title: Irakli Okruashvili

texts:
 politically-motivated persecution by the [previous] authorities." "But it does not automatically mean that he is innocent in those criminal charges that he may face; it requires investigation," Tsulukiani told journalists. "There are number of criminal charges brought against him and the most recent one is related to setting up of illegal armed groups and that is related to the events of May, 2011 [during street protest rallies]. It requires further probe and I think that <mask> returned in order to prove his truth." <mask> <mask> was released from a courtroom on January 11. His release was made possible after <mask> was cleared of bribe-taking and extortion charges during a hearing in the Court of Appeals on January 10 and after the Tbilisi City Court accepted on January 11 a motion from prosecutors to release Okruashvili from custody on GEL 15,000 bail.A trial into negligence will be continued later in the Tbilisi City Court. After his release <mask> gave an interview to Reuters to define the reasons of his return to Georgia after several years of residence in France under political asylum. <mask> sayd Georgia's prosecution does not use him as "a golden witness" against President Saakashvili, as it was suggested in the Georgian media, and there was no big agreement with the new government about any issue. "My return (to the country) was just based on my decision and that`s it", <mask> said. See also
 List of people granted political asylum

References

External links
 Biography: <mask> Kobaevich <mask>, Kavkaz-uzel, January 14, 2013 (in Russian)

1973 births
Jurists from Georgia (country)
Living people
Georgian exiles
People from Tskhinvali
United National Movement (Georgia) politicians
Government ministers of Georgia (country)
People convicted in absentia
Expatriates from Georgia

masks: Okruashvili Irakli Okruashvili Okruashvili Okruashvili Okruashvili Okruashvili Irakli Okruashvili


title: Eldridge Hawkins Jr.

type: original

texts:
<mask>, Jr. (born July 25, 1979) was Mayor of Orange, New Jersey, a city of 33,000 residents in Essex County, New Jersey with an annual $53 million operating budget. As Chair of the Management Reform Committee of the N.J. League of Municipalities, <mask> was a leader in the campaign to reform the state's civil service and arbitration laws to give cities more power in collective bargaining with public employee unions. His adversarial managing style and combative relations with the workers of Orange received national attention. <mask> served as President of the New Jersey United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) and is also a law enforcement professional and businessman. In addition, he is a martial arts expert with over 30 years of experience. Accordingly, <mask>, Jr has earned the rank of 5th Degree Black Belt in United States Ju-Jitsu, Fusion Kenpo, and American Style Nunchaku. As such, <mask> has been recognized as a national leader in the martial arts by the United States Ju-Jitsu Federation.Early years

<mask> <mask>, Jr. was born in 1979 in Livingston, New Jersey, the son of <mask> <mask>, Civil Rights lawyer and former Assemblyman (D-Essex) and Linda Cofer <mask>, businesswoman and civic leader. He grew up in West Orange, New Jersey attending Seton Hall Preparatory School. He then attended Rider University and received his B.A. in Business Administration in 2001. After college, he pursued dual careers in business and law enforcement. He served as Director of Operations for the Carl Lewis Fund, Inc and as a Licensed Realtor Associate. He also worked as a Private Investigator and in 2002 began his career with the West Orange Police Department.After receiving two commendations, the Essex County P.B.A. Distinguished Service Award and suffering a line of duty or service related injury, he retired as a Police Officer. He moved on to secure an additional undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from

masks:
Eldridge Hawkins
Hawkins
Hawkins
Shihan Eldridge Hawkins
Hawkins
Eldridge
Hawkins
Eldridge
Hawkins
Hawkins


title: Eldridge Hawkins Jr.

texts:
 Thomas Edison State College and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) with a Management concentration from Seton Hall University. Additionally, he also obtained a Juris Doctor (JD) degree with a certificate in Health Care Compliance from Mitchell Hamline School of Law, formerly known as William Mitchell College of Law. Campaign for mayor

Having moved to Orange, he was preparing to run for the City Council in the May 2008 municipal elections when the incumbent mayor, Mims Hackett was indicted for bribery in a federal corruption probe. After Hackett withdrew from his re-election campaign, <mask> decided to run for mayor instead of city council. Entering a field of candidates with much more experience in politics, municipal government and business than himself, the novice candidate promised to make Orange safer, assure honesty and integrity, and intensify redevelopment.In a city concerned about crime, his law enforcement credentials proved a big plus. <mask>’ reform campaign won the support of State Senator and former Governor Richard Codey, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey and two members of the Orange City Council. On May 13, 2008, he was narrowly elected Mayor at the age of 28. The vote totals were: <mask> <mask>, Jr.- 1,061, Councilman Donald Page – 942, Councilwoman Tency Eason – 564, Zoning Board Chair Janice Morrell – 417, Community Activist Betty Brown – 285, and Planning Board Chair Dwight Holmes – 212. Governing Orange

<mask> assumed office on July 1, 2008, just as the U.S. economy was entering the worst economic recession since the 1930s. His initial acts as mayor involved major improvements to the Orange Police Department. He appointed a new police director, instituted community policing, conducted gun buyback events, upgraded police technology, and established Special Police Officers.In the process, he reduced crime  and restored the confidence of federal and state law

masks: Hawkins Hawkins Eldridge Hawkins Hawkins


title: Eldridge Hawkins Jr.

texts:
 enforcement agencies in the Orange Police Department. <mask>’ second major initiative was to spur redevelopment and strengthen the city's tax base. He upgraded the city's water supply so that the state would permit increased development. He demolished the Walter G. Alexander Houses, a deteriorated high rise housing project and received state and federal funding to replace it with a neighborhood of low rise homes. <mask> successfully sought designation as a “Transit village”, triggering state technical and financial help for transit-oriented development around Orange's two train stations. To promote Orange as a destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment, <mask> secured funding for the city's Valley Arts district, designated the historic Italian neighborhood as “Little Italy,” and developed a plan for the revitalization of the city's commercial corridors. To increase citizen involvement, <mask> initiated televising and streaming video of City Council meetings, sponsored regular public forums, initiated a “Call to Service” initiative to enable ordinary citizens and not just the politically connected to serve on boards and commissions, and redesigned the city website to make it easier for citizens to communicate their concerns and get fast action.Public/private partnerships

