James Chandler Ball Boston Doves National League Original Baseball 8 X 10 Photo
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JAMES CHANDLER BALL BOSTON DOVES NATIONAL LEAGUE ORIGINAL BASEBALL 8 X 10 PHOTO. An original 8 x 10 full portrait studio photographFROM THE EARLY 1900'S IN FAIR SHAPE of NATIONAL LEAGUE EARLY 1900'S PLAYER JAMES CHANDLER BALL (not the one of him in uniform - the card is for illustration purposes only ) James Chandler Ball was born in 1884 and played for parts of two seasons in 1907 and 1908 in the National League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles of the Eastern League from the Boston Doves, playing ten games with them in 1907 and six games in 1908. The 8 x 10 photo is in fair condition. There is a water stain to the heavy cardboard to which the photo is attached (much like a cabinet photo but thicker) that shows a little on the front , and a very small piece missing from the bottom on the right side which can be seen in the water stain photo. The photo looks to be just that, a photo of what was Ball's 1909 T Ramly baseball card. IT IS NOT THE ACTUAL CARD BUT JUST A PHOTO. The back of the photo, which might be able to be read in my pictures, indicates the photo was apparently given to a family member from another family member.
James Chandler Ball (February 22, 1884 – April 7, 1963) was an American professional baseball player who played in the National League for parts of two season spanning 1907–1908. 1871. Born in Harford County, Maryland, he was drafted by the Boston Doves from the Baltimore Orioles of the Eastern League in the 1907 rule 5 draft and played in 10 games that season. He was released from the Doves in January 1908. On August 22, 1908, his contract was later purchased by the Boston Doves from the Baltimore and played in 6 games that season. The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. As one of the American League's eight charter teams in 1901, this particular franchise spent its first year as a major league club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers (not related to the second current Brewers franchise there) before moving to St. Louis, Missouri, to become the St. Louis Browns. After 52 often-beleaguered years in St. Louis, the franchise was purchased in November 1953 by a syndicate of Baltimore business and civic interests led by attorney/civic activist Clarence Miles and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. The team's current majority owner is lawyer Peter Angelos. The Orioles adopted their team name in honor of the official state bird of Maryland; it had also been used by several previous major and minor league baseball clubs in Baltimore, including another AL charter member franchise also named the "Baltimore Orioles," which moved north in 1903 to eventually become the New York Yankees. Nicknames for the team include the "O's" and the "Birds". The Orioles experienced their greatest success from 1966 to 1983, when they made six World Series appearances, winning three of them (1966, 1970, 1983). This era of the club featured several future Hall of Famers who would later be inducted representing the Orioles, such as third baseman Brooks Robinson, outfielder Frank Robinson, starting pitcher Jim Palmer, first baseman Eddie Murray, shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., and manager Earl Weaver. The Orioles have won a total of nine division championships (1969–1971, 1973–1974, 1979, 1983, 1997, 2014), six pennants (1966, 1969–1971, 1979, 1983), and three wild card berths (1996, 2012, 2016). Since moving to Baltimore in 1954, the franchise has a win-loss record of 5252-5066 (with a winning "percentage" of .509) as of the end of the 2018 season.[4] After suffering a stretch of 14 straight losing seasons from 1998 to 2011, the team qualified for the postseason three times under manager Buck Showalter and general manager Dan Duquette, including a division title and advancement to the American League Championship Series for the first time in 17 years in 2014. However, the 2018 team finished with a franchise-worst record of 47–115, prompting the team to move on from Showalter and Duquette following the season's conclusion. The Orioles' current manager is Brandon Hyde, while Mike Elias serves as general manager and executive vice president. The Orioles are also well known for their influential ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992 in downtown Baltimore.[5][6] Contents 1 History 1.1 Milwaukee Brewers 1.2 St. Louis Browns 1.3 Baltimore Orioles 1.3.1 Seeds of success (1954–1959) 1.3.2 Pennant contenders (1960–1965) 1.3.3 Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson 1.3.4 Glory years (1966–1983) 1.3.5 Final seasons at Memorial Stadium (1984–1991) 1.3.6 Camden Yards opens (1992–1993) 1.3.6.1 Angelos takes over 1.3.7 Strike year (1994) 1.3.8 Ripken breaks the streak (1995) 1.3.9 Playoff years (1996–1997) 1.3.9.1 1996 season 1.3.9.2 1997 season 1.3.10 Beginning of a downturn (1998–2001) 1.3.10.1 1998 season 1.3.10.2 1999 season 1.3.10.3 2000–2001 seasons 1.3.11 Post-Ripken era and downfall (2002–2011) 1.3.11.1 2002–2004 seasons 1.3.11.2 2005 season 1.3.11.3 2006 season 1.3.11.4 2007 season 1.3.11.5 2008 season 1.3.11.6 2009 season 1.3.11.7 2010 season 1.3.11.8 2011 season 1.3.12 Return to success (2012–2017) 1.3.12.1 2012 season 1.3.12.2 2013 season 1.3.12.3 2014 season 1.3.12.4 2015 season 1.3.12.4.1 Response to 2015 unrest 2 Uniform 3 Radio and television coverage 3.1 Radio 3.2 Television 4 Musical traditions 4.1 "O!" 4.2 "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" 4.3 "Orioles Magic" and other songs 4.4 The First Army Band 5 PA announcer 6 Postseason appearances 7 Baseball Hall of Famers 7.1 Ford C. Frick Award (broadcasters only) 7.2 Retired numbers 7.3 Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame 7.4 Team Hall of Fame 7.5 Team captains 8 Current roster 9 Minor league affiliates 10 Franchise records and award winners 10.1 Season records 10.2 Individual records – batting 10.3 Individual records – pitching 11 Rivalry with the Washington Nationals 12 Notes 13 References 14 Bibliography 15 External links History Main article: History of the Baltimore Orioles The modern Orioles franchise can trace its roots back to the original Milwaukee Brewers of the minor Western League, beginning in 1894, when the league reorganized. The Brewers were there when the WL renamed itself the American League in 1900. Milwaukee Brewers At the end of the 1900 season, the American League removed itself from baseball's National Agreement (the formal understanding between the NL and the minor leagues). Two months later, the AL declared itself a competing major league. As a result of several franchise shifts, the Brewers were one of only two Western League teams that didn't fold, move or get kicked out of the league (the other being the Detroit Tigers). In its first game in the American League, the team lost to the Detroit Tigers 14–13 after surrendering a nine-run lead in the 9th inning.[7] To this day, it is a major league record for the biggest deficit overcome that late in the game.[8] In the first American League season in 1901, they finished last (eighth place) with a record of 48–89. Its lone Major League season, the team played at Lloyd Street Grounds, between 16th and 18th Streets in Milwaukee. St. Louis Browns Main article: History of the St. Louis Browns After one year in Milwaukee the club relocated to St Louis, and for a while enjoyed some success, especially in the 1920s behind Hall of Fame first baseman George Sisler. However, the team's fortunes declined from then on, as playing success and gate receipts instead went increasingly to the Browns' own tenants at Sportsman's Park, the National League Cardinals. During this period the Browns only won one pennant, in the 1944 season stocked with wartime replacement players, and lost to the Cardinals in the third and last World Series ever played entirely in one ballpark. In 1953, with the Browns unable to afford even stadium upkeep, owner Bill Veeck sold Sportsman's Park to the Cards and attempted to move the club back to Milwaukee, but this was vetoed by the other Major League owners. Instead, Veeck sold his franchise to a partnership of Baltimore businessmen. Baltimore Orioles The "Oriole Bird", which has been the official mascot figure since April 6, 1979.[9] The Miles-Krieger (Gunther Brewing Company)-Hoffberger group renamed their new team the Baltimore Orioles soon after taking control of the franchise. The name has a rich history in Baltimore, having been used by a National League team in the 1890s. In 1901, Baltimore and John McGraw were awarded an expansion franchise in the growing American League, naming the team the Orioles. After a battle with Ban Johnson, the Head of the American League in 1902, McGraw took many of the top players including Walter Scott "Steve" Brodie, Dan McGann, Roger Bresnahan, and Joe McGinnity to the New York Giants. As an affront to Johnson, McGraw kept the black and orange colors of the New York Giants, which San Francisco wears to this day. In 1903, the franchise—the remaining players, assets and debts, the corporation—was transferred to New York where they were nicknamed the Highlanders until circa 1912, by which time Yanks or Yankees had taken over as their popular moniker. As a member of the high-minor league level International League, the Orioles competed at what is now known as the AAA level from 1903 to 1953; the IL Orioles' most famous player was a local Baltimore product, hard-hitting left-handed pitcher Babe Ruth. When Oriole Park burned down in 1944, the team moved to a temporary home, Municipal Stadium, where they won the Junior World Series. Their large postseason crowds caught the attention of the major leagues, eventually leading to a new MLB franchise in Baltimore.[10] Seeds of success (1954–1959) After starting the 1954 campaign with a two-game split against the Tigers in Detroit, the Orioles returned to Baltimore on April 15 to a welcoming parade that wound through the streets of downtown, with an estimated 350,000 spectators lining the route. In its first-ever home opener at Memorial Stadium later in the afternoon, they treated a sellout crowd of 46,354 to a 3–1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The remainder of the season would not be as pleasant, with the team enduring 100 losses while avoiding the AL cellar by only three games. With fellow investors both frustrated with his domination of the franchise's business operations and dissatisfied with yet another seventh-place finish, Clarence Miles resigned in early November 1955. Real estate developer James Keelty Jr. succeeded him as president with investment banker Joseph Iglehart the new board chairman. The seeds of long-term success were planted on September 14, 1954, when the Orioles hired Paul Richards to become the ballclub's manager and general manager. He laid the foundation for what would years later be called the Oriole Way. The instruction of baseball fundamentals became uniform in every detail between all classes within the organization. Players were patiently refined until fundamentally sound instead of being hastily advanced to the next level. For the remainder of the 1950s, the Orioles crawled up the standings, reaching as high as fifth place with a 76–76 record in 1957. Richards succeeded in stocking the franchise with a plethora of young talent which included Dave Nicholson, Pete Ward, Ron Hansen (1960 AL Rookie of the Year), Milt Pappas, Jerry Adair, Steve Barber (20 wins in 1963), Boog Powell, Dave McNally, and Brooks Robinson. Unfortunately, Richards also had the tendency to recklessly spend money on individuals with dubious baseball skills. This became a major problem as bidding wars between the ballclubs to land the best amateur players escalated signing bonuses. The solution came on November 5, 1958, when Lee MacPhail was appointed general manager, allowing Richards to focus on his managerial duties. MacPhail added much-needed discipline to the scouting staff by establishing cross-checkers who thoroughly evaluated young hopefuls to determine whether they were worthy of being tendered a contract. He also accepted the title of president after Keelty resigned in mid-December 1959. Pennant contenders (1960–1965) One month prior to the end of the 1961 season, Richards resigned as the team's skipper to become the general manager of the expansion Houston Colt .45s. A year earlier, he succeeded in establishing the Orioles as a legitimate contender when they stood atop the AL standings as late as early September before finishing in second place at 89–65. In 1964, the Birds, piloted by Hank Bauer in his first year of managing the ballclub, were involved in a tight pennant race against the Yankees and White Sox. They ended up in third place with a 97–65 record, only two games out. It has been suggested that they would likely have advanced to the Fall Classic had it not been for a minor wrist injury that sidelined Powell for two weeks in late August.[11] Nevertheless, Robinson enjoyed a breakout season with a league-high 118 RBIs, and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. The television/radio network of CBS' purchase of a majority stake in the Yankees on September 9 of that same year resulted in a change to the ownership situation in Baltimore. Iglehart, the Orioles' largest shareholder at 32% and owner of a sizable amount of CBS stock, straightened out his conflict of interest issues on May 25, 1965, by selling his 64,000 shares in the ball-club to the National Brewing Company, an original team investor which finally had controlling interest at 65%. Brewery president Jerold Hoffberger became the Orioles' new chairman of the board. Hoffberger's first action was installing Frank Cashen, the Director of Advertising for the National Brewery, as Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for the Orioles. With the benefit of a deep talent pool and superior scouts, the franchise continued to make improvements at the major league level. Three months before the start of the 1963 season, the Orioles stabilized its infield by acquiring Luis Aparicio in a transaction that involved sending a trio of homegrown players (Hansen, Nicholson and Ward) to the White Sox. They also scoured the minor leagues for selections in the Rule 5 draft (Paul Blair from the Mets in 1962, Moe Drabowsky from the Cardinals in 1965) and claims off waivers (Curt Blefary, 1965 AL Rookie of the Year, from the Yankees in 1963). Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson Frank Robinson statue by Antonio Tobias Mendez. On December 9, 1965, the Orioles traded pitcher Milt Pappas (and several others) to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for slugging outfielder Frank Robinson. The following year, Robinson won the American League Most Valuable Player award, thus becoming the first (and so far only) man to win the MVP in each league (Robinson won the NL MVP in 1961, leading the Reds to the pennant). In addition to winning the 1966 MVP, Robinson also won the Triple Crown (leading the American League in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in), a feat also achieved the following season by Boston's Carl Yastrzemski. The Orioles won their first-ever American League championship in 1966, and in a major upset, swept the World Series by out-dueling the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, whose pitching staff was led by aces Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. The only home run ball ever hit completely out of Memorial Stadium was slugged by Robinson on Mother's Day in 1966, off Cleveland Indians pitcher Luis Tiant. It cleared the left field single-deck portion of the grandstand. A flag was later erected near the spot the ball cleared the back wall, with simply the word "HERE" upon it. The flag is now in the Baltimore Orioles Museum. Pappas went 30–29 in a little over two years with the Reds before being traded. Although he would go on to have back-to-back 17-win seasons for the Chicago Cubs in 1971 and 1972, including a no-hitter in the latter season, this did not help the Reds, who ended up losing the 1970 World Series to Robinson and the Orioles. This trade has become renowned as one of the most lopsided in baseball history, including a mention by Susan Sarandon in her opening soliloquy in the 1988 film Bull Durham: "Bad trades are a part of baseball. I mean, who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas?"[12] Glory years (1966–1983) In the 1960s, the Orioles farm system produced an especially large number of high-quality players and coaches and laid the foundation for two decades of on-field success. This period included eighteen consecutive winning seasons (1968–1985) – a run of success that saw the Orioles become the envy of the league, and the winningest team in baseball. During this period, the Orioles played baseball the "Oriole Way", an organizational ethic best described by longtime farm hand and coach Cal Ripken Sr.'s phrase "perfect practice makes perfect!" The Oriole Way was a belief that hard work, professionalism, and a strong understanding of fundamentals were the keys to success at the major league level. It was based on the belief that if every coach, at every level, taught the game the same way, the organization could produce "replacement parts" that could be substituted seamlessly into the big league club with little or no adjustment. Elaborations on the Oriole way include pitching coach and manager Ray Miller's maxim "Work fast, change speeds, and throw strikes" and manager Earl Weaver's maxim "Pitching, defense and three-run homers." " The "Oriole Way" began flourishing in 1966 after the Robinson-for-Pappas deal, as Robinson won the "Triple Crown Award". His Orioles would easily sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1966 World Series. After a mediocre 1967 season, Hank Bauer would be replaced by Earl Weaver halfway into 1968. The Orioles would finish second in the American League. This would only be a prelude to 1969, when the Orioles won 109 games and easily won the newly created American League East division title. Mike Cuellar shared the Cy Young Award with Detroit's Denny McLain. After sweeping Minnesota in the American League Championship Series, Baltimore was shocked by losing to the New York Mets in a five-game World Series. The next year, Boog Powell won the MVP and the Orioles won another 108 games. After sweeping the Twins once again in the ALCS, the Orioles won the 1970 World Series by defeating the Cincinnati Reds' Big Red Machine in five games. In 1971, the Orioles won another division title thanks to four 20-game winners on their pitching staff (Cuellar, Jim Palmer, Pat Dobson, and Dave McNally). After defeating the young Oakland A's in the ALCS, the Orioles would lose a heartbreaking seven-game World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Orioles would miss the playoffs in 1972, but rebounded to win the division in 1973 and 1974. Each time, they would lose to Oakland in the ALCS. During this stretch, the Orioles began to phase out their veteran infield by replacing Davey Johnson and Brooks Robinson with younger stars Bobby Grich and Doug DeCinces, respectively. Johnson would be dealt along with Johnny Oates to the Atlanta Braves for catcher and 1971 National League Rookie of the Year Earl Williams. Although Williams had hit 63 home runs in two seasons with Atlanta, he would only hit 36 homers in two seasons with the Orioles. In 1975, the Birds acquired slugger Lee May in a trade with Houston, and traded Dave McNally, Rich Coggins and minor-league pitcher Bill Kirkpatrick to Montreal for star outfielder Ken Singleton, and future 20-game winner Mike Torrez. Jim Palmer won the Cy Young Award, but the Orioles lost the division title to the Boston Red Sox and their mega-rookies Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. The 1976 season brought Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman from a trade with Oakland, but the Orioles only won 88 games. It was this season when the Orioles made a trade that brought them players such as Tippy Martinez and Rick Dempsey. This young foundation, along with the departures of the unhappy Jackson and Holtzman, would create the basis for 1977. The "No Name Orioles", along with Rookie of the Year Eddie Murray, won 97 games and finished tied for second place with Boston. After finishing fourth in 1978, the Orioles finally won the division in 1979 thanks to strong play from Ken Singleton and Cy Young winner Mike Flanagan. The Orioles defeated the Angels in the ALCS, but lost to Pittsburgh in another stunning World Series. This started a short period of heartbreak for Baltimore that would nevertheless culminate in a championship. Steve Stone The Orioles won 100 games in 1980 thanks to Cy Young winner Steve Stone who went 25–7 (.781) while leading the league in wins (a franchise record) and win-loss percentage, but the Yankees won 103 games. Although Baltimore had the best overall record in the AL East in 1981, they finished second in each half. As a result, they were out of the playoffs due to the postseason structure that year because of the strike. The 1982 campaign saw Baltimore eliminated on the final weekend of the season by the Milwaukee Brewers. In an unforgettable scene, despite the season-ending loss eliminating them from the playoffs, fans stayed to honor the retiring Earl Weaver, who would be succeeded by Joe Altobelli. In 1983, Altobelli would lead the Orioles to 98 wins and a division title thanks to MVP Cal Ripken Jr.. The Orioles defeated the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS thanks to a 10th-inning homer by Tito Landrum in the deciding game. The Orioles won the World Series in five games by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies. During their most productive years and only World Series championships thus far, the Orioles saw three of its players named MVP: Frank Robinson in 1966; Boog Powell in 1970; and Cal Ripken Jr. in 1983. Additionally, Brooks Robinson was named Most Valuable Player in 1964, just two years before the 1966–1983 golden era began. The pitching staff was phenomenal, with four pitchers winning six Cy Young Awards (Mike Cuellar in 1969; Jim Palmer in 1973, 1975, and 1976; Mike Flanagan in 1979; and Steve Stone in 1980). In 1971, the team's four starting pitchers, McNally, Cuellar, Palmer, and Pat Dobson, all won 20 games, a feat that has not been replicated. In that year, the Birds went on to post a 101–61 record for their third-straight AL East title.[13] Also during this stretch three players were named rookies of the year: Al Bumbry (1973); Eddie Murray (1977); and Cal Ripken Jr. (1982). One might date the glory years of the Orioles dating back to 1964, which would include two third-place seasons, 1964–65, in which the Orioles won 97 and 94 games, respectively, and a year in which third-baseman Brooks Robinson won his Most Valuable Player Award (1964). The glory years of the Orioles effectively ended when the Detroit Tigers, a divisional rival at the time, went 35–5 to open the 1984 season on the way to winning the World Series, in which Hall-of-Fame pitcher Jim Palmer retired during the 1984 season. Final seasons at Memorial Stadium (1984–1991) The Orioles hosting one of the final games at Memorial Stadium in 1991. After winning the 1983 World Series, the Orioles spent the next five years in steady decline, finishing 1986 in last place for the first time since the franchise moved to Baltimore. The team hit bottom in 1988 when it started the season 0–21, en route to 107 losses and the worst record in the majors that year. The "Why Not?" Orioles surprised the baseball world the following year by spending most of the summer in first place until September when the Toronto Blue Jays overtook them and seized the AL East title on the final weekend of the regular season. The next two years were spent below the .500 mark, highlighted only by Cal Ripken Jr. winning his second AL MVP Award in 1991. The Orioles said goodbye to Memorial Stadium, the team's home for 38 years, at the end of the 1991 campaign. The Orioles wordmark (1988–1994) Camden Yards opens (1992–1993) Main articles: 1992 Baltimore Orioles season and 1993 Baltimore Orioles season Opening to much fanfare in 1992, Oriole Park at Camden Yards was an instant success, spawning other retro-designed major league ballparks within the next two decades. The stadium became the site of the 1993 All-Star Game. The Orioles returned to contention in those first two seasons at Camden Yards, only to finish in third place both times. Angelos takes over Also in 1993, with then-owner Eli Jacobs forced to divest himself of the franchise, Baltimore-based attorney Peter Angelos, along with the ownership syndicate he headed, was awarded the Orioles in bankruptcy court in New York City, returning the team to local ownership for the first time since 1979. Strike year (1994) Main article: 1994 Baltimore Orioles season After the 1993 season, the Orioles acquired first baseman Rafael Palmeiro from the Texas Rangers. The Orioles, who spent all of 1994 chasing the New York Yankees, occupied second place in the new five-team AL East when the players strike, which began on August 11, forced the eventual cancellation of the season. Ripken breaks the streak (1995) The numbers on the Orioles' warehouse changed from 2130 to 2131 to celebrate Cal Ripken Jr. passing Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak. Main article: 1995 Baltimore Orioles season The labor impasse would continue into the spring of 1995. Almost all of the major league clubs held spring training using replacement players, with the intention of beginning the season with them. The Orioles, whose owner was a labor union lawyer, were the lone dissenters against creating an ersatz team, choosing instead to sit out spring training and possibly the entire season. Had they fielded a substitute team, Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive games streak would have been jeopardized. The replacements questions became moot when the strike was finally settled. The Ripken countdown resumed once the season began. Ripken finally broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak of 2,130 games in a nationally televised game on September 6. This was later voted the all-time baseball moment of the 20th century by fans from around the country in 1999. Ripken finished his streak with 2,632 straight games, finally sitting on September 20, 1998, the Orioles final home game of the season against the Yankees at Camden Yards. The Orioles finished two games under .500 (71–73) in third place in Phil Regan's only season of managing the ballclub. Playoff years (1996–1997) 1996 season Main article: 1996 Baltimore Orioles season Before the 1996 season, Angelos hired Pat Gillick as general manager. Given the green light to spend heavily on established talent, Gillick signed several premium players like B. J. Surhoff, Randy Myers, David Wells and Roberto Alomar. Under new manager Davey Johnson and on the strength of a then-major league record 257 home runs in a single season, the Orioles returned to the playoffs after a 12-year absence by clinching the AL wild card berth. Alomar set off a firestorm in September when he spat into home plate umpire John Hirschbeck's face during an argument in Toronto. He was later suspended for the first five games of the 1997 season, even though most wanted him banned from the postseason. After dethroning the defending American League champion Cleveland Indians 3–1 in the Division Series, the Orioles fell to the Yankees 4–1 in an ALCS notable for right field umpire Rich Garcia's failure to call fan interference in the first game of the series, when 12-year-old Yankee fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the outfield wall to catch an in-play ball, which was scored as a home run for Derek Jeter, tying the game at 4–4 in the eighth inning. Absent Maier's interference, it appeared as if the ball might have been off the wall or caught by right fielder Tony Tarasco. The Yankees went on to win the game in extra innings on an ensuing walk-off home run by Bernie Williams. 1997 season Main article: 1997 Baltimore Orioles season The Orioles went "wire-to-wire" (first place from start to finish) in winning the AL East title in 1997. After eliminating the Seattle Mariners 3–1 in the Division Series, the team lost again in the ALCS, this time to the underdog Indians 4–2, with each Oriole loss by only a run. Johnson resigned as manager after the season, largely due to a spat with Angelos concerning Alomar's fine for missing a team function being donated to Johnson's wife's charity.[14] Pitching coach Ray Miller replaced Johnson. Beginning of a downturn (1998–2001) 1998 season Main article: 1998 Baltimore Orioles season With Miller at the helm, the Orioles found themselves not only out of the playoffs, but also with a losing season. When Gillick's contract expired in 1998, it was not renewed. Angelos brought in Frank Wren to take over as GM. The Orioles added volatile slugger Albert Belle, but the team's woes continued in the 1999 season, with stars like Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar, and Eric Davis leaving in free agency. After a second straight losing season, Angelos fired both Miller and Wren. He named Syd Thrift the new GM and brought in former Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove. 1999 season Main article: 1999 Baltimore Orioles season Logo (1999–2008). In a rare event on March 28, 1999, the Orioles staged an exhibition series against the Cuban national team in Havana. The Orioles won the game 3–2 in 11 innings. They were the first Major League team to play in Cuba since 1959, when the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Orioles in an exhibition. The Cuban team visited Baltimore in May 1999. Cuba won the second game 10–6. 2000–2001 seasons Main article: 2000 Baltimore Orioles season Cal Ripken Jr. achieved his 3000th hit early in the season. A fire sale occurred late in the season, where the Orioles traded away many veterans for unproven young players and minor league prospects. The Orioles called up many of their AAA players to finish the season. The only acquired player that would have a long-term career with the organization was Melvin Mora. Main article: 2001 Baltimore Orioles season This was Cal Ripken Jr.'s final season. His number (8) was retired in a ceremony before the final home game of the season. Post-Ripken era and downfall (2002–2011) 2002–2004 seasons This version of the script logo has been on the front of the home jerseys since 2004. Main articles: 2002 Baltimore Orioles season, 2003 Baltimore Orioles season, and 2004 Baltimore Orioles season The team's first year without Ripken saw the team with a record of 63–63 at the conclusion of play on August 23, but then proceed to lose 32 of its last 36 games of the season, including their final 12 in a row to finish the season 67–95. In an effort to right the Orioles' sinking ship, changes began to sweep through the organization in 2003. General manager Syd Thrift was fired and to replace him, the Orioles hired Jim Beattie as executive vice-president and Mike Flanagan as the vice president of baseball operations. After another losing season, manager Mike Hargrove was not retained and Yankees coach Lee Mazzilli was brought in as the new manager. The team signed powerful hitters in SS Miguel Tejada, C Javy López, and former Oriole 1B Rafael Palmeiro. The following season, the Orioles traded for OF Sammy Sosa. 2005 season The Orioles taking on the Kansas City Royals at home in 2005. Main article: 2005 Baltimore Orioles season The team got hot early in 2005 and jumped out in front of the AL East division, holding onto first place for 62 straight days. However, turmoil on and off the field began to take its toll as the Orioles started struggling around the All-Star break, dropping them close to the surging Yankees and Red Sox. Injuries to Lopez, Sosa, Luis Matos, Brian Roberts, and Larry Bigbie came within weeks of each other, and the team grew increasingly dissatisfied with the "band-aid" moves of the front office and manager Mazzilli to help them through this period of struggle. Various minor league players such as Single-A Frederick OF Jeff Fiorentino were brought up in place of more experienced players such as OF David Newhan, who had batted .311 the previous season. After starting the season 42–28 (.600), the Orioles finished the season with a stretch of 32–60 (.348), ending at 74–88 (.457). Only the Kansas City Royals (.346) had a worse winning percentage for the season than did the Orioles for the final 92 games. The club's major off-season acquisition, Sammy Sosa, posted his worst performance in a decade, with 14 home runs and a .221 batting average. The Orioles did not attempt to re-sign him. The Orioles also allowed Palmeiro to file for free agency and publicly stated they would not re-sign him. On August 25, pitcher Sidney Ponson was arrested for DUI, and on September 1, the Orioles moved to void his contract (on a morals clause) and released him. The Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance on Ponson's behalf and the case was sent to arbitration and was eventually resolved. 2006 season Main article: 2006 Baltimore Orioles season In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the Orioles contributed more players than any other major league team, with eleven players suiting up for their home nations. Érik Bédard and Adam Loewen pitched for Canada; Rodrigo López and Gerónimo Gil (released before the season began by the club) played for Mexico; Daniel Cabrera and Miguel Tejada for the Dominican Republic; Javy López and Luis Matos for Puerto Rico; Bruce Chen for Panama; Ramón Hernández for Venezuela; and John Stephens for Australia. The Orioles finished the 2006 season with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses, 27 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. 2007 season Main article: 2007 Baltimore Orioles season On June 18, the Orioles fired Sam Perlozzo after losing eight straight games. He was replaced on interim basis by Dave Trembley. On June 22, Miguel Tejada's consecutive-games streak came to an end due to an injury, the fifth-longest streak in major league history. Aubrey Huff became the first Oriole to hit for the cycle at home, on June 29 against the Angels. On July 7, Érik Bédard struck out 15 batters in a game against the Texas Rangers to tie a franchise record held by Mike Mussina. On July 31, 2007, Andy MacPhail named Dave Trembley as the Orioles manager through the remainder of the 2007 season, and advised him to "Keep up the good work."[15] Facing the Texas Rangers in a doubleheader at Camden Yards on August 22, the Orioles surrendered 30 runs in the first game, a modern-era record for a single game, in a 30–3 defeat. The Orioles led the game 3–0 after three innings of play. Sixteen of Texas' thirty runs were scored in the final two innings. The Orioles would also fall in the nightcap, 9–7. 2008 season Main article: 2008 Baltimore Orioles season The Orioles began the 2008 season in a rebuilding mode under President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail. The Orioles traded away star players Miguel Tejada to the Astros and ace Érik Bédard to the Seattle Mariners for prized prospect Adam Jones, lefty reliever George Sherrill, and minor league pitchers Kam Mickolio, Chris Tillman, and Tony Butler. The Orioles started off the first couple weeks of the season near the top of their division as players such as Nick Markakis and newcomer Luke Scott led the team offensively. Although the Orioles hovered around .500 for much of the season, they had fallen back by September and were over 20 games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays. They finished the season losing 11 of their final 12 games and 28 of their final 34. The team finished last for the first time since their 1988 season. After the season ended, the Orioles showcased altered uniforms, with a circular 'Maryland' patch added to the left-hand sleeve of all jerseys and the grey road jerseys displaying "Baltimore" across the chest for the first time in a quarter-century; this reflected the arrival of the Washington Nationals, because ever since the Washington Senators had departed for Texas in 1972, the Orioles had claimed to represent the Baltimore-Washington metro area. 2009 season Main article: 2009 Baltimore Orioles season Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, Orioles v. Tampa Bay Rays, Camden Yards, April 12, 2009. On June 30, the Orioles rallied to score 10 runs against Boston Red Sox after facing a 10–1 deficit in the 7th inning, winning the game by 11–10, setting a Major League Baseball record for the largest comeback by a last-place team over a first-place team.[16] However, the team finished the 2009 season with 64 wins and 98 losses, making it the worst record in the 2009 American League season. Despite this, Manager Dave Trembley was re-hired for the 2010 season.[17] Centerfielder Adam Jones was named to the 2009 All Star team, and awarded a Gold Glove award for his defensive play. 2010 season Main article: 2010 Baltimore Orioles season On April 12, the team set a club record for the lowest paid attendance in Camden Yards history, only 9,129 attended the game versus the Tampa Bay Rays.[18] The Orioles then went 2–16 to begin the season, last in the league by quite a margin.[19] On June 4, with an 8-game losing streak and the worst record in the league at 15–39, the Orioles replaced Dave Trembley as manager with third base coach Juan Samuel as interim manager.[20] They did well at first, but then they started losing again, going 17–34 under Samuel.[21] The Orioles hired Buck Showalter on July 29 to be the full-time manager.[22] He was introduced on August 2 and made his debut on August 3, after the Orioles fired Samuel. Showalter's arrival produced, or coincided with, a turnaround; the Birds went 34–23 under Showalter to finish 66–96.[21] The Orioles celebrate a 6–5 victory over the Mariners at Camden Yards on May 13, 2010. 2011 season Main article: 2011 Baltimore Orioles season On February 4, 2011, the Orioles signed free agent Vladimir Guerrero to be the team's designated hitter. Playing for the Texas Rangers during the 2010 season, Guerrero had hit 29 home runs, with a .300 batting average. (His career batting average was .320 with 436 home runs.) The Orioles 2011 record was 69–93, the 14th consecutive losing season for the franchise dating back to 1998. The highlight of the season was their final game on September 28, when they defeated the Boston Red Sox 4–3 thanks to 9th inning heroics by Nolan Reimold and Robert Andino. The Orioles victory prevented the Red Sox from earning the wild card berth as part of "Game 162", one of the most dramatic nights in Major League Baseball history. On November 8, the Orioles announced the hiring of Dan Duquette as the vice president of baseball operations (de facto GM) in the hopes of turning the corner. Return to success (2012–2017) 2012 season Main article: 2012 Baltimore Orioles season The Orioles finished the first half of the 2012 season with a winning record for only the second time since going wire to wire in 1997, with a record of 45–40 before the All-Star break. On May 6, the Orioles played a 17-inning game against the Boston Red Sox, the first game since 1925 in which both teams used a position player as a pitcher. The Orioles won that game, and designated hitter Chris Davis received the win. The Orioles won their 81st game on September 13, ending the streak of 14 straight years with a losing record, as well as ensuring that the team would spend the entire year with a record of .500 or higher. On September 16, they won their 82nd game, securing the first season with a winning record since 1997. On September 21, closer Jim Johnson earned his 46th save of the season, setting a new Orioles franchise record for saves by one pitcher in a single season. It was previously held by Randy Myers, who had 45 saves in 1997. Johnson became the tenth player to record 50 saves in Major League history. He finished the regular season with 51 saves. With the win against the Boston Red Sox on September 30 and the loss of the Los Angeles Angels to the Texas Rangers in the second game of a doubleheader, the Orioles clinched a playoff berth. This season marked the Orioles return to postseason play. The Orioles finished the regular season in second place in the AL East with a record of 93–69, reversing the 69–93 record from the previous year. Despite a poor run differential (+7, the lowest of all playoff teams in 2012), they benefited from a 29–9 record in games decided by one run and a 16–2 record in extra-inning games. They went on the road to face the team that finished first in the Wild Card race, the Texas Rangers for a one-game playoff series on October 5, winning 5–1 to advance to the ALDS against the New York Yankees on October 7. The season was also distinctive for the fact that Orioles became the only team in MLB history, since 1900, never to have lost a game due to an opponent's walk-off hit.[23] Despite a regular season of avoiding walk-off losses, they lost in Game 3 of the ALDS when Yankee Raúl Ibañez hit his own record-setting, game-winning home run in the bottom of the 12th inning. The Orioles would lose the 2012 ALDS in five games. 2013 season Main article: 2013 Baltimore Orioles season During the home opener on April 5, first baseman Chris Davis set a new MLB record with 16 RBI's during the first four games of a season, as well as becoming the fourth player ever to hit home runs in the first four games, including a grand slam in the fourth. On September 13, Davis hit his 50th home run of the season, against the Toronto Blue Jays, tying Brady Anderson for the most home runs in Orioles history. Davis would break Anderson's record four days later against the Boston Red Sox. His 51st home run also tied Anderson's record of 92 extra-base hits in a single season, a record he would again break four days later. Davis would go on to finish the season with 53 home runs. On September 18, the Orioles played their 114th errorless game of the season, setting a new MLB record for the most errorless games in one season since 1900.[24] They played 119 games without an error, ending on September 27. On September 20, the Orioles played the Tampa Bay Rays in an 18 inning game that lasted 6 hours, 54 minutes, a new record for the longest game in terms of time for both franchises, as well as innings for the Rays. The Rays won 5–4. While the Orioles would ultimately miss the playoffs in 2013, they finished with a record of 85–77, tying the Yankees for third place in the AL East. By posting winning records in 2012 and 2013, the Orioles achieved the feat of back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1996 and 1997. 2014 season Main article: 2014 Baltimore Orioles season On September 16, the Orioles clinched the division for the first time since 1997 with a win against the Toronto Blue Jays as well as making it back to the postseason for the second time in three years. The Orioles finished the 2014 season with a 96–66 record and went on to sweep the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. Notably, the three Tigers starters were winners of the previous 3 AL Cy Young Awards; Max Scherzer (2013), Justin Verlander (2011), and David Price (2012). The O's were then in turn swept by the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. 2015 season On April 26, the Orioles scored 18 runs against the Boston Red Sox, the most runs they had scored in a single game, since they defeated the Cleveland Indians 18–9[25] on April 19, 2006. The Orioles beat the Red Sox 18–7.[26] On June 16, the Orioles scored 19 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies, making it the most runs the Orioles have scored since earlier in the season against the Red Sox. The Orioles had 8 home runs during the game, a franchise record.[27] The team then later got their 5000th win as the Orioles on June 28 with a shutout 4–0 win over the Indians. On August 16, the Orioles defeated the Oakland Athletics 18–2, during which the team tied a franchise record for hits in a single game with 26.[28] On September 11, the Orioles rallied from a two-run deficit of 6–4 in the bottom of the 8th inning, against the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles won the game 14–8. The rally included left fielder Nolan Reimold and designated hitter Steve Clevenger both hitting their first career grand slams, making the Orioles the only franchise in the history of Major League Baseball to hit multiple grand slams in the same inning in two different games, the last time being in 1986.[29] On September 30, in a reverse of fortune, the Toronto Blue Jays clinched the AL East with a win over the Orioles in Baltimore where they watched the Orioles celebrate their division title clinch the previous year.[30] Response to 2015 unrest Out of an abundance of caution, the Baltimore Orioles announced the postponement of the April 27 and 28 games against the Chicago White Sox following violent riots in West Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray.[31] Following the announcement of the second postponement, the Orioles also announced that the third game in the series scheduled for Wednesday, April 29 was to be closed to the public and would be televised only,[32] apparently the first time in 145 years of Major League Baseball that a game had no spectators and breaking the previous 131-year-old record for lowest paid attendance to an official game (the previous record being 6.) [33] The Orioles beat the White Sox, 8–2.[34] The Orioles said the make-up games would be played Thursday, May 28, as a double-header. In addition, the weekend games against the Tampa Bay Rays was moved to the Rays' home stadium in St. Petersburg where Baltimore played as the home team.[35][36] Uniform The 2012 uniforms. Left to right: Home, Away, Saturday (away with gray pants), Friday (away with gray pants.). The Orioles' home uniform is white with the word "Orioles" written across the chest. The road uniform is gray with the word "Baltimore" written across the chest. A long campaign of several decades was waged by numerous fans and sportswriters to return the name of the city to the "away" jerseys which was used since the 1950s and had been formerly dropped during the 1970s era of Edward Bennett Williams when the ownership was continuing to market the team also to fans in the nation's capital region after the moving of the former Washington Senators in 1971. After several decades, approximately 20% of the team's attendance came from the metro Washington area. An alternate uniform is black with the word "Orioles" written across the chest. The Orioles wear their black alternate jerseys for Friday night games with the alternate "O's" cap, whether at home or on the road; the cartoon bird batting helmet is still used with this uniform (see description on home and road design). For 2012, the team unveiled its new uniforms. There was a change to the cap insignia, with the cartoon Oriole returning. Home caps are white in front and black at the back with an orange bill, while the road caps are all black on top with an orange bill. The Orioles also introduced a new alternate orange uniform to be worn on Saturday home games throughout the 2012 season. In 2013, ESPN ran a "Battle of the Uniforms" contest between all 30 Major League clubs. Despite using a ranking system that had the Orioles as a #13 seed, the Birds beat the #1 seed Cardinals in the championship round.[37] On June 27, 2014, the Orioles announced since their win in New York against the New York Yankees they will wear their 'new orange' jerseys every Saturday for the rest of the 2014 season both home and away. They have since continued to wear the orange jerseys on most Saturday road games. For 2017, the Orioles began to use their batting practice caps for select games with the black uniforms. The aforementioned caps resemble their regular road caps save for the black bill. Radio and television coverage Further information: List of Baltimore Orioles broadcasters Radio In Baltimore, Orioles games on radio can be heard over WJZ-FM (105.7 FM). Jim Hunter and Kevin Brown alternate as play-by-play announcers. WJZ-FM also feeds the games to a network of 36 stations, covering Washington, D.C. and all or portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. WJZ-FM is in its second stint as the Orioles' flagship radio outlet; the station had carried the team previously from 2007 through 2010. Previous radio flagships for the Orioles have been WCBM (680 AM) from 1954 to 1956, and again for the 1987 season; WBAL (1090 AM) over three separate stints (1957 to 1978, 1988 to 2006, and 2011 to 2014); and WFBR (1300 AM, now WJZ) from 1979 through 1986. Six former Oriole franchise radio announcers have received the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting: Chuck Thompson (who was also the voice of the old NFL Baltimore Colts); Jon Miller (now with the San Francisco Giants); Ernie Harwell, Herb Carneal; Bob Murphy and Harry Caray (as a St. Louis Browns announcer in the 1940s[38]). Other former Baltimore announcers include Josh Lewin (currently with New York Mets), Bill O'Donnell, Tom Marr, Scott Garceau, Mel Proctor, Michael Reghi, former major league catcher Buck Martinez (now Toronto Blue Jays play-by-play), and former Oriole players including Brooks Robinson, pitcher Mike Flanagan and outfielder John Lowenstein. In 1991, the Orioles experimented with longtime TV writer/producer Ken Levine as a play-by-play broadcaster. Levine was best noted for his work on TV shows such as Cheers and M*A*S*H, but only lasted one season in the Orioles broadcast booth. Television The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), co-owned by the Orioles and the Washington Nationals, is the team's exclusive television broadcaster. MASN airs almost the entire slate of regular season games. Some exceptions include Saturday games on either Fox (via its Baltimore affiliate, WBFF) or Fox Sports 1, or Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. Many MASN telecasts in conflict with Nationals' game telecasts air on an alternate MASN2 feed. Veteran sportscaster Gary Thorne is the current lead television announcer, with Jim Hunter as his backup along with Hall of Fame member and former Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer and former Oriole infielder Mike Bordick as color analysts, who almost always work separately. All telecasts on MASN and WJZ-TV are shown in high-definition. As part of the settlement of a television broadcast rights dispute with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, the Orioles severed their Comcast ties at the end of the 2006 season. Comcast SportsNet had been the Orioles' cable partner since 1984, when it was Home Team Sports. WJZ-TV was the Orioles' broadcast TV home, completing its latest stint from 1994 through 2017. Since MASN acquired rights in 2007, its coverage was simulcast on WJZ-TV under the branding "MASN on WJZ 13". MASN elected not to syndicate any Orioles or Washington Nationals games to broadcast television for the 2018 season, marking the first time since the Orioles' arrival that their games are not on local broadcast television.[39] Previously, WJZ-TV carried the team from their arrival in Baltimore in 1954 through 1978. In the first four seasons, WJZ-TV shared coverage with Baltimore's other two stations, WMAR-TV and WBAL-TV. The games moved to WMAR from 1979 through 1993 before returning to WJZ-TV. From 1994 to 2009, some Orioles games aired on WNUV. Musical traditions "O!" Since its introduction at games by the "Roar from 34", led by Wild Bill Hagy and others, in the late 1970s, it has been a tradition at Orioles games for fans to yell out the "Oh" in the line "Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave" in "The Star-Spangled Banner". "The Star-Spangled Banner" has special meaning to Baltimore historically, as it was written during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812 by Francis Scott Key, a Baltimorean. "O" is not only short for "Oriole", but the vowel is also a stand-out aspect of the Baltimorean accent. The tradition is often carried out at other sporting events, both professional or amateur, and even sometimes at non-sporting events where the anthem is played, throughout the Baltimore/Washington area and beyond. Fans in Norfolk, Virginia, chanted "O!" even before the Tides became an Orioles affiliate. The practice caught some attention in the spring of 2005, when fans performed the "O!" cry at Washington Nationals games at RFK Stadium. The "O!" chant is also common at sporting events for the various Maryland Terrapins teams at the University of Maryland, College Park. At Cal Ripken Jr.'s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the crowd, composed mostly of Orioles fans, carried out the "O!" tradition during Tony Gwynn's daughter's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Additionally, a faint but audible "O!" could be heard on the television broadcast of Barack Obama's pre-inaugural visit to Baltimore as the National Anthem played before his entrance. A resounding "O!" bellowed from the nearly 30,000 Ravens fans that attended the November 21, 2010, away game at the Carolina Panthers' Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.[40] A similar loud "O!" was heard from fans attending Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.