned as a top NL MVP candidate by writers at Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Philadelphia Daily News. In the end, he received two 10th place votes.

This Year in Baseball Rookie of the Year vote. Braun finished third in the This Year in Baseball Rookie of the Year Award voted on by fans, with 22.3% of the vote, behind Tulowitzki (27.6%) and Dustin Pedroia (26.3%).

In spring training, Braun hit .368/.431/.719, and tied for 3rd in the NL in home runs with 5, and 7th in RBIs with 16, while playing in only 22 of the Brewers' 29 games.

At the beginning of the season it was anticipated that Braun would hit cleanup, behind Fielder, giving him more opportunities to steal, but during the season he batted third the vast majority of the time.

In May Braun was second in the league in home runs (11), while batting .322. On June 17th, Braun drove in his 152nd career RBI, in 182 games. He reached the 150-RBI milestone faster than any Major Leaguer since Boston's Walt Dropo needed only 155 games from 1949-51.

Braun was named the NL's Player of the Month for July, after batting .366 for the month (6th in the league) with 9 home runs (3rd), and 23 RBIs (7th). He also led the league with 76 total bases and 18 extra base hits, and was among NL leaders with 37 hits (2nd), 3 triples (2nd), a 1.163 OPS (3rd), and a .752 slugging percentage (4th). He had back-to-back 4-hit games, just the 5th player in team history to accomplish that feat. "It's a huge honor," Braun said before beginning a three-game series against the Reds. "The way I look at it, you're the MVP of the National League for that month. It's definitely a big accomplishment.

As of August 8th, Braun had had one of the best major league career starts ever. He was first, in 227 games to start a career, with 558 total bases and 133 extra base hits, second with 64 home runs, and tied for second with 181 RBIs.

On August 9th, Braun strained the intercostal muscles around his oblique ribcage, leading to him missing a number of games. After returning, on September 25th Braun hit his first grand slam in "grand" fashion. With the bases loaded, Braun delivered a 2-out, 2-2 pitch from the Pirates' Jesse Chavez into the left field bleachers of Miller Park in the bottom of the 10th inning, winning the game 5–1, and keeping the Brewers' 2008 post-season hopes alive. Three days later Braun helped put the Brewers into the post-season for the first time since 1982, by hitting a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 8th against the Chicago Cubs. The homer gave the Brewers the lead and was the difference in the game, giving the Brewers a one-game lead over the New York Mets for the NL wild card.

All Star Game. Braun was a starting outfielder for the NL in the 2008 All Star Game. He finished first in fan voting among NL outfielders, and second among all NL players, with 3,835,840 votes, behind only Chase Utley of the Phillies (3,889,602). He also finished first in player voting. Braun was the first Brewers outfielder voted to start an All Star game. He was one of only seven first-time starters in the game, and--along with Kosuke Fukudome and Josh Hamilton--one of only three who had not reached the major leagues until 2007 or 2008.

Home Run Pace. On June 3rd, Braun became the second-fastest major league player to reach 50 career home runs. He did so in 171 career games (the only player to reach that plateau sooner was Mark McGwire). On July 8th, Braun hit his 56th home run in his 200th game, the third-highest total ever in a major leaguer's initial 200 games, behind McGwire (59) and Rudy York (59).

In early August Braun hit his 30th home run, becoming just the second player in MLB history to hit 30 or more homers in each of his first two seasons, joining Albert Pujols. Braun hit 71 home runs in his first two seasons, tieing him with Pujols for fourth all-time. Joe DiMaggio tops the list with 75 home runs in 1936 and 1937, followed by Ralph Kiner (74), and Eddie Mathews (72).

Season Stats. In 2008, in 151 games Braun hit 37 home runs (tied for 4th in the NL, behind Ryan Howard, Adam Dunn, and Carlos Delgado), with 106 RBIs (9th), and batted .285 with a .553 slugging percentage (5th). He also led the league with 83 extra base hits, and had 338 total bases (2nd in the NL), 7 triples (6th), 16.5 at bats per home run (10th), and 611 at bats (10th).

Against starting pitchers, Braun hit .244 the first time he faced them in a game, .331 the second time, and .328 with a .672 slugging percentage the third time. Braun led the Brewers in batting average, slugging percentage, triples, home runs, RBIs, extra base hits, total bases, at-bats-per-home run, OPS (.888), runs (92), and hits (174).

Post-season Braun's played his first post-season series in October against the Phillies. Braun hit 313 in the series, but the Brewers lost 3–1.

Contract. In March the Brewers renewed Braun's contract for $455,000, a $75,000 increase.