Having promised an ambitious agenda but faced with declining revenues, <mask> created public/private partnerships to stretch the city's tax dollars. He partnered with the St. Barnabas Health Care System to provide health care services to residents of senior citizens’ housing; recruited the Heinz Foundations to develop and finance a program of low cost prescription drugs, and created a partnership with the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation, Seton Hall University Business School and the Intersect Fund to provide technical assistance and loans to Orange entrepreneurs. Coping with the financial crisis

In the aftermath of a $3

masks: Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins


title: Eldridge Hawkins Jr.

texts:
 million-dollar reduction in state aid to Orange, <mask> sought to increase the ability of New Jersey cities to cut spending through pension and health benefit changes, civil service and collective bargaining reforms, and relief from unfunded mandates. He spoke out against Governor Chris Christie's cuts in New Jersey's Urban Enterprise Zone program. He was named as Chairman of the Management Reform Committee of the NJ League of Municipalities and led his fellow mayors in lobbying for changes in state laws. To avoid a twenty percent increase in property taxes, he was forced to lay off firefighters, police, and other city workers. The layoffs and difficult negotiations with public employee unions received national attention as emblematic of the plight of U.S. cities and states.Fox Financial News Network focused on the implications for city and state budgets, while CNN highlighted the plight of the laid off workers. In March 2011, Orange was awarded a federal grant which helped <mask> to negotiate an agreement with the firefighters union. The grant combined with work rule changes and other givebacks enabled the city to rehire its twelve laid-off firefighters and hire an additional twelve. This precedent-setting settlement also received national coverage. Losing the 2012 election
<mask> faced a tough road to reelection in 2012. Challengers included sitting Councilman Edward Marable, 2008 Mayoral Candidate Janice Morrell and attorney Dwayne Warren   <mask> was narrowly beaten by Warren in what some observers called an "election shocker." Critics pointed to <mask>' management style as being one reason for his loss.Another major factor was a $100,000 campaign of mailings, television commercials and paid canvassers by several public employee unions, who opposed <mask>' advocacy of higher pension and health benefit payments by government workers. After the 2012 election, <mask> founded Black Belt Security &

masks: Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins


title: Eldridge Hawkins Jr.

texts:
 Investigations, LLC, a private security firm located in East Orange, NJ. As a former Mayor and security expert, <mask> participated in television and radio discussions of school violence and gun control in January 2013. Appearing on New York City's Fox5 TV and WWOR TV as well as radio station WGHT Hot 97, <mask> advocated for the controversial position of placing armed guards in schools and urged a "moderate" approach to gun control. Martial Arts Background

<mask> <mask>, Jr. began his training in Chinese Kenpo-Kung Fu as a youth and made Black Belt in June 2001 under now Professor Harry Baker, 10th Dan. Under Professors Baker & Ibrahim Sharif, <mask> holds Black Belt rank in Fusion Kenpo, and Chito Ryu. Here, <mask>’ martial arts lineage runs through his teachers to Grand Masters Ed Parker & Kalaii Kano Griffin, as well as Professors Moses Powell & Ronald Duncan.<mask> also has recognized rank in Kenpo-Jujitsu and United States Ju-Jitsu under the United States Ju-Jitsu Federation (USJJF). <mask> specializes in various martial arts weapons and is a 7th Degree Black Belt in the tournament system American Style Nunchaku (ASN) founded by Grandmaster Michael Burke. See  https://www.asnfederation.com/  Accordingly, <mask>, is a certified rank instructor for the “American Style Nunchaku Federation” (ASNF) and Is also certified by the United States Martial Arts Federation (USMAF). <mask> is also founder of the Ken-Fu Nunchaku Jutsu self-defense system and teaches ASNF tournament forms/katas Nunchaku through an online platform www.VirtualNunchaku.com. A more complete martial arts biography for Shihan <mask> <mask>, Jr can be found at https://www.usjjf.org/eldridge-hawkins.html . Honors and affiliations

 1st Place Champion – Adult Division, Black Belt Weapons; Upland Martial Arts (Open Tournament). 2nd Place Winner – Free Fighting Division, Black Belt Men Over 200 Lbs.; Challenge of Champions XII (Open Tournament).

masks: Hawkins Hawkins Eldridge Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Hawkins Eldridge Hawkins


title: Eldridge Hawkins Jr.

texts:
 Senior Instructor, Baker's Red Iron Dragon Fusion Kenpo Academy
 Life Member – New Jersey Police Honor Legion
 President of the New Jersey Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) and founder of the Orange-Essex Jaycees, the first chapter in a New Jersey urban community
 Member, 2012 Congressional Redistricting Commission (<mask> was appointed but then removed before redistricting began). Selected by Ebony Magazine in 2009 as an “Outstanding Young American Leader.”
 Member, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity
 Chairman, Orange Democratic Committee. Member, Maplewood & Oranges Chapter, NAACP. Master Mason, Bethel Lodge No. 10, F & AM - PHA Orange, NJ
 Youth Role Model Award – National Association of Negro Business & Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. Articles and publications
.Official Municipal Accomplishments of <mask> <mask>, Jr.
“Orange attracting shoppers and keeping businesses downtown”. NJ Municipalities. NJ League of Municipalities January 2010. Accessed March 25, 2011
“New development turns Orange into green”. Enterprise Magazine, NJ Chamber of Commerce, October 2010. Accessed March 25, 2011
“The towns need more powers on arbitration and civil service”. Orange Transcript November 2, 2010.Accessed March 25, 2011
"Innovation continues in Orange”. NJ Municipalities NJ League of Municipalities December 2010. Accessed March 25, 2011
. Election shocker in Orange: Mayor ousted after first term despite fierce re-election campaign
. Orange Mayor <mask> <mask> fighting crime, but also battling critics and lawsuits
. Essex County election results: Montclair, Orange get new mayors
. Winners and Losers: Municipal Elections Edition
."Official Website of <mask> <mask>, Jr.