[41] The "O!" chant was also heard during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when Baltimore native Michael Phelps received one of his gold medals on August 9, 2016.[42] In recent years, when the Orioles host the Toronto Blue Jays, fans have begun to shout out the multiple instances of the word "O" in "O Canada". Washington Capitals fans will do the same when they play one of the NHL's Canadian teams. "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" It has been an Orioles tradition since 1975 to play John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" during the seventh-inning stretch. In the edition of July 5, 2007, of Baltimore's weekly sports publication Press Box, an article by Mike Gibbons covered the details of how this tradition came to be.[43] During "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", Charlie Zill, then an usher, would put on overalls, a straw hat, and false teeth and dance around the club level section (244) that he tended to. He also has an orange violin that spins for the fiddle solos. He went by the name Zillbilly and had done the skit from the 1999 season until shortly before he died in early 2013. During a nationally televised game on September 20, 1997, Denver himself danced to the song atop the Orioles' dugout, one of his final public appearances before dying in a plane crash three weeks later.[44] "Orioles Magic" and other songs Songs from notable games in the team's history include "One Moment in Time" for Cal Ripken's record-breaking game in 1995, as well as the theme from Pearl Harbor, "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill, during his final game in 2001. The theme from Field of Dreams was played at the last game at Memorial Stadium in 1991, and the song "Magic to Do" from the stage musical Pippin was used that season to commemorate "Orioles Magic" on 33rd Street. During the Orioles' heyday in the 1970s, a club song, appropriately titled "Orioles Magic (Feel It Happen)", was composed by Walt Woodward,[45] and played when the team ran out until Opening Day of 2008. Since then, the song (a favorite among all fans, who appreciated its references to Wild Bill Hagy and Earl Weaver) is only played (along with a video featuring several Orioles stars performing the song) after wins. Seven Nation Army is played as a hype song while the fans chant the signature bass riff as a rally cry during key moments of a game or after a walk-off hit. The First Army Band During the Orioles' final homestand of the season, it is a tradition to display a replica of the 15-star, 15-stripe American flag at Camden Yards. Prior to 1992, the 15-star, 15-stripe flag flew from Memorial Stadium's center-field flagpole in place of the 50-star, 13-stripe flag during the final homestand. Since the move to Camden Yards, the former flag has been displayed on the batters' eye. During the Orioles' final home game of the season, The United States Army Field Band from Fort Meade performs the National Anthem prior to the start of the game. The Band has also played the National Anthem at the finales of three World Series in which the Orioles played in: 1970, 1971 and 1979. They are introduced as the "First Army Band" during the pregame ceremonies. PA announcer For 23 years, Rex Barney was the PA announcer for the Orioles. His voice became a fixture of both Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards, and his expression "Give that fan a contract", uttered whenever a fan caught a foul ball, was one of his trademarks – the other being his distinct "Thank Yooooou..." following every announcement. (He was also known on occasion to say "Give that fan an error" after a dropped foul ball.) Barney died on August 12, 1997, and in his honor that night's game at Camden Yards against the Oakland Athletics was held without a public–address announcer.[46] Barney was replaced as Camden Yards' PA announcer by Dave McGowan, who held the position until December 2011. Lifelong Orioles fan and former MLB Fan Cave resident Ryan Wagner is the current PA announcer. He was chosen out of a field of more than 670 applicants in the 2011–12 offseason.[47] Postseason appearances Of the eight original American League teams, the Orioles were the last of the eight to win the World Series, doing so in 1966 with its four–game sweep of the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers. When the Orioles were the St. Louis Browns, they played in only one World Series, the 1944 matchup against their Sportsman's Park tenants, the Cardinals. The Orioles won the first-ever American League Championship Series in 1969, and in 2012 the Orioles beat the Texas Rangers in the inaugural American League Wild Card game, where for the first time two Wild Card teams faced each other during postseason play. Year Wild Card Game ALDS ALCS World Series 1944[A] Not played St. Louis Cardinals L 1966[B] Not played Los Angeles Dodgers W 1969 Not played Minnesota Twins W New York Mets L 1970 Not played Minnesota Twins W Cincinnati Reds W 1971 Not played Oakland Athletics W Pittsburgh Pirates L 1973 Not played Oakland Athletics L 1974 Not played Oakland Athletics L 1979 Not played California Angels W Pittsburgh Pirates L 1983 Not played Chicago White Sox W Philadelphia Phillies W 1996 Not played Cleveland Indians W New York Yankees L 1997 Not played Seattle Mariners W Cleveland Indians L 2012 Texas Rangers W New York Yankees L 2014 Bye Detroit Tigers W Kansas City Royals L 2016 Toronto Blue Jays L ↑Appeared as the St. Louis Browns ↑This and subsequent appearances as the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Hall of Famers Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famers Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Milwaukee Brewers Hugh Duffy St. Louis Browns Jim Bottomley Willard Brown Jesse Burkett Earle Combs† Dizzy Dean Rick Ferrell Goose Goslin Rogers Hornsby Tommy Lasorda **[48][49] Heinie Manush Christy Mathewson **[50] Joe Medwick **[51] Satchel Paige Eddie Plank Branch Rickey George Sisler* Bill Veeck Rube Waddell* Bobby Wallace Baltimore Orioles Roberto Alomar Luis Aparicio Harold Baines Pat Gillick†† Vladimir Guerrero Whitey Herzog Reggie Jackson George Kell Eddie Murray Mike Mussina Jim Palmer Tim Raines Cal Ripken Jr. Robin Roberts Brooks Robinson Frank Robinson Lee Smith Jim Thome Earl Weaver Hoyt Wilhelm Dick Williams Players and managers listed in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Orioles or Browns cap insignia. * Has no insignia on his cap due to playing at a time when caps bore no insignia. † – Earle Combs was a Browns coach in 1947. ** Were property of the St. Louis Browns and were assigned to the team's major league roster, but never appeared in a regulation game. †† – Pat Gillick was elected as an Executive/Pioneer due in part to his contributions to baseball as general manager of the Orioles.[52] Ford C. Frick Award (broadcasters only) Baltimore Orioles Ford C. Frick Award recipients Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Harry Caray Herb Carneal Bob Murphy Milo Hamilton J. Roy Stockton*[53] Ernie Harwell Chuck Thompson Jon Miller Names in bold received the award based primarily on their work as broadcasters for the Orioles or Browns. *Since J. Roy Stockton was also a newspaper reporter, and an awardee can only receive induction into the Hall of Fame under one award, his award came under the J.G. Taylor Spink award. Retired numbers See also: List of Major League Baseball retired numbers The Orioles will only retire a number when a player has been inducted into the Hall of Fame with Cal Ripken Jr. being the only exception.[N 1] However, the Orioles have placed moratoriums on other former Orioles' numbers following their deaths (see note below).[54] To date, the Orioles have retired the following numbers: 20 Frank Robinson RF Coach, Mgr Retired 1972 5 Brooks Robinson 3B Retired April 14, 1978 4 Earl Weaver Coach, Mgr Retired September 19, 1982 22 Jim Palmer P Retired September 1, 1985 33 Eddie Murray 1B, DH Retired June 7, 1998 8 Cal Ripken Jr. SS, 3B Retired October 6, 2001 42 Jackie Robinson† All MLB Honored April 15, 1997 Note: Cal Ripken Sr.'s number 7, Elrod Hendricks' number 44, and Mike Flanagan's number 46 have not officially been retired, but a moratorium has been placed on them and they have not been issued by the team since their deaths. †Jackie Robinson's number 42 is retired throughout Major League Baseball Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame Main article: Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame Orioles in the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame No. Name Position Tenure Notes 9, 16 Brady Anderson OF 1988–2001 Born in Silver Spring 3, 10 Harold Baines DH/RF 1993–1995 1997–1999 2000 Elected mainly on his performance with Chicago White Sox, born in Easton 13, 29, 59 Steve Barber P 1960–1967 Born in Takoma Park 22, 48 Jack Fisher P 1959–1962 Born in Frostburg 29 Ray Moore P 1955–1957 Born in Meadows 36 Tom Phoebus P 1966–1970 Attended Mount Saint Joseph College, born in Baltimore 3, 7 Billy Ripken 2B 1987–1992, 1996 Born in Havre de Grace, raised in Aberdeen 8 Cal Ripken, Jr. SS/3B 1981–2001 Born in Havre de Grace, raised in Aberdeen 5 Brooks Robinson 3B 1955–1977 Team Hall of Fame See also: Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame The Orioles also have an official team hall of fame, located on display on Eutaw Street at Camden Yards. The most recent inductees were Brian Roberts and Fred Manfra.[55] Team captains 33 Eddie Murray, 1B/DH, 1986–1988 Current roster Baltimore Orioles rostervte Active roster Inactive roster Coaches/Other Pitchers Starting rotation 37 Dylan Bundy 54 Andrew Cashner 17 Alex Cobb 67 John Means 53 Dan Straily Bullpen 50 Miguel Castro 51 Paul Fry 60 Mychal Givens 41 David Hess 58 Evan Phillips 66 Tanner Scott 31 Jimmy Yacabonis 64 Gabriel Ynoa Catchers 28 Pedro Severino 40 Jesús Sucre Infielders 57 Hanser Alberto 19 Chris Davis 1 Richie Martin 39 Renato Núñez 14 Rio Ruiz 2 Jonathan Villar 12 Steve Wilkerson Outfielders 16 Trey Mancini 23 Joey Rickard 35 Dwight Smith Jr. Pitchers 48 Richard Bleier Injury icon 2.svg 49 Cody Carroll 56 Hunter Harvey 36 Nate Karns Injury icon 2.svg 52 Branden Kline 59 Luis Ortiz 32 Yefry Ramírez 65 Josh Rogers 55 Dillon Tate Catchers 15 Chance Sisco 61 Austin Wynns Outfielders 21 Austin Hays 3 Cedric Mullins 25 Anthony Santander 24 DJ Stewart Manager 18 Brandon Hyde Coaches 13 Arnie Beyeler (first base) 26 Doug Brocail (pitching) 88 Howie Clark (assistant hitting) 34 Tim Cossins (field coordinator/catching) 11 Jose Flores (third base) 27 José Hernández (coach) 86 Dustin Hughes (bullpen catcher) 30 Don Long (hitting) 47 John Wasdin (bullpen) 60-day injured list 45 Mark Trumbo 25 active, 15 inactive Injury icon 2.svg 7- or 10-day injured list dagger Suspended list # Personal leave Roster and coaches updated April 26, 2019 Transactions • Depth chart → All MLB rosters Minor league affiliates Main articles: List of Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates and Baltimore Orioles minor league players Level Team League Location AAA Norfolk Tides International League Norfolk, Virginia AA Bowie Baysox Eastern League Bowie, Maryland A Advanced Frederick Keys Carolina League Frederick, Maryland A Delmarva Shorebirds South Atlantic League Salisbury, Maryland Short Season A Aberdeen IronBirds New York–Penn League Aberdeen, Maryland Rookie GCL Orioles Gulf Coast League Sarasota, Florida DSL Orioles 1 Dominican Summer League Dominican Republic DSL Orioles 2 Franchise records and award winners Main articles: Baltimore Orioles team records and List of Baltimore Orioles awards Season records Individual records – batting Highest batting average: .340, Melvin Mora (2004) Most at bats: 673, B. J. Surhoff (1999) Most plate appearances: 749, Brady Anderson (1992) Most games: 163, Brooks Robinson (1961, 1964) and Cal Ripken (1996) Most runs: 132, Roberto Alomar (1996) Most hits: 214, Miguel Tejada (2006) Most total bases: 370, Chris Davis (2013) Highest slugging %: .646, Jim Gentile (1961) Highest on-base %: .442, Bob Nieman (1956) Most singles: 158, Al Bumbry (1980) Most doubles: 56, Brian Roberts (2009) Most triples: 12, Paul Blair (1967) Most home runs, RHB: 49, Frank Robinson (1966) Most home runs, LHB: 53, Chris Davis (2013) Most home runs, leadoff hitter: 35, Brady Anderson (1996) Most home runs, leading off game: 12, Brady Anderson (1996) Most consecutive games leading off with a home run: 4, Brady Anderson (April 18, 1996 – April 21, 1996) Most extra base hits: 96, Chris Davis (2013) Most RBI, LHB: 142, Rafael Palmeiro (1996) Most RBI, RHB: 150, Miguel Tejada (2004) Most RBI, switch: 124, Eddie Murray (1985) Most RBI, month: 37, Albert Belle (June 2000) Most GWRBI: 25, Rafael Palmeiro (1998) Most consecutive games hit safely: 30, Eric Davis (1998) Most sac hits: 23, Mark Belanger (1975) Most sac flies: 17, Bobby Bonilla (1996) Most stolen bases: 57, Luis Aparicio (1964) Most walks: 118, Ken Singleton (1975) Most intentional walks: 25, Eddie Murray (1984) Most strikeouts: 219, Chris Davis (2016) Fewest strikeouts: 19, Rich Dauer (1980) Most hit by pitch: 24, Brady Anderson (1999) Most GIDP: 32, Cal Ripken (1985) Most pinch hits: 24, Dave Philley (1961) Most consecutive pinch hits: 6, Bob Johnson (1964) Most pinch hit RBI: 18, Dave Philley (1961) Individual records – pitching Most games: 81, Jamie Walker (2007) Most games, rookie: 67, Jorge Julio (2002) Most games, started: 40, Dave McNally (1969–70), Mike Cuellar (1970), Jim Palmer (1976), and Mike Flanagan (1978) Most games started, rookie: 36, Bob Milacki (1989) Most complete games: 25, Jim Palmer (1975) Most games finished: 63, Jim Johnson (2012–13) Most wins: 25, Steve Stone (1980) Most wins, rookie: 19, Wally Bunker (1964) Most losses: 21, Don Larsen (1954) Best won-lost %: .808, Dave McNally (1971) Most bases on balls: 181, Bob Turley (1954) Most hit batsmen: 18, Daniel Cabrera (2008) Most strikeouts: 221, Érik Bédard (2007) Most innings pitched: 323, Jim Palmer (1975) Most innings pitched, rookie: 243, Bob Milacki (1989) Most shutouts: 10, Jim Palmer (1975) Most consecutive shutout innings: 36, Hal Brown (July 7, 1961 – August 8, 1961) Most home runs allowed: 35, 4 times; last: Jeremy Guthrie (2009) Fewest home runs allowed (by qualifier): 8, Milt Pappas (209 IP) (1959) and Billy Loes (155 IP) (1957) Lowest ERA (by qualifier): 1.95, Dave McNally (1968) Highest ERA (by qualifier): 5.90, Rodrigo Lopez (2006) Most saves: 51, Jim Johnson (2012) Most saves, rookie: 27, Gregg Olson (1989) Most wins, reliever: 14, Stu Miller (1965) Most relief points: 131, Randy Myers (1997) Most innings pitched by reliever: 140.1, Sammy Stewart (1983) Most consecutive wins: 15, Dave McNally (April 12, 1969 – August 3, 1969) Most consecutive losses: 10, Jay Tibbs (July 10, 1988 – October 1, 1988) Most consecutive losses, start of season: 8, Mike Boddicker (1988) and Jason Johnson (2000) Most wins vs. one club: 6, Wally Bunker vs. Kansas City (1964) Most losses vs. one club: 5 Don Larsen vs. White Sox (1954), Joe Coleman vs. Yankees (1954), and Jim Wilson vs. Cleveland (1955) Most wins by opponent: 6, Andy Pettitte, Yankees (2003) and Bud Daley, Kansas City (1959) Most losses by opponent: 5, Ned Garver, Kansas City (1957), Dick Stigman, Minnesota (1963), Stan Williams, Cleveland (1969), and Catfish Hunter, Yankees (1976) Rivalry with the Washington Nationals The Orioles have a burgeoning regional rivalry[56][57] with the nearby Washington Nationals nicknamed the Beltway Series or Battle of the Beltways. Baltimore currently leads the series with a 26–20 record over the Nationals. The all-white outfits gave rise to the sobriquet Doves in 1907. Established 1883 City Boston – Milwaukee – Atlanta League History 2000 – Present / Major League Baseball 1883 – 1999 / National League Team History 1966 – Present / Atlanta Braves 1953 – 1965 / Milwaukee Braves 1941 – 1952 / Boston Braves 1936 – 1940 / Boston Bees 1912 – 1935 / Boston Braves 1911 / Boston Rustlers 1907 – 1910 / Boston Doves 1883 – 1906 / Boston Beaneaters Nickname Doves – Before the 1907 season, longtime Boston Beaneaters owner Arthur Soden sold the team to the Dovey Brothers. The team quickly became known as the Boston Doves, after the brothers. Championship World Series 0 1995, 1957, 1914 Stadium 2017 – Present / SunTrust Park 1997 – 2016 / Turner Field 1976 – 1996 / Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 1966 – 1976 / Atlanta Stadium *Milwaukee* 1953 – 1965 / Milwaukee County Stadium *Boston* 1915 – 1952 / Braves Field 1936 – 1941 / National League Park 1914 – 1915 / Fenway Park 1894 – 1914 / South End Grounds 1894 / Congress Street Grounds 1883 – 1894 / South End Grounds Owner 2007 – Present / Liberty Media Corporation 1996 – 2007 / Time Warner 1976 – 1996 / Ted Turner 1962 – 1976 / William Bartholomay 1944 – 1962 / Lou Perini 1935 – 1945 / Bob Quinn 1922 – 1935 / Emil Fuchs 1919 – 1922 / George W. Grant 1915 – 1918 / Percy Haughton 1912 – 1915 / James Gaffney 1911 / William Hepburn Russell 1909 – 1910 / John Dovey 1907 – 1909 / George & John Dovey 1883 – 1909 / Arthur Soden Retired Number 3 Dale Murphy 6 Bobby Cox 10 Chipper Jones 21 Warren Spahn 29 John Smoltz 31 Greg Maddux 35 Phil Niekro 41 Eddie Matthews 42 Jackie Robinson 44 Hank Aaron 47 Tom Glavine Mascot 1988 – Present / Homer 1971 – 1979 / Rally I don’t think a lot of this nickname. But then again this is the Braves I am talking about. In 1907 they changed from the Beaneaters to the Doves. It didn’t seem to help since they finished 7th in the pennant race with a record of 58-90. They were a dismal 47 games behind first. There isn’t much to say about losing 90 games in a season. One bright spot during a 90-loss season came on May 8, when Big Jeff Pfeffer pitched a no-hitter in a 6-0 home win over the Cincinnati Reds. The only other bright spot was the St. Louis Cardinals lost 101 games that year. Fred Tenney continued as manager. What is weird is that this was an improvement over the previous year. Go figure. The Dovey brothers operated the club. Before the 1907 season, longtime Boston Beaneaters owner Arthur Soden sold the team to the Dovey Brothers. They thought their name would be better than the Beaneaters. They also improved the South End Grounds where they played at the time. They added a new scoreboard (to keep up with the opponents runs better???) and cushioned a few seats. How about some better players? Hmm, there is a thought.
Boston (US: /ˈbɔːstən/, UK: /ˈbɒstən/),[4] officially the City of Boston, is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States and 24th-most populous city in the country.[5] The city proper covers about 48.4 sq mi (125 km2)[6] with a population of 675,647 in 2020,[7] also making it the most populous city in New England.[8] It is the seat of Suffolk County (although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999).[9] The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest MSA in the country.[10] A broader combined statistical area (CSA), generally corresponding to the commuting area[11] and including Providence, Rhode Island, is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States.[12] Boston is one of the oldest municipalities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from the English town of the same name.[13][14] It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the siege of Boston. Upon American independence from Great Britain, the city continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture.[15][16] The city has expanded beyond the original peninsula through land reclamation and municipal annexation. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing more than 20 million visitors per year.[17] Boston's many firsts include the United States' first public park (Boston Common, 1634), first public or state school (Boston Latin School, 1635)[18] first subway system (Tremont Street subway, 1897),[19] and first large public library (Boston Public Library, 1848). Today, Boston is a thriving center of scientific research. The Boston area's many colleges and universities, notably Harvard and MIT, make it a world leader in higher education,[20] including law, medicine, engineering and business, and the city is considered to be a global pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship, with nearly 5,000 startups.[21][22][23] Boston's economic base also includes finance,[24] professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology and government activities.[25] Households in the city claim the highest average rate of philanthropy in the United States;[26] businesses and institutions rank among the top in the country for environmental sustainability and investment.[27] Contents 1 History 1.1 Indigenous peoples 1.2 Colonial 1.3 Revolution and the siege of Boston 1.4 Post-revolution and the War of 1812 1.5 19th century 1.6 20th century 1.7 21st century 2 Geography 2.1 Neighborhoods 2.2 Climate 2.3 Cityscapes 3 Demographics 3.1 Ancestry 3.2 Demographic breakdown by ZIP Code 3.2.1 Income 3.3 Religion 4 Economy 5 Education 5.1 Primary and secondary education 5.2 Higher education 6 Public safety 7 Culture 8 Environment 8.1 Pollution control 8.2 South Boston Sustainable Housing 8.3 Water purity and availability 8.4 Climate change and sea level rise 9 Sports 10 Parks and recreation 11 Government and politics 12 Media 12.1 Newspapers 12.2 Radio and television 12.3 Film 12.4 Video games 13 Healthcare 14 Infrastructure 14.1 Transportation 15 International relations 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 18.1 Citations 18.2 Sources 19 Further reading 20 External links History Main article: History of Boston For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Boston. Indigenous peoples Prior to European colonization, modern-day Boston was originally inhabited by the indigenous Massachusett.[28][29] There were small Native communities throughout what became Boston, who likely moved between winter homes inland along the Charles River (called Quinobequin, meaning "meandering," by the Native people), where hunting was plentiful and summer homes along the coast where fishing and shellfish beds were plentiful.[28][29][30] Through archeological excavations, one of the oldest Native fishweirs in New England was found on Boylston Street. Native people constructed it to trap fish several thousand years ago.[29] Colonial Boston's early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine (after its "three mountains", only traces of which remain today) but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the origin of several prominent colonists. The renaming on September 7, 1630 (Old Style),[31][b] was by Puritan colonists from England[14][32] who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest for fresh water. Their settlement was initially limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River and connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 4000 BCE.[33] In 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history;[34] America's first public school, Boston Latin School, was founded in Boston in 1635.[18] John Hull and the pine tree shilling played a central role in the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Old South Church in the 1600s. In 1652 the Massachusetts legislature authorized John Hull to produce coinage. "The Hull Mint produced several denominations of silver coinage, including the pine tree shilling, for over 30 years until the political and economic situation made operating the mint no longer practical."[35] King Charles II for reasons which were mostly political deemed the "Hull Mint" high treason which had a punishment of being hanged, drawn and quartered. "On April 6, 1681, Edward Randolph petitioned the king, informing him the colony was still pressing their own coins which he saw as high treason and believed it was enough to void the charter. He asked that a writ of Quo warranto (a legal action requiring the defendant to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they claim to hold) be issued against Massachusetts for the violations."[36] Boston was the largest town in the Thirteen Colonies until Philadelphia outgrew it in the mid-18th century.[37] Boston's oceanfront location made it a lively port, and the city primarily engaged in shipping and fishing during its colonial days. However, Boston stagnated in the decades prior to the Revolution. By the mid-18th century, New York City and Philadelphia surpassed Boston in wealth. During this period, Boston encountered financial difficulties even as other cities in New England grew rapidly.[38][39] Revolution and the siege of Boston Main articles: Boston campaign and Siege of Boston In 1773, a group of angered Bostonian citizens threw a shipment of tea by the East India Company into Boston Harbor as a response to the Tea Act, in an event known as the Boston Tea Party. The weather continuing boisterous the next day and night, giving the enemy time to improve their works, to bring up their cannon, and to put themselves in such a state of defence, that I could promise myself little success in attacking them under all the disadvantages I had to encounter. William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, in a letter to William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, about the British army's decision to leave Boston, dated March 21, 1776.[40] Map of Boston in 1775 Map showing a British tactical evaluation of Boston in 1775. Many of the crucial events of the American Revolution[41] occurred in or near Boston. Boston's penchant for mob action along with the colonists' growing lack of faith in either Britain or its Parliament fostered a revolutionary spirit in the city.[38] When the British parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, a Boston mob ravaged the homes of Andrew Oliver, the official tasked with enforcing the Act, and Thomas Hutchinson, then the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.[38][42] The British sent two regiments to Boston in 1768 in an attempt to quell the angry colonists. This did not sit well with the colonists. In 1770, during the Boston Massacre, British troops shot into a crowd that had started to violently harass them. The colonists compelled the British to withdraw their troops. The event was widely publicized and fueled a revolutionary movement in America.[39] In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. Many of the colonists saw the act as an attempt to force them to accept the taxes established by the Townshend Acts. The act prompted the Boston Tea Party, where a group of angered Bostonian citizens threw an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company into Boston Harbor. The Boston Tea Party was a key event leading up to the revolution, as the British government responded furiously with the Coercive Acts, demanding compensation for the destroyed tea from the Bostonians.[38] This angered the colonists further and led to the American Revolutionary War. The war began in the area surrounding Boston with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.[38][43] Boston itself was besieged for almost a year during the siege of Boston, which began on April 19, 1775. The New England militia impeded the movement of the British Army. Sir William Howe, then the commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, led the British army in the siege. On June 17, the British captured the Charlestown peninsula in Boston, during the Battle of Bunker Hill. The British army outnumbered the militia stationed there, but it was a pyrrhic victory for the British because their army suffered irreplaceable casualties. It was also a testament to the skill and training of the militia, as their stubborn defence made it difficult for the British to capture Charlestown without suffering further irreplaceable casualties.[44][45] Several weeks later, George Washington took over the militia after the Continental Congress established the Continental Army to unify the revolutionary effort. Both sides faced difficulties and supply shortages in the siege, and the fighting was limited to small-scale raids and skirmishes. The narrow Boston Neck, which at that time was only about a hundred feet wide, impeded Washington's ability to invade Boston, and a long stalemate ensued. A young officer, Rufus Putnam, came up with a plan to make portable fortifications out of wood that could be erected on the frozen ground under cover of darkness. Putnam supervised this effort, which successfully installed both the fortifications and dozens of cannon on Dorchester Heights that Henry Knox had laboriously brought through the snow from Fort Ticonderoga. The astonished British awoke the next morning to see a large array of cannons bearing down on them. General Howe is believed to have said that the Americans had done more in one night than his army could have done in six months. The British Army attempted a cannon barrage for two hours, but their shot could not reach the colonists' cannons at such a height. The British gave up, boarded their ships and sailed away. Boston still celebrates "Evacuation Day" each year. Washington was so impressed, he made Rufus Putnam his chief engineer.[43][44][46] Post-revolution and the War of 1812 Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It, 1860, by J.W. Black, the first recorded aerial photograph After the Revolution, Boston's long seafaring tradition helped make it one of the nation's busiest ports for both domestic and international trade. Boston's harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 (adopted during the Napoleonic Wars) and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Boston's merchants had found alternatives for their capital investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the city's economy, and the city's industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. A network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a dense network of railroads furthered the region's industry and commerce.[47] State Street, 1801 During this period, Boston flourished culturally, as well, admired for its rarefied literary life and generous artistic patronage,[48][49] with members of old Boston families—eventually dubbed Boston Brahmins—coming to be regarded as the nation's social and cultural elites.[50] They are often associated with the American upper class, Harvard University;[51] and the Episcopal Church.[52][53] Boston was an early port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies, but was soon overtaken by Salem, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island.[54] Boston eventually became a center of the abolitionist movement.[55] The city reacted strongly to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850,[56] contributing to President Franklin Pierce's attempt to make an example of Boston after the Anthony Burns Fugitive Slave Case.[57][58] In 1822,[15] the citizens of Boston voted to change the official name from the "Town of Boston" to the "City of Boston", and on March 19, 1822, the people of Boston accepted the charter incorporating the city.[59] At the time Boston was chartered as a city, the population was about 46,226, while the area of the city was only4.8 sq mi (12 km2).[59] 19th century Painting with a body of water with sailing ships in the foreground and a city in the background View of downtown Boston from Dorchester Heights, 1841 Tremont Street, 1843 In the 1820s, Boston's population grew rapidly, and the city's ethnic composition changed dramatically with the first wave of European immigrants. Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Great Famine; by 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston.[60] In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans, Lebanese, Syrians,[61] French Canadians, and Russian and Polish Jews settling in the city. By the end of the 19th century, Boston's core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants with their residence yielding lasting cultural change. Italians became the largest inhabitants of the North End,[62] Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown, and Russian Jews lived in the West End. Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston's largest religious community,[63] and the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics since the early 20th century; prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O'Neill, and John F. Fitzgerald.[64] Between 1631 and 1890, the city tripled its area through land reclamation by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront.[65] The largest reclamation efforts took place during the 19th century; beginning in 1807, the crown of Beacon Hill was used to fill in a 50-acre (20 ha) mill pond that later became the Bulfinch Triangle and Haymarket Square. The present-day State House sits atop this lowered Beacon Hill. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created significant parts of the South End, the West End, the Financial District, and Chinatown. The Old City Hall was home to the Boston city council from 1865 to 1969. General view of Boston, by J. J. Hawes, c. 1860s–1880s Colored print image of a city square in the 1900s Haymarket Square, 1909 After the Great Boston fire of 1872, workers used building rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. During the mid-to-late 19th century, workers filled almost 600 acres (240 ha) of brackish Charles River marshlands west of Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights. The city annexed the adjacent towns of South Boston (1804), East Boston (1836), Roxbury (1868), Dorchester (including present-day Mattapan and a portion of South Boston) (1870), Brighton (including present-day Allston) (1874), West Roxbury (including present-day Jamaica Plain and Roslindale) (1874), Charlestown (1874), and Hyde Park (1912).[66][67] Other proposals were unsuccessful for the annexation of Brookline, Cambridge,[68] and Chelsea.[69][70] 20th century Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, opened in 1912.[71] Many architecturally significant buildings were built during these early years of the 20th century: Horticultural Hall,[72] the Tennis and Racquet Club,[73] Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,[74] Fenway Studios,[75] Jordan Hall,[76] and the Boston Opera House. The Longfellow Bridge,[77] built in 1906, was mentioned by Robert McCloskey in Make Way for Ducklings, describing its "salt and pepper shakers" feature.[78] Logan International Airport opened on September 8, 1923.[79] The Boston Bruins were founded in 1924 and played their first game at Boston Garden in November 1928.[80] Boston went into decline by the early to mid-20th century, as factories became old and obsolete and businesses moved out of the region for cheaper labor elsewhere.[81] Boston responded by initiating various urban renewal projects, under the direction of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) established in 1957. In 1958, BRA initiated a project to improve the historic West End neighborhood. Extensive demolition was met with strong public opposition, and thousands of families were displaced.[82] The BRA continued implementing eminent domain projects, including the clearance of the vibrant Scollay Square area for construction of the modernist style Government Center. In 1965, the Columbia Point Health Center opened in the Dorchester neighborhood, the first Community Health Center in the United States. It mostly served the massive Columbia Point public housing complex adjoining it, which was built in 1953. The health center is still in operation and was rededicated in 1990 as the Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center.[83] The Columbia Point complex itself was redeveloped and revitalized from 1984 to 1990 into a mixed-income residential development called Harbor Point Apartments.[84] By the 1970s, the city's economy had begun to recover after 30 years of economic downturn. A large number of high-rises were constructed in the Financial District and in Boston's Back Bay during this period.[85] This boom continued into the mid-1980s and resumed after a few pauses. Hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Brigham and Women's Hospital lead the nation in medical innovation and patient care. Schools such as the Boston Architectural College, Boston College, Boston University, the Harvard Medical School, Tufts University School of Medicine, Northeastern University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Berklee College of Music, the Boston Conservatory, and many others attract students to the area. Nevertheless, the city experienced conflict starting in 1974 over desegregation busing, which resulted in unrest and violence around public schools throughout the mid-1970s.[86] 21st century Back Bay neighborhood Boston is an intellectual, technological, and political center but has lost some important regional institutions,[87] including the loss to mergers and acquisitions of local financial institutions such as FleetBoston Financial, which was acquired by Charlotte-based Bank of America in 2004.[88] Boston-based department stores Jordan Marsh and Filene's have both merged into the New York City–based Macy's.[89] The 1993 acquisition of The Boston Globe by The New York Times[90] was reversed in 2013 when it was re-sold to Boston businessman John W. Henry. In 2016, it was announced General Electric would be moving its corporate headquarters from Connecticut to the Seaport District in Boston, joining many other companies in this rapidly developing neighborhood. Boston has experienced gentrification in the latter half of the 20th century,[91] with housing prices increasing sharply since the 1990s.[92] On April 15, 2013, two Chechen Islamist brothers detonated a pair of bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring roughly 264.[93] In 2016, Boston briefly shouldered a bid as the US applicant for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The bid was supported by the mayor and a coalition of business leaders and local philanthropists, but was eventually dropped due to public opposition.[94] The USOC then selected Los Angeles to be the American candidate with Los Angeles ultimately securing the right to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.[95] Geography Aerial view of the Boston area from space Boston as seen from ESA Sentinel-2. Boston Harbor, at the center, has made Boston a major shipping port since its founding. Boston has an area of 89.63 sq mi (232.1 km2)—48.4 sq mi (125.4 km2) (54%) of land and41.2 sq mi (106.7 km2) (46%) of water. The city's official elevation, as measured at Logan International Airport, is 19 ft (5.8 m) above sea level.[96] The highest point in Boston is Bellevue Hill at 330 ft (100 m) above sea level, and the lowest point is at sea level.[97] Boston is situated on Boston Harbor, an arm of Massachusetts Bay, itself an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of South Boston is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. — author, Unknown – A common local colloquialism Panoramic map of Boston (1877) Boston is surrounded by the Greater Boston metropolitan region. It is bordered to the east by the town of Winthrop and the Boston Harbor Islands, to the northeast by the cities of Revere, Chelsea and Everett, to the north by the cities of Somerville and Cambridge, to the northwest by Watertown, to the west by the city of Newton and town of Brookline, to the southwest by the town of Dedham and small portions of Needham and Canton, and to the southeast by the town of Milton, and the city of Quincy. The Charles River separates Boston's Allston-Brighton, Fenway-Kenmore and Back Bay neighborhoods from Watertown and the majority of Cambridge, and the mass of Boston from its own Charlestown neighborhood. The Neponset River forms the boundary between Boston's southern neighborhoods and Quincy and Milton. The Mystic River separates Charlestown from Chelsea and Everett, and Chelsea Creek and Boston Harbor separate East Boston from Downtown, the North End, and the Seaport.[98] Neighborhoods Main article: Neighborhoods in Boston 200 Clarendon Street is the tallest building in Boston, with a roof height of 790 ft (240 m). Boston is sometimes called a "city of neighborhoods" because of the profusion of diverse subsections; the city government's Office of Neighborhood Services has officially designated 23 neighborhoods.[99] More than two-thirds of inner Boston's modern land area did not exist when the city was founded. Instead, it was created via the gradual filling in of the surrounding tidal areas over the centuries,[65] with earth from leveling or lowering Boston's three original hills (the "Trimountain", after which Tremont Street is named) and with gravel brought by train from Needham to fill the Back Bay.[16] Downtown and its immediate surroundings consist largely of low-rise masonry buildings (often Federal style and Greek Revival) interspersed with modern highrises, in the Financial District, Government Center, and South Boston.[100] Back Bay includes many prominent landmarks, such as the Boston Public Library, Christian Science Center, Copley Square, Newbury Street, and New England's two tallest buildings: the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center.[101] Near the John Hancock Tower is the old John Hancock Building with its prominent illuminated beacon, the color of which forecasts the weather.[102] Smaller commercial areas are interspersed among areas of single-family homes and wooden/brick multi-family row houses. The South End Historic District is the largest surviving contiguous Victorian-era neighborhood in the US.[103] The geography of downtown and South Boston was particularly affected by the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (known unofficially as the "Big Dig") which removed the elevated Central Artery and incorporated new green spaces and open areas.[104] Climate Autumn foliage with a city skyline in the distant background Boston's skyline in the background, with fall foliage in the foreground Boston Climate chart (explanation) J F M A M J J A S O N D 3.4 3723 3.2 3925 4.2 4631 3.6 5641 3.3 6750 3.9 7660 3.3 8266 3.2 8065 3.6 7358 4 6248 3.7 5238 4.3 4229 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Metric conversion Under the Köppen climate classification, depending on the isotherm used, Boston has either a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) under the −3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm or a humid continental climate under the 0 °C isotherm (Köppen Dfa).[105] The city is best described as being in a transitional zone between the two climates. Summers are typically warm and humid, while winters are cold and stormy, with occasional periods of heavy snow. Spring and fall are usually cool to mild, with varying conditions dependent on wind direction and jet stream positioning. Prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore minimize the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. However, in winter areas near the immediate coast will often see more rain than snow as warm air is drawn off the Atlantic at times.[106] The city lies at the transition between USDA plant hardiness zones 6b (most of the city) and 7a (Downtown, South Boston, and East Boston neighborhoods).[107] The hottest month is July, with a mean temperature of 74.1 °F (23.4 °C). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 29.9 °F (−1.2 °C). Periods exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) in summer and below freezing in winter are not uncommon but rarely extended, with about 13 and 25 days per year seeing each, respectively.[108] The most recent sub- 0 °F (−18 °C) reading occurred on January 7, 2018, when the temperature dipped down to −2 °F (−19 °C).[108] In addition, several decades may pass between 100 °F (38 °C) readings, with the most recent such occurrence on July 22, 2011, when the temperature reached 103 °F (39 °C).[108] The city's average window for freezing temperatures is November 9 through April 5.[108][c] Official temperature records have ranged from −18 °F (−28 °C) on February 9, 1934, up to 104 °F (40 °C) on July 4, 1911. The record cold daily maximum is 2 °F (−17 °C) on December 30, 1917, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 83 °F (28 °C) on August 2, 1975, and July 21, 2019.[109][108] A graph of cumulative winter snowfall at Logan International Airport from 1938 to 2015. The four winters with the most snowfall are highlighted. The snowfall data, which was collected by NOAA, is from the weather station at the airport. Boston's coastal location on the North Atlantic moderates its temperature but makes the city very prone to Nor'easter weather systems that can produce much snow and rain.[106] The city averages 43.6 in (1,110 mm) of precipitation a year, with 49.2 in (125 cm) of snowfall per season.[108] Most snowfall occurs from mid-November through early April, and snow is rare in May and October.[110][111] There is also high year-to-year variability in snowfall; for instance, the winter of 2011–12 saw only 9.3 in (23.6 cm) of accumulating snow, but the previous winter, the corresponding figure was 81.0 in (2.06 m).[108][d] Fog is fairly common, particularly in spring and early summer. Due to its location along the North Atlantic, the city often receives sea breezes, especially in the late spring, when water temperatures are still quite cold and temperatures at the coast can be more than 20 °F (11 °C) colder than a few miles inland, sometimes dropping by that amount near midday.[112][113] Thunderstorms occur from May to September, which are occasionally severe with large hail, damaging winds, and heavy downpours.[106] Although downtown Boston has never been struck by a violent tornado, the city itself has experienced many tornado warnings. Damaging storms are more common to areas north, west, and northwest of the city.[114] Boston has a relatively sunny climate for a coastal city at its latitude, averaging over 2,600 hours of sunshine per annum. vte Climate data for Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport), 1991−2020 normals,[e] extremes 1872−present[f] Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 74 (23) 73 (23) 89 (32) 94 (34) 97 (36) 100 (38) 104 (40) 102 (39) 102 (39) 90 (32) 83 (28) 76 (24) 104 (40) Mean maximum °F (°C) 58.3 (14.6) 57.9 (14.4) 67.0 (19.4) 79.9 (26.6) 88.1 (31.2) 92.2 (33.4) 95.0 (35.0) 93.7 (34.3) 88.9 (31.6) 79.6 (26.4) 70.2 (21.2) 61.2 (16.2) 96.4 (35.8) Average high °F (°C) 36.8 (2.7) 39.0 (3.9) 45.5 (7.5) 56.4 (13.6) 66.5 (19.2) 76.2 (24.6) 82.1 (27.8) 80.4 (26.9) 73.1 (22.8) 62.1 (16.7) 51.6 (10.9) 42.2 (5.7) 59.3 (15.2) Daily mean °F (°C) 29.9 (−1.2) 31.8 (−0.1) 38.3 (3.5) 48.6 (9.2) 58.4 (14.7) 68.0 (20.0) 74.1 (23.4) 72.7 (22.6) 65.6 (18.7) 54.8 (12.7) 44.7 (7.1) 35.7 (2.1) 51.9 (11.1) Average low °F (°C) 23.1 (−4.9) 24.6 (−4.1) 31.1 (−0.5) 40.8 (4.9) 50.3 (10.2) 59.7 (15.4) 66.0 (18.9) 65.1 (18.4) 58.2 (14.6) 47.5 (8.6) 37.9 (3.3) 29.2 (−1.6) 44.5 (6.9) Mean minimum °F (°C) 4.8 (−15.1) 8.3 (−13.2) 15.6 (−9.1) 31.0 (−0.6) 41.2 (5.1) 49.7 (9.8) 58.6 (14.8) 57.7 (14.3) 46.7 (8.2) 35.1 (1.7) 24.4 (−4.2) 13.1 (−10.5) 2.6 (−16.3) Record low °F (°C) −13 (−25) −18 (−28) −8 (−22) 11 (−12) 31 (−1) 41 (5) 50 (10) 46 (8) 34 (1) 25 (−4) −2 (−19) −17 (−27) −18 (−28) Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.39 (86) 3.21 (82) 4.17 (106) 3.63 (92) 3.25 (83) 3.89 (99) 3.27 (83) 3.23 (82) 3.56 (90) 4.03 (102) 3.66 (93) 4.30 (109) 43.59 (1,107) Average snowfall inches (cm) 14.3 (36) 14.4 (37) 9.0 (23) 1.6 (4.1) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.2 (0.51) 0.7 (1.8) 9.0 (23) 49.2 (125) Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 11.8 10.6 11.6 11.6 11.8 10.9 9.4 9.0 9.0 10.5 10.3 11.9 128.4 Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 6.6 6.2 4.4 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.6 4.2 23.0 Average relative humidity (%) 62.3 62.0 63.1 63.0 66.7 68.5 68.4 70.8 71.8 68.5 67.5 65.4 66.5 Average dew point °F (°C) 16.5 (−8.6) 17.6 (−8.0) 25.2 (−3.8) 33.6 (0.9) 45.0 (7.2) 55.2 (12.9) 61.0 (16.1) 60.4 (15.8) 53.8 (12.1) 42.8 (6.0) 33.4 (0.8) 22.1 (−5.5) 38.9 (3.8) Mean monthly sunshine hours 163.4 168.4 213.7 227.2 267.3 286.5 300.9 277.3 237.1 206.3 143.2 142.3 2,633.6 Percent possible sunshine 56 57 58 57 59 63 65 64 63 60 49 50 59 Average ultraviolet index 1 2 4 5 7 8 8 8 6 4 2 1 5 Source 1: NOAA (relative humidity, dew point and sun 1961−1990)[116][108][117] Source 2: Weather Atlas (UV)[118] Climate data for Boston, Massachusetts See or edit raw graph data. Cityscapes Sailboats on the Charles River overlook the Boston skyline, as seen from Cambridge. From left to right: Boston City Hall, the West End, the North End, Charlestown, Boston Harbor, and East Boston Sunset view of the Boston skyline and Charles River Demographics See also: History of the Irish in Boston, History of Italian Americans in Boston, History of African Americans in Boston, Chinese Americans in Boston, Dominican-Americans in Boston, Vietnamese in Boston, and LGBT culture in Boston Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1680 4,500 — 1690 7,000 +55.6% 1700 6,700 −4.3% 1710 9,000 +34.3% 1722 10,567 +17.4% 1742 16,382 +55.0% 1765 15,520 −5.3% 1790 18,320 +18.0% 1800 24,937 +36.1% 1810 33,787 +35.5% 1820 43,298 +28.1% 1830 61,392 +41.8% 1840 93,383 +52.1% 1850 136,881 +46.6% 1860 177,840 +29.9% 1870 250,526 +40.9% 1880 362,839 +44.8% 1890 448,477 +23.6% 1900 560,892 +25.1% 1910 670,585 +19.6% 1920 748,060 +11.6% 1930 781,188 +4.4% 1940 770,816 −1.3% 1950 801,444 +4.0% 1960 697,197 −13.0% 1970 641,071 −8.1% 1980 562,994 −12.2% 1990 574,283 +2.0% 2000 589,141 +2.6% 2010 617,594 +4.8% 2020 675,647 +9.4% *=population estimate. Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data.[119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130] 2010–2020[7] Source: U.S. Decennial Census[131] Map of Boston and the surrounding area displaying per capita income distribution Per capita income in the Greater Boston area, by US Census block group, 2000. The dashed line shows the boundary of the City of Boston. Map of racial distribution in Boston, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other In 2020, Boston was estimated to have 691,531 residents living in 266,724 households[8]—a 12% population increase over 2010. The city is the third-most densely populated large U.S. city of over half a million residents, and the most densely populated state capital. Some 1.2 million persons may be within Boston's boundaries during work hours, and as many as 2 million during special events. This fluctuation of people is caused by hundreds of thousands of suburban residents who travel to the city for work, education, health care, and special events.[132] In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.9% at age 19 and under, 14.3% from 20 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.[133] There were 252,699 households, of which 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 25.5% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.08.[133] From an estimate in 2005, Boston has one of the largest per capita LGBT populations in the United States. The median household income in Boston was $51,739, while the median income for a family was $61,035. Full-time year-round male workers had a median income of $52,544 versus $46,540 for full-time year-round female workers. The per capita income for the city was $33,158. 21.4% of the population and 16.0% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total population, 28.8% of those under the age of 18 and 20.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.[134] Boston has a significant racial wealth gap with White Bostonians having an median net worth of $247,500 compared to an $8 median net worth for non-immigrant Black residents and $0 for Dominican immigrant residents.[135] In 1950, Whites represented 94.7% of Boston's population.[136] From the 1950s to the end of the 20th century, the proportion of non-Hispanic Whites in the city declined. In 2000, non-Hispanic Whites made up 49.5% of the city's population, making the city majority minority for the first time. However, in the 21st century, the city has experienced significant gentrification, during which affluent Whites have moved into formerly non-White areas. In 2006, the US Census Bureau estimated non-Hispanic Whites again formed a slight majority but as of 2010, in part due to the housing crash, as well as increased efforts to make more affordable housing more available, the non-White population has rebounded. This may also have to do with increased Latin American and Asian populations and more clarity surrounding US Census statistics, which indicate a non-Hispanic White population of 47 percent (some reports give slightly lower figures).[137][138][139] Historical racial/ethnic composition Race/ethnicity 2019[140] 2010[141] 1990[136] 1970[136] 1940[136] Non-Hispanic Whites 44.9% 47.0% 59.0% 79.5%[142] 96.6% Black 22.2% 24.4% 23.8% 16.3% 3.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 19.6% 17.5% 10.8% 2.8%[142] 0.1% Asian 9.7% 8.9% 5.3% 1.3% 0.2% Two or more races 2.6% 3.9% – – – Native American 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% – Chinatown, with its paifang (Chinese: 牌坊) gate, is home to many Chinese and also Vietnamese restaurants. U.S. Navy sailors march in Boston's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. Irish Americans constitute the largest ethnicity in Boston. Boston gay pride march, held annually in June People of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in the city, making up 15.8% of the population, followed by Italians, accounting for 8.3% of the population. People of West Indian and Caribbean ancestry are another sizable group, at over 15%.