Braun then signed an 8-year, $45-$51 million contract extension (the total depending on his 'Super 2' service-time ranking after the 2009 season) on May 15, 2008. The contract is through the year 2015. The deal includes Braun's $455,000 salary for 2008, and a $2.3 million bonus in 2008. It could increase to $51 million through incentives. Braun also has a no-trade clause for the first four years, and then a limited no-trade clause allowing him to block deals to 12 teams from 2012–13, and 6 teams from 2014–15. The contract will keep Braun locked up through his age-31 season. It is the largest contract in Brewers' history, surpassing Jeff Suppan's. It is also the largest contract in baseball history given to a player with less than 3 years of experience. Braun's agent, Nez Balelo, crunched enough numbers to show him what he potentially could have made over the life of this contract if he had chosen not to sign it. "But the question I ultimately asked myself was, `What can't I buy with that amount of money?"' Braun said.

Sporting News NL All Star Team. Braun was voted to the 2008 NL Sporting News All Star Team. A panel of 41 major league general managers and assistant general managers chose the team.

Silver Slugger Award. Braun was awarded the 2008 NL Outfielder Silver Slugger Award, determined annually by a vote of major league coaches and managers who select the top offensive performers at each position in both leagues. The award, sponsored by Louisville Slugger, is based on a combination of statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage, as well as the coaches' and managers' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value.

MVP Race. Braun was third in the voting for the 2008 NL MVP award, with 139 points..

Braun has accepted an invitation to play for Team USA in 2009 in the second World Baseball Classic, the 16-team tournament scheduled for March 5-23 at locations around the world. "I'm really excited to get to represent my country," Braun said. "It's an honor just to get invited for the event, and I think it's going to be great." He may well see significant playing time in the tournament, as he is the only candidate who spent 2008 primarily in left field.

Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projections for 2009 anticipte that Braun will come in second in the NL in home runs, with 37, while hitting .296.

Braun has the ability to hit for average and significant power. His swing is compact and short, with a protracted follow-through, and he is a pull hitter with tremendous bat speed and strong wrists. He stays back on offspeed pitches, and uses the entire field.

In addition, his speed garnered him comparisons to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Braun has been timed at 4.2 seconds to first base from the right side of the plate. During Scout Day at the University of Miami in 2004, Braun ran the 60-yard dash in 6.2 seconds. In spring training in 2007, he was second only to Corey Hart in the Brewers' 60-yard dash.

While Yost removed Braun from a number of games in September 2007 for defense, he praised Braun for his improvements. "The great thing about it is it doesn't involve throwing at all now," said Yost, referring to Braun's biggest issue in the spring. "It involves first-step quickness to the ball, which will increase his range. soften his hands a little bit. hand-eye coordination to the ball needs to be a little better. That comes with repetition, repetition, repetition." Braun finished 2007 last of all eligible third basemen in fielding percentage (.895, with 26 errors in 248 total chances; only the fourth third baseman since 1916 to play 100 games or more in a season and have a fielding percentage under .900), range factor (2.11), and zone rating (.697). His target at first base was Prince Fielder, who finished 2007 last of all eligible major league first basemen in range factor (8.49), and first in errors (14). Similarly, his target at second base, Rickie Weeks, had the lowest fielding percentage of all NL second basemen (.976), and the lowest zone rating among all major league second basemen, .737.

Furthermore, it was suggested that it was possible that Braun would learn to play the position adequately, given that David Wright (who tied for the major league lead in errors by a third baseman in 2005 (his second in the league) in 2007 became a "passable defender" (and won the NL Gold Glove at third base).

In January 2008, however, the Brewers acquired three-time Gold Glove winning center fielder Mike Cameron, prompting the team to move center fielder Bill Hall to third base and Braun to left field.

In 2008, Braun led all major league outfielders with a 1.000 fielding percentage. He also led all NL left fielders in putouts (275), and was second in the league in range factor (1.95) and fourth in assists (9), in 1,310.1 innings.

Roll over stat abbreviations for definitions. Stats through September 28, 2008.

Braun is developing his own signature fashionable t-shirt line for Affliction Clothing, a California-based clothing manufacturer owned by friends of his which manufactures shirts that are garment dyed and hand distressed. In August 2008 he filmed a YouTube video with supermodel Marisa Miller for Remington's ShortCut clippers, which was released in the fall. And in October 2008, Apple released a commercial for its new iPhone, which showed a clip of Braun's 10th inning walk-off grand slam against the Pittsburgh Pirates on 9/25/08, which kept the Brewers' Wild Card hopes alive.

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Jorge de la Rosa

Jorge Alberto de la Rosa Gonzalez (born April 5, 1981 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) is a starting pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.