References

1979 births
Living people
New Jersey Democrats
People from West Orange, New Jersey
African-American mayors in New Jersey
Mayors of Orange, New Jersey
Rider University alumni
Thomas Edison State University alumni
21st-century African-American

masks: Hawkins Eldridge Hawkins Eldridge Hawkins Eldridge Hawkins


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: <mask>, Jr. (born August 19, 1935) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he formed a top double play combination with fellow Yankee infielders Clete Boyer and Tony Kubek. He became the only World Series Most Valuable Player to be selected from the losing team when he won the award for his play in the 1960 World Series. In 1962, he led the American League (AL) in hits with 209 and snared a line drive off the bat of Willie McCovey to win the 1962 World Series for the Yankees. Born in Sumter, South Carolina, <mask> grew up desiring to play for the Yankees after seeing the 1942 film The Pride of the Yankees. Drawing interest from 11 out of 16 MLB teams, he signed with the Yankees and made his debut for them two years later.Earning a regular spot on the roster in 1957, <mask> reached his first All-Star Game that year. He lost starts at second base to Gil McDougald later in the year, though, and was mostly a reserve player in 1958. It was not until 1959 that he would become a regular at second base. In 1960, he was named the World Series MVP; though the Yankees lost the Series in seven games to the Pittsburgh Pirates, <mask> batted .367 with 12 runs batted in (RBI). He won the next two World Series, ending the 1962 series by catching McCovey's line drive in what The Sporting News called baseball's 13th most memorable play in 1999. <mask> led the AL in hits that year, with 209. From 1961 to 1965, <mask> won five straight Gold Glove

masks:
Robert Clinton Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 Awards at second base.He played in the All-Star Game every year from 1962 through 1966. In 1963, he won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, and he played in the World Series in 1963 and 1964. His last two years in the major leagues, he had 164 and 153 hits, respectively. Though only 31 after the 1966 season, <mask> retired to spend more time with his family. The Yankees held a special day for him towards the end of the season, making <mask> the 10th Yankee to be so honored. After his playing career, <mask> coached college teams for several years. He led the University of South Carolina to its first College World Series in 1975 and laid the groundwork for their later success.In 1986, he led Coastal Carolina University's baseball team to a Big South Conference championship, and he coached at Liberty University from 1987 through 1990. <mask> ran for the United States House of Representatives in South Carolina's 5th congressional district as a Republican in 1976 but lost to incumbent Kenneth Holland. A Christian, <mask> was involved in many Christian organizations during and after his career. He spoke at the White House in 1970 as a representative of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, appeared in five Billy Graham Crusades, and frequently speaks at churches and other organizations. Early life
<mask> was the middle child of Robert Sr. and <mask> of Sumter, South Carolina. He had two sisters, Inez (older) and Willie Ann (younger). Richardson Marble and Granite Works in Sumter was managed by Robert Sr., who also owned some of the interest in the company.Ever since seeing Pride of

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Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Debbie Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 the Yankees, released in 1942, <mask> had dreamed of playing for the New York Yankees. Growing up, he practiced his baseball skills with Harry Stokes, a boy in his neighborhood seven years his senior who would play catch with him. <mask> played on a local YMCA/Salvation Army team at the age of ten. Later, he played on ballclubs sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club and American Legion. On the American Legion team, <mask>'s coach was Fred Hutchinson, who would later manage the Cincinnati Reds when <mask> faced them in the 1961 World Series. Hutchinson and <mask> became American Legion champions in 1952, <mask>'s junior year of high school. Hutchinson also coached Richardson at Edmunds High School.The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Georgia Tech University offered <mask> baseball scholarships, and 11 out of 16 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams showed interest in him as well. Mayo Smith, manager of the Norfolk Tars, a team in the Class B Piedmont League and an affiliate of the New York Yankees, scouted <mask> for New York, as did Bill Harris. Ultimately, <mask> decided to forgo college and sign with the Yankees out of high school (though he later earned a degree in accounting). Career

1953-56: Playing in the minor leagues, debuting with the Yankees
<mask> started his minor league career in 1953 with the Norfolk Tars of the Class B Piedmont League, travelling by bus to Norfolk from Sumter with $85 in coins friends and family had given him. After <mask> batted just .211 in his first 27 games with the Tars, the Yankees assigned him to a Class D team, the Olean

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: Yankees of the PONY League. With Olean, he batted .412 in 32 games and hit his first home run. In 1954, <mask> was promoted, heading up to the Class A Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern League without having to return to Norfolk.Spending the whole year in Binghamton, he ranked among the Eastern League leaders in games (141, tied for first), runs (81, fifth), hits (171, first), doubles (29, second to Clyde Parris's 40), and batting average (.310, second to Parris's .313). For his contributions, <mask> was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player (MVP). <mask> spent most of spring training with the Yankees in 1955 but was sent to the Class AAA Denver Bears of the American Association to start the year. In 119 games with the Bears, he batted .296 with 146 hits, 99 runs scored, 21 doubles, 12 triples, six home runs, and 59 RBI. When Gil McDougald found himself on the receiving end of a line drive during batting practice in August 1955, the Yankees called up <mask>. He debuted on August 5, 1955, getting his first hit against Hall of Famer Jim Bunning in a 3–0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. In the field, he was a "nervous wreck" as he later described, but no balls were hit to him.He started four games at second base in three days (including an August 7 doubleheader), then entered three games in the late innings at shortstop before getting sent to the minor leagues on August 15 to make room for a pitcher returning from the disabled list. For some reason, he was sent to the Richmond Virginians of the Class AAA International League this time, with whom he finished the

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 season. Called up again in September, he appeared in four more games for the Yankees before the end of the year. In 1956, <mask> started the season with the Yankees. However, he only appeared in five games for them, batting .143 before getting sent back to Denver May 13. With the Bears, he ranked among the American Association leaders in batting average (.328, third), runs scored (102, sixth), hits (175, fourth), doubles (30, ninth), and triples (12, tied with Willie Kirkland for second behind Larry Raines's 14). 1957-59: Becoming a full-time player
<mask> made the team in 1957 and soon took over the second base job from Billy Martin.The Yankees' volatile infielder had injured himself in a deliberate golf cart collision with Mickey Mantle in spring training, then caused further trouble by getting into a highly publicized brawl at the Copacabana Club in May before getting traded to the Kansas City Athletics in June. <mask> proved a quieter sort of character, if not a great hitter in 1957; manager Casey Stengel said, "Look at him. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, he doesn't chew, he doesn't stay out late, and he still can't hit .250." His fielding was better; Louis Effrat of The New York Times wrote June 25, "He has thrilled the fans with his great stops and catches... no one gets rid of the ball quicker [on double plays]." Actually, <mask>'s .331 average trailed only Mantle among the Yankees on June 25, and he made his first appearance in the All-Star Game that year. However, he batted .188 over the rest of the year, finishing the season with a .256 mark and 78 hits in