[143] In Greater Boston, these numbers grew significantly, with 150,000 Dominicans according to 2018 estimates, 134,000 Puerto Ricans, 57,500 Salvadorans, 39,000 Guatemalans, 36,000 Mexicans, and over 35,000 Colombians.[144] East Boston has a diverse Hispanic/Latino population of Salvadorans, Colombians, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and even Portuguese-speaking people from Portugal and Brazil. Hispanic populations in southwest Boston neighborhoods are mainly made up of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, usually sharing neighborhoods in this section with African Americans and Blacks with origins from the Caribbean and Africa especially Cape Verdeans and Haitians. Neighborhoods such as Jamaica Plain and Roslindale have experienced a growing number of Dominican Americans.[145] Over 27,000 Chinese Americans made their home in Boston city proper in 2013.[146] Ancestry According to the 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the largest ancestry groups in Boston, Massachusetts are:[147][148] Ancestry Percentage of Boston population Percentage of Massachusetts population Percentage of United States population City-to-State Difference City-to-USA Difference Irish 14.06% 21.16% 10.39% −7.10% 3.67% Italian 8.13% 13.19% 5.39% −5.05% 2.74% other West Indian 6.92% 1.96% 0.90% 4.97% 6.02% Dominican 5.45% 2.60% 0.68% 2.65% 4.57% Puerto Rican 5.27% 4.52% 1.66% 0.75% 3.61% Chinese 4.57% 2.28% 1.24% 2.29% 3.33% German 4.57% 6.00% 14.40% −1.43% −9.83% English 4.54% 9.77% 7.67% −5.23% −3.13% American 4.13% 4.26% 6.89% −0.13% −2.76% Sub-Saharan African 4.09% 2.00% 1.01% 2.09% 3.08% Haitian 3.58% 1.15% 0.31% 2.43% 3.27% Polish 2.48% 4.67% 2.93% −2.19% −0.45% Cape Verdean 2.21% 0.97% 0.03% 1.24% 2.18% French 1.93% 6.82% 2.56% −4.89% −0.63% Vietnamese 1.76% 0.69% 0.54% 1.07% 1.22% Jamaican 1.70% 0.44% 0.34% 1.26% 1.36% Russian 1.62% 1.65% 0.88% −0.03% 0.74% Asian Indian 1.31% 1.39% 1.09% −0.08% 0.22% Scottish 1.30% 2.28% 1.71% −0.98% −0.41% French Canadian 1.19% 3.91% 0.65% −2.71% 0.54% Mexican 1.12% 0.67% 11.96% 0.45% −10.84% Arab 1.10% 1.10% 0.59% 0.00% 0.50% Demographic breakdown by ZIP Code Income See also: List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income Data is from the 2008–2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.[149][150][151] Rank ZIP code (ZCTA) Per capita income Median household income Median family income Population Number of households 1 02110 (Financial District) $152,007 $123,795 $196,518 1,486 981 2 02199 (Prudential Center) $151,060 $107,159 $146,786 1,290 823 3 02210 (Fort Point) $93,078 $111,061 $223,411 1,905 1,088 4 02109 (North End) $88,921 $128,022 $162,045 4,277 2,190 5 02116 (Back Bay/Bay Village) $81,458 $87,630 $134,875 21,318 10,938 6 02108 (Beacon Hill/Financial District) $78,569 $95,753 $153,618 4,155 2,337 7 02114 (Beacon Hill/West End) $65,865 $79,734 $169,107 11,933 6,752 8 02111 (Chinatown/Financial District/Leather District) $56,716 $44,758 $88,333 7,616 3,390 9 02129 (Charlestown) $56,267 $89,105 $98,445 17,052 8,083 10 02467 (Chestnut Hill) $53,382 $113,952 $148,396 22,796 6,351 11 02113 (North End) $52,905 $64,413 $112,589 7,276 4,329 12 02132 (West Roxbury) $44,306 $82,421 $110,219 27,163 11,013 13 02118 (South End) $43,887 $50,000 $49,090 26,779 12,512 14 02130 (Jamaica Plain) $42,916 $74,198 $95,426 36,866 15,306 15 02127 (South Boston) $42,854 $67,012 $68,110 32,547 14,994 Massachusetts $35,485 $66,658 $84,380 6,560,595 2,525,694 Boston $33,589 $53,136 $63,230 619,662 248,704 Suffolk County $32,429 $52,700 $61,796 724,502 287,442 16 02135 (Brighton) $31,773 $50,291 $62,602 38,839 18,336 17 02131 (Roslindale) $29,486 $61,099 $70,598 30,370 11,282 United States $28,051 $53,046 $64,585 309,138,711 115,226,802 18 02136 (Hyde Park) $28,009 $57,080 $74,734 29,219 10,650 19 02134 (Allston) $25,319 $37,638 $49,355 20,478 8,916 20 02128 (East Boston) $23,450 $49,549 $49,470 41,680 14,965 21 02122 (Dorchester-Fields Corner) $23,432 $51,798 $50,246 25,437 8,216 22 02124 (Dorchester-Codman Square-Ashmont) $23,115 $48,329 $55,031 49,867 17,275 23 02125 (Dorchester-Uphams Corner-Savin Hill) $22,158 $42,298 $44,397 31,996 11,481 24 02163 (Allston-Harvard Business School) $21,915 $43,889 $91,190 1,842 562 25 02115 (Back Bay, Longwood, Museum of Fine Arts/Symphony Hall area) $21,654 $23,677 $50,303 29,178 9,958 26 02126 (Mattapan) $20,649 $43,532 $52,774 27,335 9,510 27 02215 (Fenway-Kenmore) $19,082 $30,823 $72,583 23,719 7,995 28 02119 (Roxbury) $18,998 $27,051 $35,311 24,237 9,769 29 02121 (Dorchester-Mount Bowdoin) $18,226 $30,419 $35,439 26,801 9,739 30 02120 (Mission Hill) $17,390 $32,367 $29,583 13,217 4,509 Religion Old South Church, a United Church of Christ congregation first organized in 1669 According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, 57% of the population of the city identified themselves as Christians, with 25% attending a variety of Protestant churches and 29% professing Roman Catholic beliefs;[152][153] 33% claim no religious affiliation, while the remaining 10% are composed of adherents of Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Baháʼí and other faiths. As of 2010, the Catholic Church had the highest number of adherents as a single denomination in the Greater Boston area, with more than two million members and 339 churches, followed by the Episcopal Church with 58,000 adherents in 160 churches. The United Church of Christ had 55,000 members and 213 churches.[154] The city has a Jewish population of an estimated 248,000 Jews within the Boston metro area.[155] More than half of Jewish households in the Greater Boston area reside in the city itself, Brookline, Newton, Cambridge, Somerville, or adjacent towns.[155] Economy See also: Major companies in Greater Boston Top publicly traded Boston companies for 2018 (ranked by revenues) with City and U.S. ranks Source: Fortune 500[156] Bos. Corporation US Revenue (in millions) 1 General Electric 18 $122,274 2 Liberty Mutual 68 $42,687 3 State Street 259 $11,774 4 American Tower 419 $6,663.9 Top City Employers Source: MA Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development[157] Rank Company/Organization 1 Brigham and Women's Hospital 2 Massachusetts General Hospital 3 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center 4 Boston Children's Hospital 5 Boston Medical Center 6 Boston University School of Medicine 7 Boston University 8 Floating Hospital for Children 9 John Hancock Life Insurance Co. 10 Liberty Mutual Group Inc. Distribution of Greater Boston NECTA Labor Force (2016)[158] Nat'l resources & mining (0%) Construction (5%) Manufacturing (8%) Trade, transportation & utilities (15%) Information (3%) Finance & real estate (8%) Professional & business services (15%) Educational & health services (28%) Leisure & hospitality (9%) Other services (4%) Government (4%) A global city, Boston is placed among the top 30 most economically powerful cities in the world.[159] Encompassing $363 billion, the Greater Boston metropolitan area has the sixth-largest economy in the country and 12th-largest in the world.[160] Boston's colleges and universities exert a significant impact on the regional economy. Boston attracts more than 350,000 college students from around the world, who contribute more than US$4.8 billion annually to the city's economy.[161][162] The area's schools are major employers and attract industries to the city and surrounding region. The city is home to a number of technology companies and is a hub for biotechnology, with the Milken Institute rating Boston as the top life sciences cluster in the country.[163] Boston receives the highest absolute amount of annual funding from the National Institutes of Health of all cities in the United States.[164] The city is considered highly innovative for a variety of reasons, including the presence of academia, access to venture capital, and the presence of many high-tech companies.[22][165] The Route 128 corridor and Greater Boston continue to be a major center for venture capital investment,[166] and high technology remains an important sector. Tourism also composes a large part of Boston's economy, with 21.2 million domestic and international visitors spending $8.3 billion in 2011.[167] Excluding visitors from Canada and Mexico, over 1.4 million international tourists visited Boston in 2014, with those from China and the United Kingdom leading the list.[168] Boston's status as a state capital as well as the regional home of federal agencies has rendered law and government to be another major component of the city's economy.[169] The city is a major seaport along the East Coast of the United States and the oldest continuously operated industrial and fishing port in the Western Hemisphere.[170] In the 2018 Global Financial Centres Index, Boston was ranked as having the thirteenth most competitive financial services center in the world and the second most competitive in the United States.[171] Boston-based Fidelity Investments helped popularize the mutual fund in the 1980s and has made Boston one of the top financial centers in the United States.[172][173] The city is home to the headquarters of Santander Bank, and Boston is a center for venture capital firms. State Street Corporation, which specializes in asset management and custody services, is based in the city. Boston is a printing and publishing center[174]—Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is headquartered within the city, along with Bedford-St. Martin's Press and Beacon Press. Pearson PLC publishing units also employ several hundred people in Boston. The city is home to three major convention centers—the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay, and the Seaport World Trade Center and Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the South Boston waterfront.[175] The General Electric Corporation announced in January 2016 its decision to move the company's global headquarters to the Seaport District in Boston, from Fairfield, Connecticut, citing factors including Boston's preeminence in the realm of higher education.[176] Boston is home to the headquarters of several major athletic and footwear companies including Converse, New Balance, and Reebok. Rockport, Puma and Wolverine World Wide, Inc. headquarters or regional offices[177] are just outside the city.[178] In 2019, a yearly ranking of time wasted in traffic listed Boston area drivers lost approximately 164 hours a year in lost productivity due to the area's traffic congestion. This amounted to $2,300 a year per driver in costs.[179] Education Primary and secondary education Boston Latin School was established in 1635 and is the oldest public high school in the US. The Boston Public Schools enroll 57,000 students attending 145 schools, including the renowned Boston Latin Academy, John D. O'Bryant School of Math & Science, and Boston Latin School. The Boston Latin School was established in 1635 and is the oldest public high school in the US. Boston also operates the United States' second-oldest public high school and its oldest public elementary school.[18] The system's students are 40% Hispanic or Latino, 35% Black or African American, 13% White, and 9% Asian.[180] There are private, parochial, and charter schools as well, and approximately 3,300 minority students attend participating suburban schools through the Metropolitan Educational Opportunity Council.[181] In September 2019, the city formally inaugurated Boston Saves, a program that provides every child enrolled in the city's kindergarten system a savings account containing $50 to be used toward college or career training.[182] Higher education For a more comprehensive list, see List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston. Map of Boston-area universities Some of the most renowned and highly ranked universities in the world are near Boston.[183] Three universities with a major presence in the city, Harvard, MIT, and Tufts, are just outside of Boston in the cities of Cambridge and Somerville, known as the Brainpower Triangle.[184] Harvard is the nation's oldest institute of higher education and is centered across the Charles River in Cambridge, though the majority of its land holdings and a substantial amount of its educational activities are in Boston. Its business school and athletics facilities are in Boston's Allston neighborhood, and its medical, dental, and public health schools are located in the Longwood area.[185] The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) originated in Boston and was long known as "Boston Tech"; it moved across the river to Cambridge in 1916.[186] Tufts University's main campus is north of the city in Somerville and Medford, though it locates its medical and dental schools in Boston's Chinatown at Tufts Medical Center, a 451-bed academic medical institution that is home to a full-service hospital for adults and the Floating Hospital for Children.[187] Five members of the Association of American Universities are in Greater Boston (more than any other metropolitan area): Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, Boston University, and Brandeis University.[188] Furthermore, Greater Boston contains seven Highest Research Activity (R1) Universities as per the Carnegie Classification. This includes, in addition to the aforementioned five, Boston College, and Northeastern University. This is, by a large margin, the highest concentration of such institutions in a single metropolitan area. Hospitals, universities, and research institutions in Greater Boston received more than $1.77 billion in National Institutes of Health grants in 2013, more money than any other American metropolitan area.[189] This high density of research institutes also contributes to Boston's high density of early career researchers, which, due to high housing costs in the region, have been shown to face housing stress.[190][191] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is often cited as among the world's top universities[192] Harvard Business School, one of the country's top business schools[193] Greater Boston has more than 50 colleges and universities, with 250,000 students enrolled in Boston and Cambridge alone.[194] The city's largest private universities include Boston University (also the city's fourth-largest employer),[195] with its main campus along Commonwealth Avenue and a medical campus in the South End, Northeastern University in the Fenway area,[196] Suffolk University near Beacon Hill, which includes law school and business school,[197] and Boston College, which straddles the Boston (Brighton)–Newton border.[198] Boston's only public university is the University of Massachusetts Boston on Columbia Point in Dorchester. Roxbury Community College and Bunker Hill Community College are the city's two public community colleges. Altogether, Boston's colleges and universities employ more than 42,600 people, accounting for nearly seven percent of the city's workforce.[199] Smaller private colleges include Babson College, Bentley University, Boston Architectural College, Emmanuel College, Fisher College, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Simmons University, Wellesley College, Wheelock College, Wentworth Institute of Technology, New England School of Law (originally established as America's first all female law school),[200] and Emerson College.[201] Metropolitan Boston is home to several conservatories and art schools, including Lesley University College of Art and Design, Massachusetts College of Art, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, New England Institute of Art, New England School of Art and Design (Suffolk University), Longy School of Music of Bard College, and the New England Conservatory (the oldest independent conservatory in the United States).[202] Other conservatories include the Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, which has made Boston an important city for jazz music.[203] Public safety Further information: Boston Police Department, Boston Fire Department, and Boston Emergency Medical Services White Boston Police car with blue and gray stripes down the middle A Boston Police cruiser on Beacon Street Boston included $414 million in spending on the Boston Police Department in the fiscal 2021 budget. This is the second largest allocation of funding by the city after the allocation to Boston Public Schools.[204] Like many major American cities, Boston has seen a great reduction in violent crime since the early 1990s. Boston's low crime rate since the 1990s has been credited to the Boston Police Department's collaboration with neighborhood groups and church parishes to prevent youths from joining gangs, as well as involvement from the United States Attorney and District Attorney's offices. This helped lead in part to what has been touted as the "Boston Miracle". Murders in the city dropped from 152 in 1990 (for a murder rate of 26.5 per 100,000 people) to just 31—not one of them a juvenile—in 1999 (for a murder rate of 5.26 per 100,000).[205] In 2008, there were 62 reported homicides.[206] Through December 30, 2016, major crime was down seven percent and there were 46 homicides compared to 40 in 2015.[207] Culture Main article: Culture in Boston Further information: List of annual events in Boston, List of arts organizations in Boston, and Sites of interest in Boston The Old State House, a museum on the Freedom Trail near the site of the Boston massacre In the nineteenth century, the Old Corner Bookstore became a gathering place for writers, including Emerson, Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller. Here James Russell Lowell printed the first editions of The Atlantic Monthly. Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the non-rhotic Eastern New England accent known as the Boston accent[208] and a regional cuisine with a large emphasis on seafood, salt, and dairy products.[209] Boston also has its own collection of neologisms known as Boston slang and sardonic humor.[210] In the early 1800s, William Tudor wrote that Boston was "'perhaps the most perfect and certainly the best-regulated democracy that ever existed. There is something so impossible in the immortal fame of Athens, that the very name makes everything modern shrink from comparison; but since the days of that glorious city I know of none that has approached so near in some points, distant as it may still be from that illustrious model.'[211] From this, Boston has been called the "Athens of America" (also a nickname of Philadelphia)[212] for its literary culture, earning a reputation as "the intellectual capital of the United States".[213] In the nineteenth century, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, James Russell Lowell, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in Boston. Some consider the Old Corner Bookstore to be the "cradle of American literature", the place where these writers met and where The Atlantic Monthly was first published.[214] In 1852, the Boston Public Library was founded as the first free library in the United States.[213] Boston's literary culture continues today thanks to the city's many universities and the Boston Book Festival. Music is afforded a high degree of civic support in Boston. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the "Big Five", a group of the greatest American orchestras, and the classical music magazine Gramophone called it one of the "world's best" orchestras.[215] Symphony Hall (west of Back Bay) is home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the related Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, which is the largest youth orchestra in the nation, and to the Boston Pops Orchestra. The British newspaper The Guardian called Boston Symphony Hall "one of the top venues for classical music in the world", adding "Symphony Hall in Boston was where science became an essential part of concert hall design".[216] Other concerts are held at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. The Boston Ballet performs at the Boston Opera House. Other performing-arts organizations in the city include the Boston Lyric Opera Company, Opera Boston, Boston Baroque (the first permanent Baroque orchestra in the US),[217] and the Handel and Haydn Society (one of the oldest choral companies in the United States).[218] The city is a center for contemporary classical music with a number of performing groups, several of which are associated with the city's conservatories and universities. These include the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Boston Musica Viva.[217] Several theaters are in or near the Theater District south of Boston Common, including the Cutler Majestic Theatre, Citi Performing Arts Center, the Colonial Theater, and the Orpheum Theatre.[219] Symphony Hall, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Museum of Fine Arts There are several major annual events, such as First Night which occurs on New Year's Eve, the Boston Early Music Festival, the annual Boston Arts Festival at Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, the annual Boston gay pride parade and festival held in June, and Italian summer feasts in the North End honoring Catholic saints.[220] The city is the site of several events during the Fourth of July period. They include the week-long Harborfest festivities[221] and a Boston Pops concert accompanied by fireworks on the banks of the Charles River.[222] Several historic sites relating to the American Revolution period are preserved as part of the Boston National Historical Park because of the city's prominent role. Many are found along the Freedom Trail,[223] which is marked by a red line of bricks embedded in the ground. The city is also home to several art museums and galleries, including the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.[224] The Institute of Contemporary Art is housed in a contemporary building designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in the Seaport District.[225] Boston's South End Art and Design District (SoWa) and Newbury St. are both art gallery destinations.[226][227] Columbia Point is the location of the University of Massachusetts Boston, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum. The Boston Athenæum (one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States),[228] Boston Children's Museum, Bull & Finch Pub (whose building is known from the television show Cheers),[229] Museum of Science, and the New England Aquarium are within the city. Boston has been a noted religious center from its earliest days. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston serves nearly 300 parishes and is based in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (1875) in the South End, while the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts serves just under 200 congregations, with the Cathedral Church of St. Paul (1819) as its episcopal seat. Unitarian Universalism has its headquarters in the Fort Point neighborhood. The Christian Scientists are headquartered in Back Bay at the Mother Church (1894). The oldest church in Boston is First Church in Boston, founded in 1630.[230] King's Chapel was the city's first Anglican church, founded in 1686 and converted to Unitarianism in 1785. Other churches include Christ Church (better known as Old North Church, 1723), the oldest church building in the city, Trinity Church (1733), Park Street Church (1809), Old South Church (1874), Jubilee Christian Church, and Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Mission Hill (1878).[231] Environment Pollution control Air quality in Boston is generally very good. Between 2004 and 2013, there were only four days in which the air was unhealthy for the general public, according to the EPA.[232] Some of the cleaner energy facilities in Boston include the Allston green district, with three ecologically compatible housing facilities.[233] Boston is also breaking ground on multiple green affordable housing facilities to help reduce the carbon impact of the city while simultaneously making these initiatives financially available to a greater population. Boston's climate plan is updated every three years and was most recently modified in 2013. This legislature includes the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance, which requires the city's larger buildings to disclose their yearly energy and water use statistics and to partake in an energy assessment every five years. These statistics are made public by the city, thereby increasing incentives for buildings to be more environmentally conscious.[234] Mayor Thomas Menino introduced the Renew Boston Whole Building Incentive which reduces the cost of living in buildings that are deemed energy efficient. This gives people an opportunity to find housing in neighborhoods that support the environment. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to enlist 500 Bostonians to participate in a free, in-home energy assessment.[234] South Boston Sustainable Housing In the wake of urban renewal occurring in the 1960s, Castle Square Apartments were constructed in the South End as an affordable housing option.[235] During this wave of urban renewal, there was little consideration of energy efficiency. At the time, the Castle Square Apartments consisted of brick and concrete walls with minimal insulation, leaving its residents to face uncomfortable temperature conditions and poor air quality from lack of ventilation.[236] 50 years later in 2009, when the time came for renovation, Heather Clark, who had been a part of many green renovations, saw an opportunity for a Deep Energy Retrofit (DER) of the complex.[236] A deep energy retrofit is a type of green renovation that has an added emphasis on insulation and reduces energy use by 50% or more.[236] WinnCompanies, the minority owner of Castle Square worked closely with the majority owner, the Castle Square Tenant Organization, and agreed to conduct a DER.[237] The project was financed by a combination of private and public partnerships including, MassHousing Financing Agency, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, Boston Redevelopment Authority, and others.[238] With several partnerships, a large redevelopment team, and resident engagement throughout the process, the Castle Square Apartments renovation became the nation's largest DER project.[236][237] The retrofit involved several steps and installments that together provided a holistic solution to energy consumption. These included a Kingspan super-insulated shell wrapped on the outside of the building, a super-insulated reflective roof, high-efficiency windows, and extensive air sealing, all of which increased the insulation value by a factor of 10.[236] The insulation cuts down the heating needs and hot water usage by 10% and 41% respectively, and the implementation of fresh air trickle vents improved air quality throughout.[236] High-efficiency energy star appliances and LED lights were installed to reduce energy consumption by residents.[235] With the insulation being installed around the outside of the building, there was little to no displacement of residents throughout the process, and all were able to remain living in the complex.[235] After a two-year renovation project, that opened up 665 construction jobs for people, Castle Square Apartments saw a 72% reduction in energy usage and were LEED platinum certified.[238] The total cost was 8.18 million dollars for 192 apartments and led to an overall energy cost reduction of $213,000 after two years.[235] Today, the Castle Square Apartments remain standing and at full occupancy, with long waitlists for vacancies.[239] Water purity and availability Many older buildings in certain areas of Boston are supported by wooden piles driven into the area's fill; these piles remain sound if submerged in water, but are subject to dry rot if exposed to air for long periods.[240] Ground water levels have been dropping in many areas of the city, due in part to an increase in the amount of rainwater discharged directly into sewers rather than absorbed by the ground. The Boston Groundwater Trust coordinates monitoring ground water levels throughout the city via a network of public and private monitoring wells.[241] However, Boston's drinking water supply from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs[242] is one of the very few in the country so pure as to satisfy the Federal Clean Water Act without filtration.[243] Climate change and sea level rise Population density and elevation above sea level in Greater Boston (2010) The City of Boston has developed a climate action plan covering carbon reduction in buildings, transportation, and energy use.[244] Mayor Thomas Menino commissioned the city's first Climate Action Plan in 2007, with an update released in 2011.[245] Since then, Mayor Marty Walsh has built upon these plans with further updates released in 2014 and 2019. As a coastal city built largely on fill, sea-level rise is of major concern to the city government. The latest version of the climate action plan anticipates between two and seven feet of sea-level rise in Boston by the end of the century. A separate initiative, Resilient Boston Harbor, lays out neighborhood-specific recommendations for coastal resilience.[246] Sports Main article: Sports in Boston Fenway Park is the oldest professional baseball stadium still in use. Boston has teams in the four major North American men's professional sports leagues plus Major League Soccer, and, as of 2019, has won 39 championships in these leagues. It is one of eight cities (along with Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington) to have won championships in all four major American sports leagues. It has been suggested[247][248][249] that Boston is the new "TitleTown, USA", as the city's professional sports teams have won twelve championships since 2001: Patriots (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018), Red Sox (2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018), Celtics (2008), and Bruins (2011). This love of sports made Boston the United States Olympic Committee's choice to bid to hold the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, but the city cited financial concerns when it withdrew its bid on July 27, 2015.[250] The Boston Red Sox, a founding member of the American League of Major League Baseball in 1901, play their home games at Fenway Park, near Kenmore Square, in the city's Fenway section. Built in 1912, it is the oldest sports arena or stadium in active use in the United States among the four major professional American sports leagues, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League.[251] Boston was the site of the first game of the first modern World Series, in 1903. The series was played between the AL Champion Boston Americans and the NL champion Pittsburgh Pirates.[252][253] Persistent reports that the team was known in 1903 as the "Boston Pilgrims" appear to be unfounded.[254] Boston's first professional baseball team was the Red Stockings, one of the charter members of the National Association in 1871, and of the National League in 1876. The team played under that name until 1883, under the name Beaneaters until 1911, and under the name Braves from 1912 until they moved to Milwaukee after the 1952 season. Since 1966 they have played in Atlanta as the Atlanta Braves.[255] Professional basketball game between the Celtics and Timberwolves in a crowded arena The Celtics play at the TD Garden. The TD Garden, formerly called the FleetCenter and built to replace the old, since-demolished Boston Garden, is adjoined to North Station and is the home of two major league teams: the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. The arena seats 18,624 for basketball games and 17,565 for ice hockey games. The Bruins were the first American member of the National Hockey League and an Original Six franchise.[256] The Boston Celtics were founding members of the Basketball Association of America, one of the two leagues that merged to form the NBA.[257] The Celtics, along with the Los Angeles Lakers, have the distinction of having won more championships than any other NBA team, both with seventeen.[258] The venue is also set to host the 2020 Laver Cup, an international men's tennis tournament consisting of two teams: Team Europe and Team World, the latter of which consisting of non-European players. This will be the 4th edition of the tournament, and the first time Boston has hosted an ATP tournament since 1999, where Marat Safin defeated Greg Rusedski.[259] While they have played in suburban Foxborough since 1971, the New England Patriots of the National Football League were founded in 1960 as the Boston Patriots, changing their name after relocating. The team won the Super Bowl after the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons.[260] They share Gillette Stadium with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. The Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer, which formed in 2009, played their home games at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville.[261] The Boston Storm of the United Women's Lacrosse League was formed in 2015.[262] Harvard Stadium, the first collegiate athletic stadium built in the U.S. The area's many colleges and universities are active in college athletics. Four NCAA Division I members play in the area—Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University. Of the four, only Boston College participates in college football at the highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision. Harvard participates in the second-highest level, the Football Championship Subdivision. The Boston Cannons of the MLL play at Harvard Stadium. Boston has Esports teams as well, such as the Overwatch League's Boston Uprising. Established in 2017,[263] they were the first team to complete a perfect stage with 0 losses.[264] The Boston Breach is another esports team in the Call of Duty League (CDL).[265] One of the best known sporting events in the city is the Boston Marathon, the26.2 mi (42.2 km) race which is the world's oldest annual marathon,[266] run on Patriots' Day in April. On April 15, 2013, two explosions killed three people and injured hundreds at the marathon.[93] Another major annual event is the Head of the Charles Regatta, held in October.[267] Boston is one of eleven US cities which will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Parks and recreation An aerial view of Boston Common Boston Common, near the Financial District and Beacon Hill, is the oldest public park in the United States.[268] Along with the adjacent Boston Public Garden, it is part of the Emerald Necklace, a string of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to encircle the city. The Emerald Necklace includes the Back Bay Fens, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, Boston's largest body of freshwater, and Franklin Park, the city's largest park and home of the Franklin Park Zoo.[269] Another major park is the Esplanade, along the banks of the Charles River. The Hatch Shell, an outdoor concert venue, is adjacent to the Charles River Esplanade. Other parks are scattered throughout the city, with major parks and beaches near Castle Island, in Charlestown and along the Dorchester, South Boston, and East Boston shorelines.[270] Boston's park system is well-reputed nationally. In its 2013 ParkScore ranking, The Trust for Public Land reported Boston was tied with Sacramento and San Francisco for having the third-best park system among the 50 most populous US cities.[271] ParkScore ranks city park systems by a formula that analyzes the city's median park size, park acres as percent of city area, the percent of residents within a half-mile of a park, spending of park services per resident, and the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents. Government and politics Further information: Mayor of Boston, Boston City Council, List of members of Boston City Council, and Boston Finance Commission Michelle Wu, the 55th Mayor of Boston Boston has a strong mayor–council government system in which the mayor (elected every fourth year) has extensive executive power. Michelle Wu, a city councilor, became mayor in November 2021, succeeding Kim Janey, a former City Council President, who became the Acting Mayor in March 2021 following Marty Walsh's confirmation to the position of Secretary of Labor in the Biden/Harris Administration. Walsh's predecessor Thomas Menino's twenty-year tenure was the longest in the city's history.[272] The Boston City Council is elected every two years; there are nine district seats, and four citywide "at-large" seats.[273] The School Committee, which oversees the Boston Public Schools, is appointed by the mayor.[274] Boston City Hall is a Brutalist landmark in the city In addition to city government, numerous commissions and state authorities—including the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), and the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)—play a role in the life of Bostonians. As the capital of Massachusetts, Boston plays a major role in state politics. Chamber of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the Massachusetts State House The city has several federal facilities, including the John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building, the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Federal Building,[275] the John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Both courts are housed in the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse. Headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Federally, Boston is split between two congressional districts. Three-fourths of the city is in the 7th district and is represented by Ayanna Pressley while the remaining southern fourth is in the 8th district and is represented by Stephen Lynch,[276] both of whom are Democrats; a Republican has not represented a significant portion of Boston in over a century. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Elizabeth Warren, first elected in 2012. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Ed Markey, who was elected in 2013 to succeed John Kerry after Kerry's appointment and confirmation as the United States Secretary of State. The city uses an algorithm created by the Walsh administration, called CityScore, to measure the effectiveness of various city services. This score is available on a public online dashboard and allows city managers in police, fire, schools, emergency management services, and 3-1-1 to take action and make adjustments in areas of concern.[277] Boston has an ordinance, enacted in 2014, that bars the Boston Police Department "from detaining anyone based on their immigration status unless they have a criminal warrant".[278] Presidential election results[279] Year Democratic Republican 2020 82.6% 242,717 15.5% 45,425 2016 80.6% 221,093 13.9% 38,087 2012 78.8% 200,190 19.3% 48,985 2008 79.0% 185,976 19.4% 45,548 2004 77.3% 160,884 21.4% 44,518 2000 71.7% 132,393 19.7% 36,389 1996 73.8% 125,529 19.6% 33,366 1992 62.4% 114,260 22.9% 41,868 1988 65.2% 122,349 33.2% 62,202 1984 63.4% 131,745 36.2% 75,311 1980 53.3% 95,133 32.9% 58,656 1976 60.4% 115,802 35.3% 67,604 1972 66.2% 139,598 33.3% 70,298 Voter registration and party enrollment As of February 1, 2019[280] Party Number of voters Percentage Democratic 210,570 50.73% Republican 24,034 5.79% Libertarian 1,443 0.35% Green 403 0.10% Unaffiliated 175,308 42.23% Total 415,103 100% Media Main article: Media in Boston Newspapers The Boston Globe is the oldest and largest daily newspaper in the city[281] and is generally acknowledged as its paper of record.[282] The city is also served by other publications such as the Boston Herald, Boston magazine, DigBoston, and the Boston edition of Metro. The Christian Science Monitor, headquartered in Boston, was formerly a worldwide daily newspaper but ended publication of daily print editions in 2009, switching to continuous online and weekly magazine format publications.[283] The Boston Globe also releases a teen publication to the city's public high schools, called Teens in Print or T.i.P., which is written by the city's teens and delivered quarterly within the school year.[284] The Improper Bostonian, a glossy lifestyle magazine, was published from 1991 through April 2019. The Bay State Banner is an independent newspaper primarily geared toward the readership interests of the African-American community in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bay State Banner was founded in 1965 by Melvin B. Miller who remains the chief editor and publisher. In 2015, the publication celebrated its 50th anniversary serving the region's minority-oriented neighborhoods. The city's growing Latino population has given rise to a number of local and regional Spanish-language newspapers. These include El Planeta (owned by the former publisher of The Boston Phoenix), El Mundo, and La Semana. Siglo21, with its main offices in nearby Lawrence, is also widely distributed.[285] The largest conservative publication in Boston is NewBostonPost.com. There are a number of weekly newspapers dedicated to Boston neighborhoods. Among them is South Boston Online, founded in 1999, which appears in print and online, and covers events in South Boston and the Seaport District. Various LGBT publications serve the city's large LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) population such as The Rainbow Times, the only minority and lesbian-owned LGBT news magazine. Founded in 2006, The Rainbow Times is now based out of Boston, but serves all of New England.[286] Radio and television Boston is the largest broadcasting market in New England, with the radio market being the ninth largest in the United States.[287] Several major AM stations include talk radio WRKO, sports/talk station WEEI, and iHeartMedia WBZ.[288] WBZ (AM) broadcasts a news radio format and is a 50,000 watt "clear channel" station, whose nighttime broadcasts are heard hundreds of miles from Boston. A variety of commercial FM radio formats serve the area, as do NPR stations WBUR and WGBH. College and university radio stations include WERS (Emerson), WHRB (Harvard), WUMB (UMass Boston), WMBR (MIT), WZBC (Boston College), WMFO (Tufts University), WBRS (Brandeis University), WTBU (Boston University, campus and web only), WRBB (Northeastern University) and WMLN-FM (Curry College). The Boston television DMA, which also includes Manchester, New Hampshire, is the 8th largest in the United States.[289] The city is served by stations representing every major American network, including WBZ-TV 4 and its sister station WSBK-TV 38 (the former a CBS O&O, the latter a MyNetwork TV affiliate), WCVB-TV 5 and its sister station WMUR-TV 9 (both ABC), WHDH 7 and its sister station WLVI 56 (the former an independent station, the latter a CW affiliate), WBTS-CD 15 (an NBC O&O), and WFXT 25 (Fox). The city is also home to PBS member station WGBH-TV 2, a major producer of PBS programs,[290] which also operates WGBX 44. Spanish-language television networks, including UniMás (WUTF-TV 27), Telemundo (WNEU 60, a sister station to WBTS-CD), and Univisión (WUNI 66), have a presence in the region, with WNEU serving as network owned-and-operated station. Most of the area's television stations have their transmitters in nearby Needham and Newton along the Route 128 corridor.[291] Six Boston television stations are carried by Canadian satellite television provider Bell TV and by cable television providers in Canada. Film For a more comprehensive list, see Boston in fiction § Film. Films have been made in Boston since as early as 1903, and it continues to be both a popular setting and a popular filming location.[292][293] Notable movies like The Fighter and The Town were filmed in Boston.[294] Video games For a more comprehensive list, see Boston in fiction § Video games. Video games have used Boston as a backdrop and setting, such as Assassin's Creed III published in 2012 and Fallout 4 in 2015.[295][296] Some characters from video games are from Boston, such as the Scout from Team Fortress 2.[297] The gaming convention PAX East is held in Boston, which many gaming companies like Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Wizards of the Coast have previously attended.[298] Healthcare For a more comprehensive list, see List of hospitals in Massachusetts § Boston. Harvard Medical School, one of the most prestigious medical schools in the world The Longwood Medical and Academic Area, adjacent to the Fenway district, is home to a large number of medical and research facilities, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Joslin Diabetes Center, and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.[299] Prominent medical facilities, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital are in the Beacon Hill area. St. Elizabeth's Medical Center is in Brighton Center of the city's Brighton neighborhood. New England Baptist Hospital is in Mission Hill. The city has Veterans Affairs medical centers in the Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury neighborhoods.[300] The Boston Public Health Commission, an agency of the Massachusetts government, oversees health concerns for city residents.[301] Boston EMS provides pre-hospital emergency medical services to residents and visitors. Many of Boston's medical facilities are associated with universities. The facilities in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area and in Massachusetts General Hospital are affiliated with Harvard Medical School.[302] Tufts Medical Center (formerly Tufts-New England Medical Center), in the southern portion of the Chinatown neighborhood, is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine. Boston Medical Center, in the South End neighborhood, is the primary teaching facility for the Boston University School of Medicine as well as the largest trauma center in the Boston area;[303] it was formed by the merger of Boston University Hospital and Boston City Hospital, which was the first municipal hospital in the United States.[304] Infrastructure Main article: Infrastructure in Boston Transportation Main article: Transportation in Boston A silver and red rapid transit train departing an above-ground station An MBTA Red Line train departing Boston for Cambridge. Bostonians depend heavily on public transit, with over 1.3 million Bostonians riding the city's buses and trains daily (2013).[305] Logan International Airport, in East Boston and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), is Boston's principal airport.[306] Nearby general aviation airports are Beverly Municipal Airport to the north, Hanscom Field to the west, and Norwood Memorial Airport to the south. Massport also operates several major facilities within the Port of Boston, including a cruise ship terminal and facilities to handle bulk and container cargo in South Boston, and other facilities in Charlestown and East Boston.[307] Downtown Boston's streets grew organically, so they do not form a planned grid,[308] unlike those in later-developed Back Bay, East Boston, the South End, and South Boston. Boston is the eastern terminus of I-90, which in Massachusetts runs along the Massachusetts Turnpike. The elevated portion of the Central Artery, which carried most of the through traffic in downtown Boston, was replaced with the O'Neill Tunnel during the Big Dig, substantially completed in early 2006. The former and current Central Artery follow I-93 as the primary north–south artery from the city. Other major highways include US 1, which carries traffic to the North Shore and areas south of Boston, US 3, which connects to the northwestern suburbs, Massachusetts Route 3, which connects to the South Shore and Cape Cod, and Massachusetts Route 2 which connects to the western suburbs. Surrounding the city is Massachusetts Route 128, a partial beltway which has been largely subsumed by other routes (mostly I-95 and I-93). With nearly a third of Bostonians using public transit for their commute to work, Boston has the fourth-highest rate of public transit usage in the country.[309] The city of Boston has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 35.4 percent of Boston households lacked a car, which decreased slightly to 33.8 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Boston averaged 0.94 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.[310] Boston's public transportation agency, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates the oldest underground rapid transit system in the Americas, and is the fourth-busiest rapid transit system in the country,[19] with65.5 mi (105 km) of track on four lines.[311] The MBTA also operates busy bus and commuter rail networks, and water shuttles.[311] South Station, the busiest rail hub in New England, is a terminus of Amtrak and numerous MBTA rail lines. Bluebikes in Boston Amtrak intercity rail to Boston is provided through four stations: South Station, North Station, Back Bay, and Route 128. South Station is a major intermodal transportation hub and is the terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Regional, Acela Express, and Lake Shore Limited routes, in addition to multiple MBTA services. Back Bay is also served by MBTA and those three Amtrak routes, while Route 128, in the southwestern suburbs of Boston, is only served by the Acela Express and Northeast Regional.[312] Meanwhile, Amtrak's Downeaster to Brunswick, Maine terminates in North Station, and is the only Amtrak route to do so.[313] Nicknamed "The Walking City", Boston hosts more pedestrian commuters than do other comparably populated cities. Owing to factors such as necessity, the compactness of the city and large student population, 13 percent of the population commutes by foot, making it the highest percentage of pedestrian commuters in the country out of the major American cities.[314] In 2011, Walk Score ranked Boston the third most walkable city in the United States.[315][316] As of 2015, Walk Score still ranks Boston as the third most walkable US city, with a Walk Score of 80, a Transit Score of 75, and a Bike Score of 70.[317] Between 1999 and 2006, Bicycling magazine named Boston three times as one of the worst cities in the US for cycling;[318] regardless, it has one of the highest rates of bicycle commuting.[319] In 2008, as a consequence of improvements made to bicycling conditions within the city, the same magazine put Boston on its "Five for the Future" list as a "Future Best City" for biking,[320][321] and Boston's bicycle commuting percentage increased from 1% in 2000 to 2.1% in 2009.[322] The bikeshare program Bluebikes, originally called Hubway, launched in late July 2011,[323] logging more than 140,000 rides before the close of its first season.[324] The neighboring municipalities of Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline joined the Hubway program in the summer of 2012.[325] In 2016, there are 1,461 bikes and 158 docking stations across the city.[326] PBSC Urban Solutions provides bicycles and technology for this bike-sharing system.[327] In 2013, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan statistical area (Boston MSA) had the seventh-lowest percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (75.6 percent), with 6.2 percent of area workers traveling via rail transit. During the period starting in 2006 and ending in 2013, the Boston MSA had the greatest percentage decline of workers commuting by automobile (3.3 percent) among MSAs with more than a half-million residents.[328] International relations The City of Boston has twelve official sister cities:[329] Kyoto, Japan (1959) Strasbourg, France (1960) Barcelona, Spain (1980) Hangzhou, China (1982) Padua, Italy (1983) City of Melbourne, Australia (1985) Beira, Mozambique (1990) Taipei, Taiwan (1996) Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana (2001) Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK (2014) Praia, Cape Verde (2015) Boston, Lincolnshire, UK (2015) Boston has formal partnership relationships through a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with five additional cities or regions: Guangzhou, China (2014)[330] Lyon, France (2016)[331] Copenhagen, Denmark (2017)[332] Mexico City, Mexico (2017)[333] North West of Ireland, Ireland (2017)[334] See also Cities portal flag Massachusetts portal Outline of Boston Boston City League (high school athletic conference) Boston Citgo Sign Boston nicknames Boston–Halifax relations List of diplomatic missions in Boston List of people from Boston National Register of Historic Places listings in Boston Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases.[2] A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball out of the batter's reach. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes, while fielders can get the batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as the pitch clock to shorten game time. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression, have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the national sport of the United States, though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports, such as American football. In addition to North America, baseball is considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The World Baseball Classic, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. Baseball was played at the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008, and was reinstated in 2020. Rules and gameplay Further information: Baseball rules and Outline of baseball Diagram of a baseball field Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. 