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Health & Fitness

Hot Stove: 11/20

History of Baseball: 1882
NL Champion: Chicago White Stockings (55-29, .655 WPCT).  AA Champion: Cincinnati Red Stockings (55-25, .688 WPCT).
In 1882, a whole new major league was created.  The American Association, which today is recognized as an official major league, contained six teams at its inception: the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Louisville Eclipse, Philadelphia Athletics, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, and the St. Louis Brown Stockings.  It will rival the National League in terms of level of play, and a few AA teams will join the NL in the coming years.  Back over in the NL, on May 25th, Buffalo's Charles Foley became the first player in major league history to hit for the cycle.  In the AA on July 18th, Louisville's Tony Mullane became the the first switch pitcher in major league history.  However, he does not fare well, and will return to pitching right handed exclusively.  On August 17th, in a game between Providence and Detroit, one of the greatest games of all time was played.  John Montgomery Ward squared off against the Detroit Wolverines (either Stump Wiedman or George Derby.  I could not for the life of me find who pitched for Detroit that day).  He and the Detroit starter traded zeroes until the eighteenth inning, when Old Hoss Radbourn hit a home run to end the game.  Ward's eighteen inning shutout is the longest shutout in history.  In September, Tony Mullane (Louisville), Guy Hecker (Louisville), and Larry Corcoran (Chicago) all tossed no hitters.  On the 25th, Worcester held the first double-header in history.  Then, on the 28th, the White Stockings clinched their third straight National League championship.  The same day, the Worcester-Troy game saw exactly six fans attend.  After the season, the league champions, the White Stockings and the Red Stockings, played in a "World Series" of sorts.  However, the series ends in a 1-1 tie as the American Association forces the Reds to pull back.  Statistically, Buffalo's Dan Brouthers took home the NL batting title by hitting .368, while Pete Browning earned the honor in the AA by batting .378 for Louisville.  Oscar Walker of St. Louis and George Wood of Detroit hit seven home runs each.  For a third straight season, Cap Anson set a new RBI record, this time driving in 83 runs for the White Stockings.  On the mound, Larry Corcoran's 1.95 ERA led the NL, but it was nothing compared to Denny Driscoll's 1.21 mark, one which he posted for Pittsburgh in the AA.  Cincinnati's Will White led baseball with 40 wins, while Cleveland's Jim McCormick led the NL with 36.  White was easily the best pitcher in baseball in 1882, going 40-12 with a 1.54 ERA in 54 starts.  After the season, two teams will be kicked out of the National League, but two more, both of which are still around today, will join.  

News
38 year old Cardinal Chris Carpenter has decided to retire after fifteen major league seasons.
The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez stormed out of his arbitration hearing after expressing displeasure with arbitrator Fredric Horowitz.
The Rangers and Tigers are close to a deal that will send Prince Fielder to the Rangers for Ian Kinsler.

Longtime Blue Jays and Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter is retiring after fifteen major league seasons.  He's been in professional baseball since 1994 and in the majors since 1997.  Carp started out his career in Toronto, and as a 22 year old rookie in '97, he was 3-7 with a 5.09 ERA in 14 games (13 starts).  However, in 1998, he spent the whole season in the Blue Jays rotation, and was 12-7 with a 4.37 ERA in 33 games (24 starts), proving he was ready to stay in the bigs.  After an average 1999 and a rough 2000, he came back in 2001 to post his best year yet.  In 34 starts, he was 11-11 with a 4.09 ERA, with his 34 starts finishing third in the AL.  He was injured for much of 2002 and missed the entire 2003 season, then became a free agent.  The Cardinals took a chance on the 28 year old oft-injured righty, and he delivered for them.  In 2004, he went 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, helping to lead them to the World Series.  However, he would be even better in 2005.  That year, he made 33 starts and went 21-5 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP while also striking out 213 batters.  He earned the NL Cy Young while tossing seven complete games, four of which were shutouts.  On June 14th, he tossed a one-hit shutout of his former team, the Blue Jays.  In the postseason, he went 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in three starts.  He again led the Cardinals to the World Series in 2006, going 15-8 with a 3.09 ERA in 32 starts, then went 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA in five postseason starts as the Cardinals won the World Series.  Injuries hampered him in 2007 and 2008, where he made just four starts.  In 2009, he came back stronger than ever, going 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP, earning NL Comeback Player of the Year.  Making 35 starts in 2010, he was 16-9 with a 3.22 ERA for another strong showing.  In 2011, he led the Cardinals to a third World Series, this time going 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA.  In his final season, 2012, he missed much of the year to injury, but made three starts, going 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA.  Over his fifteen years, he is 144-94 with a 3.76 ERA in 350 games (332 starts).  In the postseason, he is 10-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts. 

Free Agent Signings
Padres signed Josh Johnson (2-8, 6.20 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 2014 age: 30) to a one year, $8 million deal.
Indians agreed to terms with David Murphy (13 HR, 45 RBI, .220 AVG, 1 SB, 2014 age: 32) to a two year deal worth more than $10 million.
Reds signed Brayan Pena (4 HR, 22 RBI, .297 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 32) to a two year, $2.275 million deal ($1.14 million per season).
Orioles signed Edgmer Escalona (1-4, 5.67 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 2014 age: 27) to a one year deal.
Dodgers signed Brendan Harris (4 HR, 9 RBI, .206 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 33) to a minor league deal.
Rays signed Mark Lowe (1-0, 9.26 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 2014 age: 31) to a minor league deal.

The Padres are taking a chance on Josh Johnson, but for just eight million dollars, it seems worthwhile.  Though injury plagued, Johnson shined with the Marlins, but struggled mightily in his stint with the Blue Jays.  After being 56-38 with a 3.15 ERA in 154 games (144 starts) in the National League, Johnson transferred to the American League, where he was just 2-8 with a 6.20 ERA in sixteen starts.  The Padres are hoping they got Johnson from 2010, when he was 11-6 with an NL-leading 2.30 ERA in 28 starts for Florida.  Many pitchers find career renaissances in San Diego, and Johnson may be no different.  The 6'7" righty will likely be guaranteed a spot in the rotation, mixing in with guys like Ian Kennedy, Eric Stults, Andrew Cashner, and Tyson Ross.  Burch Smith, Robbie Erlin, Casey Kelly, Joe Wieland, and Cory Luebke may also get shots at the rotation.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman

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