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: 305 at bats. By September, <mask> was losing a lot of starts to Jerry Coleman at second base.Even so, Stengel waited until the last minute to decide whether Coleman or <mask> would start at second base in the 1957 World Series against the Milwaukee Braves. Ultimately, Stengel chose Coleman, who started all seven games for the Yankees as <mask> was limited to two appearances as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. The Yankees lost the Series in seven games. Coleman retired following the 1957 season, and <mask> began 1958 as the Yankees' starting second baseman. After batting .203 through the Yankees' first 18 games, he missed 20 in a row as McDougald began getting the starts at second. <mask> started at second from June 5 through June 12 but thereafter spent most of the season on the bench until September, when he again got a few starts at second base. In 73 games (182 at bats), he batted .247 with 18 runs scored and 45 hits.<mask> considered quitting baseball that season because of his struggles, but Ralph Houk, the Yankees' general manager and <mask>'s former manager at Denver, convinced him to keep playing. In the 1958 World Series, again against the Braves, <mask> finished three games for the Yankees at third base and also started Game 4 at third, though he was hitless in two at bats before getting pinch-hit for in the seventh by Elston Howard. However, he became a World Series champion for the first time, as this year the Yankees defeated the Braves in seven games. <mask> began 1959 as the Yankees' shortstop; Effrat wrote, "[<mask>] is a tremendous fielder no

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: matter where [the Yankees] play him." He moved to second base on April 18 after McDougald suffered cracked knuckles, then returned to shortstop on April 29 when McDougald returned to the lineup. Only batting .232 through the season's first twenty games, he was benched after May 5 in favor of Tony Kubek. Bill Dickey, the hitting coach for the Yankees, worked with <mask> to improve his hitting.In 1959, <mask> switched to a heavier bat and tried swinging harder at pitches. Given the chance to start at second base again in mid-June, <mask> raised his batting average from .232 to .300 over six games with 11 hits in 18 at bats. He was on the roster for the second All-Star Game of the year and remained the starting second baseman the rest of the season. On July 25, 1959, <mask> and Fritz Brickell both hit their first major league home runs, <mask>'s coming against Paul Foytack in a 9–8 victory over the Tigers. Batting .298 coming into the final game of the year, <mask> was the only Yankee with a chance at hitting .300. Stengel promised to remove him from the game if he got a hit in his first at bat (moving his batting average to .300). <mask> flew out to Albie Pearson in his first at bat but got hits in his next two at bats to move his average to .301, then was pinch-hit for in the eighth, preserving the mark.In 134 games (469 at bats), he had 53 runs scored, 141 hits, 18 doubles, six triples, two home runs (both against Foytack), and 33 RBI. His .301 average topped the Yankees and ranked sixth in the American League (AL), and he finished 18th in AL Most Valuable Player (MVP)

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 voting after the season. 1960-62: Starring in the World Series
In 1960, <mask> remained the Yankees' starting second baseman all season. On April 30, June 30, and July 18, he had a season-high three hits. One of those hits on April 30 was his only home run of the year, against Arnie Portocarrero, in a 16–0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. With the Yankees and Athletics tied 7–7 on May 6, <mask> singled against Bob Trowbridge, stole second base, moved to third on a groundout by Ryne Duren, then scored the winning run on a single by McDougald. Batting .208 through June 17, he hit .370 from June 18 through July 23, raising his season average to .273.Thereafter, he batted .215 to finish the year with a .252 mark. In 150 games (460 at bats), he had 45 runs scored, 116 hits, 12 doubles, three triples, and 26 RBI. The Yankees faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960 World Series. <mask> went hitless in Game 1 but contributed three in Game 2, scoring three runs as well as the Yankees won 16–3. In Game 3, he came to bat in the first inning with the bases loaded against Clem Labine. Third base coach Frank Crosetti signaled him to bunt, but after running the count to two strikes, <mask> cancelled the plan. He remained at the plate long enough to run the at bat to a full count, then hit a grand slam to put the Yankees ahead 6–0.Up to bat with the bases loaded again in the fourth inning, he had a two-RBI single against Red Witt. His six RBI set a new record for most in a single World Series game. In Game 4, he had two hits and drove in another run, but the Yankees lost this one 3–2.


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: After going hitless in Game 5, he hit two triples in Game 6, drove in three runs, and scored one in the Yankees' 12–0 rout of the Pirates to force Game 7. He scored a run in the sixth inning, led off the ninth with a single against Harvey Haddix, and scored another run, but New York lost the game 10–9. Though Pittsburgh second baseman Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to win the Series for Pittsburgh, it was <mask> who would be named the World Series MVP after hitting .367 with 12 RBI. He is both the only World Series MVP who played primarily second base and the only MVP who was playing for the losing team when he won the award.Sport Magazine gave him a new Corvette for his efforts. Since he had a growing family, <mask> traded the car for a Chevrolet station wagon. Houk took over from Stengel as the Yankee manager in 1961; he inserted <mask> either first or second into the batting order each game. On June 15, he had three hits and four RBI, including a three-run home run against Johnny Antonelli as the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 11–5. He had four RBI again in the second game of a doubleheader on July 9, including a three-run home run against Don Schwall, but the Yankees lost that game 9–6 to the Boston Red Sox. On August 17, he had three hits and scored three runs in a 5–3 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees lost 6–4 to the Los Angeles Angels on August 26, but <mask> had five hits in the game.Playing all 162 games for the Yankees, <mask> batted .261 with 80 runs scored, 17 doubles, five triples, three home runs, and 49

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: RBI. His 662 at bats were third in the AL (behind Brooks Robinson's 668 and Jake Wood's 663), and his 173 hits were fifth in the league. Defensively, he led the AL with 413 putouts and 136 double plays assisted in. <mask> finished 24th in MVP voting and won the Gold Glove at second base, the first of five straight he would win at the position. <mask> had no RBI in the 1961 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds but did bat .391, with nine hits in 23 at bats. He had three hits apiece in Games 1 and 4. In Game 4, he led off the seventh inning with a single against Jim Brosnan, advanced to second when Vada Pinson misplayed the ball, moved to third base on a wild pitch by Brosnan, and scored on a single by Héctor López as the Yankees won 7–0.The Yankees defeated the Reds in five games, making <mask> a World Series champion for the second time. On June 9, 1962, against the Orioles, <mask> had four hits, including a two-run home run against Steve Barber that tied the game at two in the seventh; the Yankees went on to win 7–3. He was selected to both of the All-Star Games in 1962. With the Yankees trailing the Minnesota Twins 7–4 in the ninth inning on August 16, 1962, at Metropolitan Stadium, <mask> came up to the plate with the bases loaded. Before the at bat, Mantle told him, "See if you can hit one out. I'm not feeling too good today." <mask> hit a home run to left field against Dick Stigman, the only grand slam of his career besides his one in the 1960 World Series.Though the hit put the Yankees ahead 8–7, they would lose the lead in the bottom of the ninth and lose in