2013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 A baseball game is played between two teams, each usually composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning. A game consists of nine innings (seven innings at the high school level and in doubleheaders in college, Minor League Baseball and, since the 2020 season, Major League Baseball; and six innings at the Little League level).[3] One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning. The other team—customarily the home team—bats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of the game is to score more points (runs) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by touching all four bases, in order, set at the corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond. A player bats at home plate and must attempt to safely reach a base before proceeding, counterclockwise, from first base, to second base, third base, and back home to score a run. The team in the field attempts to prevent runs from scoring by recording outs, which remove opposing players from offensive action, until their next turn at bat comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played to resolve the contest. Many amateur games, particularly unorganized ones, involve different numbers of players and innings.[4] The game is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair territory; the 270-degree area outside them is foul territory. The part of the field enclosed by the bases and several yards beyond them is the infield; the area farther beyond the infield is the outfield. In the middle of the infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber plate (the rubber) at its center. The outer boundary of the outfield is typically demarcated by a raised fence, which may be of any material and height. The fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well.[5] There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, and the glove or mitt: The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching.[6] The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood. Other materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86 centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (110 centimeters).[7] The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of different fielding positions.[8] Protective helmets are also standard equipment for all batters.[9] At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players of the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher begins the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing toward home plate. Another fielding team player, the catcher, squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the fielding team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines (basepaths) between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the standard arrangement, there is a first baseman positioned several steps to the left of first base, a second baseman to the right of second base, a shortstop to the left of second base, and a third baseman to the right of third base. The basic outfield positions are left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. With the exception of the catcher, all fielders are required to be in fair territory when the pitch is delivered. A neutral umpire sets up behind the catcher.[10] Other umpires will be distributed around the field as well.[11] David Ortiz, the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire Play starts with a member of the batting team, the batter, standing in either of the two batter's boxes next to home plate, holding a bat.[12] The batter waits for the pitcher to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball[13] with the bat.[12] The catcher catches pitches that the batter does not hit—as a result of either electing not to swing or failing to connect—and returns them to the pitcher. A batter who hits the ball into the field of play must drop the bat and begin running toward first base, at which point the player is referred to as a runner (or, until the play is over, a batter-runner). A batter-runner who reaches first base without being put out is said to be safe and is on base. A batter-runner may choose to remain at first base or attempt to advance to second base or even beyond—however far the player believes can be reached safely. A player who reaches base despite proper play by the fielders has recorded a hit. A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is credited with a single. If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is a double; third base, a triple. If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire outfield (and outfield fence, if there is one), or if the batter-runner otherwise safely circles all the bases, it is a home run: the batter and any runners on base may all freely circle the bases, each scoring a run. This is the most desirable result for the batter. The ultimate and most desirable result possible for a batter would be to hit a home run while all three bases are occupied or "loaded", thus scoring four runs on a single hit. This is called a grand slam. A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hit—instead, the responsible fielder is charged with an error.[12] Any runners already on base may attempt to advance on batted balls that land, or contact the ground, in fair territory, before or after the ball lands. A runner on first base must attempt to advance if a ball lands in play, as only one runner may occupy a base at any given time. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield, it becomes dead and any runners must return to the base they occupied when the play began. If the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has flied out and any runners on base may attempt to advance only if they tag up (contact the base they occupied when the play began, as or after the ball is caught). Runners may also attempt to advance to the next base while the pitcher is in the process of delivering the ball to home plate; a successful effort is a stolen base.[14] A pitch that is not hit into the field of play is called either a strike or a ball. A batter against whom three strikes are recorded strikes out. A batter against whom four balls are recorded is awarded a base on balls or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely advance to first base if the batter's body or uniform is struck by a pitch outside the strike zone, provided the batter does not swing and attempts to avoid being hit.)[15] Crucial to determining balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the strike zone, a conceptual area above home plate extending from the midpoint between the batter's shoulders and belt down to the hollow of the knee.[16] Any pitch which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball, unless the batter either swings and misses at the pitch, or hits the pitch into foul territory; an exception generally occurs if the ball is hit into foul territory when the batter already has two strikes, in which case neither a ball nor a strike is called. A shortstop tries to tag out a runner who is sliding head first, attempting to reach second base. While the team at bat is trying to score runs, the team in the field is attempting to record outs. In addition to the strikeout and flyout, common ways a member of the batting team may be put out include the ground out, force out, and tag out. These occur either when a runner is forced to advance to a base, and a fielder with possession of the ball reaches that base before the runner does, or the runner is touched by the ball, held in a fielder's hand, while not on a base. (The batter-runner is always forced to advance to first base, and any other runners must advance to the next base if a teammate is forced to advance to their base.) It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same play. This is called a double play. Three outs in one play, a triple play, is possible, though rare. Players put out or retired must leave the field, returning to their team's dugout or bench. A runner may be stranded on base when a third out is recorded against another player on the team. Stranded runners do not benefit the team in its next turn at bat as every half-inning begins with the bases empty.[17] An individual player's turn batting or plate appearance is complete when the player reaches base, hits a home run, makes an out, or hits a ball that results in the team's third out, even if it is recorded against a teammate. On rare occasions, a batter may be at the plate when, without the batter's hitting the ball, a third out is recorded against a teammate—for instance, a runner getting caught stealing (tagged out attempting to steal a base). A batter with this sort of incomplete plate appearance starts off the team's next turn batting; any balls or strikes recorded against the batter the previous inning are erased. A runner may circle the bases only once per plate appearance and thus can score at most a single run per batting turn. Once a player has completed a plate appearance, that player may not bat again until the eight other members of the player's team have all taken their turn at bat in the batting order. The batting order is set before the game begins, and may not be altered except for substitutions. Once a player has been removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have more lenient rules, such as Little League rules, which allow players to be substituted back into the same game.[3][18] If the designated hitter (DH) rule is in effect, each team has a tenth player whose sole responsibility is to bat (and run). The DH takes the place of another player—almost invariably the pitcher—in the batting order, but does not field. Thus, even with the DH, each team still has a batting order of nine players and a fielding arrangement of nine players.[19] Personnel See also: Baseball positions Players Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) See also the categories Baseball players and Lists of baseball players The number of players on a baseball roster, or squad, varies by league and by the level of organized play. A Major League Baseball (MLB) team has a roster of 26 players with specific roles. A typical roster features the following players:[20] Eight position players: the catcher, four infielders, and three outfielders—all of whom play on a regular basis Five starting pitchers who constitute the team's pitching rotation or starting rotation Seven relief pitchers, including one closer, who constitute the team's bullpen (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up) One backup, or substitute, catcher Five backup infielders and backup outfielders, or players who can play multiple positions, known as utility players. Most baseball leagues worldwide have the DH rule, including MLB, Japan's Pacific League, and Caribbean professional leagues, along with major American amateur organizations.[21] The Central League in Japan does not have the rule and high-level minor league clubs connected to National League teams are not required to field a DH.[22] In leagues that apply the designated hitter rule, a typical team has nine offensive regulars (including the DH), five starting pitchers,[23] seven or eight relievers, a backup catcher, and two or three other reserve players.[24][25] Managers and coaches The manager, or head coach, oversees the team's major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each game, and making substitutions during games—in particular, bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by two or more coaches; they may have specialized responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting, fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning. At most levels of organized play, two coaches are stationed on the field when the team is at bat: the first base coach and third base coach, who occupy designated coaches' boxes, just outside the foul lines. These coaches assist in the direction of baserunners, when the ball is in play, and relay tactical signals from the manager to batters and runners, during pauses in play.[26] In contrast to many other team sports, baseball managers and coaches generally wear their team's uniforms; coaches must be in uniform to be allowed on the field to confer with players during a game.[27] Umpires Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In MLB, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul lines.[28] Strategy See also: Baseball positioning Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.[29] A manager with several left-handed batters in the regular lineup, who knows the team will be facing a left-handed starting pitcher, may respond by starting one or more of the right-handed backups on the team's roster. During the late innings of a game, as relief pitchers and pinch hitters are brought in, the opposing managers will often go back and forth trying to create favorable matchups with their substitutions. The manager of the fielding team trying to arrange same-handed pitcher-batter matchups and the manager of the batting team trying to arrange opposite-handed matchups. With a team that has the lead in the late innings, a manager may remove a starting position player—especially one whose turn at bat is not likely to come up again—for a more skillful fielder (known as a defensive substitution).[30] Tactics Pitching and fielding A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. See also: Pitch (baseball) The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch selection.[31] By gripping and then releasing the baseball in a certain manner, and by throwing it at a certain speed, pitchers can cause the baseball to break to either side, or downward, as it approaches the batter, thus creating differing pitches that can be selected.[32] Among the resulting wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the fastball, the changeup (or off-speed pitch), and two breaking balls—the curveball and the slider.[33] Pitchers have different repertoires of pitches they are skillful at throwing. Conventionally, before each pitch, the catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to throw, as well as its general vertical and/or horizontal location.[34] If there is disagreement on the selection, the pitcher may shake off the sign and the catcher will call for a different pitch. With a runner on base and taking a lead, the pitcher may attempt a pickoff, a quick throw to a fielder covering the base to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out.[35] Pickoff attempts, however, are subject to rules that severely restrict the pitcher's movements before and during the pickoff attempt. Violation of any one of these rules could result in the umpire calling a balk against the pitcher, which permits any runners on base to advance one base with impunity.[36] If an attempted stolen base is anticipated, the catcher may call for a pitchout, a ball thrown deliberately off the plate, allowing the catcher to catch it while standing and throw quickly to a base.[37] Facing a batter with a strong tendency to hit to one side of the field, the fielding team may employ a shift, with most or all of the fielders moving to the left or right of their usual positions. With a runner on third base, the infielders may play in, moving closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on a ground ball, though a sharply hit grounder is more likely to carry through a drawn-in infield.[38] Batting and baserunning Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The hit and run is sometimes employed, with a skillful contact hitter, the runner takes off with the pitch, drawing the shortstop or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the ball through.[39] The sacrifice bunt, calls for the batter to focus on making soft contact with the ball, so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into scoring position as the batter is thrown out at first. A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to bunt for a hit. A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a squeeze play.[40] With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter, in this case, gets credit for a sacrifice fly.[38] In order to increase the chance of advancing a batter to first base via a walk, the manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ahead in the count (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to take, or not swing at, the next pitch. The batter's potential reward of reaching base (via a walk) exceeds the disadvantage if the next pitch is a strike.[41] History Main article: History of baseball Further information: Origins of baseball The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular among children in Great Britain and Ireland.[42][43][44] American baseball historian David Block suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tut-ball".[42] The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery.[45] Block discovered that the first recorded game of "Bass-Ball" took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player.[46] This early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants.[47] By the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America.[48] The first officially recorded baseball game in North America was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada, on June 4, 1838.[49] In 1845, Alexander Cartwright, a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club, led the codification of the so-called Knickerbocker Rules,[50] which in turn were based on rules developed in 1837 by William R. Wheaton of the Gotham Club.[51] While there are reports that the New York Knickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey: the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.[52] With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century.[53] By the time of the Civil War, baseball had begun to overtake its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket in popularity within the United States, due in part to baseball being of a much shorter duration than the form of cricket played at the time, as well as the fact that troops during the Civil War did not need a specialized playing surface to play baseball, as they would have required for cricket.[54][55] In the United States Further information: Baseball in the United States and History of baseball in the United States Establishment of professional leagues In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area,[56] and by 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game".[57] A year later, the sport's first governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players, was formed. In 1867, it barred participation by African Americans.[58] The more formally structured National League was founded in 1876.[59] Professional Negro leagues formed, but quickly folded.[60] In 1887, softball, under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game.[61] The National League's first successful counterpart, the American League, which evolved from the minor Western League, was established in 1893, and virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by then.[62][63] The National Agreement of 1903 formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's minor professional leagues.[64] The World Series, pitting the two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall.[65] The Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series led to the formation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball.[66] The first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the Negro National League; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by the Eastern Colored League.[67] Rise of Ruth and racial integration Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early 20th century was lower-scoring, and pitchers were more dominant.[68] The so-called dead-ball era ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governed the ball's size, shape and composition, along with a new rule officially banning the spitball and other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit.[69] The rise of the legendary player Babe Ruth, the first great power hitter of the new era, helped permanently alter the nature of the game.[70] In the late 1920s and early 1930s, St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey invested in several minor league clubs and developed the first modern farm system.[71] A new Negro National League was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the Negro American League. The first elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame took place in 1936. In 1939, Little League Baseball was founded in Pennsylvania.[72] Robinson posing in the uniform cap of the Kansas City Royals, a California Winter League barnstorming team, November 1945 (photo by Maurice Terrell) Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs A large number of minor league teams disbanded when World War II led to a player shortage. Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley led the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to help keep the game in the public eye.[73] The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred in 1945: Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal.[74] In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues' color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers.[75] Latin-American players, largely overlooked before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born Chico Carrasquel and black Cuban-born Minnie Miñoso, became the first Hispanic All-Stars.[76][77] Integration proceeded slowly: by 1953, only six of the 16 major league teams had a black player on the roster.[76] Attendance records and the age of steroids In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when the reserve clause was effectively struck down, leading to the free agency system.[78] Significant work stoppages occurred in 1981 and 1994, the latter forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.[79] Attendance had been growing steadily since the mid-1970s and in 1994, before the stoppage, the majors were setting their all-time record for per-game attendance.[80][81] After play resumed in 1995, non-division-winning wild card teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season interleague play was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set.[82] In 2000, the National and American Leagues were dissolved as legal entities. While their identities were maintained for scheduling purposes (and the designated hitter distinction), the regulations and other functions—such as player discipline and umpire supervision—they had administered separately were consolidated under the rubric of MLB.[83] In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. There had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part by the abuse of illegal steroids (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion), but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no penalty for the use of performance-enhancing drugs before 2004.[84] In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron, as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all-time highs.[85][86] Around the world With the historic popular moniker as "America's national pastime", baseball is well established in several other countries as well. As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association, featured teams from both Canada and the United States.[87] While baseball is widely played in Canada and many minor league teams have been based in the country,[88][89] the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the Montreal Expos joined the National League as an expansion team. In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League.[90] Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa, Veracruz.[91] The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition. The Dominican Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912.[92] Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938).[93] The Japanese major leagues have long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States.[94] Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s,[95] and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American countries, most prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955).[96] Since the early 1970s, the annual Caribbean Series has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990) and China (2003) all have professional leagues.[97] The English football club, Aston Villa, were the first British baseball champions winning the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain.[98][99] The 2020 National Champions were the London Mets. Other European countries have seen professional leagues; the most successful, other than the Dutch league, is the Italian league, founded in 1948.[100] In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games.[101] The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a number of competitions between clubs from different countries. Other competitions between national teams, such as the Baseball World Cup and the Olympic baseball tournament, were administered by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from its formation in 1938 until its 2013 merger with the International Softball Federation to create the current joint governing body for both sports, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).[102] Women's baseball is played on an organized amateur basis in numerous countries.[103] After being admitted to the Olympics as a medal sport beginning with the 1992 Games, baseball was dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games at the 2005 International Olympic Committee meeting. It remained part of the 2008 Games.[104] While the sport's lack of a following in much of the world was a factor,[105] more important was MLB's reluctance to allow its players to participate during the major league season.[106] MLB initiated the World Baseball Classic, scheduled to precede its season, partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The inaugural Classic, held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number of MLB participants.[107][108] The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic.[109] Distinctive elements Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following. All of these sports use a clock,[110] play is less individual,[111] and the variation between playing fields is not as substantial or important.[112] The comparison between cricket and baseball demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways with its cousin sports.[113] No clock to kill A well-worn baseball In clock-limited sports, games often end with a team that holds the lead killing the clock rather than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock, thus a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. At almost any turn in any baseball game, the most advantageous strategy is some form of aggressive strategy.[114] Whereas, in the case of multi-day Test and first-class cricket, the possibility of a draw (which occurs because of the restrictions on time, which like in baseball, originally did not exist[115]) often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind, to bat defensively and run out the clock, giving up any faint chance at a win, to avoid an overall loss.[116] While nine innings has been the standard since the beginning of professional baseball, the duration of the average major league game has increased steadily through the years. At the turn of the 20th century, games typically took an hour and a half to play. In the 1920s, they averaged just less than two hours, which eventually ballooned to 2:38 in 1960.[117] By 1997, the average American League game lasted 2:57 (National League games were about 10 minutes shorter—pitchers at the plate making for quicker outs than designated hitters).[118] In 2004, Major League Baseball declared that its goal was an average game of 2:45.[117] By 2014, though, the average MLB game took over three hours to complete.[119] The lengthening of games is attributed to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play, with pitchers taking more time between each delivery, and batters stepping out of the box more frequently.[117][118] Other leagues have experienced similar issues. In 2008, Nippon Professional Baseball took steps aimed at shortening games by 12 minutes from the preceding decade's average of 3:18.[120] In 2016, the average nine-inning playoff game in Major League baseball was 3 hours and 35 minutes. This was up 10 minutes from 2015 and 21 minutes from 2014.[121] In response to the lengthening of the game, MLB decided from the 2023 season onward to institute a pitch clock rule to penalize batters and pitchers who take too much time between pitches.[122] Individual focus Babe Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the New York Yankees Although baseball is a team sport, individual players are often placed under scrutiny and pressure. While rewarding, it has sometimes been described as "ruthless" due to the pressure on the individual player.[123] In 1915, a baseball instructional manual pointed out that every single pitch, of which there are often more than two hundred in a game, involves an individual, one-on-one contest: "the pitcher and the batter in a battle of wits".[124] Pitcher, batter, and fielder all act essentially independent of each other. While coaching staffs can signal pitcher or batter to pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder is solely responsible for deciding to try to catch it or play it on the bounce and for succeeding or failing. The statistical precision of baseball is both facilitated by this isolation and reinforces it. Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the individual focus in cricket is mitigated by the importance of the batting partnership and the practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy the wicket for an hour or much more.[125] There is no statistical equivalent in cricket for the fielding error and thus less emphasis on personal responsibility in this area of play.[126] Uniqueness of parks Further information: Ballpark Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. Unlike those of most sports, baseball playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape. While the dimensions of the infield are specifically regulated, the only constraint on outfield size and shape for professional teams, following the rules of MLB and Minor League Baseball, is that fields built or remodeled since June 1, 1958, must have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 feet (122 m) to center.[127] Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at Minute Maid Park, which became the home of the Houston Astros in 2000, the Crawford Boxes in left field are only 315 feet (96 m) from home plate.[128] There are no rules at all that address the height of fences or other structures at the edge of the outfield. The most famously idiosyncratic outfield boundary is the left-field wall at Boston's Fenway Park, in use since 1912: the Green Monster is 310 feet (94 m) from home plate down the line and 37 feet (11 m) tall.[129] Similarly, there are no regulations at all concerning the dimensions of foul territory. Thus a foul fly ball may be entirely out of play in a park with little space between the foul lines and the stands, but a foulout in a park with more expansive foul ground.[130] A fence in foul territory that is close to the outfield line will tend to direct balls that strike it back toward the fielders, while one that is farther away may actually prompt more collisions, as outfielders run full speed to field balls deep in the corner. These variations can make the difference between a double and a triple or inside-the-park home run.[131] The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the adjacent image shows a traditional field surfacing arrangement (and the one used by virtually all MLB teams with naturally surfaced fields), teams are free to decide what areas will be grassed or bare.[132] Some fields—including several in MLB—use artificial turf. Surface variations can have a significant effect on how ground balls behave and are fielded as well as on baserunning. Similarly, the presence of a roof (seven major league teams play in stadiums with permanent or retractable roofs) can greatly affect how fly balls are played.[133] While football and soccer players deal with similar variations of field surface and stadium covering, the size and shape of their fields are much more standardized. The area out-of-bounds on a football or soccer field does not affect play the way foul territory in baseball does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant.[134] A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park These physical variations create a distinctive set of playing conditions at each ballpark. Other local factors, such as altitude and climate, can also significantly affect play. A given stadium may acquire a reputation as a pitcher's park or a hitter's park, if one or the other discipline notably benefits from its unique mix of elements. The most exceptional park in this regard is Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. Its high altitude—5,282 feet (1,610 m) above sea level—is partly responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues due to the low air pressure.[135] Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is known for its fickle disposition: a pitcher's park when the strong winds off Lake Michigan are blowing in, it becomes more of a hitter's park when they are blowing out.[136] The absence of a standardized field affects not only how particular games play out, but the nature of team rosters and players' statistical records. For example, hitting a fly ball 330 feet (100 m) into right field might result in an easy catch on the warning track at one park, and a home run at another. A team that plays in a park with a relatively short right field, such as the New York Yankees, will tend to stock its roster with left-handed pull hitters, who can best exploit it. On the individual level, a player who spends most of his career with a team that plays in a hitter's park will gain an advantage in batting statistics over time—even more so if his talents are especially suited to the park.[137] Statistics Further information: Baseball statistics Organized baseball lends itself to statistics to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. In the late 19th century, a former cricket player, English-born Henry Chadwick of Brooklyn, was responsible for the "development of the box score, tabular standings, the annual baseball guide, the batting average, and most of the common statistics and tables used to describe baseball."[138] The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that Chadwick came to be known as Father Baseball.[138] In the 1920s, American newspapers began devoting more and more attention to baseball statistics, initiating what journalist and historian Alan Schwarz describes as a "tectonic shift in sports, as intrigue that once focused mostly on teams began to go to individual players and their statistics lines."[139] The Official Baseball Rules administered by MLB require the official scorer to categorize each baseball play unambiguously. The rules provide detailed criteria to promote consistency. The score report is the official basis for both the box score of the game and the relevant statistical records.[140] General managers, managers, and baseball scouts use statistics to evaluate players and make strategic decisions. Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most baseball fans. The basic batting statistics include:[141] At bats: plate appearances, excluding walks and hit by pitches—where the batter's ability is not fully tested—and sacrifices and sacrifice flies—where the batter intentionally makes an out in order to advance one or more baserunners Hits: times a base is reached safely, because of a batted, fair ball without a fielding error or fielder's choice Runs: times circling the bases and reaching home safely Runs batted in (RBIs): number of runners who scored due to a batter's action (including the batter, in the case of a home run), except when batter grounded into double play or reached on an error Home runs: hits on which the batter successfully touched all four bases, without the contribution of a fielding error Batting average: hits divided by at bats—the traditional measure of batting ability The basic baserunning statistics include:[142] Stolen bases: times advancing to the next base entirely due to the runner's own efforts, generally while the pitcher is preparing to deliver or delivering the ball Caught stealing: times tagged out while attempting to steal a base Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. The basic pitching statistics include:[143] Wins: credited to pitcher on winning team who last pitched before the team took a lead that it never relinquished (a starting pitcher must pitch at least five innings to qualify for a win) Losses: charged to pitcher on losing team who was pitching when the opposing team took a lead that it never relinquished Saves: games where the pitcher enters a game led by the pitcher's team, finishes the game without surrendering the lead, is not the winning pitcher, and either (a) the lead was three runs or less when the pitcher entered the game; (b) the potential tying run was on base, at bat, or on deck; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings Innings pitched: outs recorded while pitching divided by three (partial innings are conventionally recorded as, e.g., "5.2" or "7.1", the last digit actually representing thirds, not tenths, of an inning) Strikeouts: times pitching three strikes to a batter Winning percentage: wins divided by decisions (wins plus losses) Earned run average (ERA): runs allowed, excluding those resulting from fielding errors, per nine innings pitched The basic fielding statistics include:[144] Putouts: times the fielder catches a fly ball, tags or forces out a runner, or otherwise directly effects an out Assists: times a putout by another fielder was recorded following the fielder touching the ball Errors: times the fielder fails to make a play that should have been made with common effort, and the batting team benefits as a result Total chances: putouts plus assists plus errors Fielding average: successful chances (putouts plus assists) divided by total chances Among the many other statistics that are kept are those collectively known as situational statistics. For example, statistics can indicate which specific pitchers a certain batter performs best against. If a given situation statistically favors a certain batter, the manager of the fielding team may be more likely to change pitchers or have the pitcher intentionally walk the batter in order to face one who is less likely to succeed.[145] Sabermetrics Sabermetrics refers to the field of baseball statistical study and the development of new statistics and analytical tools. The term is also used to refer directly to new statistics themselves. The term was coined around 1980 by one of the field's leading proponents, Bill James, and derives from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).[146] The growing popularity of sabermetrics since the early 1980s has brought more attention to two batting statistics that sabermetricians argue are much better gauges of a batter's skill than batting average:[147] On-base percentage (OBP) measures a batter's ability to get on base. It is calculated by taking the sum of the batter's successes in getting on base (hits plus walks plus hit by pitches) and dividing that by the batter's total plate appearances (at bats plus walks plus hit by pitches plus sacrifice flies), except for sacrifice bunts.[148] Slugging percentage (SLG) measures a batter's ability to hit for power. It is calculated by taking the batter's total bases (one per each single, two per double, three per triple, and four per home run) and dividing that by the batter's at bats.[149] Some of the new statistics devised by sabermetricians have gained wide use: On-base plus slugging (OPS) measures a batter's overall ability. It is calculated by adding the batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.[150] Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) measures a pitcher's ability at preventing hitters from reaching base. It is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits a pitcher surrendered, then dividing by the number of innings pitched.[151] Wins Above Replacement (WAR) measures number of additional wins his team has achieved above the number of expected team wins if that player were substituted with a replacement-level player.[152] Popularity and cultural impact Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 Writing in 1919, philosopher Morris Raphael Cohen described baseball as the national religion of the US.[153] In the words of sports columnist Jayson Stark, baseball has long been "a unique paragon of American culture"—a status he sees as devastated by the steroid abuse scandal.[154] Baseball has an important place in other national cultures as well: Scholar Peter Bjarkman describes "how deeply the sport is ingrained in the history and culture of a nation such as Cuba, [and] how thoroughly it was radically reshaped and nativized in Japan."[155] In the United States The major league game in the United States was originally targeted toward a middle-class, white-collar audience: relative to other spectator pastimes, the National League's set ticket price of 50 cents in 1876 was high, while the location of playing fields outside the inner city and the workweek daytime scheduling of games were also obstacles to a blue-collar audience.[156] A century later, the situation was very different. With the rise in popularity of other team sports with much higher average ticket prices—football, basketball, and hockey—professional baseball had become among the most blue-collar-oriented of leading American spectator sports.[157] The Tampere Tigers celebrating the 2017 title in Turku, Finland Overall, baseball has a large following in the United States; a 2006 poll found that nearly half of Americans are fans.[158] In the late 1900s and early 2000s, baseball's position compared to football in the United States moved in contradictory directions. In 2008, MLB set a revenue record of $6.5 billion, matching the NFL's revenue for the first time in decades.[159] A new MLB revenue record of more than $10 billion was set in 2017.[160] On the other hand, the percentage of American sports fans polled who named baseball as their favorite sport was 9%, compared to pro football at 37%.[161] In 1985, the respective figures were pro football 24%, baseball 23%.[162] Because there are so many more major league games played, there is no comparison in overall attendance.[163] In 2008, total attendance at major league games was the second-highest in history: 78.6 million, 0.7% off the record set the previous year.[85] The following year, amid the U.S. recession, attendance fell by 6.6% to 73.4 million.[164] Eight years later, it dropped under 73 million.[165] Attendance at games held under the Minor League Baseball umbrella set a record in 2008, with 43.3 million.[166] While MLB games have not drawn the same national TV viewership as football games, MLB games are dominant in teams' local markets and regularly lead all programs in primetime in their markets during the summer.[167] Caribbean Since the early 1980s, the Dominican Republic, in particular the city of San Pedro de Macorís, has been the major leagues' primary source of foreign talent.[168] In 2017, 83 of the 868 players on MLB Opening Day rosters (and disabled lists) were from the country. Among other Caribbean countries and territories, a combined 97 MLB players were born in Venezuela, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.[169] Hall-of-Famer Roberto Clemente remains one of the greatest national heroes in Puerto Rico's history.[170] While baseball has long been the island's primary athletic pastime, its once well-attended professional winter league has declined in popularity since 1990, when young Puerto Rican players began to be included in the major leagues' annual first-year player draft.[171] In Cuba, where baseball is by every reckoning the national sport,[172] the national team overshadows the city and provincial teams that play in the top-level domestic leagues.[173] Asia An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 In Asia, baseball is among the most popular sports in Japan and South Korea.[174] In Japan, where baseball is inarguably the leading spectator team sport, combined revenue for the twelve teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the body that oversees both the Central and Pacific Leagues, was estimated at $1 billion in 2007. Total NPB attendance for the year was approximately 20 million. While in the preceding two decades, MLB attendance grew by 50 percent and revenue nearly tripled, the comparable NPB figures were stagnant. There are concerns that MLB's growing interest in acquiring star Japanese players will hurt the game in their home country.[175] Revenue figures are not released for the country's amateur system. Similarly, according to one official pronouncement, the sport's governing authority "has never taken into account attendance ... because its greatest interest has always been the development of athletes".[176] In Taiwan, baseball is one of the most widely spectated sports, with the origins dating back to Japanese rule.[177] Among children As of 2018, Little League Baseball oversees leagues with close to 2.4 million participants in over 80 countries.[178] The number of players has fallen since the 1990s, when 3 million children took part in Little League Baseball annually.[179] Babe Ruth League teams have over 1 million participants.[180] According to the president of the International Baseball Federation, between 300,000 and 500,000 women and girls play baseball around the world, including Little League and the introductory game of Tee Ball.[181] A varsity baseball team is an established part of physical education departments at most high schools and colleges in the United States.[182] In 2015, nearly half a million high schoolers and over 34,000 collegians played on their schools' baseball teams.[183] By early in the 20th century, intercollegiate baseball was Japan's leading sport. Today, high school baseball in particular is immensely popular there.[184] The final rounds of the two annual tournaments—the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring, and the even more important National High School Baseball Championship in the summer—are broadcast around the country. The tournaments are known, respectively, as Spring Koshien and Summer Koshien after the 55,000-capacity stadium where they are played.[185] In Cuba, baseball is a mandatory part of the state system of physical education, which begins at age six. Talented children as young as seven are sent to special district schools for more intensive training—the first step on a ladder whose acme is the national baseball team.[173] In popular culture The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million.[186] Baseball has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the United States and elsewhere. Dozens of English-language idioms have been derived from baseball; in particular, the game is the source of a number of widely used sexual euphemisms.[187] The first networked radio broadcasts in North America were of the 1922 World Series: famed sportswriter Grantland Rice announced play-by-play from New York City's Polo Grounds on WJZ–Newark, New Jersey, which was connected by wire to WGY–Schenectady, New York, and WBZ–Springfield, Massachusetts.[188] The baseball cap has become a ubiquitous fashion item not only in the United States and Japan, but also in countries where the sport itself is not particularly popular, such as the United Kingdom.[189] Baseball has inspired many works of art and entertainment. One of the first major examples, Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat", appeared in 1888. A wry description of the failure of a star player in what would now be called a "clutch situation", the poem became the source of vaudeville and other staged performances, audio recordings, film adaptations, and an opera, as well as a host of sequels and parodies in various media. There have been many baseball movies, including the Academy Award–winning The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and the Oscar nominees The Natural (1984) and Field of Dreams (1989). The American Film Institute's selection of the ten best sports movies includes The Pride of the Yankees at number 3 and Bull Durham (1988) at number 5.[190] Baseball has provided thematic material for hits on both stage—the Adler–Ross musical Damn Yankees—and record—George J. Gaskin's "Slide, Kelly, Slide", Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", and John Fogerty's "Centerfield".[191] The baseball-inspired comedic sketch "Who's on First?", popularized by Abbott and Costello in 1938, quickly became famous. Six decades later, Time named it the best comedy routine of the 20th century.[192] Literary works connected to the game include the short fiction of Ring Lardner and novels such as Bernard Malamud's The Natural (the source for the movie), Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., John Grisham's Calico Joe and W. P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe (the source for Field of Dreams). Baseball's literary canon also includes the beat reportage of Damon Runyon; the columns of Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Dick Young, and Peter Gammons; and the essays of Roger Angell. Among the celebrated nonfiction books in the field are Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory of Their Times, Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, and Michael Lewis's Moneyball. The 1970 publication of major league pitcher Jim Bouton's tell-all chronicle Ball Four is considered a turning point in the reporting of professional sports.[193] Baseball has also inspired the creation of new cultural forms. Baseball cards were introduced in the late 19th century as trade cards. A typical example featured an image of a baseball player on one side and advertising for a business on the other. In the early 1900s they were produced widely as promotional items by tobacco and confectionery companies. The 1930s saw the popularization of the modern style of baseball card, with a player photograph accompanied on the rear by statistics and biographical data. Baseball cards—many of which are now prized collectibles—are the source of the much broader trading card industry, involving similar products for different sports and non-sports-related fields.[194] Modern fantasy sports began in 1980 with the invention of Rotisserie League Baseball by New York writer Daniel Okrent and several friends. Participants in a Rotisserie league draft notional teams from the list of active MLB players and play out an entire imaginary season with game outcomes based on the players' latest real-world statistics. Rotisserie-style play quickly became a phenomenon. Now known more generically as fantasy baseball, it has inspired similar games based on an array of different sports.[195] The field boomed with increasing Internet access and new fantasy sports-related websites. By 2008, 29.9 million people in the United States and Canada were playing fantasy sports, spending $800 million on the hobby.[196] The burgeoning popularity of fantasy baseball is also credited with the increasing attention paid to sabermetrics—first among fans, only later among baseball professionals.[197] Derivative games Main article: Variations of baseball Informal variations of baseball have popped up over time, with games like corkball reflecting local traditions and allowing the game to be played in diverse environments.[198] Two variations of baseball, softball and Baseball5, are internationally governed alongside baseball by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.[199] British baseball Main article: British baseball American professional baseball teams toured Britain in 1874 and 1889, and had a great effect on similar sports in Britain. In Wales and Merseyside, a strong community game had already developed with skills and plays more in keeping with the American game and the Welsh began to informally adopt the name "baseball" (Pêl Fas), to reflect the American style. By the 1890s, calls were made to follow the success of other working class sports (like Rugby in Wales and Soccer in Merseyside) and adopt a distinct set of rules and bureaucracy.[200] During the 1892 season rules for the game of "baseball" were agreed and the game was officially codified.[201] Finnish baseball Main article: Pesäpallo Finnish baseball, known as pesäpallo, is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and North American baseball, invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s.[202] The basic idea of pesäpallo is similar to that of baseball: the offense tries to score by hitting the ball successfully and running through the bases, while the defense tries to put the batter and runners out. One of the most important differences between pesäpallo and baseball is that the ball is pitched vertically, which makes hitting the ball, as well as controlling the power and direction of the hit, much easier. This gives the offensive game more variety, speed, and tactical aspects compared to baseball.[202] See also icon Baseball portal Baseball awards Baseball clothing and equipment List of baseball films List of organized baseball leagues Women in baseball Related sports Brännboll (Scandinavian bat-and-ball game) Comparison of baseball and cricket Lapta (game) (Russian bat-and-ball game) Oină (Romanian bat-and-ball game) Snow baseball (with similar rules played in India during winters) Stickball Stoop ball Vitilla Wiffle ball
