Misplaced Pages

#71928

22-543: The 1946 Muskegon Lassies posted a 46–66 record in their first year, and placed sixth in the eight–team league. They improved to 69–43 in 1947 , to win a close pennant race with the Grand Rapids Chicks . Muskegon was led by OF / P Doris Sams , who ranked in several offensive categories and also collected 11 victories, including a perfect game , good enough to win the Most Valuable Player Award . Notably,

44-514: A decisive game seven. In a pitching duel, Mildred Earp defeated Hutchison and the Belles on a 1–0, five hit shutout , while driving in the winning run to give Grand Rapids the championship. In 1947 average crowds at AAGPBL games were two to three thousand people, while attendance records were set in Muskegon, Peoria and Racine ballparks . Pitch (baseball) In baseball ,

66-404: A fastball, but arriving much slower to the plate. Its reduced speed coupled with its deceptive delivery is meant to confuse the batter's timing. It is thrown the same as a fastball, but simply further back in the hand, which makes it release from the hand slower, but still retaining the look of a fastball. A changeup is generally thrown 8–15 miles per hour slower than a fastball. If thrown correctly,

88-450: A given pitcher can throw while maintaining control. Some variations involve movement or breaking action, some do not and are simply straight, high-speed pitches. While throwing the fastball it is very important to have proper mechanics, because this increases the chance of getting the ball to its highest velocity, making it difficult for the opposing player to hit the pitch. The cut fastball, split-finger fastball, and forkball are variations on

110-432: A variety of pitches, each of which has a slightly different velocity, trajectory, movement, hand position, wrist position and/or arm angle. These variations are introduced to confuse the batter and ultimately aid the defensive team in getting the batter or baserunners out . To obtain variety, and therefore enhance defensive baseball strategy, the pitcher manipulates the grip on the ball at the point of release. Variations in

132-426: Is the three-quarters delivery. Other deliveries include the submarine (underhand) and the sidearm deliveries. There is also the crossfire pitch, which only works for sidearm delivery. A pickoff move is the motion the pitcher goes through in making pickoff . There are two legal pitching positions: Typically, pitchers from the set use a high leg kick , but may instead release the ball more quickly by using

154-413: The manager or a coach relays the pitch selection to the catcher, via secret hand signals, to prevent the opposing team from having the advantage of knowing what the next pitch will be. The fastball is the most common pitch in baseball, and most pitchers have some form of a fastball in their arsenal. Most pitchers throw four-seam fastballs. It is basically a pitch thrown very fast, generally as hard as

176-566: The pitch is the act of throwing the baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules . Originally, the ball had to be thrown underhand, much like "pitching in horseshoes" . Overhand pitching was not allowed in baseball until 1884 . The biomechanics of pitching have been studied extensively. The phases of pitching include the windup, early cocking, late cocking, early acceleration, late acceleration, deceleration, and follow-through. Pitchers throw

198-569: The All-American girls drew larger crowds for their exhibition games at Estadio Latinoamericano than did the Dodgers. In addition to the eight team practices, nearly 55,000 Cuban fans attended a round-robin tournament which took place at Estadio Latinoamericano at the end of the training. The Racine Belles won the tournament and received a commemorative trophy from Esther Williams , American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star . All in all,

220-406: The batter, but these pitches are ruled balls even if they pass through the strike zone . The responsibility for selecting the type of pitch is traditionally made by the catcher , who gives hand signals to the pitcher with his fingers, usually one finger for fastball or the pitcher's best pitch, with the pitcher having the option to ask for another selection by shaking his head. Alternatively,

242-495: The changeup will confuse the batter because the human eye cannot discern that the ball is coming significantly slower until it is around 30 feet from the plate. For example, a batter swings at the ball as if it was a 90 mph fastball, but it is coming at 75 mph which means he is swinging too early to hit the ball well, making the changeup very effective. The most common changeups are: Other pitches which are or have been used in baseball are: The most common pitching delivery