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: extra innings. Two days later, he had three hits and two runs scored, including a three-run home run against Orlando Peña in an 11–7 victory over the Athletics. Against the Washington Senators on September 19, he had four hits, two runs scored, and an RBI in an 8–5 victory. Len Pasculi of the Society for American Baseball Research called 1962 his most productive year, as he batted .302 with eight home runs, 59 RBI, and 11 stolen bases in 161 games. He led the AL in hits (209) and at bats (692). <mask> also ranked among the league leaders in runs scored (99, tied for fourth with Carl Yastrzemski), batting average (.302, seventh), and doubles (38, fourth). He finished second to Mantle in AL MVP voting.The Yankees faced the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series. <mask> batted a mere .148 in this Series, though he did have two hits and two runs scored in the Yankees' 5–3 triumph of Game 5. However, his glove would provide one of the most famous memories of the series. In Game 7, the Yankees had the only run of the game going into the bottom of the ninth inning, needing three outs to win the series. Matty Alou led off with a single, however, and after two strikeouts, Mays doubled to put the tying run (Alou) at third with future Hall of Famer Willie McCovey coming to bat. If Mays scored, the Giants would win the series. McCovey hit a screaming line drive up the middle which likely would have scored both runs had it made it out of the infield.Hardly moving from his position, <mask> snared the ball for the third out, winning the Series for the Yankees. "People often

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 suggest that I was out of position on that play," <mask> remembered later. "But McCovey hit two hard ground balls to me earlier in the Series, so I played where I thought he would hit the ball." McCovey still had bad memories of it years later. "I broke in with a 4-for-4 my rookie year against a Hall of Fame pitcher, Robin Roberts," he recalled. "I hit more grand slams [18] than anybody in National League history. I hit more home runs [521] than any lefthanded hitter in the National League.But that out is what many people remember about me....I would rather be remembered as the guy who hit the ball six inches over <mask>'s head." Sporting News ranked the catch the 13th most memorable moment in baseball history in 1999, and Charles Schulz famously referenced it in a Peanuts comic strip, where Charlie Brown yells, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" 1963-66: Extending his streaks

On April 23, 1963, <mask> had three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored in a 7–6 victory over the Senators. His father suffered a stroke in May, then died on July 17. <mask> missed 11 games during the year visiting him and helping get his affairs in order. He had a season high of four hits in a game twice in quick succession, on July 4 in the first game of a doubleheader and on July 6. He again represented the Yankees in the All-Star Game.On September 5, he singled against Steve Ridzik, stole second base, and scored on a Roger Maris hit due to an error by shortstop Ed Brinkman to tie a game with the Senators at 2 in the sixth inning. The Yankees went on to win 3–2 in 12

masks:
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Bobby Richardson
Richardson
Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: innings. After setting a career high with eight home runs the year before, <mask> hit three in 1963, all in Yankee losses. In 151 games, <mask> batted .265 with 72 runs scored and 48 RBI. He led the league in at bats (630) for the second year in a row, finished seventh with 167 hits and tied three other players for seventh with 15 stolen bases. <mask> again garnered AL MVP votes, finishing tenth this time. He won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, given by Gehrig's Columbia University fraternity to the major leaguer who best demonstrates Gehrig's character.In Game 1 of the 1963 World Series, which the Los Angeles Dodgers swept in four games, <mask> struck out three times against Sandy Koufax—his only three-strikeout game in 1,448 regular-season/World Series games. (Koufax would finish with 15 strikeouts, then a World Series single-game record.) Just that regular season, <mask> had struck out only 22 times in 630 at-bats. He had a mere three hits in the World Series but played each game; <mask> had now played in 23 straight World Series games dating back to 1960. On May 10, 1964, <mask> had five hits and scored three runs in a 12–2 victory over the Indians. Less than a month later, he had five hits on June 4 in a 9–7 victory over the Twins. He picked up his 1,000th hit on June 12 with a line drive to left field against Frank Baumann in a 6–1 victory over the White Sox in the first game of a doubleheader.The hit had proved difficult to come by for <mask>, who had put the ball in play seven times in his last two games without reaching base safely. Once again, he was selected to

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: the All-Star Game. In the first game of a doubleheader on July 26, he had three hits, including a two-RBI single against Mickey Lolich and a solo home run against Terry Fox in an 11–6 victory over the Tigers. In 159 games, he batted .267 with four home runs, 50 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. For the third year in the row, he led the AL in at bats with 679. He also led the league with 148 singles, ranked third in the league with 181 hits (behind Tony Oliva's 217 and B. Robinson's 294), and tied Bob Allison for ninth in the AL with 90 runs scored. He finished 17th in AL MVP voting after the season.In the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, <mask> set a World Series record with 13 hits; this record has since been tied by Lou Brock and Marty Barrett in the 1968 and 1986 World Series, respectively. However, batting against Cardinal ace Bob Gibson with the Yankees trailing 7–5 in the ninth inning of Game 7, he popped out to Dal Maxvill for the final out of the Series. <mask> also had the dubious distinction of committing errors that affected the outcome of two games in the Series. In the sixth inning of Game 4, he mishandled Dick Groat's ground ball for a double play that would have ended the inning with no runs scoring; the error was followed one batter later by Ken Boyer's grand slam—the four runs the Cardinals needed in defeating the Yankees 4–3. In the fifth inning of Game 5, he bobbled Curt Flood's double play ground ball, which also would have ended that inning without any damage. The Cardinals eventually scored twice in the inning, then won the game 5–2 on Tim