During the 2006 season, Brewers starting pitchers Ben Sheets, Tomo Ohka, and long relief man Rick Helling were injured, leaving the fifth spot open. The Brewers inserted de la Rosa in the starting role after an unsuccessful stint with Dana Eveland. In 3 starts, he went 0-2 with an 12.27 ERA. In his third start, he was removed because of blisters on his finger. He was then placed on the 15 day DL.

De la Rosa was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Tony Graffanino during the 2006 season. In his first start for the Kansas City Royals, he pitched 6 innings allowing 2 ER and getting the win. De la Rosa played for the Mexican baseball team during the World Baseball Classic.

On April 30, 2008 he was traded to the Colorado Rockies, completing the earlier trade that sent pitcher Ramón Ramírez to the Royals.

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1998 National League Championship Series

The 1998 National League Championship Series, to determine the champion of Major League Baseball's National League, was played from October 7 to October 14 between the East Division champion Atlanta Braves and the West Division champion San Diego Padres.

The Braves entered the playoffs for the seventh straight season with a franchise-record 106 regular season wins, an offense that hit 215 home runs, and a pitching staff made up of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle, and Kevin Millwood to the playoffs. However, they also carried the baggage of their embarrassing NLCS loss to the Florida Marlins the previous season. In the NLDS, the Braves swept Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs.

After a 76–86 season in 1997, San Diego stormed out and took control of their division, finishing with a 98–64 record, their best in team history. The offense was led by the 50 home run club's newest member, Greg Vaughn, and by Hall of Fame-Elect Tony Gwynn. The San Diego rotation was anchored by 18-game winner Kevin Brown, who helped Florida defeat Atlanta in the 1997 NLCS. Closer Trevor Hoffman saved an astounding 53 games in the regular season. The Padres defeated the favored Houston Astros in four games in the NLDS.

It was the seventh-consecutive NLCS appearance for the Braves and they would be heavily-favored against the Padres.

With John Smoltz on the mound, the Braves were staked out to a 1–0 lead when Andruw Jones hit a solo home run to lead off the third inning off Andy Ashby. The Padres tied the game in the fifth when Tony Gwynn, appearing in his first NLCS since 1984, hit an RBI single. An error by first baseman Andrés Galarraga helped San Diego take a 2–1 lead in the eighth. In the bottom half of the inning, closer Trevor Hoffman came into the game early to end a Braves' scoring threat. However, in the ninth, the Braves got the tying run off him when Ryan Klesko scored on a sacrifice fly. In the tenth, Ken Caminiti belted a home run off reliever Kerry Ligtenberg to give San Diego their winning margin. The Braves put two men on the bottom of the inning, but Galarraga flew out to end the game.

After the tightly-contested Game 1, Kevin Brown, who was developing a reputation as a "Brave killer," absolutely shut down the Atlanta offense, pitching a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts. Tom Glavine matched Brown until the sixth, when Quilvio Veras brought in a run with a single. San Diego added two insurance runs in the ninth before Brown remained in the game to pitch a perfect ninth and put the Braves down two games to none.

The Braves offense was held quiet again and San Diego went up three games to none. Atlanta sent Greg Maddux to the hill and he led 1-0 after four innings, but the Padres tagged him for two runs in the fifth with Steve Finley and Ken Caminiti driving in runs. The Braves loaded the bases in the sixth with only one out, but Donne Wall struck out Michael Tucker and Greg Colbrunn to end the threat. An error by Ryan Klesko and a passed ball on Javy López helped the Padres add two runs in the eighth. Trevor Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth and San Diego took Game 3 by a score of 4–1. Starter Sterling Hitchcock got the win with five innings pitched and one run allowed. Atlanta now appeared to be in an insurmountable hole - no team had ever come back from a three games to none deficit in baseball history.

San Diego was looking for a sweep and they took the first step by taking a 2–0 lead in the third. The Braves tied it in sixth on a Ryan Klesko RBI single, but San Diego retook the lead in the bottom of the inning when Jim Leyritz, two years removed from his crucial home run against the Braves in the 1996 World Series, hit a solo shot off Denny Neagle. The Braves would refuse to go quietly, exploding for six runs in the seventh inning. Javy López led off with a home run, followed by an Andruw Jones single that ended the night for Padres starter Joey Hamilton. Ozzie Guillén brought the go-ahead run home with a single before Andrés Galarraga launched a grand slam that left Atlanta ahead 8–3. The Braves, who used six pitchers in the win, avoided the sweep.