James Chandler Ball (February 22, 1884 – April 7, 1963) was an American professional baseball player who played in the National League for parts of two season spanning 1907–1908. 1871. Born in Harford County, Maryland, he was drafted by the Boston Doves from the Baltimore Orioles of the Eastern League in the 1907 rule 5 draft and played in 10 games that season. He was released from the Doves in January 1908. On August 22, 1908, his contract was later purchased by the Boston Doves from the Baltimore and played in 6 games that season. The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. As one of the American League's eight charter teams in 1901, this particular franchise spent its first year as a major league club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers (not related to the second current Brewers franchise there) before moving to St. Louis, Missouri, to become the St. Louis Browns. After 52 often-beleaguered years in St. Louis, the franchise was purchased in November 1953 by a syndicate of Baltimore business and civic interests led by attorney/civic activist Clarence Miles and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. The team's current majority owner is lawyer Peter Angelos. The Orioles adopted their team name in honor of the official state bird of Maryland; it had also been used by several previous major and minor league baseball clubs in Baltimore, including another AL charter member franchise also named the "Baltimore Orioles," which moved north in 1903 to eventually become the New York Yankees. Nicknames for the team include the "O's" and the "Birds". The Orioles experienced their greatest success from 1966 to 1983, when they made six World Series appearances, winning three of them (1966, 1970, 1983). This era of the club featured several future Hall of Famers who would later be inducted representing the Orioles, such as third baseman Brooks Robinson, outfielder Frank Robinson, starting pitcher Jim Palmer, first baseman Eddie Murray, shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., and manager Earl Weaver. The Orioles have won a total of nine division championships (1969–1971, 1973–1974, 1979, 1983, 1997, 2014), six pennants (1966, 1969–1971, 1979, 1983), and three wild card berths (1996, 2012, 2016). Since moving to Baltimore in 1954, the franchise has a win-loss record of 5252-5066 (with a winning "percentage" of .509) as of the end of the 2018 season.[4] After suffering a stretch of 14 straight losing seasons from 1998 to 2011, the team qualified for the postseason three times under manager Buck Showalter and general manager Dan Duquette, including a division title and advancement to the American League Championship Series for the first time in 17 years in 2014. However, the 2018 team finished with a franchise-worst record of 47–115, prompting the team to move on from Showalter and Duquette following the season's conclusion. The Orioles' current manager is Brandon Hyde, while Mike Elias serves as general manager and executive vice president. The Orioles are also well known for their influential ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992 in downtown Baltimore.[5][6] Contents 1 History 1.1 Milwaukee Brewers 1.2 St. Louis Browns 1.3 Baltimore Orioles 1.3.1 Seeds of success (1954–1959) 1.3.2 Pennant contenders (1960–1965) 1.3.3 Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson 1.3.4 Glory years (1966–1983) 1.3.5 Final seasons at Memorial Stadium (1984–1991) 1.3.6 Camden Yards opens (1992–1993) 1.3.6.1 Angelos takes over 1.3.7 Strike year (1994) 1.3.8 Ripken breaks the streak (1995) 1.3.9 Playoff years (1996–1997) 1.3.9.1 1996 season 1.3.9.2 1997 season 1.3.10 Beginning of a downturn (1998–2001) 1.3.10.1 1998 season 1.3.10.2 1999 season 1.3.10.3 2000–2001 seasons 1.3.11 Post-Ripken era and downfall (2002–2011) 1.3.11.1 2002–2004 seasons 1.3.11.2 2005 season 1.3.11.3 2006 season 1.3.11.4 2007 season 1.3.11.5 2008 season 1.3.11.6 2009 season 1.3.11.7 2010 season 1.3.11.8 2011 season 1.3.12 Return to success (2012–2017) 1.3.12.1 2012 season 1.3.12.2 2013 season 1.3.12.3 2014 season 1.3.12.4 2015 season 1.3.12.4.1 Response to 2015 unrest 2 Uniform 3 Radio and television coverage 3.1 Radio 3.2 Television 4 Musical traditions 4.1 "O!" 4.2 "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" 4.3 "Orioles Magic" and other songs 4.4 The First Army Band 5 PA announcer 6 Postseason appearances 7 Baseball Hall of Famers 7.1 Ford C. Frick Award (broadcasters only) 7.2 Retired numbers 7.3 Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame 7.4 Team Hall of Fame 7.5 Team captains 8 Current roster 9 Minor league affiliates 10 Franchise records and award winners 10.1 Season records 10.2 Individual records – batting 10.3 Individual records – pitching 11 Rivalry with the Washington Nationals 12 Notes 13 References 14 Bibliography 15 External links History Main article: History of the Baltimore Orioles The modern Orioles franchise can trace its roots back to the original Milwaukee Brewers of the minor Western League, beginning in 1894, when the league reorganized. The Brewers were there when the WL renamed itself the American League in 1900. Milwaukee Brewers At the end of the 1900 season, the American League removed itself from baseball's National Agreement (the formal understanding between the NL and the minor leagues). Two months later, the AL declared itself a competing major league. As a result of several franchise shifts, the Brewers were one of only two Western League teams that didn't fold, move or get kicked out of the league (the other being the Detroit Tigers). In its first game in the American League, the team lost to the Detroit Tigers 14–13 after surrendering a nine-run lead in the 9th inning.[7] To this day, it is a major league record for the biggest deficit overcome that late in the game.[8] In the first American League season in 1901, they finished last (eighth place) with a record of 48–89. Its lone Major League season, the team played at Lloyd Street Grounds, between 16th and 18th Streets in Milwaukee. St. Louis Browns Main article: History of the St. Louis Browns After one year in Milwaukee the club relocated to St Louis, and for a while enjoyed some success, especially in the 1920s behind Hall of Fame first baseman George Sisler. However, the team's fortunes declined from then on, as playing success and gate receipts instead went increasingly to the Browns' own tenants at Sportsman's Park, the National League Cardinals. During this period the Browns only won one pennant, in the 1944 season stocked with wartime replacement players, and lost to the Cardinals in the third and last World Series ever played entirely in one ballpark. In 1953, with the Browns unable to afford even stadium upkeep, owner Bill Veeck sold Sportsman's Park to the Cards and attempted to move the club back to Milwaukee, but this was vetoed by the other Major League owners. Instead, Veeck sold his franchise to a partnership of Baltimore businessmen. Baltimore Orioles The "Oriole Bird", which has been the official mascot figure since April 6, 1979.[9] The Miles-Krieger (Gunther Brewing Company)-Hoffberger group renamed their new team the Baltimore Orioles soon after taking control of the franchise. The name has a rich history in Baltimore, having been used by a National League team in the 1890s. In 1901, Baltimore and John McGraw were awarded an expansion franchise in the growing American League, naming the team the Orioles. After a battle with Ban Johnson, the Head of the American League in 1902, McGraw took many of the top players including Walter Scott "Steve" Brodie, Dan McGann, Roger Bresnahan, and Joe McGinnity to the New York Giants. As an affront to Johnson, McGraw kept the black and orange colors of the New York Giants, which San Francisco wears to this day. In 1903, the franchise—the remaining players, assets and debts, the corporation—was transferred to New York where they were nicknamed the Highlanders until circa 1912, by which time Yanks or Yankees had taken over as their popular moniker. As a member of the high-minor league level International League, the Orioles competed at what is now known as the AAA level from 1903 to 1953; the IL Orioles' most famous player was a local Baltimore product, hard-hitting left-handed pitcher Babe Ruth. When Oriole Park burned down in 1944, the team moved to a temporary home, Municipal Stadium, where they won the Junior World Series. Their large postseason crowds caught the attention of the major leagues, eventually leading to a new MLB franchise in Baltimore.[10] Seeds of success (1954–1959) After starting the 1954 campaign with a two-game split against the Tigers in Detroit, the Orioles returned to Baltimore on April 15 to a welcoming parade that wound through the streets of downtown, with an estimated 350,000 spectators lining the route. In its first-ever home opener at Memorial Stadium later in the afternoon, they treated a sellout crowd of 46,354 to a 3–1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The remainder of the season would not be as pleasant, with the team enduring 100 losses while avoiding the AL cellar by only three games. With fellow investors both frustrated with his domination of the franchise's business operations and dissatisfied with yet another seventh-place finish, Clarence Miles resigned in early November 1955. Real estate developer James Keelty Jr. succeeded him as president with investment banker Joseph Iglehart the new board chairman. The seeds of long-term success were planted on September 14, 1954, when the Orioles hired Paul Richards to become the ballclub's manager and general manager. He laid the foundation for what would years later be called the Oriole Way. The instruction of baseball fundamentals became uniform in every detail between all classes within the organization. Players were patiently refined until fundamentally sound instead of being hastily advanced to the next level. For the remainder of the 1950s, the Orioles crawled up the standings, reaching as high as fifth place with a 76–76 record in 1957. Richards succeeded in stocking the franchise with a plethora of young talent which included Dave Nicholson, Pete Ward, Ron Hansen (1960 AL Rookie of the Year), Milt Pappas, Jerry Adair, Steve Barber (20 wins in 1963), Boog Powell, Dave McNally, and Brooks Robinson. Unfortunately, Richards also had the tendency to recklessly spend money on individuals with dubious baseball skills. This became a major problem as bidding wars between the ballclubs to land the best amateur players escalated signing bonuses. The solution came on November 5, 1958, when Lee MacPhail was appointed general manager, allowing Richards to focus on his managerial duties. MacPhail added much-needed discipline to the scouting staff by establishing cross-checkers who thoroughly evaluated young hopefuls to determine whether they were worthy of being tendered a contract. He also accepted the title of president after Keelty resigned in mid-December 1959. Pennant contenders (1960–1965) One month prior to the end of the 1961 season, Richards resigned as the team's skipper to become the general manager of the expansion Houston Colt .45s. A year earlier, he succeeded in establishing the Orioles as a legitimate contender when they stood atop the AL standings as late as early September before finishing in second place at 89–65. In 1964, the Birds, piloted by Hank Bauer in his first year of managing the ballclub, were involved in a tight pennant race against the Yankees and White Sox. They ended up in third place with a 97–65 record, only two games out. It has been suggested that they would likely have advanced to the Fall Classic had it not been for a minor wrist injury that sidelined Powell for two weeks in late August.[11] Nevertheless, Robinson enjoyed a breakout season with a league-high 118 RBIs, and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. The television/radio network of CBS' purchase of a majority stake in the Yankees on September 9 of that same year resulted in a change to the ownership situation in Baltimore. Iglehart, the Orioles' largest shareholder at 32% and owner of a sizable amount of CBS stock, straightened out his conflict of interest issues on May 25, 1965, by selling his 64,000 shares in the ball-club to the National Brewing Company, an original team investor which finally had controlling interest at 65%. Brewery president Jerold Hoffberger became the Orioles' new chairman of the board. Hoffberger's first action was installing Frank Cashen, the Director of Advertising for the National Brewery, as Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for the Orioles. With the benefit of a deep talent pool and superior scouts, the franchise continued to make improvements at the major league level. Three months before the start of the 1963 season, the Orioles stabilized its infield by acquiring Luis Aparicio in a transaction that involved sending a trio of homegrown players (Hansen, Nicholson and Ward) to the White Sox. They also scoured the minor leagues for selections in the Rule 5 draft (Paul Blair from the Mets in 1962, Moe Drabowsky from the Cardinals in 1965) and claims off waivers (Curt Blefary, 1965 AL Rookie of the Year, from the Yankees in 1963). Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson Frank Robinson statue by Antonio Tobias Mendez. On December 9, 1965, the Orioles traded pitcher Milt Pappas (and several others) to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for slugging outfielder Frank Robinson. The following year, Robinson won the American League Most Valuable Player award, thus becoming the first (and so far only) man to win the MVP in each league (Robinson won the NL MVP in 1961, leading the Reds to the pennant). In addition to winning the 1966 MVP, Robinson also won the Triple Crown (leading the American League in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in), a feat also achieved the following season by Boston's Carl Yastrzemski. The Orioles won their first-ever American League championship in 1966, and in a major upset, swept the World Series by out-dueling the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, whose pitching staff was led by aces Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. The only home run ball ever hit completely out of Memorial Stadium was slugged by Robinson on Mother's Day in 1966, off Cleveland Indians pitcher Luis Tiant. It cleared the left field single-deck portion of the grandstand. A flag was later erected near the spot the ball cleared the back wall, with simply the word "HERE" upon it. The flag is now in the Baltimore Orioles Museum. Pappas went 30–29 in a little over two years with the Reds before being traded. Although he would go on to have back-to-back 17-win seasons for the Chicago Cubs in 1971 and 1972, including a no-hitter in the latter season, this did not help the Reds, who ended up losing the 1970 World Series to Robinson and the Orioles. This trade has become renowned as one of the most lopsided in baseball history, including a mention by Susan Sarandon in her opening soliloquy in the 1988 film Bull Durham: "Bad trades are a part of baseball. I mean, who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas?"[12] Glory years (1966–1983) In the 1960s, the Orioles farm system produced an especially large number of high-quality players and coaches and laid the foundation for two decades of on-field success. This period included eighteen consecutive winning seasons (1968–1985) – a run of success that saw the Orioles become the envy of the league, and the winningest team in baseball. During this period, the Orioles played baseball the "Oriole Way", an organizational ethic best described by longtime farm hand and coach Cal Ripken Sr.'s phrase "perfect practice makes perfect!" The Oriole Way was a belief that hard work, professionalism, and a strong understanding of fundamentals were the keys to success at the major league level. It was based on the belief that if every coach, at every level, taught the game the same way, the organization could produce "replacement parts" that could be substituted seamlessly into the big league club with little or no adjustment. Elaborations on the Oriole way include pitching coach and manager Ray Miller's maxim "Work fast, change speeds, and throw strikes" and manager Earl Weaver's maxim "Pitching, defense and three-run homers." " The "Oriole Way" began flourishing in 1966 after the Robinson-for-Pappas deal, as Robinson won the "Triple Crown Award". His Orioles would easily sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1966 World Series. After a mediocre 1967 season, Hank Bauer would be replaced by Earl Weaver halfway into 1968. The Orioles would finish second in the American League. This would only be a prelude to 1969, when the Orioles won 109 games and easily won the newly created American League East division title. Mike Cuellar shared the Cy Young Award with Detroit's Denny McLain. After sweeping Minnesota in the American League Championship Series, Baltimore was shocked by losing to the New York Mets in a five-game World Series. The next year, Boog Powell won the MVP and the Orioles won another 108 games. After sweeping the Twins once again in the ALCS, the Orioles won the 1970 World Series by defeating the Cincinnati Reds' Big Red Machine in five games. In 1971, the Orioles won another division title thanks to four 20-game winners on their pitching staff (Cuellar, Jim Palmer, Pat Dobson, and Dave McNally). After defeating the young Oakland A's in the ALCS, the Orioles would lose a heartbreaking seven-game World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Orioles would miss the playoffs in 1972, but rebounded to win the division in 1973 and 1974. Each time, they would lose to Oakland in the ALCS. During this stretch, the Orioles began to phase out their veteran infield by replacing Davey Johnson and Brooks Robinson with younger stars Bobby Grich and Doug DeCinces, respectively. Johnson would be dealt along with Johnny Oates to the Atlanta Braves for catcher and 1971 National League Rookie of the Year Earl Williams. Although Williams had hit 63 home runs in two seasons with Atlanta, he would only hit 36 homers in two seasons with the Orioles. In 1975, the Birds acquired slugger Lee May in a trade with Houston, and traded Dave McNally, Rich Coggins and minor-league pitcher Bill Kirkpatrick to Montreal for star outfielder Ken Singleton, and future 20-game winner Mike Torrez. Jim Palmer won the Cy Young Award, but the Orioles lost the division title to the Boston Red Sox and their mega-rookies Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. The 1976 season brought Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman from a trade with Oakland, but the Orioles only won 88 games. It was this season when the Orioles made a trade that brought them players such as Tippy Martinez and Rick Dempsey. This young foundation, along with the departures of the unhappy Jackson and Holtzman, would create the basis for 1977. The "No Name Orioles", along with Rookie of the Year Eddie Murray, won 97 games and finished tied for second place with Boston. After finishing fourth in 1978, the Orioles finally won the division in 1979 thanks to strong play from Ken Singleton and Cy Young winner Mike Flanagan. The Orioles defeated the Angels in the ALCS, but lost to Pittsburgh in another stunning World Series. This started a short period of heartbreak for Baltimore that would nevertheless culminate in a championship. Steve Stone The Orioles won 100 games in 1980 thanks to Cy Young winner Steve Stone who went 25–7 (.781) while leading the league in wins (a franchise record) and win-loss percentage, but the Yankees won 103 games. Although Baltimore had the best overall record in the AL East in 1981, they finished second in each half. As a result, they were out of the playoffs due to the postseason structure that year because of the strike. The 1982 campaign saw Baltimore eliminated on the final weekend of the season by the Milwaukee Brewers. In an unforgettable scene, despite the season-ending loss eliminating them from the playoffs, fans stayed to honor the retiring Earl Weaver, who would be succeeded by Joe Altobelli. In 1983, Altobelli would lead the Orioles to 98 wins and a division title thanks to MVP Cal Ripken Jr.. The Orioles defeated the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS thanks to a 10th-inning homer by Tito Landrum in the deciding game. The Orioles won the World Series in five games by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies. During their most productive years and only World Series championships thus far, the Orioles saw three of its players named MVP: Frank Robinson in 1966; Boog Powell in 1970; and Cal Ripken Jr. in 1983. Additionally, Brooks Robinson was named Most Valuable Player in 1964, just two years before the 1966–1983 golden era began. The pitching staff was phenomenal, with four pitchers winning six Cy Young Awards (Mike Cuellar in 1969; Jim Palmer in 1973, 1975, and 1976; Mike Flanagan in 1979; and Steve Stone in 1980). In 1971, the team's four starting pitchers, McNally, Cuellar, Palmer, and Pat Dobson, all won 20 games, a feat that has not been replicated. In that year, the Birds went on to post a 101–61 record for their third-straight AL East title.[13] Also during this stretch three players were named rookies of the year: Al Bumbry (1973); Eddie Murray (1977); and Cal Ripken Jr. (1982). One might date the glory years of the Orioles dating back to 1964, which would include two third-place seasons, 1964–65, in which the Orioles won 97 and 94 games, respectively, and a year in which third-baseman Brooks Robinson won his Most Valuable Player Award (1964). The glory years of the Orioles effectively ended when the Detroit Tigers, a divisional rival at the time, went 35–5 to open the 1984 season on the way to winning the World Series, in which Hall-of-Fame pitcher Jim Palmer retired during the 1984 season. Final seasons at Memorial Stadium (1984–1991) The Orioles hosting one of the final games at Memorial Stadium in 1991. After winning the 1983 World Series, the Orioles spent the next five years in steady decline, finishing 1986 in last place for the first time since the franchise moved to Baltimore. The team hit bottom in 1988 when it started the season 0–21, en route to 107 losses and the worst record in the majors that year. The "Why Not?" Orioles surprised the baseball world the following year by spending most of the summer in first place until September when the Toronto Blue Jays overtook them and seized the AL East title on the final weekend of the regular season. The next two years were spent below the .500 mark, highlighted only by Cal Ripken Jr. winning his second AL MVP Award in 1991. The Orioles said goodbye to Memorial Stadium, the team's home for 38 years, at the end of the 1991 campaign. The Orioles wordmark (1988–1994) Camden Yards opens (1992–1993) Main articles: 1992 Baltimore Orioles season and 1993 Baltimore Orioles season Opening to much fanfare in 1992, Oriole Park at Camden Yards was an instant success, spawning other retro-designed major league ballparks within the next two decades. The stadium became the site of the 1993 All-Star Game. The Orioles returned to contention in those first two seasons at Camden Yards, only to finish in third place both times. Angelos takes over Also in 1993, with then-owner Eli Jacobs forced to divest himself of the franchise, Baltimore-based attorney Peter Angelos, along with the ownership syndicate he headed, was awarded the Orioles in bankruptcy court in New York City, returning the team to local ownership for the first time since 1979. Strike year (1994) Main article: 1994 Baltimore Orioles season After the 1993 season, the Orioles acquired first baseman Rafael Palmeiro from the Texas Rangers. The Orioles, who spent all of 1994 chasing the New York Yankees, occupied second place in the new five-team AL East when the players strike, which began on August 11, forced the eventual cancellation of the season. Ripken breaks the streak (1995) The numbers on the Orioles' warehouse changed from 2130 to 2131 to celebrate Cal Ripken Jr. passing Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak. Main article: 1995 Baltimore Orioles season The labor impasse would continue into the spring of 1995. Almost all of the major league clubs held spring training using replacement players, with the intention of beginning the season with them. The Orioles, whose owner was a labor union lawyer, were the lone dissenters against creating an ersatz team, choosing instead to sit out spring training and possibly the entire season. Had they fielded a substitute team, Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive games streak would have been jeopardized. The replacements questions became moot when the strike was finally settled. The Ripken countdown resumed once the season began. Ripken finally broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak of 2,130 games in a nationally televised game on September 6. This was later voted the all-time baseball moment of the 20th century by fans from around the country in 1999. Ripken finished his streak with 2,632 straight games, finally sitting on September 20, 1998, the Orioles final home game of the season against the Yankees at Camden Yards. The Orioles finished two games under .500 (71–73) in third place in Phil Regan's only season of managing the ballclub. Playoff years (1996–1997) 1996 season Main article: 1996 Baltimore Orioles season Before the 1996 season, Angelos hired Pat Gillick as general manager. Given the green light to spend heavily on established talent, Gillick signed several premium players like B. J. Surhoff, Randy Myers, David Wells and Roberto Alomar. Under new manager Davey Johnson and on the strength of a then-major league record 257 home runs in a single season, the Orioles returned to the playoffs after a 12-year absence by clinching the AL wild card berth. Alomar set off a firestorm in September when he spat into home plate umpire John Hirschbeck's face during an argument in Toronto. He was later suspended for the first five games of the 1997 season, even though most wanted him banned from the postseason. After dethroning the defending American League champion Cleveland Indians 3–1 in the Division Series, the Orioles fell to the Yankees 4–1 in an ALCS notable for right field umpire Rich Garcia's failure to call fan interference in the first game of the series, when 12-year-old Yankee fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the outfield wall to catch an in-play ball, which was scored as a home run for Derek Jeter, tying the game at 4–4 in the eighth inning. Absent Maier's interference, it appeared as if the ball might have been off the wall or caught by right fielder Tony Tarasco. The Yankees went on to win the game in extra innings on an ensuing walk-off home run by Bernie Williams. 1997 season Main article: 1997 Baltimore Orioles season The Orioles went "wire-to-wire" (first place from start to finish) in winning the AL East title in 1997. After eliminating the Seattle Mariners 3–1 in the Division Series, the team lost again in the ALCS, this time to the underdog Indians 4–2, with each Oriole loss by only a run. Johnson resigned as manager after the season, largely due to a spat with Angelos concerning Alomar's fine for missing a team function being donated to Johnson's wife's charity.[14] Pitching coach Ray Miller replaced Johnson. Beginning of a downturn (1998–2001) 1998 season Main article: 1998 Baltimore Orioles season With Miller at the helm, the Orioles found themselves not only out of the playoffs, but also with a losing season. When Gillick's contract expired in 1998, it was not renewed. Angelos brought in Frank Wren to take over as GM. The Orioles added volatile slugger Albert Belle, but the team's woes continued in the 1999 season, with stars like Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar, and Eric Davis leaving in free agency. After a second straight losing season, Angelos fired both Miller and Wren. He named Syd Thrift the new GM and brought in former Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove. 1999 season Main article: 1999 Baltimore Orioles season Logo (1999–2008). In a rare event on March 28, 1999, the Orioles staged an exhibition series against the Cuban national team in Havana. The Orioles won the game 3–2 in 11 innings. They were the first Major League team to play in Cuba since 1959, when the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Orioles in an exhibition. The Cuban team visited Baltimore in May 1999. Cuba won the second game 10–6. 2000–2001 seasons Main article: 2000 Baltimore Orioles season Cal Ripken Jr. achieved his 3000th hit early in the season. A fire sale occurred late in the season, where the Orioles traded away many veterans for unproven young players and minor league prospects. The Orioles called up many of their AAA players to finish the season. The only acquired player that would have a long-term career with the organization was Melvin Mora. Main article: 2001 Baltimore Orioles season This was Cal Ripken Jr.'s final season. His number (8) was retired in a ceremony before the final home game of the season. Post-Ripken era and downfall (2002–2011) 2002–2004 seasons This version of the script logo has been on the front of the home jerseys since 2004. Main articles: 2002 Baltimore Orioles season, 2003 Baltimore Orioles season, and 2004 Baltimore Orioles season The team's first year without Ripken saw the team with a record of 63–63 at the conclusion of play on August 23, but then proceed to lose 32 of its last 36 games of the season, including their final 12 in a row to finish the season 67–95. In an effort to right the Orioles' sinking ship, changes began to sweep through the organization in 2003. General manager Syd Thrift was fired and to replace him, the Orioles hired Jim Beattie as executive vice-president and Mike Flanagan as the vice president of baseball operations. After another losing season, manager Mike Hargrove was not retained and Yankees coach Lee Mazzilli was brought in as the new manager. The team signed powerful hitters in SS Miguel Tejada, C Javy López, and former Oriole 1B Rafael Palmeiro. The following season, the Orioles traded for OF Sammy Sosa. 2005 season The Orioles taking on the Kansas City Royals at home in 2005. Main article: 2005 Baltimore Orioles season The team got hot early in 2005 and jumped out in front of the AL East division, holding onto first place for 62 straight days. However, turmoil on and off the field began to take its toll as the Orioles started struggling around the All-Star break, dropping them close to the surging Yankees and Red Sox. Injuries to Lopez, Sosa, Luis Matos, Brian Roberts, and Larry Bigbie came within weeks of each other, and the team grew increasingly dissatisfied with the "band-aid" moves of the front office and manager Mazzilli to help them through this period of struggle. Various minor league players such as Single-A Frederick OF Jeff Fiorentino were brought up in place of more experienced players such as OF David Newhan, who had batted .311 the previous season. After starting the season 42–28 (.600), the Orioles finished the season with a stretch of 32–60 (.348), ending at 74–88 (.457). Only the Kansas City Royals (.346) had a worse winning percentage for the season than did the Orioles for the final 92 games. The club's major off-season acquisition, Sammy Sosa, posted his worst performance in a decade, with 14 home runs and a .221 batting average. The Orioles did not attempt to re-sign him. The Orioles also allowed Palmeiro to file for free agency and publicly stated they would not re-sign him. On August 25, pitcher Sidney Ponson was arrested for DUI, and on September 1, the Orioles moved to void his contract (on a morals clause) and released him. The Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance on Ponson's behalf and the case was sent to arbitration and was eventually resolved. 2006 season Main article: 2006 Baltimore Orioles season In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the Orioles contributed more players than any other major league team, with eleven players suiting up for their home nations. Érik Bédard and Adam Loewen pitched for Canada; Rodrigo López and Gerónimo Gil (released before the season began by the club) played for Mexico; Daniel Cabrera and Miguel Tejada for the Dominican Republic; Javy López and Luis Matos for Puerto Rico; Bruce Chen for Panama; Ramón Hernández for Venezuela; and John Stephens for Australia. The Orioles finished the 2006 season with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses, 27 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. 2007 season Main article: 2007 Baltimore Orioles season On June 18, the Orioles fired Sam Perlozzo after losing eight straight games. He was replaced on interim basis by Dave Trembley. On June 22, Miguel Tejada's consecutive-games streak came to an end due to an injury, the fifth-longest streak in major league history. Aubrey Huff became the first Oriole to hit for the cycle at home, on June 29 against the Angels. On July 7, Érik Bédard struck out 15 batters in a game against the Texas Rangers to tie a franchise record held by Mike Mussina. On July 31, 2007, Andy MacPhail named Dave Trembley as the Orioles manager through the remainder of the 2007 season, and advised him to "Keep up the good work."[15] Facing the Texas Rangers in a doubleheader at Camden Yards on August 22, the Orioles surrendered 30 runs in the first game, a modern-era record for a single game, in a 30–3 defeat. The Orioles led the game 3–0 after three innings of play. Sixteen of Texas' thirty runs were scored in the final two innings. The Orioles would also fall in the nightcap, 9–7. 2008 season Main article: 2008 Baltimore Orioles season The Orioles began the 2008 season in a rebuilding mode under President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail. The Orioles traded away star players Miguel Tejada to the Astros and ace Érik Bédard to the Seattle Mariners for prized prospect Adam Jones, lefty reliever George Sherrill, and minor league pitchers Kam Mickolio, Chris Tillman, and Tony Butler. The Orioles started off the first couple weeks of the season near the top of their division as players such as Nick Markakis and newcomer Luke Scott led the team offensively. Although the Orioles hovered around .500 for much of the season, they had fallen back by September and were over 20 games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays. They finished the season losing 11 of their final 12 games and 28 of their final 34. The team finished last for the first time since their 1988 season. After the season ended, the Orioles showcased altered uniforms, with a circular 'Maryland' patch added to the left-hand sleeve of all jerseys and the grey road jerseys displaying "Baltimore" across the chest for the first time in a quarter-century; this reflected the arrival of the Washington Nationals, because ever since the Washington Senators had departed for Texas in 1972, the Orioles had claimed to represent the Baltimore-Washington metro area. 2009 season Main article: 2009 Baltimore Orioles season Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, Orioles v. Tampa Bay Rays, Camden Yards, April 12, 2009. On June 30, the Orioles rallied to score 10 runs against Boston Red Sox after facing a 10–1 deficit in the 7th inning, winning the game by 11–10, setting a Major League Baseball record for the largest comeback by a last-place team over a first-place team.[16] However, the team finished the 2009 season with 64 wins and 98 losses, making it the worst record in the 2009 American League season. Despite this, Manager Dave Trembley was re-hired for the 2010 season.[17] Centerfielder Adam Jones was named to the 2009 All Star team, and awarded a Gold Glove award for his defensive play. 2010 season Main article: 2010 Baltimore Orioles season On April 12, the team set a club record for the lowest paid attendance in Camden Yards history, only 9,129 attended the game versus the Tampa Bay Rays.[18] The Orioles then went 2–16 to begin the season, last in the league by quite a margin.[19] On June 4, with an 8-game losing streak and the worst record in the league at 15–39, the Orioles replaced Dave Trembley as manager with third base coach Juan Samuel as interim manager.[20] They did well at first, but then they started losing again, going 17–34 under Samuel.[21] The Orioles hired Buck Showalter on July 29 to be the full-time manager.[22] He was introduced on August 2 and made his debut on August 3, after the Orioles fired Samuel. Showalter's arrival produced, or coincided with, a turnaround; the Birds went 34–23 under Showalter to finish 66–96.[21] The Orioles celebrate a 6–5 victory over the Mariners at Camden Yards on May 13, 2010. 2011 season Main article: 2011 Baltimore Orioles season On February 4, 2011, the Orioles signed free agent Vladimir Guerrero to be the team's designated hitter. Playing for the Texas Rangers during the 2010 season, Guerrero had hit 29 home runs, with a .300 batting average. (His career batting average was .320 with 436 home runs.) The Orioles 2011 record was 69–93, the 14th consecutive losing season for the franchise dating back to 1998. The highlight of the season was their final game on September 28, when they defeated the Boston Red Sox 4–3 thanks to 9th inning heroics by Nolan Reimold and Robert Andino. The Orioles victory prevented the Red Sox from earning the wild card berth as part of "Game 162", one of the most dramatic nights in Major League Baseball history. On November 8, the Orioles announced the hiring of Dan Duquette as the vice president of baseball operations (de facto GM) in the hopes of turning the corner. Return to success (2012–2017) 2012 season Main article: 2012 Baltimore Orioles season The Orioles finished the first half of the 2012 season with a winning record for only the second time since going wire to wire in 1997, with a record of 45–40 before the All-Star break. On May 6, the Orioles played a 17-inning game against the Boston Red Sox, the first game since 1925 in which both teams used a position player as a pitcher. The Orioles won that game, and designated hitter Chris Davis received the win. The Orioles won their 81st game on September 13, ending the streak of 14 straight years with a losing record, as well as ensuring that the team would spend the entire year with a record of .500 or higher. On September 16, they won their 82nd game, securing the first season with a winning record since 1997. On September 21, closer Jim Johnson earned his 46th save of the season, setting a new Orioles franchise record for saves by one pitcher in a single season. It was previously held by Randy Myers, who had 45 saves in 1997. Johnson became the tenth player to record 50 saves in Major League history. He finished the regular season with 51 saves. With the win against the Boston Red Sox on September 30 and the loss of the Los Angeles Angels to the Texas Rangers in the second game of a doubleheader, the Orioles clinched a playoff berth. This season marked the Orioles return to postseason play. The Orioles finished the regular season in second place in the AL East with a record of 93–69, reversing the 69–93 record from the previous year. Despite a poor run differential (+7, the lowest of all playoff teams in 2012), they benefited from a 29–9 record in games decided by one run and a 16–2 record in extra-inning games. They went on the road to face the team that finished first in the Wild Card race, the Texas Rangers for a one-game playoff series on October 5, winning 5–1 to advance to the ALDS against the New York Yankees on October 7. The season was also distinctive for the fact that Orioles became the only team in MLB history, since 1900, never to have lost a game due to an opponent's walk-off hit.[23] Despite a regular season of avoiding walk-off losses, they lost in Game 3 of the ALDS when Yankee Raúl Ibañez hit his own record-setting, game-winning home run in the bottom of the 12th inning. The Orioles would lose the 2012 ALDS in five games. 2013 season Main article: 2013 Baltimore Orioles season During the home opener on April 5, first baseman Chris Davis set a new MLB record with 16 RBI's during the first four games of a season, as well as becoming the fourth player ever to hit home runs in the first four games, including a grand slam in the fourth. On September 13, Davis hit his 50th home run of the season, against the Toronto Blue Jays, tying Brady Anderson for the most home runs in Orioles history. Davis would break Anderson's record four days later against the Boston Red Sox. His 51st home run also tied Anderson's record of 92 extra-base hits in a single season, a record he would again break four days later. Davis would go on to finish the season with 53 home runs. On September 18, the Orioles played their 114th errorless game of the season, setting a new MLB record for the most errorless games in one season since 1900.[24] They played 119 games without an error, ending on September 27. On September 20, the Orioles played the Tampa Bay Rays in an 18 inning game that lasted 6 hours, 54 minutes, a new record for the longest game in terms of time for both franchises, as well as innings for the Rays. The Rays won 5–4. While the Orioles would ultimately miss the playoffs in 2013, they finished with a record of 85–77, tying the Yankees for third place in the AL East. By posting winning records in 2012 and 2013, the Orioles achieved the feat of back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1996 and 1997. 2014 season Main article: 2014 Baltimore Orioles season On September 16, the Orioles clinched the division for the first time since 1997 with a win against the Toronto Blue Jays as well as making it back to the postseason for the second time in three years. The Orioles finished the 2014 season with a 96–66 record and went on to sweep the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. Notably, the three Tigers starters were winners of the previous 3 AL Cy Young Awards; Max Scherzer (2013), Justin Verlander (2011), and David Price (2012). The O's were then in turn swept by the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. 2015 season On April 26, the Orioles scored 18 runs against the Boston Red Sox, the most runs they had scored in a single game, since they defeated the Cleveland Indians 18–9[25] on April 19, 2006. The Orioles beat the Red Sox 18–7.[26] On June 16, the Orioles scored 19 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies, making it the most runs the Orioles have scored since earlier in the season against the Red Sox. The Orioles had 8 home runs during the game, a franchise record.[27] The team then later got their 5000th win as the Orioles on June 28 with a shutout 4–0 win over the Indians. On August 16, the Orioles defeated the Oakland Athletics 18–2, during which the team tied a franchise record for hits in a single game with 26.[28] On September 11, the Orioles rallied from a two-run deficit of 6–4 in the bottom of the 8th inning, against the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles won the game 14–8. The rally included left fielder Nolan Reimold and designated hitter Steve Clevenger both hitting their first career grand slams, making the Orioles the only franchise in the history of Major League Baseball to hit multiple grand slams in the same inning in two different games, the last time being in 1986.[29] On September 30, in a reverse of fortune, the Toronto Blue Jays clinched the AL East with a win over the Orioles in Baltimore where they watched the Orioles celebrate their division title clinch the previous year.[30] Response to 2015 unrest Out of an abundance of caution, the Baltimore Orioles announced the postponement of the April 27 and 28 games against the Chicago White Sox following violent riots in West Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray.[31] Following the announcement of the second postponement, the Orioles also announced that the third game in the series scheduled for Wednesday, April 29 was to be closed to the public and would be televised only,[32] apparently the first time in 145 years of Major League Baseball that a game had no spectators and breaking the previous 131-year-old record for lowest paid attendance to an official game (the previous record being 6.) [33] The Orioles beat the White Sox, 8–2.[34] The Orioles said the make-up games would be played Thursday, May 28, as a double-header. In addition, the weekend games against the Tampa Bay Rays was moved to the Rays' home stadium in St. Petersburg where Baltimore played as the home team.[35][36] Uniform The 2012 uniforms. Left to right: Home, Away, Saturday (away with gray pants), Friday (away with gray pants.). The Orioles' home uniform is white with the word "Orioles" written across the chest. The road uniform is gray with the word "Baltimore" written across the chest. A long campaign of several decades was waged by numerous fans and sportswriters to return the name of the city to the "away" jerseys which was used since the 1950s and had been formerly dropped during the 1970s era of Edward Bennett Williams when the ownership was continuing to market the team also to fans in the nation's capital region after the moving of the former Washington Senators in 1971. After several decades, approximately 20% of the team's attendance came from the metro Washington area. An alternate uniform is black with the word "Orioles" written across the chest. The Orioles wear their black alternate jerseys for Friday night games with the alternate "O's" cap, whether at home or on the road; the cartoon bird batting helmet is still used with this uniform (see description on home and road design). For 2012, the team unveiled its new uniforms. There was a change to the cap insignia, with the cartoon Oriole returning. Home caps are white in front and black at the back with an orange bill, while the road caps are all black on top with an orange bill. The Orioles also introduced a new alternate orange uniform to be worn on Saturday home games throughout the 2012 season. In 2013, ESPN ran a "Battle of the Uniforms" contest between all 30 Major League clubs. Despite using a ranking system that had the Orioles as a #13 seed, the Birds beat the #1 seed Cardinals in the championship round.[37] On June 27, 2014, the Orioles announced since their win in New York against the New York Yankees they will wear their 'new orange' jerseys every Saturday for the rest of the 2014 season both home and away. They have since continued to wear the orange jerseys on most Saturday road games. For 2017, the Orioles began to use their batting practice caps for select games with the black uniforms. The aforementioned caps resemble their regular road caps save for the black bill. Radio and television coverage Further information: List of Baltimore Orioles broadcasters Radio In Baltimore, Orioles games on radio can be heard over WJZ-FM (105.7 FM). Jim Hunter and Kevin Brown alternate as play-by-play announcers. WJZ-FM also feeds the games to a network of 36 stations, covering Washington, D.C. and all or portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. WJZ-FM is in its second stint as the Orioles' flagship radio outlet; the station had carried the team previously from 2007 through 2010. Previous radio flagships for the Orioles have been WCBM (680 AM) from 1954 to 1956, and again for the 1987 season; WBAL (1090 AM) over three separate stints (1957 to 1978, 1988 to 2006, and 2011 to 2014); and WFBR (1300 AM, now WJZ) from 1979 through 1986. Six former Oriole franchise radio announcers have received the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting: Chuck Thompson (who was also the voice of the old NFL Baltimore Colts); Jon Miller (now with the San Francisco Giants); Ernie Harwell, Herb Carneal; Bob Murphy and Harry Caray (as a St. Louis Browns announcer in the 1940s[38]). Other former Baltimore announcers include Josh Lewin (currently with New York Mets), Bill O'Donnell, Tom Marr, Scott Garceau, Mel Proctor, Michael Reghi, former major league catcher Buck Martinez (now Toronto Blue Jays play-by-play), and former Oriole players including Brooks Robinson, pitcher Mike Flanagan and outfielder John Lowenstein. In 1991, the Orioles experimented with longtime TV writer/producer Ken Levine as a play-by-play broadcaster. Levine was best noted for his work on TV shows such as Cheers and M*A*S*H, but only lasted one season in the Orioles broadcast booth. Television The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), co-owned by the Orioles and the Washington Nationals, is the team's exclusive television broadcaster. MASN airs almost the entire slate of regular season games. Some exceptions include Saturday games on either Fox (via its Baltimore affiliate, WBFF) or Fox Sports 1, or Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. Many MASN telecasts in conflict with Nationals' game telecasts air on an alternate MASN2 feed. Veteran sportscaster Gary Thorne is the current lead television announcer, with Jim Hunter as his backup along with Hall of Fame member and former Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer and former Oriole infielder Mike Bordick as color analysts, who almost always work separately. All telecasts on MASN and WJZ-TV are shown in high-definition. As part of the settlement of a television broadcast rights dispute with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, the Orioles severed their Comcast ties at the end of the 2006 season. Comcast SportsNet had been the Orioles' cable partner since 1984, when it was Home Team Sports. WJZ-TV was the Orioles' broadcast TV home, completing its latest stint from 1994 through 2017. Since MASN acquired rights in 2007, its coverage was simulcast on WJZ-TV under the branding "MASN on WJZ 13". MASN elected not to syndicate any Orioles or Washington Nationals games to broadcast television for the 2018 season, marking the first time since the Orioles' arrival that their games are not on local broadcast television.[39] Previously, WJZ-TV carried the team from their arrival in Baltimore in 1954 through 1978. In the first four seasons, WJZ-TV shared coverage with Baltimore's other two stations, WMAR-TV and WBAL-TV. The games moved to WMAR from 1979 through 1993 before returning to WJZ-TV. From 1994 to 2009, some Orioles games aired on WNUV. Musical traditions "O!" Since its introduction at games by the "Roar from 34", led by Wild Bill Hagy and others, in the late 1970s, it has been a tradition at Orioles games for fans to yell out the "Oh" in the line "Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave" in "The Star-Spangled Banner". "The Star-Spangled Banner" has special meaning to Baltimore historically, as it was written during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812 by Francis Scott Key, a Baltimorean. "O" is not only short for "Oriole", but the vowel is also a stand-out aspect of the Baltimorean accent. The tradition is often carried out at other sporting events, both professional or amateur, and even sometimes at non-sporting events where the anthem is played, throughout the Baltimore/Washington area and beyond. Fans in Norfolk, Virginia, chanted "O!" even before the Tides became an Orioles affiliate. The practice caught some attention in the spring of 2005, when fans performed the "O!" cry at Washington Nationals games at RFK Stadium. The "O!" chant is also common at sporting events for the various Maryland Terrapins teams at the University of Maryland, College Park. At Cal Ripken Jr.'s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the crowd, composed mostly of Orioles fans, carried out the "O!" tradition during Tony Gwynn's daughter's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Additionally, a faint but audible "O!" could be heard on the television broadcast of Barack Obama's pre-inaugural visit to Baltimore as the National Anthem played before his entrance. A resounding "O!" bellowed from the nearly 30,000 Ravens fans that attended the November 21, 2010, away game at the Carolina Panthers' Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.[40] A similar loud "O!" was heard from fans attending Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.[41] The "O!" chant was also heard during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when Baltimore native Michael Phelps received one of his gold medals on August 9, 2016.[42] In recent years, when the Orioles host the Toronto Blue Jays, fans have begun to shout out the multiple instances of the word "O" in "O Canada". Washington Capitals fans will do the same when they play one of the NHL's Canadian teams. "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" It has been an Orioles tradition since 1975 to play John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" during the seventh-inning stretch. In the edition of July 5, 2007, of Baltimore's weekly sports publication Press Box, an article by Mike Gibbons covered the details of how this tradition came to be.