masks: Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: McCarver's 10th inning, three-run home run. This was <mask>'s final (of seven) World Series; he played all 30 World Series games from 1960 through 1964.On May 24, 1965, he had three hits, drove in two runs, and scored two more times in a 15–5 victory over Cleveland. After hitting into a fielder's choice on June 15, <mask> stole second base, then scored on a Maris single to put the Yankees up 1–0; however, the Yankees would lose the game 2–1 in the 10th inning. He was selected to the All-Star Game once again. On July 17, he had four hits and scored twice in a 5–4 victory over Washington. Five days later, his home run against Gary Peters put the Yankees ahead to stay in a 2–1 victory over the White Sox. On August 8, Ray Barker and <mask> hit back-to-back home runs against Denny McLain in a 6–5 victory over the Tigers. In 160 games, <mask> batted .247 with 76 runs scored, 164 hits, 28 doubles, six home runs, and 47 RBI.He finished 20th in AL MVP voting. <mask> had three hits and scored three times on May 25 in an 11–6 victory over the Angels. He hit a three-run double against Tommy John on June 2 to turn a 3–2 deficit into a 5–3 lead for the Yankees, who defeated the White Sox. Five days later, he had three hits, three runs scored, and three RBI, including a home run against John O'Donoghue in a 7–2 victory over the Indians. On June 29, he had five hits, one of which was a home run against Rollie Sheldon and was followed by two more by Mantle and Joe Pepitone in a 6–5 victory over the Red Sox. <mask> made the All-Star Game for the fifth year in a row, his seventh and final


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 selection. He had four hits on August 15, including a home run against Lolich, as the Yankees defeated the Tigers 6–5.On September 11, he hit his last major league home run against John Wyatt in the 10th inning of a 4–2 victory over the Red Sox. He played in his final game on October 2, recording a hit and an RBI in a 2–0 victory over the White Sox. In 149 games, he batted .251 with 71 runs scored, 153 hits, 21 doubles, seven home runs, and 42 RBI. Though he was just 31 following the 1966 season, <mask> retired following the year. He had decided to retire after the 1965 season, but the Yankees convinced him to play one more season since Kubek had to retire due to injuries after the 1965 season. “I wanted to take the kids to school, help them with homework and watch or help coach their teams,” he explained. The Yankees honored him by declaring September 17 "Bobby Richardson Day," making <mask> the tenth Yankee to be honored at the stadium with a special day.“How lucky it has been for me to have been a Yankee. To God be the glory," he said to the fans. Legacy
<mask> racked up 1,432 hits in his career, with a lifetime batting average of .266, 34 home runs and 390 RBIs. Over his 12-year major league career, he scored 643 runs and stole 73 stolen bases. He also had 196 doubles and 37 triples. Defensively, he had an all-time fielding percentage of .979 at second base, and six seasons with 100 or more double plays turned. From 1961 to 1965, <mask> won five straight Gold Gloves at second base (not until Robinson Canó in 2010 would another Yankee second baseman win a Gold Glove)


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 while forming a top double play combination with shortstop and roommate Kubek.With the light-hitting but superb-fielding Yankee third baseman Clete Boyer, <mask> and Kubek gave the Yankees arguably the best defensive infield in baseball in the early 1960s. <mask> was also known for his ability to make contact. He struck out just 243 times, less than 5% of his plate appearances. A leadoff hitter who rarely missed a game, <mask> led the league in at bats three times. Following Martin's trade, he wore the uniform number 1 for the majority of his career (1958–1966). He led the league in at bats per strikeout three times during his career, 1964–1966. A skilled bunter, he led the league in sacrifice hits in 1962 and 1964.Despite the raw totals, <mask> was a poor offensive player when measured by sabermetrics. Since he rarely walked, his career OBP was .299, and since he had little power, his career slugging percentage was only .335. Every year from 1961-1966 he finished in the top five in the American League in outs made, leading the league four of those six years. As Bill James remarked, "<mask>, frankly, was a horrible leadoff man. He rarely got on base and almost never got into scoring position. Leading off for the 1961 Yankees, playing 162 games and batting 662 times, with 237 home runs coming up behind him, <mask> scored only 80 runs. 80.Eight-zero...Plus <mask> used up a zillion outs while he was not scoring runs." Only once, in 1962, which was <mask>'s best year, was his OPS+ over 100, and his career OPS+ was only 77. Coaching
In the late 1960s, Paul Dietzel asked <mask>

masks: Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts: if he would become the head baseball coach for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. <mask> told him no twice, as he was under a personal services contract with the Yankees. However, after Dietzel asked him a third time, <mask> secured permission from the Yankees to take the job, assuming the role in 1970. He would often pitch batting practice and drive the team bus for events. <mask> also tried to perform recruiting for the school but delegated the responsibility to others after he figured out "I wasn't going after the good players."Under <mask>, Larry Keith of Sports Illustrated wrote, "South Carolina rarely bunts, often hits-and-runs and is always looking for the big inning." <mask> led the Gamecocks to their first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament appearance in 1974, which set the stage for what would happen a year later in 1975 when South Carolina posted a 51–6–1 record and made the College World Series for the first time ever. They advanced all the way to the national championship game against Texas before losing 5–1 to the Longhorns. <mask> left South Carolina after the 1976 season, finishing his tenure with a 221–92–1 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Dennis Brunson of The Item said of <mask>'s contributions, "<mask> had laid the groundwork for a program that would participate in the regionals in nine of the first 13 years under [new head coach [June] Raines and would play in the CWS four times." In the 1980s, <mask> served as the baseball coach for two seasons (1985–86) at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 Carolina, where he compiled a record of (61–38) and led the team to the Big South Conference championship in 1986. After the 1986 season, he resigned as head coach at Coastal Carolina to replace Al Worthington as the baseball coach at Liberty University."I came here as athletic director under a different administration and [Chancellor] Ron [Eaglin] felt I should resign as athletic director and focus on baseball," <mask> explained the decision to resign, with Eaglin saying the two had disagreed on a budget for the next season. Worthington, who had become Liberty's athletic director, served as pitching coach under <mask>, who coached the Flames for the next four seasons before retiring in 1990. Head coaching record