After Atlanta's offensive outburst in Game 4 to stay alive, the Padres hoped to close out the Braves in front of their home fans in Game 5. They sent Andy Ashby to the hill against Atlanta starter John Smoltz. Ken Caminiti got things started with a two-run shot off Smoltz to give San Diego the early lead. Andruw Jones, who was caught stealing home in the fourth, stole second base in the fifth with two outs, allowing himself to score on a Michael Tucker single to tie the game 2–2. However, John Vander Wal, who had five home runs all year, hit a two-run homer off Smoltz that put San Diego back on top 4–2. After a single by Ozzie Guillén to start the seventh, manager Bruce Bochy brought starter Kevin Brown into the game. Brown retired the first three Braves he faced. The Padres threatened in the bottom of the seventh, but John Rocker came in for Smoltz and retired Tony Gwynn. Still holding a 4–2 lead, Brown was set to pitch the eighth for San Diego. He allowed the first two batters to reach but got Andruw Jones to pop out, bringing the Padres five outs away from a championship. Then Michael Tucker got a hold of a Brown fastball and launched a flyball to deep right center field that left the park and put Atlanta ahead 5–4. Bochy got Brown out of the game, replacing him with Donne Wall, but Tony Graffanino doubled, scoring another run, then crossed home himself when Chris Gomez committed an error. Behind 7–4 and stunned, the Padres attempted to rally in the ninth. Greg Myers belted a pinch-hit two-run homer with no one out to make it 7–6, prompting Bobby Cox to bring in Greg Maddux in relief. Maddux retired the side, with nemesis Tony Gwynn grounding out to finish the game, and earned his first ever career save. This wild game cut San Diego's series lead to one game, and with the series returning to Atlanta with Tom Glavine set to pitch, many believed that the Braves had a serious chance of coming back. This Braves win marked the first time in baseball history that a team had come back from a three games to none (in a best of seven series) deficit to reach a Game 6.

After Kevin Brown's disastrous outing in Game 5, he unable to come back for Game 6, forcing the Padres to instead start Sterling Hitchcock. The Braves had become the first team to force a Game 6 after dropping the first three games, but any dreams of a historic comeback were to be crushed. Hitchcock pitched five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Glavine looked good but ran into trouble in the sixth. Jim Leyritz had an RBI groundout that scored the first run before Wally Joyner added a single that made it 2–0. Sterling Hitchcock reached on a costly error by left fielder Danny Bautista that opened the floodgates. Glavine left the game and John Rocker promptly gave up RBI singles to Quilvio Veras and Tony Gwynn. The unearned runs made it 5–0 and the San Diego bullpen would pitch a hitless final four innings. The Braves only managed two hits the entire game. Hitchcock, who won two games, was named the series MVP.

Here's the 1-1 pitch. It's on the way to Tucker. Drive left-center field in the air coming on quickly. Finley, he's under it. He's got it. And the Padres drape the National League flag around their shoulders for 1998! Oh ho Doctor!

Driven into deep right field! At the track, at the wall! A three run home run Michael Tucker! And the Atlanta Braves take a 5-4 eighth inning lead!

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Tanyon Sturtze

Tanyon James Sturtze (born October 12, 1970 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

He attended Quinsigamond Community College and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. In 1994, he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the minor league portion of the Rule V draft. He pitched two innings, allowing two runs, with the major league team that year. He spent the next two seasons alternating between the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and the Chicago Cubs, and in 1997, he signed with the Texas Rangers, again alternating between the major and minor league squads. In 1998, he did not play major league ball, and in 1999, he became a member of the Chicago White Sox, becoming a permanent major league reliever. He was dealt to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for Tony Graffanino in the 2000 season, and became a key starter for the perennially last-place Devil Rays. However, the 2002 season was a dismal one for Sturtze; he had a 4-18 record and led the majors in losses (18), earned runs allowed (129), hits allowed (271), walks allowed (89) and batters faced (1008), leading to the nickname "Ten-Run Sturtze." He was also seventh in innings pitched (224) and games started (33), and third in home runs allowed (33).

In 2003, he joined the Toronto Blue Jays, and in 2004, he joined the New York Yankees, where he became a consistent reliever, helping the Yankees to win the AL East in 2004. On July 25, 2004, he was involved in a brawl with the Boston Red Sox. After a fight broke out between Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez, Sturtze tangled with Gabe Kapler, David Ortiz, and Trot Nixon, and he emerged from the fight with a cut below his ear and blood smeared on his jersey. He missed most of the 2006 season after having season-ending surgery to repair a slight tear in his right rotator cuff.

On December 3, 2006, Sturtze signed a one year $750,000 contract with the Atlanta Braves. The contract paid him an additional $350,000 if he spent one day on the active 25 man roster. However, in March 2007, Sturtze was placed on the 15-day DL, he was transferred to the 60-day DL in May 2007 and given his unconditional release on August 21.