[43] During "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", Charlie Zill, then an usher, would put on overalls, a straw hat, and false teeth and dance around the club level section (244) that he tended to. He also has an orange violin that spins for the fiddle solos. He went by the name Zillbilly and had done the skit from the 1999 season until shortly before he died in early 2013. During a nationally televised game on September 20, 1997, Denver himself danced to the song atop the Orioles' dugout, one of his final public appearances before dying in a plane crash three weeks later.[44] "Orioles Magic" and other songs Songs from notable games in the team's history include "One Moment in Time" for Cal Ripken's record-breaking game in 1995, as well as the theme from Pearl Harbor, "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill, during his final game in 2001. The theme from Field of Dreams was played at the last game at Memorial Stadium in 1991, and the song "Magic to Do" from the stage musical Pippin was used that season to commemorate "Orioles Magic" on 33rd Street. During the Orioles' heyday in the 1970s, a club song, appropriately titled "Orioles Magic (Feel It Happen)", was composed by Walt Woodward,[45] and played when the team ran out until Opening Day of 2008. Since then, the song (a favorite among all fans, who appreciated its references to Wild Bill Hagy and Earl Weaver) is only played (along with a video featuring several Orioles stars performing the song) after wins. Seven Nation Army is played as a hype song while the fans chant the signature bass riff as a rally cry during key moments of a game or after a walk-off hit. The First Army Band During the Orioles' final homestand of the season, it is a tradition to display a replica of the 15-star, 15-stripe American flag at Camden Yards. Prior to 1992, the 15-star, 15-stripe flag flew from Memorial Stadium's center-field flagpole in place of the 50-star, 13-stripe flag during the final homestand. Since the move to Camden Yards, the former flag has been displayed on the batters' eye. During the Orioles' final home game of the season, The United States Army Field Band from Fort Meade performs the National Anthem prior to the start of the game. The Band has also played the National Anthem at the finales of three World Series in which the Orioles played in: 1970, 1971 and 1979. They are introduced as the "First Army Band" during the pregame ceremonies. PA announcer For 23 years, Rex Barney was the PA announcer for the Orioles. His voice became a fixture of both Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards, and his expression "Give that fan a contract", uttered whenever a fan caught a foul ball, was one of his trademarks – the other being his distinct "Thank Yooooou..." following every announcement. (He was also known on occasion to say "Give that fan an error" after a dropped foul ball.) Barney died on August 12, 1997, and in his honor that night's game at Camden Yards against the Oakland Athletics was held without a public–address announcer.[46] Barney was replaced as Camden Yards' PA announcer by Dave McGowan, who held the position until December 2011. Lifelong Orioles fan and former MLB Fan Cave resident Ryan Wagner is the current PA announcer. He was chosen out of a field of more than 670 applicants in the 2011–12 offseason.[47] Postseason appearances Of the eight original American League teams, the Orioles were the last of the eight to win the World Series, doing so in 1966 with its four–game sweep of the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers. When the Orioles were the St. Louis Browns, they played in only one World Series, the 1944 matchup against their Sportsman's Park tenants, the Cardinals. The Orioles won the first-ever American League Championship Series in 1969, and in 2012 the Orioles beat the Texas Rangers in the inaugural American League Wild Card game, where for the first time two Wild Card teams faced each other during postseason play. Year Wild Card Game ALDS ALCS World Series 1944[A] Not played St. Louis Cardinals L 1966[B] Not played Los Angeles Dodgers W 1969 Not played Minnesota Twins W New York Mets L 1970 Not played Minnesota Twins W Cincinnati Reds W 1971 Not played Oakland Athletics W Pittsburgh Pirates L 1973 Not played Oakland Athletics L 1974 Not played Oakland Athletics L 1979 Not played California Angels W Pittsburgh Pirates L 1983 Not played Chicago White Sox W Philadelphia Phillies W 1996 Not played Cleveland Indians W New York Yankees L 1997 Not played Seattle Mariners W Cleveland Indians L 2012 Texas Rangers W New York Yankees L 2014 Bye Detroit Tigers W Kansas City Royals L 2016 Toronto Blue Jays L ↑Appeared as the St. Louis Browns ↑This and subsequent appearances as the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Hall of Famers Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famers Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Milwaukee Brewers Hugh Duffy St. Louis Browns Jim Bottomley Willard Brown Jesse Burkett Earle Combs† Dizzy Dean Rick Ferrell Goose Goslin Rogers Hornsby Tommy Lasorda **[48][49] Heinie Manush Christy Mathewson **[50] Joe Medwick **[51] Satchel Paige Eddie Plank Branch Rickey George Sisler* Bill Veeck Rube Waddell* Bobby Wallace Baltimore Orioles Roberto Alomar Luis Aparicio Harold Baines Pat Gillick†† Vladimir Guerrero Whitey Herzog Reggie Jackson George Kell Eddie Murray Mike Mussina Jim Palmer Tim Raines Cal Ripken Jr. Robin Roberts Brooks Robinson Frank Robinson Lee Smith Jim Thome Earl Weaver Hoyt Wilhelm Dick Williams Players and managers listed in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Orioles or Browns cap insignia. * Has no insignia on his cap due to playing at a time when caps bore no insignia. † – Earle Combs was a Browns coach in 1947. ** Were property of the St. Louis Browns and were assigned to the team's major league roster, but never appeared in a regulation game. †† – Pat Gillick was elected as an Executive/Pioneer due in part to his contributions to baseball as general manager of the Orioles.[52] Ford C. Frick Award (broadcasters only) Baltimore Orioles Ford C. Frick Award recipients Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Harry Caray Herb Carneal Bob Murphy Milo Hamilton J. Roy Stockton*[53] Ernie Harwell Chuck Thompson Jon Miller Names in bold received the award based primarily on their work as broadcasters for the Orioles or Browns. *Since J. Roy Stockton was also a newspaper reporter, and an awardee can only receive induction into the Hall of Fame under one award, his award came under the J.G. Taylor Spink award. Retired numbers See also: List of Major League Baseball retired numbers The Orioles will only retire a number when a player has been inducted into the Hall of Fame with Cal Ripken Jr. being the only exception.[N 1] However, the Orioles have placed moratoriums on other former Orioles' numbers following their deaths (see note below).[54] To date, the Orioles have retired the following numbers: 20 Frank Robinson RF Coach, Mgr Retired 1972 5 Brooks Robinson 3B Retired April 14, 1978 4 Earl Weaver Coach, Mgr Retired September 19, 1982 22 Jim Palmer P Retired September 1, 1985 33 Eddie Murray 1B, DH Retired June 7, 1998 8 Cal Ripken Jr. SS, 3B Retired October 6, 2001 42 Jackie Robinson† All MLB Honored April 15, 1997 Note: Cal Ripken Sr.'s number 7, Elrod Hendricks' number 44, and Mike Flanagan's number 46 have not officially been retired, but a moratorium has been placed on them and they have not been issued by the team since their deaths. †Jackie Robinson's number 42 is retired throughout Major League Baseball Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame Main article: Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame Orioles in the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame No. Name Position Tenure Notes 9, 16 Brady Anderson OF 1988–2001 Born in Silver Spring 3, 10 Harold Baines DH/RF 1993–1995 1997–1999 2000 Elected mainly on his performance with Chicago White Sox, born in Easton 13, 29, 59 Steve Barber P 1960–1967 Born in Takoma Park 22, 48 Jack Fisher P 1959–1962 Born in Frostburg 29 Ray Moore P 1955–1957 Born in Meadows 36 Tom Phoebus P 1966–1970 Attended Mount Saint Joseph College, born in Baltimore 3, 7 Billy Ripken 2B 1987–1992, 1996 Born in Havre de Grace, raised in Aberdeen 8 Cal Ripken, Jr. SS/3B 1981–2001 Born in Havre de Grace, raised in Aberdeen 5 Brooks Robinson 3B 1955–1977 Team Hall of Fame See also: Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame The Orioles also have an official team hall of fame, located on display on Eutaw Street at Camden Yards. The most recent inductees were Brian Roberts and Fred Manfra.[55] Team captains 33 Eddie Murray, 1B/DH, 1986–1988 Current roster Baltimore Orioles rostervte Active roster Inactive roster Coaches/Other Pitchers Starting rotation 37 Dylan Bundy 54 Andrew Cashner 17 Alex Cobb 67 John Means 53 Dan Straily Bullpen 50 Miguel Castro 51 Paul Fry 60 Mychal Givens 41 David Hess 58 Evan Phillips 66 Tanner Scott 31 Jimmy Yacabonis 64 Gabriel Ynoa Catchers 28 Pedro Severino 40 Jesús Sucre Infielders 57 Hanser Alberto 19 Chris Davis 1 Richie Martin 39 Renato Núñez 14 Rio Ruiz 2 Jonathan Villar 12 Steve Wilkerson Outfielders 16 Trey Mancini 23 Joey Rickard 35 Dwight Smith Jr. Pitchers 48 Richard Bleier Injury icon 2.svg 49 Cody Carroll 56 Hunter Harvey 36 Nate Karns Injury icon 2.svg 52 Branden Kline 59 Luis Ortiz 32 Yefry Ramírez 65 Josh Rogers 55 Dillon Tate Catchers 15 Chance Sisco 61 Austin Wynns Outfielders 21 Austin Hays 3 Cedric Mullins 25 Anthony Santander 24 DJ Stewart Manager 18 Brandon Hyde Coaches 13 Arnie Beyeler (first base) 26 Doug Brocail (pitching) 88 Howie Clark (assistant hitting) 34 Tim Cossins (field coordinator/catching) 11 Jose Flores (third base) 27 José Hernández (coach) 86 Dustin Hughes (bullpen catcher) 30 Don Long (hitting) 47 John Wasdin (bullpen) 60-day injured list 45 Mark Trumbo 25 active, 15 inactive Injury icon 2.svg 7- or 10-day injured list dagger Suspended list # Personal leave Roster and coaches updated April 26, 2019 Transactions • Depth chart → All MLB rosters Minor league affiliates Main articles: List of Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates and Baltimore Orioles minor league players Level Team League Location AAA Norfolk Tides International League Norfolk, Virginia AA Bowie Baysox Eastern League Bowie, Maryland A Advanced Frederick Keys Carolina League Frederick, Maryland A Delmarva Shorebirds South Atlantic League Salisbury, Maryland Short Season A Aberdeen IronBirds New York–Penn League Aberdeen, Maryland Rookie GCL Orioles Gulf Coast League Sarasota, Florida DSL Orioles 1 Dominican Summer League Dominican Republic DSL Orioles 2 Franchise records and award winners Main articles: Baltimore Orioles team records and List of Baltimore Orioles awards Season records Individual records – batting Highest batting average: .340, Melvin Mora (2004) Most at bats: 673, B. J. Surhoff (1999) Most plate appearances: 749, Brady Anderson (1992) Most games: 163, Brooks Robinson (1961, 1964) and Cal Ripken (1996) Most runs: 132, Roberto Alomar (1996) Most hits: 214, Miguel Tejada (2006) Most total bases: 370, Chris Davis (2013) Highest slugging %: .646, Jim Gentile (1961) Highest on-base %: .442, Bob Nieman (1956) Most singles: 158, Al Bumbry (1980) Most doubles: 56, Brian Roberts (2009) Most triples: 12, Paul Blair (1967) Most home runs, RHB: 49, Frank Robinson (1966) Most home runs, LHB: 53, Chris Davis (2013) Most home runs, leadoff hitter: 35, Brady Anderson (1996) Most home runs, leading off game: 12, Brady Anderson (1996) Most consecutive games leading off with a home run: 4, Brady Anderson (April 18, 1996 – April 21, 1996) Most extra base hits: 96, Chris Davis (2013) Most RBI, LHB: 142, Rafael Palmeiro (1996) Most RBI, RHB: 150, Miguel Tejada (2004) Most RBI, switch: 124, Eddie Murray (1985) Most RBI, month: 37, Albert Belle (June 2000) Most GWRBI: 25, Rafael Palmeiro (1998) Most consecutive games hit safely: 30, Eric Davis (1998) Most sac hits: 23, Mark Belanger (1975) Most sac flies: 17, Bobby Bonilla (1996) Most stolen bases: 57, Luis Aparicio (1964) Most walks: 118, Ken Singleton (1975) Most intentional walks: 25, Eddie Murray (1984) Most strikeouts: 219, Chris Davis (2016) Fewest strikeouts: 19, Rich Dauer (1980) Most hit by pitch: 24, Brady Anderson (1999) Most GIDP: 32, Cal Ripken (1985) Most pinch hits: 24, Dave Philley (1961) Most consecutive pinch hits: 6, Bob Johnson (1964) Most pinch hit RBI: 18, Dave Philley (1961) Individual records – pitching Most games: 81, Jamie Walker (2007) Most games, rookie: 67, Jorge Julio (2002) Most games, started: 40, Dave McNally (1969–70), Mike Cuellar (1970), Jim Palmer (1976), and Mike Flanagan (1978) Most games started, rookie: 36, Bob Milacki (1989) Most complete games: 25, Jim Palmer (1975) Most games finished: 63, Jim Johnson (2012–13) Most wins: 25, Steve Stone (1980) Most wins, rookie: 19, Wally Bunker (1964) Most losses: 21, Don Larsen (1954) Best won-lost %: .808, Dave McNally (1971) Most bases on balls: 181, Bob Turley (1954) Most hit batsmen: 18, Daniel Cabrera (2008) Most strikeouts: 221, Érik Bédard (2007) Most innings pitched: 323, Jim Palmer (1975) Most innings pitched, rookie: 243, Bob Milacki (1989) Most shutouts: 10, Jim Palmer (1975) Most consecutive shutout innings: 36, Hal Brown (July 7, 1961 – August 8, 1961) Most home runs allowed: 35, 4 times; last: Jeremy Guthrie (2009) Fewest home runs allowed (by qualifier): 8, Milt Pappas (209 IP) (1959) and Billy Loes (155 IP) (1957) Lowest ERA (by qualifier): 1.95, Dave McNally (1968) Highest ERA (by qualifier): 5.90, Rodrigo Lopez (2006) Most saves: 51, Jim Johnson (2012) Most saves, rookie: 27, Gregg Olson (1989) Most wins, reliever: 14, Stu Miller (1965) Most relief points: 131, Randy Myers (1997) Most innings pitched by reliever: 140.1, Sammy Stewart (1983) Most consecutive wins: 15, Dave McNally (April 12, 1969 – August 3, 1969) Most consecutive losses: 10, Jay Tibbs (July 10, 1988 – October 1, 1988) Most consecutive losses, start of season: 8, Mike Boddicker (1988) and Jason Johnson (2000) Most wins vs. one club: 6, Wally Bunker vs. Kansas City (1964) Most losses vs. one club: 5 Don Larsen vs. White Sox (1954), Joe Coleman vs. Yankees (1954), and Jim Wilson vs. Cleveland (1955) Most wins by opponent: 6, Andy Pettitte, Yankees (2003) and Bud Daley, Kansas City (1959) Most losses by opponent: 5, Ned Garver, Kansas City (1957), Dick Stigman, Minnesota (1963), Stan Williams, Cleveland (1969), and Catfish Hunter, Yankees (1976) Rivalry with the Washington Nationals The Orioles have a burgeoning regional rivalry[56][57] with the nearby Washington Nationals nicknamed the Beltway Series or Battle of the Beltways. Baltimore currently leads the series with a 26–20 record over the Nationals. The all-white outfits gave rise to the sobriquet Doves in 1907. Established 1883 City Boston – Milwaukee – Atlanta League History 2000 – Present / Major League Baseball 1883 – 1999 / National League Team History 1966 – Present / Atlanta Braves 1953 – 1965 / Milwaukee Braves 1941 – 1952 / Boston Braves 1936 – 1940 / Boston Bees 1912 – 1935 / Boston Braves 1911 / Boston Rustlers 1907 – 1910 / Boston Doves 1883 – 1906 / Boston Beaneaters Nickname Doves – Before the 1907 season, longtime Boston Beaneaters owner Arthur Soden sold the team to the Dovey Brothers. The team quickly became known as the Boston Doves, after the brothers. Championship World Series 0 1995, 1957, 1914 Stadium 2017 – Present / SunTrust Park 1997 – 2016 / Turner Field 1976 – 1996 / Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 1966 – 1976 / Atlanta Stadium *Milwaukee* 1953 – 1965 / Milwaukee County Stadium *Boston* 1915 – 1952 / Braves Field 1936 – 1941 / National League Park 1914 – 1915 / Fenway Park 1894 – 1914 / South End Grounds 1894 / Congress Street Grounds 1883 – 1894 / South End Grounds Owner 2007 – Present / Liberty Media Corporation 1996 – 2007 / Time Warner 1976 – 1996 / Ted Turner 1962 – 1976 / William Bartholomay 1944 – 1962 / Lou Perini 1935 – 1945 / Bob Quinn 1922 – 1935 / Emil Fuchs 1919 – 1922 / George W. Grant 1915 – 1918 / Percy Haughton 1912 – 1915 / James Gaffney 1911 / William Hepburn Russell 1909 – 1910 / John Dovey 1907 – 1909 / George & John Dovey 1883 – 1909 / Arthur Soden Retired Number 3 Dale Murphy 6 Bobby Cox 10 Chipper Jones 21 Warren Spahn 29 John Smoltz 31 Greg Maddux 35 Phil Niekro 41 Eddie Matthews 42 Jackie Robinson 44 Hank Aaron 47 Tom Glavine Mascot 1988 – Present / Homer 1971 – 1979 / Rally I don’t think a lot of this nickname. But then again this is the Braves I am talking about. In 1907 they changed from the Beaneaters to the Doves. It didn’t seem to help since they finished 7th in the pennant race with a record of 58-90. They were a dismal 47 games behind first. There isn’t much to say about losing 90 games in a season. One bright spot during a 90-loss season came on May 8, when Big Jeff Pfeffer pitched a no-hitter in a 6-0 home win over the Cincinnati Reds. The only other bright spot was the St. Louis Cardinals lost 101 games that year. Fred Tenney continued as manager. What is weird is that this was an improvement over the previous year. Go figure. The Dovey brothers operated the club. Before the 1907 season, longtime Boston Beaneaters owner Arthur Soden sold the team to the Dovey Brothers. They thought their name would be better than the Beaneaters. They also improved the South End Grounds where they played at the time. They added a new scoreboard (to keep up with the opponents runs better???) and cushioned a few seats. How about some better players? Hmm, there is a thought.
Boston (US: /ˈbɔːstən/, UK: /ˈbɒstən/),[4] officially the City of Boston, is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States and 24th-most populous city in the country.[5] The city proper covers about 48.4 sq mi (125 km2)[6] with a population of 675,647 in 2020,[7] also making it the most populous city in New England.[8] It is the seat of Suffolk County (although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999).[9] The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest MSA in the country.[10] A broader combined statistical area (CSA), generally corresponding to the commuting area[11] and including Providence, Rhode Island, is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States.[12] Boston is one of the oldest municipalities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from the English town of the same name.[13][14] It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the siege of Boston. Upon American independence from Great Britain, the city continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture.[15][16] The city has expanded beyond the original peninsula through land reclamation and municipal annexation. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing more than 20 million visitors per year.[17] Boston's many firsts include the United States' first public park (Boston Common, 1634), first public or state school (Boston Latin School, 1635)[18] first subway system (Tremont Street subway, 1897),[19] and first large public library (Boston Public Library, 1848). Today, Boston is a thriving center of scientific research. The Boston area's many colleges and universities, notably Harvard and MIT, make it a world leader in higher education,[20] including law, medicine, engineering and business, and the city is considered to be a global pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship, with nearly 5,000 startups.[21][22][23] Boston's economic base also includes finance,[24] professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology and government activities.[25] Households in the city claim the highest average rate of philanthropy in the United States;[26] businesses and institutions rank among the top in the country for environmental sustainability and investment.[27] Contents 1 History 1.1 Indigenous peoples 1.2 Colonial 1.3 Revolution and the siege of Boston 1.4 Post-revolution and the War of 1812 1.5 19th century 1.6 20th century 1.7 21st century 2 Geography 2.1 Neighborhoods 2.2 Climate 2.3 Cityscapes 3 Demographics 3.1 Ancestry 3.2 Demographic breakdown by ZIP Code 3.2.1 Income 3.3 Religion 4 Economy 5 Education 5.1 Primary and secondary education 5.2 Higher education 6 Public safety 7 Culture 8 Environment 8.1 Pollution control 8.2 South Boston Sustainable Housing 8.3 Water purity and availability 8.4 Climate change and sea level rise 9 Sports 10 Parks and recreation 11 Government and politics 12 Media 12.1 Newspapers 12.2 Radio and television 12.3 Film 12.4 Video games 13 Healthcare 14 Infrastructure 14.1 Transportation 15 International relations 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 18.1 Citations 18.2 Sources 19 Further reading 20 External links History Main article: History of Boston For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Boston. Indigenous peoples Prior to European colonization, modern-day Boston was originally inhabited by the indigenous Massachusett.[28][29] There were small Native communities throughout what became Boston, who likely moved between winter homes inland along the Charles River (called Quinobequin, meaning "meandering," by the Native people), where hunting was plentiful and summer homes along the coast where fishing and shellfish beds were plentiful.[28][29][30] Through archeological excavations, one of the oldest Native fishweirs in New England was found on Boylston Street. Native people constructed it to trap fish several thousand years ago.[29] Colonial Boston's early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine (after its "three mountains", only traces of which remain today) but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the origin of several prominent colonists. The renaming on September 7, 1630 (Old Style),[31][b] was by Puritan colonists from England[14][32] who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest for fresh water. Their settlement was initially limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River and connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 4000 BCE.[33] In 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history;[34] America's first public school, Boston Latin School, was founded in Boston in 1635.[18] John Hull and the pine tree shilling played a central role in the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Old South Church in the 1600s. In 1652 the Massachusetts legislature authorized John Hull to produce coinage. "The Hull Mint produced several denominations of silver coinage, including the pine tree shilling, for over 30 years until the political and economic situation made operating the mint no longer practical."[35] King Charles II for reasons which were mostly political deemed the "Hull Mint" high treason which had a punishment of being hanged, drawn and quartered. "On April 6, 1681, Edward Randolph petitioned the king, informing him the colony was still pressing their own coins which he saw as high treason and believed it was enough to void the charter. He asked that a writ of Quo warranto (a legal action requiring the defendant to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they claim to hold) be issued against Massachusetts for the violations."[36] Boston was the largest town in the Thirteen Colonies until Philadelphia outgrew it in the mid-18th century.[37] Boston's oceanfront location made it a lively port, and the city primarily engaged in shipping and fishing during its colonial days. However, Boston stagnated in the decades prior to the Revolution. By the mid-18th century, New York City and Philadelphia surpassed Boston in wealth. During this period, Boston encountered financial difficulties even as other cities in New England grew rapidly.[38][39] Revolution and the siege of Boston Main articles: Boston campaign and Siege of Boston In 1773, a group of angered Bostonian citizens threw a shipment of tea by the East India Company into Boston Harbor as a response to the Tea Act, in an event known as the Boston Tea Party. The weather continuing boisterous the next day and night, giving the enemy time to improve their works, to bring up their cannon, and to put themselves in such a state of defence, that I could promise myself little success in attacking them under all the disadvantages I had to encounter. William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, in a letter to William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, about the British army's decision to leave Boston, dated March 21, 1776.[40] Map of Boston in 1775 Map showing a British tactical evaluation of Boston in 1775. Many of the crucial events of the American Revolution[41] occurred in or near Boston. Boston's penchant for mob action along with the colonists' growing lack of faith in either Britain or its Parliament fostered a revolutionary spirit in the city.[38] When the British parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, a Boston mob ravaged the homes of Andrew Oliver, the official tasked with enforcing the Act, and Thomas Hutchinson, then the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.[38][42] The British sent two regiments to Boston in 1768 in an attempt to quell the angry colonists. This did not sit well with the colonists. In 1770, during the Boston Massacre, British troops shot into a crowd that had started to violently harass them. The colonists compelled the British to withdraw their troops. The event was widely publicized and fueled a revolutionary movement in America.[39] In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. Many of the colonists saw the act as an attempt to force them to accept the taxes established by the Townshend Acts. The act prompted the Boston Tea Party, where a group of angered Bostonian citizens threw an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company into Boston Harbor. The Boston Tea Party was a key event leading up to the revolution, as the British government responded furiously with the Coercive Acts, demanding compensation for the destroyed tea from the Bostonians.[38] This angered the colonists further and led to the American Revolutionary War. The war began in the area surrounding Boston with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.[38][43] Boston itself was besieged for almost a year during the siege of Boston, which began on April 19, 1775. The New England militia impeded the movement of the British Army. Sir William Howe, then the commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, led the British army in the siege. On June 17, the British captured the Charlestown peninsula in Boston, during the Battle of Bunker Hill. The British army outnumbered the militia stationed there, but it was a pyrrhic victory for the British because their army suffered irreplaceable casualties. It was also a testament to the skill and training of the militia, as their stubborn defence made it difficult for the British to capture Charlestown without suffering further irreplaceable casualties.[44][45] Several weeks later, George Washington took over the militia after the Continental Congress established the Continental Army to unify the revolutionary effort. Both sides faced difficulties and supply shortages in the siege, and the fighting was limited to small-scale raids and skirmishes. The narrow Boston Neck, which at that time was only about a hundred feet wide, impeded Washington's ability to invade Boston, and a long stalemate ensued. A young officer, Rufus Putnam, came up with a plan to make portable fortifications out of wood that could be erected on the frozen ground under cover of darkness. Putnam supervised this effort, which successfully installed both the fortifications and dozens of cannon on Dorchester Heights that Henry Knox had laboriously brought through the snow from Fort Ticonderoga. The astonished British awoke the next morning to see a large array of cannons bearing down on them. General Howe is believed to have said that the Americans had done more in one night than his army could have done in six months. The British Army attempted a cannon barrage for two hours, but their shot could not reach the colonists' cannons at such a height. The British gave up, boarded their ships and sailed away. Boston still celebrates "Evacuation Day" each year. Washington was so impressed, he made Rufus Putnam his chief engineer.[43][44][46] Post-revolution and the War of 1812 Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It, 1860, by J.W. Black, the first recorded aerial photograph After the Revolution, Boston's long seafaring tradition helped make it one of the nation's busiest ports for both domestic and international trade. Boston's harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 (adopted during the Napoleonic Wars) and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Boston's merchants had found alternatives for their capital investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the city's economy, and the city's industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. A network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a dense network of railroads furthered the region's industry and commerce.[47] State Street, 1801 During this period, Boston flourished culturally, as well, admired for its rarefied literary life and generous artistic patronage,[48][49] with members of old Boston families—eventually dubbed Boston Brahmins—coming to be regarded as the nation's social and cultural elites.[50] They are often associated with the American upper class, Harvard University;[51] and the Episcopal Church.[52][53] Boston was an early port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies, but was soon overtaken by Salem, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island.[54] Boston eventually became a center of the abolitionist movement.[55] The city reacted strongly to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850,[56] contributing to President Franklin Pierce's attempt to make an example of Boston after the Anthony Burns Fugitive Slave Case.[57][58] In 1822,[15] the citizens of Boston voted to change the official name from the "Town of Boston" to the "City of Boston", and on March 19, 1822, the people of Boston accepted the charter incorporating the city.[59] At the time Boston was chartered as a city, the population was about 46,226, while the area of the city was only4.8 sq mi (12 km2).[59] 19th century Painting with a body of water with sailing ships in the foreground and a city in the background View of downtown Boston from Dorchester Heights, 1841 Tremont Street, 1843 In the 1820s, Boston's population grew rapidly, and the city's ethnic composition changed dramatically with the first wave of European immigrants. Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Great Famine; by 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston.[60] In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans, Lebanese, Syrians,[61] French Canadians, and Russian and Polish Jews settling in the city. By the end of the 19th century, Boston's core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants with their residence yielding lasting cultural change. Italians became the largest inhabitants of the North End,[62] Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown, and Russian Jews lived in the West End. Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston's largest religious community,[63] and the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics since the early 20th century; prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O'Neill, and John F. Fitzgerald.[64] Between 1631 and 1890, the city tripled its area through land reclamation by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront.[65] The largest reclamation efforts took place during the 19th century; beginning in 1807, the crown of Beacon Hill was used to fill in a 50-acre (20 ha) mill pond that later became the Bulfinch Triangle and Haymarket Square. The present-day State House sits atop this lowered Beacon Hill. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created significant parts of the South End, the West End, the Financial District, and Chinatown. The Old City Hall was home to the Boston city council from 1865 to 1969. General view of Boston, by J. J. Hawes, c. 1860s–1880s Colored print image of a city square in the 1900s Haymarket Square, 1909 After the Great Boston fire of 1872, workers used building rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. During the mid-to-late 19th century, workers filled almost 600 acres (240 ha) of brackish Charles River marshlands west of Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights. The city annexed the adjacent towns of South Boston (1804), East Boston (1836), Roxbury (1868), Dorchester (including present-day Mattapan and a portion of South Boston) (1870), Brighton (including present-day Allston) (1874), West Roxbury (including present-day Jamaica Plain and Roslindale) (1874), Charlestown (1874), and Hyde Park (1912).[66][67] Other proposals were unsuccessful for the annexation of Brookline, Cambridge,[68] and Chelsea.[69][70] 20th century Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, opened in 1912.[71] Many architecturally significant buildings were built during these early years of the 20th century: Horticultural Hall,[72] the Tennis and Racquet Club,[73] Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,[74] Fenway Studios,[75] Jordan Hall,[76] and the Boston Opera House. The Longfellow Bridge,[77] built in 1906, was mentioned by Robert McCloskey in Make Way for Ducklings, describing its "salt and pepper shakers" feature.[78] Logan International Airport opened on September 8, 1923.[79] The Boston Bruins were founded in 1924 and played their first game at Boston Garden in November 1928.[80] Boston went into decline by the early to mid-20th century, as factories became old and obsolete and businesses moved out of the region for cheaper labor elsewhere.[81] Boston responded by initiating various urban renewal projects, under the direction of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) established in 1957. In 1958, BRA initiated a project to improve the historic West End neighborhood. Extensive demolition was met with strong public opposition, and thousands of families were displaced.[82] The BRA continued implementing eminent domain projects, including the clearance of the vibrant Scollay Square area for construction of the modernist style Government Center. In 1965, the Columbia Point Health Center opened in the Dorchester neighborhood, the first Community Health Center in the United States. It mostly served the massive Columbia Point public housing complex adjoining it, which was built in 1953. The health center is still in operation and was rededicated in 1990 as the Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center.[83] The Columbia Point complex itself was redeveloped and revitalized from 1984 to 1990 into a mixed-income residential development called Harbor Point Apartments.[84] By the 1970s, the city's economy had begun to recover after 30 years of economic downturn. A large number of high-rises were constructed in the Financial District and in Boston's Back Bay during this period.[85] This boom continued into the mid-1980s and resumed after a few pauses. Hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Brigham and Women's Hospital lead the nation in medical innovation and patient care. Schools such as the Boston Architectural College, Boston College, Boston University, the Harvard Medical School, Tufts University School of Medicine, Northeastern University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Berklee College of Music, the Boston Conservatory, and many others attract students to the area. Nevertheless, the city experienced conflict starting in 1974 over desegregation busing, which resulted in unrest and violence around public schools throughout the mid-1970s.[86] 21st century Back Bay neighborhood Boston is an intellectual, technological, and political center but has lost some important regional institutions,[87] including the loss to mergers and acquisitions of local financial institutions such as FleetBoston Financial, which was acquired by Charlotte-based Bank of America in 2004.[88] Boston-based department stores Jordan Marsh and Filene's have both merged into the New York City–based Macy's.[89] The 1993 acquisition of The Boston Globe by The New York Times[90] was reversed in 2013 when it was re-sold to Boston businessman John W. Henry. In 2016, it was announced General Electric would be moving its corporate headquarters from Connecticut to the Seaport District in Boston, joining many other companies in this rapidly developing neighborhood. Boston has experienced gentrification in the latter half of the 20th century,[91] with housing prices increasing sharply since the 1990s.[92] On April 15, 2013, two Chechen Islamist brothers detonated a pair of bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring roughly 264.[93] In 2016, Boston briefly shouldered a bid as the US applicant for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The bid was supported by the mayor and a coalition of business leaders and local philanthropists, but was eventually dropped due to public opposition.[94] The USOC then selected Los Angeles to be the American candidate with Los Angeles ultimately securing the right to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.[95] Geography Aerial view of the Boston area from space Boston as seen from ESA Sentinel-2. Boston Harbor, at the center, has made Boston a major shipping port since its founding. Boston has an area of 89.63 sq mi (232.1 km2)—48.4 sq mi (125.4 km2) (54%) of land and41.2 sq mi (106.7 km2) (46%) of water. The city's official elevation, as measured at Logan International Airport, is 19 ft (5.8 m) above sea level.[96] The highest point in Boston is Bellevue Hill at 330 ft (100 m) above sea level, and the lowest point is at sea level.[97] Boston is situated on Boston Harbor, an arm of Massachusetts Bay, itself an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of South Boston is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. — author, Unknown – A common local colloquialism Panoramic map of Boston (1877) Boston is surrounded by the Greater Boston metropolitan region. It is bordered to the east by the town of Winthrop and the Boston Harbor Islands, to the northeast by the cities of Revere, Chelsea and Everett, to the north by the cities of Somerville and Cambridge, to the northwest by Watertown, to the west by the city of Newton and town of Brookline, to the southwest by the town of Dedham and small portions of Needham and Canton, and to the southeast by the town of Milton, and the city of Quincy. The Charles River separates Boston's Allston-Brighton, Fenway-Kenmore and Back Bay neighborhoods from Watertown and the majority of Cambridge, and the mass of Boston from its own Charlestown neighborhood. The Neponset River forms the boundary between Boston's southern neighborhoods and Quincy and Milton. The Mystic River separates Charlestown from Chelsea and Everett, and Chelsea Creek and Boston Harbor separate East Boston from Downtown, the North End, and the Seaport.[98] Neighborhoods Main article: Neighborhoods in Boston 200 Clarendon Street is the tallest building in Boston, with a roof height of 790 ft (240 m). Boston is sometimes called a "city of neighborhoods" because of the profusion of diverse subsections; the city government's Office of Neighborhood Services has officially designated 23 neighborhoods.[99] More than two-thirds of inner Boston's modern land area did not exist when the city was founded. Instead, it was created via the gradual filling in of the surrounding tidal areas over the centuries,[65] with earth from leveling or lowering Boston's three original hills (the "Trimountain", after which Tremont Street is named) and with gravel brought by train from Needham to fill the Back Bay.[16] Downtown and its immediate surroundings consist largely of low-rise masonry buildings (often Federal style and Greek Revival) interspersed with modern highrises, in the Financial District, Government Center, and South Boston.[100] Back Bay includes many prominent landmarks, such as the Boston Public Library, Christian Science Center, Copley Square, Newbury Street, and New England's two tallest buildings: the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center.[101] Near the John Hancock Tower is the old John Hancock Building with its prominent illuminated beacon, the color of which forecasts the weather.[102] Smaller commercial areas are interspersed among areas of single-family homes and wooden/brick multi-family row houses. The South End Historic District is the largest surviving contiguous Victorian-era neighborhood in the US.[103] The geography of downtown and South Boston was particularly affected by the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (known unofficially as the "Big Dig") which removed the elevated Central Artery and incorporated new green spaces and open areas.[104] Climate Autumn foliage with a city skyline in the distant background Boston's skyline in the background, with fall foliage in the foreground Boston Climate chart (explanation) J F M A M J J A S O N D 3.4 3723 3.2 3925 4.2 4631 3.6 5641 3.3 6750 3.9 7660 3.3 8266 3.2 8065 3.6 7358 4 6248 3.7 5238 4.3 4229 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Metric conversion Under the Köppen climate classification, depending on the isotherm used, Boston has either a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) under the −3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm or a humid continental climate under the 0 °C isotherm (Köppen Dfa).[105] The city is best described as being in a transitional zone between the two climates. Summers are typically warm and humid, while winters are cold and stormy, with occasional periods of heavy snow. Spring and fall are usually cool to mild, with varying conditions dependent on wind direction and jet stream positioning. Prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore minimize the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. However, in winter areas near the immediate coast will often see more rain than snow as warm air is drawn off the Atlantic at times.[106] The city lies at the transition between USDA plant hardiness zones 6b (most of the city) and 7a (Downtown, South Boston, and East Boston neighborhoods).[107] The hottest month is July, with a mean temperature of 74.1 °F (23.4 °C). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 29.9 °F (−1.2 °C). Periods exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) in summer and below freezing in winter are not uncommon but rarely extended, with about 13 and 25 days per year seeing each, respectively.[108] The most recent sub- 0 °F (−18 °C) reading occurred on January 7, 2018, when the temperature dipped down to −2 °F (−19 °C).[108] In addition, several decades may pass between 100 °F (38 °C) readings, with the most recent such occurrence on July 22, 2011, when the temperature reached 103 °F (39 °C).[108] The city's average window for freezing temperatures is November 9 through April 5.[108][c] Official temperature records have ranged from −18 °F (−28 °C) on February 9, 1934, up to 104 °F (40 °C) on July 4, 1911. The record cold daily maximum is 2 °F (−17 °C) on December 30, 1917, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 83 °F (28 °C) on August 2, 1975, and July 21, 2019.[109][108] A graph of cumulative winter snowfall at Logan International Airport from 1938 to 2015. The four winters with the most snowfall are highlighted. The snowfall data, which was collected by NOAA, is from the weather station at the airport. Boston's coastal location on the North Atlantic moderates its temperature but makes the city very prone to Nor'easter weather systems that can produce much snow and rain.[106] The city averages 43.6 in (1,110 mm) of precipitation a year, with 49.2 in (125 cm) of snowfall per season.[108] Most snowfall occurs from mid-November through early April, and snow is rare in May and October.[110][111] There is also high year-to-year variability in snowfall; for instance, the winter of 2011–12 saw only 9.3 in (23.6 cm) of accumulating snow, but the previous winter, the corresponding figure was 81.0 in (2.06 m).[108][d] Fog is fairly common, particularly in spring and early summer. Due to its location along the North Atlantic, the city often receives sea breezes, especially in the late spring, when water temperatures are still quite cold and temperatures at the coast can be more than 20 °F (11 °C) colder than a few miles inland, sometimes dropping by that amount near midday.[112][113] Thunderstorms occur from May to September, which are occasionally severe with large hail, damaging winds, and heavy downpours.[106] Although downtown Boston has never been struck by a violent tornado, the city itself has experienced many tornado warnings. Damaging storms are more common to areas north, west, and northwest of the city.[114] Boston has a relatively sunny climate for a coastal city at its latitude, averaging over 2,600 hours of sunshine per annum. vte Climate data for Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport), 1991−2020 normals,[e] extremes 1872−present[f] Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 74 (23) 73 (23) 89 (32) 94 (34) 97 (36) 100 (38) 104 (40) 102 (39) 102 (39) 90 (32) 83 (28) 76 (24) 104 (40) Mean maximum °F (°C) 58.3 (14.6) 57.9 (14.4) 67.0 (19.4) 79.9 (26.6) 88.1 (31.2) 92.2 (33.4) 95.0 (35.0) 93.7 (34.3) 88.9 (31.6) 79.6 (26.4) 70.2 (21.2) 61.2 (16.2) 96.4 (35.8) Average high °F (°C) 36.8 (2.7) 39.0 (3.9) 45.5 (7.5) 56.4 (13.6) 66.5 (19.2) 76.2 (24.6) 82.1 (27.8) 80.4 (26.9) 73.1 (22.8) 62.1 (16.7) 51.6 (10.9) 42.2 (5.7) 59.3 (15.2) Daily mean °F (°C) 29.9 (−1.2) 31.8 (−0.1) 38.3 (3.5) 48.6 (9.2) 58.4 (14.7) 68.0 (20.0) 74.1 (23.4) 72.7 (22.6) 65.6 (18.7) 54.8 (12.7) 44.7 (7.1) 35.7 (2.1) 51.9 (11.1) Average low °F (°C) 23.1 (−4.9) 24.6 (−4.1) 31.1 (−0.5) 40.8 (4.9) 50.3 (10.2) 59.7 (15.4) 66.0 (18.9) 65.1 (18.4) 58.2 (14.6) 47.5 (8.6) 37.9 (3.3) 29.2 (−1.6) 44.5 (6.9) Mean minimum °F (°C) 4.8 (−15.1) 8.3 (−13.2) 15.6 (−9.1) 31.0 (−0.6) 41.2 (5.1) 49.7 (9.8) 58.6 (14.8) 57.7 (14.3) 46.7 (8.2) 35.1 (1.7) 24.4 (−4.2) 13.1 (−10.5) 2.6 (−16.3) Record low °F (°C) −13 (−25) −18 (−28) −8 (−22) 11 (−12) 31 (−1) 41 (5) 50 (10) 46 (8) 34 (1) 25 (−4) −2 (−19) −17 (−27) −18 (−28) Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.39 (86) 3.21 (82) 4.17 (106) 3.63 (92) 3.25 (83) 3.89 (99) 3.27 (83) 3.23 (82) 3.56 (90) 4.03 (102) 3.66 (93) 4.30 (109) 43.59 (1,107) Average snowfall inches (cm) 14.3 (36) 14.4 (37) 9.0 (23) 1.6 (4.1) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.0 (0.0) 0.2 (0.51) 0.7 (1.8) 9.0 (23) 49.2 (125) Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 11.8 10.6 11.6 11.6 11.8 10.9 9.4 9.0 9.0 10.5 10.3 11.9 128.4 Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 6.6 6.2 4.4 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.6 4.2 23.0 Average relative humidity (%) 62.3 62.0 63.1 63.0 66.7 68.5 68.4 70.8 71.8 68.5 67.5 65.4 66.5 Average dew point °F (°C) 16.5 (−8.6) 17.6 (−8.0) 25.2 (−3.8) 33.6 (0.9) 45.0 (7.2) 55.2 (12.9) 61.0 (16.1) 60.4 (15.8) 53.8 (12.1) 42.8 (6.0) 33.4 (0.8) 22.1 (−5.5) 38.9 (3.8) Mean monthly sunshine hours 163.4 168.4 213.7 227.2 267.3 286.5 300.9 277.3 237.1 206.3 143.2 142.3 2,633.6 Percent possible sunshine 56 57 58 57 59 63 65 64 63 60 49 50 59 Average ultraviolet index 1 2 4 5 7 8 8 8 6 4 2 1 5 Source 1: NOAA (relative humidity, dew point and sun 1961−1990)[116][108][117] Source 2: Weather Atlas (UV)[118] Climate data for Boston, Massachusetts See or edit raw graph data. Cityscapes Sailboats on the Charles River overlook the Boston skyline, as seen from Cambridge. From left to right: Boston City Hall, the West End, the North End, Charlestown, Boston Harbor, and East Boston Sunset view of the Boston skyline and Charles River Demographics See also: History of the Irish in Boston, History of Italian Americans in Boston, History of African Americans in Boston, Chinese Americans in Boston, Dominican-Americans in Boston, Vietnamese in Boston, and LGBT culture in Boston Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1680 4,500 — 1690 7,000 +55.6% 1700 6,700 −4.3% 1710 9,000 +34.3% 1722 10,567 +17.4% 1742 16,382 +55.0% 1765 15,520 −5.3% 1790 18,320 +18.0% 1800 24,937 +36.1% 1810 33,787 +35.5% 1820 43,298 +28.1% 1830 61,392 +41.8% 1840 93,383 +52.1% 1850 136,881 +46.6% 1860 177,840 +29.9% 1870 250,526 +40.9% 1880 362,839 +44.8% 1890 448,477 +23.6% 1900 560,892 +25.1% 1910 670,585 +19.6% 1920 748,060 +11.6% 1930 781,188 +4.4% 1940 770,816 −1.3% 1950 801,444 +4.0% 1960 697,197 −13.0% 1970 641,071 −8.1% 1980 562,994 −12.2% 1990 574,283 +2.0% 2000 589,141 +2.6% 2010 617,594 +4.8% 2020 675,647 +9.4% *=population estimate. Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data.[119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130] 2010–2020[7] Source: U.S. Decennial Census[131] Map of Boston and the surrounding area displaying per capita income distribution Per capita income in the Greater Boston area, by US Census block group, 2000. The dashed line shows the boundary of the City of Boston. Map of racial distribution in Boston, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other In 2020, Boston was estimated to have 691,531 residents living in 266,724 households[8]—a 12% population increase over 2010. The city is the third-most densely populated large U.S. city of over half a million residents, and the most densely populated state capital. Some 1.2 million persons may be within Boston's boundaries during work hours, and as many as 2 million during special events. This fluctuation of people is caused by hundreds of thousands of suburban residents who travel to the city for work, education, health care, and special events.[132] In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.9% at age 19 and under, 14.3% from 20 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.[133] There were 252,699 households, of which 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 25.5% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.08.[133] From an estimate in 2005, Boston has one of the largest per capita LGBT populations in the United States. The median household income in Boston was $51,739, while the median income for a family was $61,035. Full-time year-round male workers had a median income of $52,544 versus $46,540 for full-time year-round female workers. The per capita income for the city was $33,158. 21.4% of the population and 16.0% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total population, 28.8% of those under the age of 18 and 20.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.[134] Boston has a significant racial wealth gap with White Bostonians having an median net worth of $247,500 compared to an $8 median net worth for non-immigrant Black residents and $0 for Dominican immigrant residents.[135] In 1950, Whites represented 94.7% of Boston's population.[136] From the 1950s to the end of the 20th century, the proportion of non-Hispanic Whites in the city declined. In 2000, non-Hispanic Whites made up 49.5% of the city's population, making the city majority minority for the first time. However, in the 21st century, the city has experienced significant gentrification, during which affluent Whites have moved into formerly non-White areas. In 2006, the US Census Bureau estimated non-Hispanic Whites again formed a slight majority but as of 2010, in part due to the housing crash, as well as increased efforts to make more affordable housing more available, the non-White population has rebounded. This may also have to do with increased Latin American and Asian populations and more clarity surrounding US Census statistics, which indicate a non-Hispanic White population of 47 percent (some reports give slightly lower figures).[137][138][139] Historical racial/ethnic composition Race/ethnicity 2019[140] 2010[141] 1990[136] 1970[136] 1940[136] Non-Hispanic Whites 44.9% 47.0% 59.0% 79.5%[142] 96.6% Black 22.2% 24.4% 23.8% 16.3% 3.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 19.6% 17.5% 10.8% 2.8%[142] 0.1% Asian 9.7% 8.9% 5.3% 1.3% 0.2% Two or more races 2.6% 3.9% – – – Native American 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% – Chinatown, with its paifang (Chinese: 牌坊) gate, is home to many Chinese and also Vietnamese restaurants. U.S. Navy sailors march in Boston's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. Irish Americans constitute the largest ethnicity in Boston. Boston gay pride march, held annually in June People of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in the city, making up 15.8% of the population, followed by Italians, accounting for 8.3% of the population. People of West Indian and Caribbean ancestry are another sizable group, at over 15%.[143] In Greater Boston, these numbers grew significantly, with 150,000 Dominicans according to 2018 estimates, 134,000 Puerto Ricans, 57,500 Salvadorans, 39,000 Guatemalans, 36,000 Mexicans, and over 35,000 Colombians.