1976 political campaign
In 1974, Nixon tried to convince <mask> to run as a Republican for the United States House of Representatives in South Carolina's 5th congressional district. Later, a private poll indicated he would have been the favorite had he run. Two years later, President Gerald Ford convinced <mask> to resign from his coaching position at the University of South Carolina to run for the seat. <mask> lost to incumbent Democrat Kenneth Holland by a narrow margin. Holland was aided by the strength of Jimmy Carter's winning campaign in South Carolina to hold off <mask> by a tally of 66,073 (51.4%) to 62,095 (48.3%).His campaign was supported by former baseball players Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, and Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell among others, though former roommate Kubek declined to campaign for him because Kubek was a Democrat. Personal


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 life
Betsy Dobson, <mask>'s future spouse, met him at Grace Baptist Church of Sumter. In 1954, they went to a miniature golf course on their first date. Two years later, they were married. In an unusual move, Houk granted <mask> permission to leave the Denver Bears midseason to get married. The couple had three sons–Robbie (born 7/2/57), Ron (7/13/58), and Rich (8/27/68)–and two daughters–Christie (12/30/60) and Jeannie (1/21/64). In 1960, the <mask>s were renting a house in Ridgewood, New Jersey.They lived in Sumter during the offseason, where <mask> was a general secretary for the local Young Men's Christian Association and host for a radio sports show. Hunting is one of his favorite hobbies. He and teammate <mask> went gun shopping together in Kansas City in 1959, and fellow major-leaguer Billy O'Dell used to hunt with him in the offseason. His roommates when travelling with the Yankees at various times included Kubek and Shantz. <mask> is a Christian. During his time with the Yankees, he would organize church services for the team when they were travelling. Friend and teammate Mickey Mantle described him as a "clean-living, practicing Christian."He was involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and the American Tract Society (ATS) during his career, as well as many charities. After his career, he continued to be involved with those organizations. He served as the president of the Baseball Chapel for 10 years, served on the President's Council for Physical Fitness, and earned the Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International. President Richard Nixon,

masks:
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Bobby Shantz
Richardson


title: Bobby Richardson

texts:
 who hosted church services at the White House each week of his presidency, invited the FCA to speak on October 18, 1970. One of four representatives, <mask> spoke on Jesus and the rich young man from Mark, Chapter 10. Concerning the young man's search for guidance, <mask> said, "He didn't go to India and ask a guru; he didn't get caught up in the younger generation, but he went to God's son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, with his question.” He has spoken at five Billy Graham Crusades, as well as at various churches. <mask> is a speaker with Christian Speakers 360, available to appear at events.Several of his Yankee teammates requested that he preside at their funerals, most notably Mickey Mantle. Speaking to an audience of 2,000 (plus television viewers) at Mantle's interment, <mask> said there were two types of people in this world, those who said yes to Christ and those who said no. Shortly before Mantle's death, as <mask> had visited Mantle in a Dallas hospital, Mantle had told <mask> that he had become a Christian. In 1965, <mask> released his autobiography, The <mask> Story. The story became a movie in 1968. Excerpts from the film's audio track were available on an LP record titled: The <mask> Story: The Exciting First-Person Account of His Own Life, By the Yankees' Famous Second Baseman. He released a new autobiography in 2012 called Impact Player.See also
List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise

Notes

References

External links

1935 births
Living people
Major League Baseball second basemen
New York Yankees players
New

masks:
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Richardson
Bobby Richardson
Bobby Richardson


title: Rose Pizzo

texts:
<mask> (born Easter 1932) is an Italian American author. She wrote the autobiography Growing Up Deaf with the help of her friend Judy Jonas, which tells her the story of her life as a Deaf woman. This book was self-published through Xlibris. She is a prominent member of the Deaf Community and has won many awards for her efforts including the Fred Schreiber Golden Hands award. Early life
<mask> was born in Queens, New York, in 1932 during the Great Depression. She has an older sister by 13 months named Frances and a younger brother named Vincent. After her birth, her family moved from Queens to New Dorp, Staten Island because her parents could no longer afford to live in the city.However, her father had a shoemaking business in Queens and because the commute became too difficult, the family moved back to Queens for a short time. They moved to Corona and eventually settled in East Elmhurst. She was born to a hearing family and though she did not become Deaf until age three, she has no recollection of hearing. She was sent to a mainstream kindergarten where she had no means of communication and was held back for two years. Then at age 8, she attended a public school for the deaf in Manhattan called P.S. 47. It was there that <mask> first learned American Sign Language although the curriculum taught at P.S.47 focused on writing and lip-reading skills and discouraged sign language, she picked it up from her peers. After P.S. 47, she attended Mabel Deaf Vocational High School, which was a mainstream program. No services were provided for <mask> in the form of an interpreter or note taker so she was forced to lip-read in all her classes. She was able to pass by studying hard but eventually focused her studies in the vocational part of the school and studied sewing and dress-making. <mask>'s first job out of high school was as a sewing machine operator where she worked for two years although she hated the job. She then worked as a Data Entry Operator for many years.In 1978 she was one of the first students to attend

masks:
Rose Pizzo
Rose Pizzo
Pizzo
Pizzo
Career Rose


title: Rose Pizzo

texts:
 the Adult Basic Education Program for the Deaf in Fair Lawn and received her high school equivalency diploma. After she graduated, she became a teacher's aide at the same school and held the position for over twenty years. She has also taught American Sign Language to hearing adults at the Fair Lawn Community School since the mid 80's. <mask> has been an active member of the North Jersey Community Center for the Deaf (NJCCD) and served on their Women's Auxiliary Group. She was appointed by the Governor to serve on the NJ Division of the Deaf Advisory Council. <mask> also became very involved with the Union County College interpreting program and helped many students improve their interpreting skills. As a result, she was present with the Claudia Parson's Award by UCC for involvement in the Deaf community.She is also the recipient of the Fred Schreiber Golden Hands award. Personal life
<mask> first met her husband <mask> when she was 7 years old on the bus going to their school for the Deaf P.S. 47. Their first date was not until 1950 when she was 18 and he was 24 and they were married on June 8, 1952. Vincent also was raised by hearing parents but unlike <mask>, many of his siblings are also Deaf. They raised 3 children in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Their oldest child Nancy was born in Barnet Hospital in 1956.Their daughter Karen was born in 1958 and their son Paul was born in 1962. They also have three grandchildren named Michelle, Vinnie, and Dominic. Growing Up Deaf (autobiography)
<mask> was encouraged to write a book about her life by her daughter-in-law Linda, who was fascinated with <mask>'s life as well as Deaf Culture. She originally struggled while writing the book in English because American Sign Language is her native language. To solve this problem, she asked her friend and founder of the Adult Basic Education Program for the Deaf in Fair Lawn, Judy Jonas for help. <mask> told her story to Judy who interpreted it onto an audio tape. The tape was them transcribed and Judy edited and translated it into