Sturtze was signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training by the Los Angeles Dodgers on December 12, 2007. He was assigned to the Dodgers Double-A affiliate, the Jacksonville Suns and was later promoted to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. He was called up to the majors on August 14, 2008, but was designated for assignment on August 28, and was sent outright to the minors a few days later. Sturtze requested to stay with the team in some capacity, so he was made a bullpen catcher for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs.

In January 2009, Sturtze re-signed with the Dodgers to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

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2007 Milwaukee Brewers season

The 2007 Milwaukee Brewers season marked the 25th anniversary of the Milwaukee Brewers winning the American League Championship and the 50th anniversary of the Milwaukee Braves winning the World Series. During the offseason, the Brewers re-signed free agents Bill Hall and Chris Capuano. The Brewers were also able to sign starting pitcher Jeff Suppan, second-baseman Craig Counsell, and third baseman Tony Graffanino from free agency.

The Brewers finished in second place in the National League Central with a record of 83-79.

The Brewers headed into the season celebrating their 25th anniversary of their American League Championship. They prepared for the season by hosting reunions and premiering a video of the 1982 team at the Pabst Theater. The Brewers announced they would celebrate the 1982 team on "Retro Fridays" by having fan give-aways relating to the pennant-winning team. Milwaukee also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves victory in the World Series.

During the offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers increased their payroll from $54.5 million to $68 million, a significant amount for a small-market team. The Brewers re-signed arbitration-eligible pitcher Chris Capuano, whose salary increased from $450,000 to $3.25 million, and arbitration-eligible Bill Hall, who signed a four-year, $24 million contract, largest on the team. Both were members of the Brewers team in 2006. The Brewers were able to acquire free agent starting pitcher Jeff Suppan from the St. Louis Cardinals by signing him to a four-year, $42 million deal. They also signed second-baseman Craig Counsell of the Arizona Diamondbacks and third-baseman Tony Graffanino of the Kansas City Royals off of free agency.

The Brewers 2007 season began with a 7-1 victory on opening day over the Los Angeles Dodgers behind a complete game two-hitter by starting-pitcher Ben Sheets, becoming the first Brewer pitcher since 1979 to throw a complete game on opening day. The Brewers would win their next game before dropping three in a row, including one to the Dodgers and the first two games of a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs. With a record of .500 after the first homestand of the season, the Brewers went on the road to win two games of a three-game set with the Florida Marlins. Continuing their road trip, the Brewers split games against the Cardinals after the first game of the series was postponed due to rain. After splitting games with the Cincinnati Reds, the Brewers moved into first place in the NL Central. The Brewers returned to Miller Park to win four of their next five games, sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates and winning twice against the Houston Astros.

The Brewers played on the road for their next six games, winning two of three games against both the Cubs and Astros. The Brewers finished the month of April with a win against the Cardinals, in which Brewers starting pitcher Jeff Suppan pitched a complete game. During this game all players wore a special black "32" patch on their left arms to commemorate recently-deceased Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock. Suppan's win gave him four on the season, tying him with Chris Capuano for the team lead after April. Brewers closer Francisco Cordero recorded a franchise record and league-leading ten saves in the month of April. Cordero finished April without allowing an earned run in twelve appearances. The Brewers ended the month with a 3½ game lead in the NL Central.

The Brewers started May by completing a three-game sweep of the Cardinals and improved to an MLB-leading 18-9 record. The Brewers went on to win six of their next seven games; they won three of four against the Pirates and swept a three-game series with the Washington Nationals.

The Brewers hit a slump when they went on an east coast trip to face the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies, posting a 2-5 record. The Brewers returned home to face their interleague rivals, the Minnesota Twins. The Brewers won the last of a three game series, a game which saw Geoff Jenkins hit his 200th home run. The Brewers then traveled to California for a six game road-trip. They lost two of three from the Dodgers and were swept by the San Diego Padres. On May 24 during the San Diego Padres series, the Brewers called up Ryan Braun from the minor league Nashville Sounds. Braun became the Brewers starting third-baseman was placed in the third batting spot, ahead of Prince Fielder.

The Brewers returned home to start a ten game home-stand, winning two of four games against the Atlanta Braves. At the end of May, first baseman Prince Fielder was voted the National League's Player of the Month. Fielder lead the league in home runs with 19 and recorded a .755 on base percentage and a .321 batting average. The Brewers played the Florida Marlins to continue their home-stand. They won two of a three games to give the Brewers their first series victory since May 9. The win gave the Brewers a 6 1/2 lead in the NL Central. The Brewers finished their home-stand losing two of three games to the Chicago Cubs.