[144] East Boston has a diverse Hispanic/Latino population of Salvadorans, Colombians, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and even Portuguese-speaking people from Portugal and Brazil. Hispanic populations in southwest Boston neighborhoods are mainly made up of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, usually sharing neighborhoods in this section with African Americans and Blacks with origins from the Caribbean and Africa especially Cape Verdeans and Haitians. Neighborhoods such as Jamaica Plain and Roslindale have experienced a growing number of Dominican Americans.[145] Over 27,000 Chinese Americans made their home in Boston city proper in 2013.[146] Ancestry According to the 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the largest ancestry groups in Boston, Massachusetts are:[147][148] Ancestry Percentage of Boston population Percentage of Massachusetts population Percentage of United States population City-to-State Difference City-to-USA Difference Irish 14.06% 21.16% 10.39% −7.10% 3.67% Italian 8.13% 13.19% 5.39% −5.05% 2.74% other West Indian 6.92% 1.96% 0.90% 4.97% 6.02% Dominican 5.45% 2.60% 0.68% 2.65% 4.57% Puerto Rican 5.27% 4.52% 1.66% 0.75% 3.61% Chinese 4.57% 2.28% 1.24% 2.29% 3.33% German 4.57% 6.00% 14.40% −1.43% −9.83% English 4.54% 9.77% 7.67% −5.23% −3.13% American 4.13% 4.26% 6.89% −0.13% −2.76% Sub-Saharan African 4.09% 2.00% 1.01% 2.09% 3.08% Haitian 3.58% 1.15% 0.31% 2.43% 3.27% Polish 2.48% 4.67% 2.93% −2.19% −0.45% Cape Verdean 2.21% 0.97% 0.03% 1.24% 2.18% French 1.93% 6.82% 2.56% −4.89% −0.63% Vietnamese 1.76% 0.69% 0.54% 1.07% 1.22% Jamaican 1.70% 0.44% 0.34% 1.26% 1.36% Russian 1.62% 1.65% 0.88% −0.03% 0.74% Asian Indian 1.31% 1.39% 1.09% −0.08% 0.22% Scottish 1.30% 2.28% 1.71% −0.98% −0.41% French Canadian 1.19% 3.91% 0.65% −2.71% 0.54% Mexican 1.12% 0.67% 11.96% 0.45% −10.84% Arab 1.10% 1.10% 0.59% 0.00% 0.50% Demographic breakdown by ZIP Code Income See also: List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income Data is from the 2008–2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.[149][150][151] Rank ZIP code (ZCTA) Per capita income Median household income Median family income Population Number of households 1 02110 (Financial District) $152,007 $123,795 $196,518 1,486 981 2 02199 (Prudential Center) $151,060 $107,159 $146,786 1,290 823 3 02210 (Fort Point) $93,078 $111,061 $223,411 1,905 1,088 4 02109 (North End) $88,921 $128,022 $162,045 4,277 2,190 5 02116 (Back Bay/Bay Village) $81,458 $87,630 $134,875 21,318 10,938 6 02108 (Beacon Hill/Financial District) $78,569 $95,753 $153,618 4,155 2,337 7 02114 (Beacon Hill/West End) $65,865 $79,734 $169,107 11,933 6,752 8 02111 (Chinatown/Financial District/Leather District) $56,716 $44,758 $88,333 7,616 3,390 9 02129 (Charlestown) $56,267 $89,105 $98,445 17,052 8,083 10 02467 (Chestnut Hill) $53,382 $113,952 $148,396 22,796 6,351 11 02113 (North End) $52,905 $64,413 $112,589 7,276 4,329 12 02132 (West Roxbury) $44,306 $82,421 $110,219 27,163 11,013 13 02118 (South End) $43,887 $50,000 $49,090 26,779 12,512 14 02130 (Jamaica Plain) $42,916 $74,198 $95,426 36,866 15,306 15 02127 (South Boston) $42,854 $67,012 $68,110 32,547 14,994 Massachusetts $35,485 $66,658 $84,380 6,560,595 2,525,694 Boston $33,589 $53,136 $63,230 619,662 248,704 Suffolk County $32,429 $52,700 $61,796 724,502 287,442 16 02135 (Brighton) $31,773 $50,291 $62,602 38,839 18,336 17 02131 (Roslindale) $29,486 $61,099 $70,598 30,370 11,282 United States $28,051 $53,046 $64,585 309,138,711 115,226,802 18 02136 (Hyde Park) $28,009 $57,080 $74,734 29,219 10,650 19 02134 (Allston) $25,319 $37,638 $49,355 20,478 8,916 20 02128 (East Boston) $23,450 $49,549 $49,470 41,680 14,965 21 02122 (Dorchester-Fields Corner) $23,432 $51,798 $50,246 25,437 8,216 22 02124 (Dorchester-Codman Square-Ashmont) $23,115 $48,329 $55,031 49,867 17,275 23 02125 (Dorchester-Uphams Corner-Savin Hill) $22,158 $42,298 $44,397 31,996 11,481 24 02163 (Allston-Harvard Business School) $21,915 $43,889 $91,190 1,842 562 25 02115 (Back Bay, Longwood, Museum of Fine Arts/Symphony Hall area) $21,654 $23,677 $50,303 29,178 9,958 26 02126 (Mattapan) $20,649 $43,532 $52,774 27,335 9,510 27 02215 (Fenway-Kenmore) $19,082 $30,823 $72,583 23,719 7,995 28 02119 (Roxbury) $18,998 $27,051 $35,311 24,237 9,769 29 02121 (Dorchester-Mount Bowdoin) $18,226 $30,419 $35,439 26,801 9,739 30 02120 (Mission Hill) $17,390 $32,367 $29,583 13,217 4,509 Religion Old South Church, a United Church of Christ congregation first organized in 1669 According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, 57% of the population of the city identified themselves as Christians, with 25% attending a variety of Protestant churches and 29% professing Roman Catholic beliefs;[152][153] 33% claim no religious affiliation, while the remaining 10% are composed of adherents of Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Baháʼí and other faiths. As of 2010, the Catholic Church had the highest number of adherents as a single denomination in the Greater Boston area, with more than two million members and 339 churches, followed by the Episcopal Church with 58,000 adherents in 160 churches. The United Church of Christ had 55,000 members and 213 churches.[154] The city has a Jewish population of an estimated 248,000 Jews within the Boston metro area.[155] More than half of Jewish households in the Greater Boston area reside in the city itself, Brookline, Newton, Cambridge, Somerville, or adjacent towns.[155] Economy See also: Major companies in Greater Boston Top publicly traded Boston companies for 2018 (ranked by revenues) with City and U.S. ranks Source: Fortune 500[156] Bos. Corporation US Revenue (in millions) 1 General Electric 18 $122,274 2 Liberty Mutual 68 $42,687 3 State Street 259 $11,774 4 American Tower 419 $6,663.9 Top City Employers Source: MA Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development[157] Rank Company/Organization 1 Brigham and Women's Hospital 2 Massachusetts General Hospital 3 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center 4 Boston Children's Hospital 5 Boston Medical Center 6 Boston University School of Medicine 7 Boston University 8 Floating Hospital for Children 9 John Hancock Life Insurance Co. 10 Liberty Mutual Group Inc. Distribution of Greater Boston NECTA Labor Force (2016)[158] Nat'l resources & mining (0%) Construction (5%) Manufacturing (8%) Trade, transportation & utilities (15%) Information (3%) Finance & real estate (8%) Professional & business services (15%) Educational & health services (28%) Leisure & hospitality (9%) Other services (4%) Government (4%) A global city, Boston is placed among the top 30 most economically powerful cities in the world.[159] Encompassing $363 billion, the Greater Boston metropolitan area has the sixth-largest economy in the country and 12th-largest in the world.[160] Boston's colleges and universities exert a significant impact on the regional economy. Boston attracts more than 350,000 college students from around the world, who contribute more than US$4.8 billion annually to the city's economy.[161][162] The area's schools are major employers and attract industries to the city and surrounding region. The city is home to a number of technology companies and is a hub for biotechnology, with the Milken Institute rating Boston as the top life sciences cluster in the country.[163] Boston receives the highest absolute amount of annual funding from the National Institutes of Health of all cities in the United States.[164] The city is considered highly innovative for a variety of reasons, including the presence of academia, access to venture capital, and the presence of many high-tech companies.[22][165] The Route 128 corridor and Greater Boston continue to be a major center for venture capital investment,[166] and high technology remains an important sector. Tourism also composes a large part of Boston's economy, with 21.2 million domestic and international visitors spending $8.3 billion in 2011.[167] Excluding visitors from Canada and Mexico, over 1.4 million international tourists visited Boston in 2014, with those from China and the United Kingdom leading the list.[168] Boston's status as a state capital as well as the regional home of federal agencies has rendered law and government to be another major component of the city's economy.[169] The city is a major seaport along the East Coast of the United States and the oldest continuously operated industrial and fishing port in the Western Hemisphere.[170] In the 2018 Global Financial Centres Index, Boston was ranked as having the thirteenth most competitive financial services center in the world and the second most competitive in the United States.[171] Boston-based Fidelity Investments helped popularize the mutual fund in the 1980s and has made Boston one of the top financial centers in the United States.[172][173] The city is home to the headquarters of Santander Bank, and Boston is a center for venture capital firms. State Street Corporation, which specializes in asset management and custody services, is based in the city. Boston is a printing and publishing center[174]—Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is headquartered within the city, along with Bedford-St. Martin's Press and Beacon Press. Pearson PLC publishing units also employ several hundred people in Boston. The city is home to three major convention centers—the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay, and the Seaport World Trade Center and Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the South Boston waterfront.[175] The General Electric Corporation announced in January 2016 its decision to move the company's global headquarters to the Seaport District in Boston, from Fairfield, Connecticut, citing factors including Boston's preeminence in the realm of higher education.[176] Boston is home to the headquarters of several major athletic and footwear companies including Converse, New Balance, and Reebok. Rockport, Puma and Wolverine World Wide, Inc. headquarters or regional offices[177] are just outside the city.[178] In 2019, a yearly ranking of time wasted in traffic listed Boston area drivers lost approximately 164 hours a year in lost productivity due to the area's traffic congestion. This amounted to $2,300 a year per driver in costs.[179] Education Primary and secondary education Boston Latin School was established in 1635 and is the oldest public high school in the US. The Boston Public Schools enroll 57,000 students attending 145 schools, including the renowned Boston Latin Academy, John D. O'Bryant School of Math & Science, and Boston Latin School. The Boston Latin School was established in 1635 and is the oldest public high school in the US. Boston also operates the United States' second-oldest public high school and its oldest public elementary school.[18] The system's students are 40% Hispanic or Latino, 35% Black or African American, 13% White, and 9% Asian.[180] There are private, parochial, and charter schools as well, and approximately 3,300 minority students attend participating suburban schools through the Metropolitan Educational Opportunity Council.[181] In September 2019, the city formally inaugurated Boston Saves, a program that provides every child enrolled in the city's kindergarten system a savings account containing $50 to be used toward college or career training.[182] Higher education For a more comprehensive list, see List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston. Map of Boston-area universities Some of the most renowned and highly ranked universities in the world are near Boston.[183] Three universities with a major presence in the city, Harvard, MIT, and Tufts, are just outside of Boston in the cities of Cambridge and Somerville, known as the Brainpower Triangle.[184] Harvard is the nation's oldest institute of higher education and is centered across the Charles River in Cambridge, though the majority of its land holdings and a substantial amount of its educational activities are in Boston. Its business school and athletics facilities are in Boston's Allston neighborhood, and its medical, dental, and public health schools are located in the Longwood area.[185] The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) originated in Boston and was long known as "Boston Tech"; it moved across the river to Cambridge in 1916.[186] Tufts University's main campus is north of the city in Somerville and Medford, though it locates its medical and dental schools in Boston's Chinatown at Tufts Medical Center, a 451-bed academic medical institution that is home to a full-service hospital for adults and the Floating Hospital for Children.[187] Five members of the Association of American Universities are in Greater Boston (more than any other metropolitan area): Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, Boston University, and Brandeis University.[188] Furthermore, Greater Boston contains seven Highest Research Activity (R1) Universities as per the Carnegie Classification. This includes, in addition to the aforementioned five, Boston College, and Northeastern University. This is, by a large margin, the highest concentration of such institutions in a single metropolitan area. Hospitals, universities, and research institutions in Greater Boston received more than $1.77 billion in National Institutes of Health grants in 2013, more money than any other American metropolitan area.[189] This high density of research institutes also contributes to Boston's high density of early career researchers, which, due to high housing costs in the region, have been shown to face housing stress.[190][191] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is often cited as among the world's top universities[192] Harvard Business School, one of the country's top business schools[193] Greater Boston has more than 50 colleges and universities, with 250,000 students enrolled in Boston and Cambridge alone.[194] The city's largest private universities include Boston University (also the city's fourth-largest employer),[195] with its main campus along Commonwealth Avenue and a medical campus in the South End, Northeastern University in the Fenway area,[196] Suffolk University near Beacon Hill, which includes law school and business school,[197] and Boston College, which straddles the Boston (Brighton)–Newton border.[198] Boston's only public university is the University of Massachusetts Boston on Columbia Point in Dorchester. Roxbury Community College and Bunker Hill Community College are the city's two public community colleges. Altogether, Boston's colleges and universities employ more than 42,600 people, accounting for nearly seven percent of the city's workforce.[199] Smaller private colleges include Babson College, Bentley University, Boston Architectural College, Emmanuel College, Fisher College, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Simmons University, Wellesley College, Wheelock College, Wentworth Institute of Technology, New England School of Law (originally established as America's first all female law school),[200] and Emerson College.[201] Metropolitan Boston is home to several conservatories and art schools, including Lesley University College of Art and Design, Massachusetts College of Art, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, New England Institute of Art, New England School of Art and Design (Suffolk University), Longy School of Music of Bard College, and the New England Conservatory (the oldest independent conservatory in the United States).[202] Other conservatories include the Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, which has made Boston an important city for jazz music.[203] Public safety Further information: Boston Police Department, Boston Fire Department, and Boston Emergency Medical Services White Boston Police car with blue and gray stripes down the middle A Boston Police cruiser on Beacon Street Boston included $414 million in spending on the Boston Police Department in the fiscal 2021 budget. This is the second largest allocation of funding by the city after the allocation to Boston Public Schools.[204] Like many major American cities, Boston has seen a great reduction in violent crime since the early 1990s. Boston's low crime rate since the 1990s has been credited to the Boston Police Department's collaboration with neighborhood groups and church parishes to prevent youths from joining gangs, as well as involvement from the United States Attorney and District Attorney's offices. This helped lead in part to what has been touted as the "Boston Miracle". Murders in the city dropped from 152 in 1990 (for a murder rate of 26.5 per 100,000 people) to just 31—not one of them a juvenile—in 1999 (for a murder rate of 5.26 per 100,000).[205] In 2008, there were 62 reported homicides.[206] Through December 30, 2016, major crime was down seven percent and there were 46 homicides compared to 40 in 2015.[207] Culture Main article: Culture in Boston Further information: List of annual events in Boston, List of arts organizations in Boston, and Sites of interest in Boston The Old State House, a museum on the Freedom Trail near the site of the Boston massacre In the nineteenth century, the Old Corner Bookstore became a gathering place for writers, including Emerson, Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller. Here James Russell Lowell printed the first editions of The Atlantic Monthly. Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the non-rhotic Eastern New England accent known as the Boston accent[208] and a regional cuisine with a large emphasis on seafood, salt, and dairy products.[209] Boston also has its own collection of neologisms known as Boston slang and sardonic humor.[210] In the early 1800s, William Tudor wrote that Boston was "'perhaps the most perfect and certainly the best-regulated democracy that ever existed. There is something so impossible in the immortal fame of Athens, that the very name makes everything modern shrink from comparison; but since the days of that glorious city I know of none that has approached so near in some points, distant as it may still be from that illustrious model.'[211] From this, Boston has been called the "Athens of America" (also a nickname of Philadelphia)[212] for its literary culture, earning a reputation as "the intellectual capital of the United States".[213] In the nineteenth century, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, James Russell Lowell, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in Boston. Some consider the Old Corner Bookstore to be the "cradle of American literature", the place where these writers met and where The Atlantic Monthly was first published.[214] In 1852, the Boston Public Library was founded as the first free library in the United States.[213] Boston's literary culture continues today thanks to the city's many universities and the Boston Book Festival. Music is afforded a high degree of civic support in Boston. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the "Big Five", a group of the greatest American orchestras, and the classical music magazine Gramophone called it one of the "world's best" orchestras.[215] Symphony Hall (west of Back Bay) is home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the related Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, which is the largest youth orchestra in the nation, and to the Boston Pops Orchestra. The British newspaper The Guardian called Boston Symphony Hall "one of the top venues for classical music in the world", adding "Symphony Hall in Boston was where science became an essential part of concert hall design".[216] Other concerts are held at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. The Boston Ballet performs at the Boston Opera House. Other performing-arts organizations in the city include the Boston Lyric Opera Company, Opera Boston, Boston Baroque (the first permanent Baroque orchestra in the US),[217] and the Handel and Haydn Society (one of the oldest choral companies in the United States).[218] The city is a center for contemporary classical music with a number of performing groups, several of which are associated with the city's conservatories and universities. These include the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Boston Musica Viva.[217] Several theaters are in or near the Theater District south of Boston Common, including the Cutler Majestic Theatre, Citi Performing Arts Center, the Colonial Theater, and the Orpheum Theatre.[219] Symphony Hall, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Museum of Fine Arts There are several major annual events, such as First Night which occurs on New Year's Eve, the Boston Early Music Festival, the annual Boston Arts Festival at Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, the annual Boston gay pride parade and festival held in June, and Italian summer feasts in the North End honoring Catholic saints.[220] The city is the site of several events during the Fourth of July period. They include the week-long Harborfest festivities[221] and a Boston Pops concert accompanied by fireworks on the banks of the Charles River.[222] Several historic sites relating to the American Revolution period are preserved as part of the Boston National Historical Park because of the city's prominent role. Many are found along the Freedom Trail,[223] which is marked by a red line of bricks embedded in the ground. The city is also home to several art museums and galleries, including the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.[224] The Institute of Contemporary Art is housed in a contemporary building designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in the Seaport District.[225] Boston's South End Art and Design District (SoWa) and Newbury St. are both art gallery destinations.[226][227] Columbia Point is the location of the University of Massachusetts Boston, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum. The Boston Athenæum (one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States),[228] Boston Children's Museum, Bull & Finch Pub (whose building is known from the television show Cheers),[229] Museum of Science, and the New England Aquarium are within the city. Boston has been a noted religious center from its earliest days. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston serves nearly 300 parishes and is based in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (1875) in the South End, while the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts serves just under 200 congregations, with the Cathedral Church of St. Paul (1819) as its episcopal seat. Unitarian Universalism has its headquarters in the Fort Point neighborhood. The Christian Scientists are headquartered in Back Bay at the Mother Church (1894). The oldest church in Boston is First Church in Boston, founded in 1630.[230] King's Chapel was the city's first Anglican church, founded in 1686 and converted to Unitarianism in 1785. Other churches include Christ Church (better known as Old North Church, 1723), the oldest church building in the city, Trinity Church (1733), Park Street Church (1809), Old South Church (1874), Jubilee Christian Church, and Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Mission Hill (1878).[231] Environment Pollution control Air quality in Boston is generally very good. Between 2004 and 2013, there were only four days in which the air was unhealthy for the general public, according to the EPA.[232] Some of the cleaner energy facilities in Boston include the Allston green district, with three ecologically compatible housing facilities.[233] Boston is also breaking ground on multiple green affordable housing facilities to help reduce the carbon impact of the city while simultaneously making these initiatives financially available to a greater population. Boston's climate plan is updated every three years and was most recently modified in 2013. This legislature includes the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance, which requires the city's larger buildings to disclose their yearly energy and water use statistics and to partake in an energy assessment every five years. These statistics are made public by the city, thereby increasing incentives for buildings to be more environmentally conscious.[234] Mayor Thomas Menino introduced the Renew Boston Whole Building Incentive which reduces the cost of living in buildings that are deemed energy efficient. This gives people an opportunity to find housing in neighborhoods that support the environment. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to enlist 500 Bostonians to participate in a free, in-home energy assessment.[234] South Boston Sustainable Housing In the wake of urban renewal occurring in the 1960s, Castle Square Apartments were constructed in the South End as an affordable housing option.[235] During this wave of urban renewal, there was little consideration of energy efficiency. At the time, the Castle Square Apartments consisted of brick and concrete walls with minimal insulation, leaving its residents to face uncomfortable temperature conditions and poor air quality from lack of ventilation.[236] 50 years later in 2009, when the time came for renovation, Heather Clark, who had been a part of many green renovations, saw an opportunity for a Deep Energy Retrofit (DER) of the complex.[236] A deep energy retrofit is a type of green renovation that has an added emphasis on insulation and reduces energy use by 50% or more.[236] WinnCompanies, the minority owner of Castle Square worked closely with the majority owner, the Castle Square Tenant Organization, and agreed to conduct a DER.[237] The project was financed by a combination of private and public partnerships including, MassHousing Financing Agency, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, Boston Redevelopment Authority, and others.[238] With several partnerships, a large redevelopment team, and resident engagement throughout the process, the Castle Square Apartments renovation became the nation's largest DER project.[236][237] The retrofit involved several steps and installments that together provided a holistic solution to energy consumption. These included a Kingspan super-insulated shell wrapped on the outside of the building, a super-insulated reflective roof, high-efficiency windows, and extensive air sealing, all of which increased the insulation value by a factor of 10.[236] The insulation cuts down the heating needs and hot water usage by 10% and 41% respectively, and the implementation of fresh air trickle vents improved air quality throughout.[236] High-efficiency energy star appliances and LED lights were installed to reduce energy consumption by residents.[235] With the insulation being installed around the outside of the building, there was little to no displacement of residents throughout the process, and all were able to remain living in the complex.[235] After a two-year renovation project, that opened up 665 construction jobs for people, Castle Square Apartments saw a 72% reduction in energy usage and were LEED platinum certified.[238] The total cost was 8.18 million dollars for 192 apartments and led to an overall energy cost reduction of $213,000 after two years.[235] Today, the Castle Square Apartments remain standing and at full occupancy, with long waitlists for vacancies.[239] Water purity and availability Many older buildings in certain areas of Boston are supported by wooden piles driven into the area's fill; these piles remain sound if submerged in water, but are subject to dry rot if exposed to air for long periods.[240] Ground water levels have been dropping in many areas of the city, due in part to an increase in the amount of rainwater discharged directly into sewers rather than absorbed by the ground. The Boston Groundwater Trust coordinates monitoring ground water levels throughout the city via a network of public and private monitoring wells.[241] However, Boston's drinking water supply from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs[242] is one of the very few in the country so pure as to satisfy the Federal Clean Water Act without filtration.[243] Climate change and sea level rise Population density and elevation above sea level in Greater Boston (2010) The City of Boston has developed a climate action plan covering carbon reduction in buildings, transportation, and energy use.[244] Mayor Thomas Menino commissioned the city's first Climate Action Plan in 2007, with an update released in 2011.[245] Since then, Mayor Marty Walsh has built upon these plans with further updates released in 2014 and 2019. As a coastal city built largely on fill, sea-level rise is of major concern to the city government. The latest version of the climate action plan anticipates between two and seven feet of sea-level rise in Boston by the end of the century. A separate initiative, Resilient Boston Harbor, lays out neighborhood-specific recommendations for coastal resilience.[246] Sports Main article: Sports in Boston Fenway Park is the oldest professional baseball stadium still in use. Boston has teams in the four major North American men's professional sports leagues plus Major League Soccer, and, as of 2019, has won 39 championships in these leagues. It is one of eight cities (along with Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington) to have won championships in all four major American sports leagues. It has been suggested[247][248][249] that Boston is the new "TitleTown, USA", as the city's professional sports teams have won twelve championships since 2001: Patriots (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018), Red Sox (2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018), Celtics (2008), and Bruins (2011). This love of sports made Boston the United States Olympic Committee's choice to bid to hold the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, but the city cited financial concerns when it withdrew its bid on July 27, 2015.[250] The Boston Red Sox, a founding member of the American League of Major League Baseball in 1901, play their home games at Fenway Park, near Kenmore Square, in the city's Fenway section. Built in 1912, it is the oldest sports arena or stadium in active use in the United States among the four major professional American sports leagues, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League.[251] Boston was the site of the first game of the first modern World Series, in 1903. The series was played between the AL Champion Boston Americans and the NL champion Pittsburgh Pirates.[252][253] Persistent reports that the team was known in 1903 as the "Boston Pilgrims" appear to be unfounded.[254] Boston's first professional baseball team was the Red Stockings, one of the charter members of the National Association in 1871, and of the National League in 1876. The team played under that name until 1883, under the name Beaneaters until 1911, and under the name Braves from 1912 until they moved to Milwaukee after the 1952 season. Since 1966 they have played in Atlanta as the Atlanta Braves.[255] Professional basketball game between the Celtics and Timberwolves in a crowded arena The Celtics play at the TD Garden. The TD Garden, formerly called the FleetCenter and built to replace the old, since-demolished Boston Garden, is adjoined to North Station and is the home of two major league teams: the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. The arena seats 18,624 for basketball games and 17,565 for ice hockey games. The Bruins were the first American member of the National Hockey League and an Original Six franchise.[256] The Boston Celtics were founding members of the Basketball Association of America, one of the two leagues that merged to form the NBA.[257] The Celtics, along with the Los Angeles Lakers, have the distinction of having won more championships than any other NBA team, both with seventeen.[258] The venue is also set to host the 2020 Laver Cup, an international men's tennis tournament consisting of two teams: Team Europe and Team World, the latter of which consisting of non-European players. This will be the 4th edition of the tournament, and the first time Boston has hosted an ATP tournament since 1999, where Marat Safin defeated Greg Rusedski.[259] While they have played in suburban Foxborough since 1971, the New England Patriots of the National Football League were founded in 1960 as the Boston Patriots, changing their name after relocating. The team won the Super Bowl after the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons.[260] They share Gillette Stadium with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. The Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer, which formed in 2009, played their home games at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville.[261] The Boston Storm of the United Women's Lacrosse League was formed in 2015.[262] Harvard Stadium, the first collegiate athletic stadium built in the U.S. The area's many colleges and universities are active in college athletics. Four NCAA Division I members play in the area—Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University. Of the four, only Boston College participates in college football at the highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision. Harvard participates in the second-highest level, the Football Championship Subdivision. The Boston Cannons of the MLL play at Harvard Stadium. Boston has Esports teams as well, such as the Overwatch League's Boston Uprising. Established in 2017,[263] they were the first team to complete a perfect stage with 0 losses.[264] The Boston Breach is another esports team in the Call of Duty League (CDL).[265] One of the best known sporting events in the city is the Boston Marathon, the26.2 mi (42.2 km) race which is the world's oldest annual marathon,[266] run on Patriots' Day in April. On April 15, 2013, two explosions killed three people and injured hundreds at the marathon.[93] Another major annual event is the Head of the Charles Regatta, held in October.[267] Boston is one of eleven US cities which will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Parks and recreation An aerial view of Boston Common Boston Common, near the Financial District and Beacon Hill, is the oldest public park in the United States.[268] Along with the adjacent Boston Public Garden, it is part of the Emerald Necklace, a string of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to encircle the city. The Emerald Necklace includes the Back Bay Fens, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, Boston's largest body of freshwater, and Franklin Park, the city's largest park and home of the Franklin Park Zoo.[269] Another major park is the Esplanade, along the banks of the Charles River. The Hatch Shell, an outdoor concert venue, is adjacent to the Charles River Esplanade. Other parks are scattered throughout the city, with major parks and beaches near Castle Island, in Charlestown and along the Dorchester, South Boston, and East Boston shorelines.[270] Boston's park system is well-reputed nationally. In its 2013 ParkScore ranking, The Trust for Public Land reported Boston was tied with Sacramento and San Francisco for having the third-best park system among the 50 most populous US cities.[271] ParkScore ranks city park systems by a formula that analyzes the city's median park size, park acres as percent of city area, the percent of residents within a half-mile of a park, spending of park services per resident, and the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents. Government and politics Further information: Mayor of Boston, Boston City Council, List of members of Boston City Council, and Boston Finance Commission Michelle Wu, the 55th Mayor of Boston Boston has a strong mayor–council government system in which the mayor (elected every fourth year) has extensive executive power. Michelle Wu, a city councilor, became mayor in November 2021, succeeding Kim Janey, a former City Council President, who became the Acting Mayor in March 2021 following Marty Walsh's confirmation to the position of Secretary of Labor in the Biden/Harris Administration. Walsh's predecessor Thomas Menino's twenty-year tenure was the longest in the city's history.[272] The Boston City Council is elected every two years; there are nine district seats, and four citywide "at-large" seats.[273] The School Committee, which oversees the Boston Public Schools, is appointed by the mayor.[274] Boston City Hall is a Brutalist landmark in the city In addition to city government, numerous commissions and state authorities—including the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), and the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)—play a role in the life of Bostonians. As the capital of Massachusetts, Boston plays a major role in state politics. Chamber of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the Massachusetts State House The city has several federal facilities, including the John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building, the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Federal Building,[275] the John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Both courts are housed in the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse. Headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Federally, Boston is split between two congressional districts. Three-fourths of the city is in the 7th district and is represented by Ayanna Pressley while the remaining southern fourth is in the 8th district and is represented by Stephen Lynch,[276] both of whom are Democrats; a Republican has not represented a significant portion of Boston in over a century. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Elizabeth Warren, first elected in 2012. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Ed Markey, who was elected in 2013 to succeed John Kerry after Kerry's appointment and confirmation as the United States Secretary of State. The city uses an algorithm created by the Walsh administration, called CityScore, to measure the effectiveness of various city services. This score is available on a public online dashboard and allows city managers in police, fire, schools, emergency management services, and 3-1-1 to take action and make adjustments in areas of concern.[277] Boston has an ordinance, enacted in 2014, that bars the Boston Police Department "from detaining anyone based on their immigration status unless they have a criminal warrant".[278] Presidential election results[279] Year Democratic Republican 2020 82.6% 242,717 15.5% 45,425 2016 80.6% 221,093 13.9% 38,087 2012 78.8% 200,190 19.3% 48,985 2008 79.0% 185,976 19.4% 45,548 2004 77.3% 160,884 21.4% 44,518 2000 71.7% 132,393 19.7% 36,389 1996 73.8% 125,529 19.6% 33,366 1992 62.4% 114,260 22.9% 41,868 1988 65.2% 122,349 33.2% 62,202 1984 63.4% 131,745 36.2% 75,311 1980 53.3% 95,133 32.9% 58,656 1976 60.4% 115,802 35.3% 67,604 1972 66.2% 139,598 33.3% 70,298 Voter registration and party enrollment As of February 1, 2019[280] Party Number of voters Percentage Democratic 210,570 50.73% Republican 24,034 5.79% Libertarian 1,443 0.35% Green 403 0.10% Unaffiliated 175,308 42.23% Total 415,103 100% Media Main article: Media in Boston Newspapers The Boston Globe is the oldest and largest daily newspaper in the city[281] and is generally acknowledged as its paper of record.[282] The city is also served by other publications such as the Boston Herald, Boston magazine, DigBoston, and the Boston edition of Metro. The Christian Science Monitor, headquartered in Boston, was formerly a worldwide daily newspaper but ended publication of daily print editions in 2009, switching to continuous online and weekly magazine format publications.[283] The Boston Globe also releases a teen publication to the city's public high schools, called Teens in Print or T.i.P., which is written by the city's teens and delivered quarterly within the school year.[284] The Improper Bostonian, a glossy lifestyle magazine, was published from 1991 through April 2019. The Bay State Banner is an independent newspaper primarily geared toward the readership interests of the African-American community in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bay State Banner was founded in 1965 by Melvin B. Miller who remains the chief editor and publisher. In 2015, the publication celebrated its 50th anniversary serving the region's minority-oriented neighborhoods. The city's growing Latino population has given rise to a number of local and regional Spanish-language newspapers. These include El Planeta (owned by the former publisher of The Boston Phoenix), El Mundo, and La Semana. Siglo21, with its main offices in nearby Lawrence, is also widely distributed.[285] The largest conservative publication in Boston is NewBostonPost.com. There are a number of weekly newspapers dedicated to Boston neighborhoods. Among them is South Boston Online, founded in 1999, which appears in print and online, and covers events in South Boston and the Seaport District. Various LGBT publications serve the city's large LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) population such as The Rainbow Times, the only minority and lesbian-owned LGBT news magazine. Founded in 2006, The Rainbow Times is now based out of Boston, but serves all of New England.[286] Radio and television Boston is the largest broadcasting market in New England, with the radio market being the ninth largest in the United States.[287] Several major AM stations include talk radio WRKO, sports/talk station WEEI, and iHeartMedia WBZ.[288] WBZ (AM) broadcasts a news radio format and is a 50,000 watt "clear channel" station, whose nighttime broadcasts are heard hundreds of miles from Boston. A variety of commercial FM radio formats serve the area, as do NPR stations WBUR and WGBH. College and university radio stations include WERS (Emerson), WHRB (Harvard), WUMB (UMass Boston), WMBR (MIT), WZBC (Boston College), WMFO (Tufts University), WBRS (Brandeis University), WTBU (Boston University, campus and web only), WRBB (Northeastern University) and WMLN-FM (Curry College). The Boston television DMA, which also includes Manchester, New Hampshire, is the 8th largest in the United States.[289] The city is served by stations representing every major American network, including WBZ-TV 4 and its sister station WSBK-TV 38 (the former a CBS O&O, the latter a MyNetwork TV affiliate), WCVB-TV 5 and its sister station WMUR-TV 9 (both ABC), WHDH 7 and its sister station WLVI 56 (the former an independent station, the latter a CW affiliate), WBTS-CD 15 (an NBC O&O), and WFXT 25 (Fox). The city is also home to PBS member station WGBH-TV 2, a major producer of PBS programs,[290] which also operates WGBX 44. Spanish-language television networks, including UniMás (WUTF-TV 27), Telemundo (WNEU 60, a sister station to WBTS-CD), and Univisión (WUNI 66), have a presence in the region, with WNEU serving as network owned-and-operated station. Most of the area's television stations have their transmitters in nearby Needham and Newton along the Route 128 corridor.[291] Six Boston television stations are carried by Canadian satellite television provider Bell TV and by cable television providers in Canada. Film For a more comprehensive list, see Boston in fiction § Film. Films have been made in Boston since as early as 1903, and it continues to be both a popular setting and a popular filming location.[292][293] Notable movies like The Fighter and The Town were filmed in Boston.[294] Video games For a more comprehensive list, see Boston in fiction § Video games. Video games have used Boston as a backdrop and setting, such as Assassin's Creed III published in 2012 and Fallout 4 in 2015.[295][296] Some characters from video games are from Boston, such as the Scout from Team Fortress 2.[297] The gaming convention PAX East is held in Boston, which many gaming companies like Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Wizards of the Coast have previously attended.[298] Healthcare For a more comprehensive list, see List of hospitals in Massachusetts § Boston. Harvard Medical School, one of the most prestigious medical schools in the world The Longwood Medical and Academic Area, adjacent to the Fenway district, is home to a large number of medical and research facilities, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Joslin Diabetes Center, and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.[299] Prominent medical facilities, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital are in the Beacon Hill area. St. Elizabeth's Medical Center is in Brighton Center of the city's Brighton neighborhood. New England Baptist Hospital is in Mission Hill. The city has Veterans Affairs medical centers in the Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury neighborhoods.[300] The Boston Public Health Commission, an agency of the Massachusetts government, oversees health concerns for city residents.[301] Boston EMS provides pre-hospital emergency medical services to residents and visitors. Many of Boston's medical facilities are associated with universities. The facilities in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area and in Massachusetts General Hospital are affiliated with Harvard Medical School.[302] Tufts Medical Center (formerly Tufts-New England Medical Center), in the southern portion of the Chinatown neighborhood, is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine. Boston Medical Center, in the South End neighborhood, is the primary teaching facility for the Boston University School of Medicine as well as the largest trauma center in the Boston area;[303] it was formed by the merger of Boston University Hospital and Boston City Hospital, which was the first municipal hospital in the United States.[304] Infrastructure Main article: Infrastructure in Boston Transportation Main article: Transportation in Boston A silver and red rapid transit train departing an above-ground station An MBTA Red Line train departing Boston for Cambridge. Bostonians depend heavily on public transit, with over 1.3 million Bostonians riding the city's buses and trains daily (2013).[305] Logan International Airport, in East Boston and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), is Boston's principal airport.[306] Nearby general aviation airports are Beverly Municipal Airport to the north, Hanscom Field to the west, and Norwood Memorial Airport to the south. Massport also operates several major facilities within the Port of Boston, including a cruise ship terminal and facilities to handle bulk and container cargo in South Boston, and other facilities in Charlestown and East Boston.[307] Downtown Boston's streets grew organically, so they do not form a planned grid,[308] unlike those in later-developed Back Bay, East Boston, the South End, and South Boston. Boston is the eastern terminus of I-90, which in Massachusetts runs along the Massachusetts Turnpike. The elevated portion of the Central Artery, which carried most of the through traffic in downtown Boston, was replaced with the O'Neill Tunnel during the Big Dig, substantially completed in early 2006. The former and current Central Artery follow I-93 as the primary north–south artery from the city. Other major highways include US 1, which carries traffic to the North Shore and areas south of Boston, US 3, which connects to the northwestern suburbs, Massachusetts Route 3, which connects to the South Shore and Cape Cod, and Massachusetts Route 2 which connects to the western suburbs. Surrounding the city is Massachusetts Route 128, a partial beltway which has been largely subsumed by other routes (mostly I-95 and I-93). With nearly a third of Bostonians using public transit for their commute to work, Boston has the fourth-highest rate of public transit usage in the country.[309] The city of Boston has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 35.4 percent of Boston households lacked a car, which decreased slightly to 33.8 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Boston averaged 0.94 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.[310] Boston's public transportation agency, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates the oldest underground rapid transit system in the Americas, and is the fourth-busiest rapid transit system in the country,[19] with65.5 mi (105 km) of track on four lines.[311] The MBTA also operates busy bus and commuter rail networks, and water shuttles.[311] South Station, the busiest rail hub in New England, is a terminus of Amtrak and numerous MBTA rail lines. Bluebikes in Boston Amtrak intercity rail to Boston is provided through four stations: South Station, North Station, Back Bay, and Route 128. South Station is a major intermodal transportation hub and is the terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Regional, Acela Express, and Lake Shore Limited routes, in addition to multiple MBTA services. Back Bay is also served by MBTA and those three Amtrak routes, while Route 128, in the southwestern suburbs of Boston, is only served by the Acela Express and Northeast Regional.[312] Meanwhile, Amtrak's Downeaster to Brunswick, Maine terminates in North Station, and is the only Amtrak route to do so.[313] Nicknamed "The Walking City", Boston hosts more pedestrian commuters than do other comparably populated cities. Owing to factors such as necessity, the compactness of the city and large student population, 13 percent of the population commutes by foot, making it the highest percentage of pedestrian commuters in the country out of the major American cities.[314] In 2011, Walk Score ranked Boston the third most walkable city in the United States.[315][316] As of 2015, Walk Score still ranks Boston as the third most walkable US city, with a Walk Score of 80, a Transit Score of 75, and a Bike Score of 70.[317] Between 1999 and 2006, Bicycling magazine named Boston three times as one of the worst cities in the US for cycling;[318] regardless, it has one of the highest rates of bicycle commuting.[319] In 2008, as a consequence of improvements made to bicycling conditions within the city, the same magazine put Boston on its "Five for the Future" list as a "Future Best City" for biking,[320][321] and Boston's bicycle commuting percentage increased from 1% in 2000 to 2.1% in 2009.[322] The bikeshare program Bluebikes, originally called Hubway, launched in late July 2011,[323] logging more than 140,000 rides before the close of its first season.[324] The neighboring municipalities of Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline joined the Hubway program in the summer of 2012.[325] In 2016, there are 1,461 bikes and 158 docking stations across the city.[326] PBSC Urban Solutions provides bicycles and technology for this bike-sharing system.[327] In 2013, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan statistical area (Boston MSA) had the seventh-lowest percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (75.6 percent), with 6.2 percent of area workers traveling via rail transit. During the period starting in 2006 and ending in 2013, the Boston MSA had the greatest percentage decline of workers commuting by automobile (3.3 percent) among MSAs with more than a half-million residents.[328] International relations The City of Boston has twelve official sister cities:[329] Kyoto, Japan (1959) Strasbourg, France (1960) Barcelona, Spain (1980) Hangzhou, China (1982) Padua, Italy (1983) City of Melbourne, Australia (1985) Beira, Mozambique (1990) Taipei, Taiwan (1996) Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana (2001) Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK (2014) Praia, Cape Verde (2015) Boston, Lincolnshire, UK (2015) Boston has formal partnership relationships through a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with five additional cities or regions: Guangzhou, China (2014)[330] Lyon, France (2016)[331] Copenhagen, Denmark (2017)[332] Mexico City, Mexico (2017)[333] North West of Ireland, Ireland (2017)[334] See also Cities portal flag Massachusetts portal Outline of Boston Boston City League (high school athletic conference) Boston Citgo Sign Boston nicknames Boston–Halifax relations List of diplomatic missions in Boston List of people from Boston National Register of Historic Places listings in Boston Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases.[2] A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball out of the batter's reach. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes, while fielders can get the batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as the pitch clock to shorten game time. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression, have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the national sport of the United States, though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports, such as American football. In addition to North America, baseball is considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The World Baseball Classic, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. Baseball was played at the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008, and was reinstated in 2020. Rules and gameplay Further information: Baseball rules and Outline of baseball Diagram of a baseball field Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. 2013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 A baseball game is played between two teams, each usually composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning. A game consists of nine innings (seven innings at the high school level and in doubleheaders in college, Minor League Baseball and, since the 2020 season, Major League Baseball; and six innings at the Little League level).