SECTION 10

#1732873531072

264-443: The fastball with extra movement, and are sometimes called sinking-fastballs because of the trajectories. The most common fastball pitches are: Well-thrown breaking balls have movement, usually sideways or downward. A ball moves due to the changes in the pressure of the air surrounding the ball as a result of the kind of pitch thrown. Therefore, the ball keeps moving in the path of least resistance, which constantly changes. For example,

286-464: The fifth season of the circuit. The teams Fort Wayne Daisies , Grand Rapids Chicks , Kenosha Comets , Muskegon Lassies , Peoria Redwings , Racine Belles , Rockford Peaches and South Bend Blue Sox competed through a 112-game schedule. The final Shaugnessy playoffs faced second place Grand Rapids against third place Racine in a Best of Seven Series. By April 1947, all of the league's players were flown to Havana, Cuba for spring training . At

308-400: The grip cause the seams to catch the air differently, thereby changing the trajectory of the ball, making it harder for the batter to hit. The selection of which pitch to use can depend on the type of hitter who is being faced; whether there are any base runners ; how many outs have been made in the inning; and the existing score. Pitchers may bounce their pitches in the dirt before they reach

330-425: The other side, Grand Rapids defeated South Bend in five games guided by Connie Wisniewski , who pitched a win, stole home plate for another win, and collected an average of .318 (7-for-22). The second round was a tight fight, when the first three contests all went to extra innings and Grand Rapids held a 3–1 advantage in the best of seven series. But the defending champion Racine won the next two games to force

352-453: The regular season by Racine's Doris Barr , Muskegon Erma Bergmann , Kenosha's Jean Cione , and Rockford's Margaret Holgerson and Betty Luna . The pitching highlight came from Muskegon's Doris Sams , who hurled the third perfect game in league history . In addition, P/OF Sams posted an 11–4 record and a 0.98 earned run average in 19 pitching appearances, while batting a combined average of .280 (97-for-346) in 107 total games. Following

374-461: The rules, strategy and general play were the same in 1947. The sidearm pitching was strictly used, as the league was moving toward full overhand delivery for the next season. The sidearm throwing allowed the hitters more of an advantage than previous seasons. Rockford's Dorothy Kamenshek repeated her batting crown with a .306 batting average in a close race with Audrey Wagner (.305) of Kenosha. Nevertheless, five no-hitters were recorded during

396-522: The season, Sams was honored with the AAGPBL Player of the Year Award . At the end, Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Racine battled for the regular season title, until Muskegon got the victory with just two days remaining the schedule. Muskegon lost to Racine in the first round, three games to one, behind a strong pitching effort from Anna Mae Hutchison , who was credited with all three victories for Racine. By

418-446: The spin from a properly thrown slider (thrown by a right-handed pitcher) results in lower air pressure on the pitcher's left side, resulting in the ball moving to the left (from the pitcher's perspective). The goal is usually to make the ball difficult to hit by confusing the batters. Most breaking balls are considered off-speed pitches . The most common breaking pitches are: The changeup is an off-speed pitch, usually thrown to look like

440-520: The team counted with three of the top four pitchers in earned run average , Sams (0.98), Amy Irene Applegren (1.06) and Nancy Warren (1.13), but lost to the Racine Belles in the best-of-five , first-round matchup 3–1. Muskegon went 66–57 in 1948 to gain a playoff berth, but lost to the Fort Wayne Daisies in the first round , three to zero games. The team dropped to 46–66 in 1949 but

462-650: The time, the Brooklyn Dodgers trained in the Cuban capital because Jackie Robinson , who would be the first Afro-American to play in the Major Leagues, was training with the Dodgers for the first time. By then, city ordinances in Vero Beach, Florida , where the Dodgers normally trained, prevented blacks and whites players from competing on the same field against each other. Notably, newspaper stories from Havana indicate that

SECTION 20

#1732873531072

484-732: Was able to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Muskegon disposed of the Kenosha Comets in the first round, 3–1, being swept by the South Bend Blue Sox in the semifinals , 3–0. 1950 became a nightmare for Muskegon, after registering the worst record in the league (36–73) and a relocation during the midseason to Kalamazoo, Michigan , where the team was renamed the Kalamazoo Lassies . 1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season The 1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season marked

#71928