The Brewers started a nine-game interleague road trip with a series against the Texas Rangers. The Brewers lost the first two games against the struggling Rangers. In the second game of the series, former Ranger Francisco Cordero recorded his first blown save of the year. Before the game, Cordero held a 0.36 earned run average and an MLB-leading 22 saves. The following day, Cordero gave up his second blown save after the Rangers tied the game in the ninth inning. The Brewers would eventually win the game, snapping their seven-game losing streak after a Geoff Jenkins home run in the twelfth inning. On June 12th, Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers pitched a no hitter against the Brewers. The no hitter was the first for the Tigers since 1984. The loss was the Brewers 20th in their past 30 games.

Following the no hitter, the Brewers recorded eleven hits and defeated the Tigers in a come-back win. The following day, the Brewers defeated the Tigers to win the series. The Brewers traveled to Minnesota to face the rival Twins. In the first game, the Brewers recorded fifteen hits with a 11-3 win. In the three games following the no hitter, the Brewers recorded 39 hits and 20 runs. The Brewers were victorious in two of three games against the Twins.

After their road-stint, the Brewers came home for their next nine games. After starting-pitcher Chris Capuano was placed on the disabled-list, the Brewers called up Yovani Gallardo from the minor leagues. Gallardo pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, and hit an RBI double in front of a sell-out crowd to give the Brewers their fifth win in six games against the San Francisco Giants. The following day the Brewers clinched their third straight series victory, with Ben Sheets pitching his second complete game of the year. The Brewers would go on to sweep the Giants and win two of three games from the Kansas City Royals. The Brewers would follow with another series sweep against the Houston Astros, winning the third game of the series in part because of an 11th inning walk-off home run by back-up catcher Damian Miller. The Brewers were 8-1 on the home-stand.

After their successful home stand, the Brewers went on the road for three series before the All-Star break. The Brewers defeated the second place Cubs in one of three games. During the series it was announced that Prince Fielder, Ben Sheets, J.J. Hardy and Francisco Cordero would be attending the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. This would be the first time four Brewer representatives have attended since 1983, when the Brewers were in the American League and the all-star team was managed by Milwaukee skipper Harvey Kuenn.

At the end of June Ben Sheets was named pitcher of the month and Ryan Braun the rookie of the month. Sheets was 5-0 with a 2.16 ERA in six starts, and Braun recorded a .382 average with six home runs, 21 RBI, a .716 slugging percentage.

Following their series in Chicago, the Brewers traveled to Pittsburgh to face the fourth-place Pirates. The Brewers won the first game of a four-game series. In the game Damian Miller hit a franchise tying seven RBIs and a grand slam in his first start after his walk-off home run at Miller Park. The Brewers then won one of three games against the Nationals and ended up 3-7 on the road trip.

The Brewers went into the All-Star break 10 games above .500, and a 4½ game lead on the Cubs. The Brewers then had 18 games scheduled in a 17 day period. The Brewers started the stretch with a 6-4 homestand, but then went on to lose 6 of 8 on the road. With their first off day in 2½ weeks, the Brewers record stood at 57-48, but the Cubs had moved to within a game and a half of the division lead. Then, on the final day of July, the Brewers were able to defeat the Mets in a 13 inning game, due to a Geoff Jenkins walk-off home run. After the game, Rickie Weeks was sent down to AAA Nashville. For the first time in over a hundred days, the division lead did not belong to the Brewers.

The Brewers frustrations continued in August, resulting in a dugout altercation during a loss to the Mets between Johnny Estrada and manager Ned Yost on August 2, 2007. Later, on August 8, infielder Tony Graffanino tore his ACL in a 19-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies, resulting in his loss for the season. The Brewers then called up Weeks to take his place on the roster.

In August Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder was suspended 3 games for arguing with the home plate umpire Wally Bell.

On August 29th, the Brewers slipped into 3rd place behind the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals and are one game below .500 for the first time since April 6th.

Despite tumbling in August the Brewers started September on a high note to be tied with the Chicago cubs for first place in the division. For the first time in over 15 years in Brewers history a coin toss was held to decide homefield advantage should the Cardinals, Cubs and Brewers tie for the division. One coin toss decided that the Brewers would host St. Louis, while the other decided that the Brewers would travel to Chicago for any one game playoff that may be needed.

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Tony Graffanino

Anthony Joseph Graffanino (pronounced /ˈɡɹæfɨˌniːnoʊ̪/) (born Anthony Joseph Graffagnino on June 6, 1972 in Amityville, New York) is an infielder in Major League Baseball in the Cleveland Indians organizaion.