[3] One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning. The other team—customarily the home team—bats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of the game is to score more points (runs) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by touching all four bases, in order, set at the corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond. A player bats at home plate and must attempt to safely reach a base before proceeding, counterclockwise, from first base, to second base, third base, and back home to score a run. The team in the field attempts to prevent runs from scoring by recording outs, which remove opposing players from offensive action, until their next turn at bat comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played to resolve the contest. Many amateur games, particularly unorganized ones, involve different numbers of players and innings.[4] The game is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair territory; the 270-degree area outside them is foul territory. The part of the field enclosed by the bases and several yards beyond them is the infield; the area farther beyond the infield is the outfield. In the middle of the infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber plate (the rubber) at its center. The outer boundary of the outfield is typically demarcated by a raised fence, which may be of any material and height. The fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well.[5] There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, and the glove or mitt: The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching.[6] The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood. Other materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86 centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (110 centimeters).[7] The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of different fielding positions.[8] Protective helmets are also standard equipment for all batters.[9] At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players of the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher begins the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing toward home plate. Another fielding team player, the catcher, squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the fielding team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines (basepaths) between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the standard arrangement, there is a first baseman positioned several steps to the left of first base, a second baseman to the right of second base, a shortstop to the left of second base, and a third baseman to the right of third base. The basic outfield positions are left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. With the exception of the catcher, all fielders are required to be in fair territory when the pitch is delivered. A neutral umpire sets up behind the catcher.[10] Other umpires will be distributed around the field as well.[11] David Ortiz, the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire Play starts with a member of the batting team, the batter, standing in either of the two batter's boxes next to home plate, holding a bat.[12] The batter waits for the pitcher to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball[13] with the bat.[12] The catcher catches pitches that the batter does not hit—as a result of either electing not to swing or failing to connect—and returns them to the pitcher. A batter who hits the ball into the field of play must drop the bat and begin running toward first base, at which point the player is referred to as a runner (or, until the play is over, a batter-runner). A batter-runner who reaches first base without being put out is said to be safe and is on base. A batter-runner may choose to remain at first base or attempt to advance to second base or even beyond—however far the player believes can be reached safely. A player who reaches base despite proper play by the fielders has recorded a hit. A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is credited with a single. If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is a double; third base, a triple. If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire outfield (and outfield fence, if there is one), or if the batter-runner otherwise safely circles all the bases, it is a home run: the batter and any runners on base may all freely circle the bases, each scoring a run. This is the most desirable result for the batter. The ultimate and most desirable result possible for a batter would be to hit a home run while all three bases are occupied or "loaded", thus scoring four runs on a single hit. This is called a grand slam. A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hit—instead, the responsible fielder is charged with an error.[12] Any runners already on base may attempt to advance on batted balls that land, or contact the ground, in fair territory, before or after the ball lands. A runner on first base must attempt to advance if a ball lands in play, as only one runner may occupy a base at any given time. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield, it becomes dead and any runners must return to the base they occupied when the play began. If the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has flied out and any runners on base may attempt to advance only if they tag up (contact the base they occupied when the play began, as or after the ball is caught). Runners may also attempt to advance to the next base while the pitcher is in the process of delivering the ball to home plate; a successful effort is a stolen base.[14] A pitch that is not hit into the field of play is called either a strike or a ball. A batter against whom three strikes are recorded strikes out. A batter against whom four balls are recorded is awarded a base on balls or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely advance to first base if the batter's body or uniform is struck by a pitch outside the strike zone, provided the batter does not swing and attempts to avoid being hit.)[15] Crucial to determining balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the strike zone, a conceptual area above home plate extending from the midpoint between the batter's shoulders and belt down to the hollow of the knee.[16] Any pitch which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball, unless the batter either swings and misses at the pitch, or hits the pitch into foul territory; an exception generally occurs if the ball is hit into foul territory when the batter already has two strikes, in which case neither a ball nor a strike is called. A shortstop tries to tag out a runner who is sliding head first, attempting to reach second base. While the team at bat is trying to score runs, the team in the field is attempting to record outs. In addition to the strikeout and flyout, common ways a member of the batting team may be put out include the ground out, force out, and tag out. These occur either when a runner is forced to advance to a base, and a fielder with possession of the ball reaches that base before the runner does, or the runner is touched by the ball, held in a fielder's hand, while not on a base. (The batter-runner is always forced to advance to first base, and any other runners must advance to the next base if a teammate is forced to advance to their base.) It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same play. This is called a double play. Three outs in one play, a triple play, is possible, though rare. Players put out or retired must leave the field, returning to their team's dugout or bench. A runner may be stranded on base when a third out is recorded against another player on the team. Stranded runners do not benefit the team in its next turn at bat as every half-inning begins with the bases empty.[17] An individual player's turn batting or plate appearance is complete when the player reaches base, hits a home run, makes an out, or hits a ball that results in the team's third out, even if it is recorded against a teammate. On rare occasions, a batter may be at the plate when, without the batter's hitting the ball, a third out is recorded against a teammate—for instance, a runner getting caught stealing (tagged out attempting to steal a base). A batter with this sort of incomplete plate appearance starts off the team's next turn batting; any balls or strikes recorded against the batter the previous inning are erased. A runner may circle the bases only once per plate appearance and thus can score at most a single run per batting turn. Once a player has completed a plate appearance, that player may not bat again until the eight other members of the player's team have all taken their turn at bat in the batting order. The batting order is set before the game begins, and may not be altered except for substitutions. Once a player has been removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have more lenient rules, such as Little League rules, which allow players to be substituted back into the same game.[3][18] If the designated hitter (DH) rule is in effect, each team has a tenth player whose sole responsibility is to bat (and run). The DH takes the place of another player—almost invariably the pitcher—in the batting order, but does not field. Thus, even with the DH, each team still has a batting order of nine players and a fielding arrangement of nine players.[19] Personnel See also: Baseball positions Players Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) See also the categories Baseball players and Lists of baseball players The number of players on a baseball roster, or squad, varies by league and by the level of organized play. A Major League Baseball (MLB) team has a roster of 26 players with specific roles. A typical roster features the following players:[20] Eight position players: the catcher, four infielders, and three outfielders—all of whom play on a regular basis Five starting pitchers who constitute the team's pitching rotation or starting rotation Seven relief pitchers, including one closer, who constitute the team's bullpen (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up) One backup, or substitute, catcher Five backup infielders and backup outfielders, or players who can play multiple positions, known as utility players. Most baseball leagues worldwide have the DH rule, including MLB, Japan's Pacific League, and Caribbean professional leagues, along with major American amateur organizations.[21] The Central League in Japan does not have the rule and high-level minor league clubs connected to National League teams are not required to field a DH.[22] In leagues that apply the designated hitter rule, a typical team has nine offensive regulars (including the DH), five starting pitchers,[23] seven or eight relievers, a backup catcher, and two or three other reserve players.[24][25] Managers and coaches The manager, or head coach, oversees the team's major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each game, and making substitutions during games—in particular, bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by two or more coaches; they may have specialized responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting, fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning. At most levels of organized play, two coaches are stationed on the field when the team is at bat: the first base coach and third base coach, who occupy designated coaches' boxes, just outside the foul lines. These coaches assist in the direction of baserunners, when the ball is in play, and relay tactical signals from the manager to batters and runners, during pauses in play.[26] In contrast to many other team sports, baseball managers and coaches generally wear their team's uniforms; coaches must be in uniform to be allowed on the field to confer with players during a game.[27] Umpires Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In MLB, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul lines.[28] Strategy See also: Baseball positioning Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.[29] A manager with several left-handed batters in the regular lineup, who knows the team will be facing a left-handed starting pitcher, may respond by starting one or more of the right-handed backups on the team's roster. During the late innings of a game, as relief pitchers and pinch hitters are brought in, the opposing managers will often go back and forth trying to create favorable matchups with their substitutions. The manager of the fielding team trying to arrange same-handed pitcher-batter matchups and the manager of the batting team trying to arrange opposite-handed matchups. With a team that has the lead in the late innings, a manager may remove a starting position player—especially one whose turn at bat is not likely to come up again—for a more skillful fielder (known as a defensive substitution).[30] Tactics Pitching and fielding A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. See also: Pitch (baseball) The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch selection.[31] By gripping and then releasing the baseball in a certain manner, and by throwing it at a certain speed, pitchers can cause the baseball to break to either side, or downward, as it approaches the batter, thus creating differing pitches that can be selected.[32] Among the resulting wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the fastball, the changeup (or off-speed pitch), and two breaking balls—the curveball and the slider.[33] Pitchers have different repertoires of pitches they are skillful at throwing. Conventionally, before each pitch, the catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to throw, as well as its general vertical and/or horizontal location.[34] If there is disagreement on the selection, the pitcher may shake off the sign and the catcher will call for a different pitch. With a runner on base and taking a lead, the pitcher may attempt a pickoff, a quick throw to a fielder covering the base to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out.[35] Pickoff attempts, however, are subject to rules that severely restrict the pitcher's movements before and during the pickoff attempt. Violation of any one of these rules could result in the umpire calling a balk against the pitcher, which permits any runners on base to advance one base with impunity.[36] If an attempted stolen base is anticipated, the catcher may call for a pitchout, a ball thrown deliberately off the plate, allowing the catcher to catch it while standing and throw quickly to a base.[37] Facing a batter with a strong tendency to hit to one side of the field, the fielding team may employ a shift, with most or all of the fielders moving to the left or right of their usual positions. With a runner on third base, the infielders may play in, moving closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on a ground ball, though a sharply hit grounder is more likely to carry through a drawn-in infield.[38] Batting and baserunning Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The hit and run is sometimes employed, with a skillful contact hitter, the runner takes off with the pitch, drawing the shortstop or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the ball through.[39] The sacrifice bunt, calls for the batter to focus on making soft contact with the ball, so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into scoring position as the batter is thrown out at first. A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to bunt for a hit. A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a squeeze play.[40] With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter, in this case, gets credit for a sacrifice fly.[38] In order to increase the chance of advancing a batter to first base via a walk, the manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ahead in the count (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to take, or not swing at, the next pitch. The batter's potential reward of reaching base (via a walk) exceeds the disadvantage if the next pitch is a strike.[41] History Main article: History of baseball Further information: Origins of baseball The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular among children in Great Britain and Ireland.[42][43][44] American baseball historian David Block suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tut-ball".[42] The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery.[45] Block discovered that the first recorded game of "Bass-Ball" took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player.[46] This early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants.[47] By the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America.[48] The first officially recorded baseball game in North America was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada, on June 4, 1838.[49] In 1845, Alexander Cartwright, a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club, led the codification of the so-called Knickerbocker Rules,[50] which in turn were based on rules developed in 1837 by William R. Wheaton of the Gotham Club.[51] While there are reports that the New York Knickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey: the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.[52] With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century.[53] By the time of the Civil War, baseball had begun to overtake its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket in popularity within the United States, due in part to baseball being of a much shorter duration than the form of cricket played at the time, as well as the fact that troops during the Civil War did not need a specialized playing surface to play baseball, as they would have required for cricket.[54][55] In the United States Further information: Baseball in the United States and History of baseball in the United States Establishment of professional leagues In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area,[56] and by 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game".[57] A year later, the sport's first governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players, was formed. In 1867, it barred participation by African Americans.[58] The more formally structured National League was founded in 1876.[59] Professional Negro leagues formed, but quickly folded.[60] In 1887, softball, under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game.[61] The National League's first successful counterpart, the American League, which evolved from the minor Western League, was established in 1893, and virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by then.[62][63] The National Agreement of 1903 formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's minor professional leagues.[64] The World Series, pitting the two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall.[65] The Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series led to the formation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball.[66] The first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the Negro National League; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by the Eastern Colored League.[67] Rise of Ruth and racial integration Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early 20th century was lower-scoring, and pitchers were more dominant.[68] The so-called dead-ball era ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governed the ball's size, shape and composition, along with a new rule officially banning the spitball and other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit.[69] The rise of the legendary player Babe Ruth, the first great power hitter of the new era, helped permanently alter the nature of the game.[70] In the late 1920s and early 1930s, St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey invested in several minor league clubs and developed the first modern farm system.[71] A new Negro National League was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the Negro American League. The first elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame took place in 1936. In 1939, Little League Baseball was founded in Pennsylvania.[72] Robinson posing in the uniform cap of the Kansas City Royals, a California Winter League barnstorming team, November 1945 (photo by Maurice Terrell) Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs A large number of minor league teams disbanded when World War II led to a player shortage. Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley led the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to help keep the game in the public eye.[73] The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred in 1945: Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal.[74] In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues' color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers.[75] Latin-American players, largely overlooked before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born Chico Carrasquel and black Cuban-born Minnie Miñoso, became the first Hispanic All-Stars.[76][77] Integration proceeded slowly: by 1953, only six of the 16 major league teams had a black player on the roster.[76] Attendance records and the age of steroids In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when the reserve clause was effectively struck down, leading to the free agency system.[78] Significant work stoppages occurred in 1981 and 1994, the latter forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.[79] Attendance had been growing steadily since the mid-1970s and in 1994, before the stoppage, the majors were setting their all-time record for per-game attendance.[80][81] After play resumed in 1995, non-division-winning wild card teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season interleague play was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set.[82] In 2000, the National and American Leagues were dissolved as legal entities. While their identities were maintained for scheduling purposes (and the designated hitter distinction), the regulations and other functions—such as player discipline and umpire supervision—they had administered separately were consolidated under the rubric of MLB.[83] In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. There had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part by the abuse of illegal steroids (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion), but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no penalty for the use of performance-enhancing drugs before 2004.[84] In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron, as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all-time highs.[85][86] Around the world With the historic popular moniker as "America's national pastime", baseball is well established in several other countries as well. As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association, featured teams from both Canada and the United States.[87] While baseball is widely played in Canada and many minor league teams have been based in the country,[88][89] the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the Montreal Expos joined the National League as an expansion team. In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League.[90] Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa, Veracruz.[91] The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition. The Dominican Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912.[92] Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938).[93] The Japanese major leagues have long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States.[94] Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s,[95] and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American countries, most prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955).[96] Since the early 1970s, the annual Caribbean Series has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990) and China (2003) all have professional leagues.[97] The English football club, Aston Villa, were the first British baseball champions winning the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain.[98][99] The 2020 National Champions were the London Mets. Other European countries have seen professional leagues; the most successful, other than the Dutch league, is the Italian league, founded in 1948.[100] In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games.[101] The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a number of competitions between clubs from different countries. Other competitions between national teams, such as the Baseball World Cup and the Olympic baseball tournament, were administered by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from its formation in 1938 until its 2013 merger with the International Softball Federation to create the current joint governing body for both sports, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).[102] Women's baseball is played on an organized amateur basis in numerous countries.[103] After being admitted to the Olympics as a medal sport beginning with the 1992 Games, baseball was dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games at the 2005 International Olympic Committee meeting. It remained part of the 2008 Games.[104] While the sport's lack of a following in much of the world was a factor,[105] more important was MLB's reluctance to allow its players to participate during the major league season.[106] MLB initiated the World Baseball Classic, scheduled to precede its season, partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The inaugural Classic, held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number of MLB participants.[107][108] The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic.[109] Distinctive elements Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following. All of these sports use a clock,[110] play is less individual,[111] and the variation between playing fields is not as substantial or important.[112] The comparison between cricket and baseball demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways with its cousin sports.[113] No clock to kill A well-worn baseball In clock-limited sports, games often end with a team that holds the lead killing the clock rather than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock, thus a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. At almost any turn in any baseball game, the most advantageous strategy is some form of aggressive strategy.[114] Whereas, in the case of multi-day Test and first-class cricket, the possibility of a draw (which occurs because of the restrictions on time, which like in baseball, originally did not exist[115]) often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind, to bat defensively and run out the clock, giving up any faint chance at a win, to avoid an overall loss.[116] While nine innings has been the standard since the beginning of professional baseball, the duration of the average major league game has increased steadily through the years. At the turn of the 20th century, games typically took an hour and a half to play. In the 1920s, they averaged just less than two hours, which eventually ballooned to 2:38 in 1960.[117] By 1997, the average American League game lasted 2:57 (National League games were about 10 minutes shorter—pitchers at the plate making for quicker outs than designated hitters).[118] In 2004, Major League Baseball declared that its goal was an average game of 2:45.[117] By 2014, though, the average MLB game took over three hours to complete.[119] The lengthening of games is attributed to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play, with pitchers taking more time between each delivery, and batters stepping out of the box more frequently.[117][118] Other leagues have experienced similar issues. In 2008, Nippon Professional Baseball took steps aimed at shortening games by 12 minutes from the preceding decade's average of 3:18.[120] In 2016, the average nine-inning playoff game in Major League baseball was 3 hours and 35 minutes. This was up 10 minutes from 2015 and 21 minutes from 2014.[121] In response to the lengthening of the game, MLB decided from the 2023 season onward to institute a pitch clock rule to penalize batters and pitchers who take too much time between pitches.[122] Individual focus Babe Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the New York Yankees Although baseball is a team sport, individual players are often placed under scrutiny and pressure. While rewarding, it has sometimes been described as "ruthless" due to the pressure on the individual player.[123] In 1915, a baseball instructional manual pointed out that every single pitch, of which there are often more than two hundred in a game, involves an individual, one-on-one contest: "the pitcher and the batter in a battle of wits".[124] Pitcher, batter, and fielder all act essentially independent of each other. While coaching staffs can signal pitcher or batter to pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder is solely responsible for deciding to try to catch it or play it on the bounce and for succeeding or failing. The statistical precision of baseball is both facilitated by this isolation and reinforces it. Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the individual focus in cricket is mitigated by the importance of the batting partnership and the practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy the wicket for an hour or much more.[125] There is no statistical equivalent in cricket for the fielding error and thus less emphasis on personal responsibility in this area of play.[126] Uniqueness of parks Further information: Ballpark Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. Unlike those of most sports, baseball playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape. While the dimensions of the infield are specifically regulated, the only constraint on outfield size and shape for professional teams, following the rules of MLB and Minor League Baseball, is that fields built or remodeled since June 1, 1958, must have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 feet (122 m) to center.[127] Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at Minute Maid Park, which became the home of the Houston Astros in 2000, the Crawford Boxes in left field are only 315 feet (96 m) from home plate.[128] There are no rules at all that address the height of fences or other structures at the edge of the outfield. The most famously idiosyncratic outfield boundary is the left-field wall at Boston's Fenway Park, in use since 1912: the Green Monster is 310 feet (94 m) from home plate down the line and 37 feet (11 m) tall.[129] Similarly, there are no regulations at all concerning the dimensions of foul territory. Thus a foul fly ball may be entirely out of play in a park with little space between the foul lines and the stands, but a foulout in a park with more expansive foul ground.[130] A fence in foul territory that is close to the outfield line will tend to direct balls that strike it back toward the fielders, while one that is farther away may actually prompt more collisions, as outfielders run full speed to field balls deep in the corner. These variations can make the difference between a double and a triple or inside-the-park home run.[131] The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the adjacent image shows a traditional field surfacing arrangement (and the one used by virtually all MLB teams with naturally surfaced fields), teams are free to decide what areas will be grassed or bare.[132] Some fields—including several in MLB—use artificial turf. Surface variations can have a significant effect on how ground balls behave and are fielded as well as on baserunning. Similarly, the presence of a roof (seven major league teams play in stadiums with permanent or retractable roofs) can greatly affect how fly balls are played.[133] While football and soccer players deal with similar variations of field surface and stadium covering, the size and shape of their fields are much more standardized. The area out-of-bounds on a football or soccer field does not affect play the way foul territory in baseball does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant.[134] A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park These physical variations create a distinctive set of playing conditions at each ballpark. Other local factors, such as altitude and climate, can also significantly affect play. A given stadium may acquire a reputation as a pitcher's park or a hitter's park, if one or the other discipline notably benefits from its unique mix of elements. The most exceptional park in this regard is Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. Its high altitude—5,282 feet (1,610 m) above sea level—is partly responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues due to the low air pressure.[135] Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is known for its fickle disposition: a pitcher's park when the strong winds off Lake Michigan are blowing in, it becomes more of a hitter's park when they are blowing out.[136] The absence of a standardized field affects not only how particular games play out, but the nature of team rosters and players' statistical records. For example, hitting a fly ball 330 feet (100 m) into right field might result in an easy catch on the warning track at one park, and a home run at another. A team that plays in a park with a relatively short right field, such as the New York Yankees, will tend to stock its roster with left-handed pull hitters, who can best exploit it. On the individual level, a player who spends most of his career with a team that plays in a hitter's park will gain an advantage in batting statistics over time—even more so if his talents are especially suited to the park.[137] Statistics Further information: Baseball statistics Organized baseball lends itself to statistics to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. In the late 19th century, a former cricket player, English-born Henry Chadwick of Brooklyn, was responsible for the "development of the box score, tabular standings, the annual baseball guide, the batting average, and most of the common statistics and tables used to describe baseball."[138] The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that Chadwick came to be known as Father Baseball.[138] In the 1920s, American newspapers began devoting more and more attention to baseball statistics, initiating what journalist and historian Alan Schwarz describes as a "tectonic shift in sports, as intrigue that once focused mostly on teams began to go to individual players and their statistics lines."[139] The Official Baseball Rules administered by MLB require the official scorer to categorize each baseball play unambiguously. The rules provide detailed criteria to promote consistency. The score report is the official basis for both the box score of the game and the relevant statistical records.[140] General managers, managers, and baseball scouts use statistics to evaluate players and make strategic decisions. Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most baseball fans. The basic batting statistics include:[141] At bats: plate appearances, excluding walks and hit by pitches—where the batter's ability is not fully tested—and sacrifices and sacrifice flies—where the batter intentionally makes an out in order to advance one or more baserunners Hits: times a base is reached safely, because of a batted, fair ball without a fielding error or fielder's choice Runs: times circling the bases and reaching home safely Runs batted in (RBIs): number of runners who scored due to a batter's action (including the batter, in the case of a home run), except when batter grounded into double play or reached on an error Home runs: hits on which the batter successfully touched all four bases, without the contribution of a fielding error Batting average: hits divided by at bats—the traditional measure of batting ability The basic baserunning statistics include:[142] Stolen bases: times advancing to the next base entirely due to the runner's own efforts, generally while the pitcher is preparing to deliver or delivering the ball Caught stealing: times tagged out while attempting to steal a base Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. The basic pitching statistics include:[143] Wins: credited to pitcher on winning team who last pitched before the team took a lead that it never relinquished (a starting pitcher must pitch at least five innings to qualify for a win) Losses: charged to pitcher on losing team who was pitching when the opposing team took a lead that it never relinquished Saves: games where the pitcher enters a game led by the pitcher's team, finishes the game without surrendering the lead, is not the winning pitcher, and either (a) the lead was three runs or less when the pitcher entered the game; (b) the potential tying run was on base, at bat, or on deck; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings Innings pitched: outs recorded while pitching divided by three (partial innings are conventionally recorded as, e.g., "5.2" or "7.1", the last digit actually representing thirds, not tenths, of an inning) Strikeouts: times pitching three strikes to a batter Winning percentage: wins divided by decisions (wins plus losses) Earned run average (ERA): runs allowed, excluding those resulting from fielding errors, per nine innings pitched The basic fielding statistics include:[144] Putouts: times the fielder catches a fly ball, tags or forces out a runner, or otherwise directly effects an out Assists: times a putout by another fielder was recorded following the fielder touching the ball Errors: times the fielder fails to make a play that should have been made with common effort, and the batting team benefits as a result Total chances: putouts plus assists plus errors Fielding average: successful chances (putouts plus assists) divided by total chances Among the many other statistics that are kept are those collectively known as situational statistics. For example, statistics can indicate which specific pitchers a certain batter performs best against. If a given situation statistically favors a certain batter, the manager of the fielding team may be more likely to change pitchers or have the pitcher intentionally walk the batter in order to face one who is less likely to succeed.[145] Sabermetrics Sabermetrics refers to the field of baseball statistical study and the development of new statistics and analytical tools. The term is also used to refer directly to new statistics themselves. The term was coined around 1980 by one of the field's leading proponents, Bill James, and derives from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).[146] The growing popularity of sabermetrics since the early 1980s has brought more attention to two batting statistics that sabermetricians argue are much better gauges of a batter's skill than batting average:[147] On-base percentage (OBP) measures a batter's ability to get on base. It is calculated by taking the sum of the batter's successes in getting on base (hits plus walks plus hit by pitches) and dividing that by the batter's total plate appearances (at bats plus walks plus hit by pitches plus sacrifice flies), except for sacrifice bunts.[148] Slugging percentage (SLG) measures a batter's ability to hit for power. It is calculated by taking the batter's total bases (one per each single, two per double, three per triple, and four per home run) and dividing that by the batter's at bats.[149] Some of the new statistics devised by sabermetricians have gained wide use: On-base plus slugging (OPS) measures a batter's overall ability. It is calculated by adding the batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.[150] Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) measures a pitcher's ability at preventing hitters from reaching base. It is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits a pitcher surrendered, then dividing by the number of innings pitched.[151] Wins Above Replacement (WAR) measures number of additional wins his team has achieved above the number of expected team wins if that player were substituted with a replacement-level player.[152] Popularity and cultural impact Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 Writing in 1919, philosopher Morris Raphael Cohen described baseball as the national religion of the US.[153] In the words of sports columnist Jayson Stark, baseball has long been "a unique paragon of American culture"—a status he sees as devastated by the steroid abuse scandal.[154] Baseball has an important place in other national cultures as well: Scholar Peter Bjarkman describes "how deeply the sport is ingrained in the history and culture of a nation such as Cuba, [and] how thoroughly it was radically reshaped and nativized in Japan."[155] In the United States The major league game in the United States was originally targeted toward a middle-class, white-collar audience: relative to other spectator pastimes, the National League's set ticket price of 50 cents in 1876 was high, while the location of playing fields outside the inner city and the workweek daytime scheduling of games were also obstacles to a blue-collar audience.[156] A century later, the situation was very different. With the rise in popularity of other team sports with much higher average ticket prices—football, basketball, and hockey—professional baseball had become among the most blue-collar-oriented of leading American spectator sports.[157] The Tampere Tigers celebrating the 2017 title in Turku, Finland Overall, baseball has a large following in the United States; a 2006 poll found that nearly half of Americans are fans.[158] In the late 1900s and early 2000s, baseball's position compared to football in the United States moved in contradictory directions. In 2008, MLB set a revenue record of $6.5 billion, matching the NFL's revenue for the first time in decades.[159] A new MLB revenue record of more than $10 billion was set in 2017.[160] On the other hand, the percentage of American sports fans polled who named baseball as their favorite sport was 9%, compared to pro football at 37%.[161] In 1985, the respective figures were pro football 24%, baseball 23%.[162] Because there are so many more major league games played, there is no comparison in overall attendance.[163] In 2008, total attendance at major league games was the second-highest in history: 78.6 million, 0.7% off the record set the previous year.[85] The following year, amid the U.S. recession, attendance fell by 6.6% to 73.4 million.[164] Eight years later, it dropped under 73 million.[165] Attendance at games held under the Minor League Baseball umbrella set a record in 2008, with 43.3 million.[166] While MLB games have not drawn the same national TV viewership as football games, MLB games are dominant in teams' local markets and regularly lead all programs in primetime in their markets during the summer.[167] Caribbean Since the early 1980s, the Dominican Republic, in particular the city of San Pedro de Macorís, has been the major leagues' primary source of foreign talent.[168] In 2017, 83 of the 868 players on MLB Opening Day rosters (and disabled lists) were from the country. Among other Caribbean countries and territories, a combined 97 MLB players were born in Venezuela, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.[169] Hall-of-Famer Roberto Clemente remains one of the greatest national heroes in Puerto Rico's history.[170] While baseball has long been the island's primary athletic pastime, its once well-attended professional winter league has declined in popularity since 1990, when young Puerto Rican players began to be included in the major leagues' annual first-year player draft.[171] In Cuba, where baseball is by every reckoning the national sport,[172] the national team overshadows the city and provincial teams that play in the top-level domestic leagues.[173] Asia An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 In Asia, baseball is among the most popular sports in Japan and South Korea.[174] In Japan, where baseball is inarguably the leading spectator team sport, combined revenue for the twelve teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the body that oversees both the Central and Pacific Leagues, was estimated at $1 billion in 2007. Total NPB attendance for the year was approximately 20 million. While in the preceding two decades, MLB attendance grew by 50 percent and revenue nearly tripled, the comparable NPB figures were stagnant. There are concerns that MLB's growing interest in acquiring star Japanese players will hurt the game in their home country.[175] Revenue figures are not released for the country's amateur system. Similarly, according to one official pronouncement, the sport's governing authority "has never taken into account attendance ... because its greatest interest has always been the development of athletes".[176] In Taiwan, baseball is one of the most widely spectated sports, with the origins dating back to Japanese rule.[177] Among children As of 2018, Little League Baseball oversees leagues with close to 2.4 million participants in over 80 countries.[178] The number of players has fallen since the 1990s, when 3 million children took part in Little League Baseball annually.[179] Babe Ruth League teams have over 1 million participants.[180] According to the president of the International Baseball Federation, between 300,000 and 500,000 women and girls play baseball around the world, including Little League and the introductory game of Tee Ball.[181] A varsity baseball team is an established part of physical education departments at most high schools and colleges in the United States.[182] In 2015, nearly half a million high schoolers and over 34,000 collegians played on their schools' baseball teams.[183] By early in the 20th century, intercollegiate baseball was Japan's leading sport. Today, high school baseball in particular is immensely popular there.[184] The final rounds of the two annual tournaments—the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring, and the even more important National High School Baseball Championship in the summer—are broadcast around the country. The tournaments are known, respectively, as Spring Koshien and Summer Koshien after the 55,000-capacity stadium where they are played.[185] In Cuba, baseball is a mandatory part of the state system of physical education, which begins at age six. Talented children as young as seven are sent to special district schools for more intensive training—the first step on a ladder whose acme is the national baseball team.[173] In popular culture The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million.[186] Baseball has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the United States and elsewhere. Dozens of English-language idioms have been derived from baseball; in particular, the game is the source of a number of widely used sexual euphemisms.[187] The first networked radio broadcasts in North America were of the 1922 World Series: famed sportswriter Grantland Rice announced play-by-play from New York City's Polo Grounds on WJZ–Newark, New Jersey, which was connected by wire to WGY–Schenectady, New York, and WBZ–Springfield, Massachusetts.[188] The baseball cap has become a ubiquitous fashion item not only in the United States and Japan, but also in countries where the sport itself is not particularly popular, such as the United Kingdom.[189] Baseball has inspired many works of art and entertainment. One of the first major examples, Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat", appeared in 1888. A wry description of the failure of a star player in what would now be called a "clutch situation", the poem became the source of vaudeville and other staged performances, audio recordings, film adaptations, and an opera, as well as a host of sequels and parodies in various media. There have been many baseball movies, including the Academy Award–winning The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and the Oscar nominees The Natural (1984) and Field of Dreams (1989). The American Film Institute's selection of the ten best sports movies includes The Pride of the Yankees at number 3 and Bull Durham (1988) at number 5.[190] Baseball has provided thematic material for hits on both stage—the Adler–Ross musical Damn Yankees—and record—George J. Gaskin's "Slide, Kelly, Slide", Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", and John Fogerty's "Centerfield".[191] The baseball-inspired comedic sketch "Who's on First?", popularized by Abbott and Costello in 1938, quickly became famous. Six decades later, Time named it the best comedy routine of the 20th century.[192] Literary works connected to the game include the short fiction of Ring Lardner and novels such as Bernard Malamud's The Natural (the source for the movie), Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., John Grisham's Calico Joe and W. P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe (the source for Field of Dreams). Baseball's literary canon also includes the beat reportage of Damon Runyon; the columns of Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Dick Young, and Peter Gammons; and the essays of Roger Angell. Among the celebrated nonfiction books in the field are Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory of Their Times, Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, and Michael Lewis's Moneyball. The 1970 publication of major league pitcher Jim Bouton's tell-all chronicle Ball Four is considered a turning point in the reporting of professional sports.[193] Baseball has also inspired the creation of new cultural forms. Baseball cards were introduced in the late 19th century as trade cards. A typical example featured an image of a baseball player on one side and advertising for a business on the other. In the early 1900s they were produced widely as promotional items by tobacco and confectionery companies. The 1930s saw the popularization of the modern style of baseball card, with a player photograph accompanied on the rear by statistics and biographical data. Baseball cards—many of which are now prized collectibles—are the source of the much broader trading card industry, involving similar products for different sports and non-sports-related fields.[194] Modern fantasy sports began in 1980 with the invention of Rotisserie League Baseball by New York writer Daniel Okrent and several friends. Participants in a Rotisserie league draft notional teams from the list of active MLB players and play out an entire imaginary season with game outcomes based on the players' latest real-world statistics. Rotisserie-style play quickly became a phenomenon. Now known more generically as fantasy baseball, it has inspired similar games based on an array of different sports.[195] The field boomed with increasing Internet access and new fantasy sports-related websites. By 2008, 29.9 million people in the United States and Canada were playing fantasy sports, spending $800 million on the hobby.[196] The burgeoning popularity of fantasy baseball is also credited with the increasing attention paid to sabermetrics—first among fans, only later among baseball professionals.[197] Derivative games Main article: Variations of baseball Informal variations of baseball have popped up over time, with games like corkball reflecting local traditions and allowing the game to be played in diverse environments.[198] Two variations of baseball, softball and Baseball5, are internationally governed alongside baseball by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.[199] British baseball Main article: British baseball American professional baseball teams toured Britain in 1874 and 1889, and had a great effect on similar sports in Britain. In Wales and Merseyside, a strong community game had already developed with skills and plays more in keeping with the American game and the Welsh began to informally adopt the name "baseball" (Pêl Fas), to reflect the American style. By the 1890s, calls were made to follow the success of other working class sports (like Rugby in Wales and Soccer in Merseyside) and adopt a distinct set of rules and bureaucracy.[200] During the 1892 season rules for the game of "baseball" were agreed and the game was officially codified.[201] Finnish baseball Main article: Pesäpallo Finnish baseball, known as pesäpallo, is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and North American baseball, invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s.[202] The basic idea of pesäpallo is similar to that of baseball: the offense tries to score by hitting the ball successfully and running through the bases, while the defense tries to put the batter and runners out. One of the most important differences between pesäpallo and baseball is that the ball is pitched vertically, which makes hitting the ball, as well as controlling the power and direction of the hit, much easier. This gives the offensive game more variety, speed, and tactical aspects compared to baseball.[202] See also icon Baseball portal Baseball awards Baseball clothing and equipment List of baseball films List of organized baseball leagues Women in baseball Related sports Brännboll (Scandinavian bat-and-ball game) Comparison of baseball and cricket Lapta (game) (Russian bat-and-ball game) Oină (Romanian bat-and-ball game) Snow baseball (with similar rules played in India during winters) Stickball Stoop ball Vitilla Wiffle ball
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