Graffanino is primarily a contact hitter (just 481 strikeouts in 2787 big-league at-bats) who is able to get on base (career .336 OBP) – and his speed is above average, with 53 stolen bases in 78 attempts. He excels as a situational hitter, being capable of hitting behind the runner and dropping down a bunt. As a fielder, he has the ability to play every infield position and left field. He has an above-average arm, which helps him in the LF and on the left side of the infield.

During Graffanino's minor league career, he spent time with Pulaski in 1990, the Idaho Falls Braves of the Pioneer League in 1991, the Macon Braves of the South Atlantic League in 1992, the Durham Bulls in 1993 and the Greenville Braves of the Southern League in 1994.

After spending three years with the Atlanta Braves, 2 1⁄2 seasons with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and another 3 1⁄2 with the Chicago White Sox, Graffanino played only second base for the Kansas City Royals in 2004, but moved around more in 2005. Obtained by the Boston Red Sox after the All-Star Game, he started at second base following the cut of Mark Bellhorn.

In 2005, Graffanino hit .298 for the Royals and .319 with the Red Sox for a combined .309 (117-for-379), a career high. He also posted career numbers in RBI (38), runs (68), doubles (17), games (110), and hits. He received some notoriety, particularly in New England, for making an error in the fifth inning of Game Two of the 2005 American League Division Series which led to three unearned runs. The runs came on a two out, three run home run by White Sox 2B Tadahito Iguchi which proved to be the game winning hit. The Red Sox were swept in that series.

Graffanino was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers at the 2006 All-Star Break for left-handed pitcher, Jorge De La Rosa.

In 2007, Graffanino struggled to begin the year, but after the call up of talented prospect Ryan Braun, Graffanino seemed to be invigorated and raised his sub .200 batting average to over .240 over a month's time. He slugged nine home runs in only 231 at bats that season. But on August 8, Graffanino tore his ACL, ending his season with a .238 batting average. After the 2007 World Series, he officially became a free agent.

On June 24, 2008, he signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. He hit .315 in 25 games and became a free agent at the end of the season. In February 2009, he re-signed with the Indians.

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2005 American League Division Series

The higher seed (#1 is the highest) had the home field advantage.

NOTE: The Yankees were designated the Eastern Division champions due to winning the season series 10-9 against the Red Sox. The Angels received home field advantage rather than the Yankees due to their winning the season series 6-4 against New York.

2005 was the first year since 2001 that the Minnesota Twins had not participated in the ALDS. Other than the White Sox' victory in the AL Central, the participants were identical to those of the previous year.

The two victorious teams went on to meet in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). The victorious White Sox advanced to defeat the National League champion Houston Astros and win the 2005 World Series.

Little did the Red Sox know when starter Matt Clement hit Scott Podsednik, the first batter he faced, that the rout was on. But the young pitcher never regained his control and finished by allowing seven runs on eight hits, three of which were homers, in only 3 1/3 innings. The White Sox also scored in the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 8th innings. The Red Sox were held to 2 runs by José Contreras, who went 7 2/3 innings, giving up just 2 earned runs on 8 hits. Four White Sox players hit home runs, including Podsednik, who had gone homerless in the regular season. It was his first home run since Sept. 30, 2004.

Mark Buehrle gave up two runs in the first and two runs in the third inning and David Wells (6 2/3 innings, 2 earned runs, 7 hits) looked tough, giving up only two hits in the first four innings. But in the White Sox half of the fifth, the White Sox struck pay-dirt. They scored five runs in the inning, three of which were unearned, due to an error by Boston’s Tony Graffanino. Buehrle (7 innings, 4 earned runs, 8 hits) earned the win, with the save going to Bobby Jenks.

For the first time since 1993, the White Sox secure their place in the ALCS by beating the Red Sox in the third consecutive game. The tough battle featured Freddy Garcia (5 innings, 5 hits, 3 earned runs) and Tim Wakefield (5 1/3 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs). Neither pitcher was very impressive, but both kept their team in the game. The White Sox struck first, scoring 2 in the third with the Red Sox replying in the fourth. In the sixth,Paul Konerko, with Jermaine Dye on base, hit a home run to put the White Sox in the lead for good. The Red Sox got one back in the bottom of the inning on a Manny Ramírez monster homer, but that was all they would get. El Duque, Orlando Hernández, came in to pitch with the bases loaded in the same inning with no outs. He induced Jason Varitek to foul out, Tony Graffanino to pop out to short, and Johnny Damon to strike out to end the inning without giving up another run. He proceeded to pitch three total innings, giving up 1 hit. Bobby Jenks came in to finish it, earning his second save of the series.

The Yankees were able to get to AL Cy Young Award winner, Bartolo Colón early. With the bases loaded in the top of the first, rookie Robinson Canó lifted a line drive over the reaching hand of left fielder Garrett Anderson. The double would clear the bases, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Again in the second inning, the Yankees would score, this time on a single by Jason Giambi that scored Derek Jeter. Yankee pitching had lacked for most of the 2005 season, and starter Mike Mussina was injured for some of the year. But in Game 1, Mussina looked at his best. Mussina started out by keeping the Angels out of the run column for 5 and 2/3 innings. Although the Angels scored a second run in the ninth, Mariano Rivera shut the door and gave the Yankees a 1-0 series lead.

In Game 2, the starters were John Lackey for the Angels and Chien-Ming Wang for the Yankees. The Yankees scored the first run of the game in the second when Robinson Canó doubled to left, allowing Hideki Matsui to come home. They made it 2-0 in the fifth after Alex Rodríguez walked and then moved to third on Jason Giambi's double. Rodríguez would score on Gary Sheffield's ground out. The Angels got on the board in the bottom of that inning on Juan Rivera's home run. In the sixth, Alex Rodríguez's error allowed Orlando Cabrera to make it to first base. He would move to second on Vladimir Guerrero's ground out and score on Bengie Molina's single, tying the game at 2. In the next inning, Wang's throwing error would allow Jeff DaVanon and Steve Finley to score on Cabrera's single, giving the Angels a 4-2 lead. In the eighth, Molina's home run extended the Angels lead to three. In the ninth, Jorge Posada's homer cut the lead back the two, but the Angels still won the game to even the series.

In Game 3, it was Randy Johnson pitching for the Yankees while Paul Byrd pitched for the Angels. Johnson ran into trouble early, giving up a three-run homer to Garret Anderson in the first and a two-run homer to Bengie Molina in the third to give the Angels a 5-0 lead. After allowing men on first and third with no outs in the fourth, Johnson was taken out of the game right in front of an entire stadium of booing fans. The Yankees rallied in the bottom of the inning. First, Hideki Matsui homered to put the Yanks on the board 5-1. Then Robinson Canó and Bernie Williams would single in. Cano scored on Jorge Posada's ground out and Williams on Derek Jeter's single. After Brendan Donnelly relieved Byrd, Jason Giambi's single scored Jeter and cut the Angels' lead to one. In the next inning, after Matsui walked, Cano doubled to left and a throwing error by Cabrera allowed Matsui to score and Cano to remain to first base. Scot Shields relieved Donnelly. Shield gave up a sacrifice fly to Bernie Williams that scored Cano, giving the Yankees a 6-5 lead, but that lead was short-lived. Reliever Aaron Small gave up two runs in the sixth to give the Angels the lead again. Tom Gordon allowed two unearned runs in the seventh and two earned runs in the eighth to give the Angels an 11-6 lead. Jeter's home run in the bottom of the eighth made it 11-7 Angels, but that was all the Yankees could muster up as the Angels won the game with that score and were only one win away from the ALCS.

The Angels struck first in Game 4, scoring two runs in the top of the sixth on two doubles by Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera off Yankees starting pitcher Shawn Chacon. The Yankees cut the lead to one in the bottom of the inning when Alex Rodriguez scored on Gary Sheffield's single off Angels starting pitcher John Lackey. In the bottom of the next inning, Robinson Canó singled and Jorge Posada walked. They would score on singles from Rubén Sierra and Derek Jeter. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect eighth and ninth as the Yankees won 3-2 to force a Game 5 back in Anaheim.

Game 5 had the same starting pitchers as in Game 1, Bartolo Colón for the Angels and Mike Mussina for the Yankees. Colon left the game in the second inning due to a hand injury and was relieved by Ervin Santana. He had a bad start, allowing walks to Robinson Canó (who was caught out stealing), Bernie Williams, and Jorge Posada. Williams scored on Bubba Crosby's single and Posada on Derek Jeter's sacrifice fly as the Yankees took an early 2-0 lead. Mussina, however, could not hold the Yankees' advantage and was not as sharp as he was in Game 1. First, he gave up a solo home run to Garret Anderson to cut the lead to one. Then, Bengie Molina singled to center. After getting two outs, Mussina walked Steve Finley. Then Adam Kennedy hit the ball to right center. It would have been an easy out, but Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield collide on the outfield wall, allowing Molina and Finley to score to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Mussina allowed two more runs in the third to extend to Angels lead to three. Randy Johnson relieved him and kept the Angels scoreless for the rest of the game, allowing just three hits. Jeter's solo home run in the seventh off Santana cut the lead to two, but it wouldn't be enough as the Angels won the game 5-3 and would face the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS.

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