masks:
Pizzo
Pizzo
Rose Pizzo
Vincent Pizzo
Rose
Rose Pizzo
Rose
Rose


title: Rose Pizzo

texts:
 English.The book begins by talking about <mask>'s life growing up and childhood memory such as the story her Aunt away told about her birth, vacations her family took, and holidays. The book also describes her education growing up and her lack of language until she attended a school for the Deaf. In fact
<mask> did not even know her own name until she attended this school at age 8. When she was attending a hearing kinder garden, <mask> describes how she had no communication and was picked on by other students. She goes into detail about the communication issues she faced throughout her entire life. Such as asking a family member question about what was going on and either getting a summary of the information or told nothing at all; like when one of her favorite cousins died. When she began her education at a Deaf school <mask> described the experience as “the beginning of my life as a Deaf Person” (Pizzo).American Sign Language was forbidden at this school and hands were slapped for signing but she learned from other students and from the first time had access to real communication. The book also includes several stories of her friend's family's rejections of ASL. <mask>'s parents never had a problem with ASL although they were ignorant of the Deaf world and she was forced to wear hearing aids. The book also provides cultural information about Deaf people, such as the importance of name signs and how they are chosen as well as explaining the benefits TTY's and captioning had on the Deaf community. References
 McCain, Michael. (2009)Self Published Release Reveals an Author's Struggle Deafness in a Hearing World. Lee Stringer: Writing Resources and Tips.Miscia, Anthony. (2004)“Deaf Presenter Shares Story of her Life”. The Signal. <mask>, <mask>. (2002)Growing up Deaf: Issues of Communication in a Hearing World. 2011 ASDC Conference Presenters. 1932 births
Living people
People from Queens, New York
American women writers
Deaf writers
Deaf activists
Deaf people from the United States
21st-century American

masks: Rose Rose Rose Rose Rose Pizzo Rose


title: Maxx Payne

texts:
Darryl Peterson (born October 3, 1961) is an American musician, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling as <mask>, and in the World Wrestling Federation as Man Mountain Rock. Career
Peterson became involved in wrestling in grade school when he transferred from football to amateur wrestling as result of a personality clash with the football coach. His amateur career was halted by a motorcycle accident in his junior year of high school. After playing a high school wrestler in the film Take Down with Lorenzo Lamas, Peterson married and had a child. He began working in the construction industry, but decided after two years to return to amateur wrestling. Peterson earned wrestling scholarships to junior college and then to Iowa State University, competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).In 1985 he was an All-American, placed fifth in the NCAA competition and also won the Gorriarian award for having the most falls in the least amount of time at the tournament. Every match he won that year at the NCAA's, he won by fall. It was his best and only NCAA finish. Then he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. While working as a security guard, he was introduced to professional wrestler Red Bastien by his boss, and decided to train with him. Early career
Peterson worked for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in March 1986, and put together the steel cage used in the main event of WrestleMania 2. With his training complete, he debuted in June 1987 and soon after traveled to Japan to work for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he trained in the New Japan Dojo alongside fellow gaijin Chris Benoit for five months.In 1988, Peterson developed the character Max Pain (short for "Maximum Pain"), a sinister, grungy, Jimi Hendrix-loving heavy metal guitarist. His original idea was <mask>, but he felt that this was too foreboding. He used the name <mask>, hailing from Hell's

masks:
Maxx Payne
Lucifer Payne
Max Payne


title: Maxx Payne

texts:
 Kitchen, New York nationally in the United States as well as in Europe and Japan. Following a short stint with the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), Pain debuted in the Tennessee-based Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). He quickly began pursuing the CWA Heavyweight Championship, and on February 8, 1988 in Memphis he defeated Jerry Lawler to win the championship. He then went after Lawler's AWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was unable to win the title. He forfeited the CWA Championship to Brickhouse Brown on May 23, but won the title once more on June 27.His second reign ended on July 10 when he was defeated by Phil Hickerson. Pain left the CWA after a year before returning to Utah, where he opened his own promotion, featuring wrestlers such as Louie Spicolli. He also made an appearance under his real name as a jobber on a February 1989 episode of WWF Prime Time Wrestling, losing to Bret Hart. After his employees began to leave the territory, Peterson applied for a job with WordPerfect. Soon after, he received a phone call from Benoit, who invited him to join an upcoming tour of Germany. Peterson received his plane ticket to Germany half an hour before he received a job offer from WordPerfect, so decided to join the tour. He spent six months in the German Catch Wrestling Association as Heavy Metal Buffalo, and won the vacant CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship on October 25, 1992, defeating Giant Haystacks.He then successfully defended the title against The Warlord at Euro Catch Festival on December 19. He vacated the title the following year when he returned to the United States. World Championship Wrestling (1993–1994)
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) booker Bill Watts was impressed by Peterson's amateur credentials, and hired him in 1993, with Peterson relocating to Marietta, Georgia. Peterson made his televised debut in WCW as the villain <mask> <mask> on the January 30, 1993 episode of Worldwide by defeating local competitor

masks: Maxx Payne


title: Maxx Payne

texts: Scott Allen. Peterson's first pay-per-view match was at SuperBrawl III, where he played Taps on his guitar before challenging Dustin Rhodes for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, substituting for the injured Ron Simmons. After Rhodes locked him in an abdominal stretch from which he was unable to escape, <mask> pushed the referee over rather than submit and was subsequently disqualified. At the June 17 Clash of the Champions XXIII, <mask> shot Johnny B. Badd in the face with a confetti gun, (kayfabe) scarring him so badly that he had to wear a mask and forcing him to forfeit their scheduled match.This led to a match at Beach Blast on July 18, which <mask> lost. They faced one another again at the August 18 Clash of the Champions XXIV in a mask versus guitar match, with <mask> putting his guitar on the line in order to unmask and therefore humiliate the mutilated Badd. Badd won once more and took <mask>'s guitar. <mask> took part in WCW's Jesse "The Body" Ventura Strong-Arm Tournament in late 1993, but was eliminated in the first round by Sid Vicious. On November 20, <mask> entered the Battlebowl, a tournament which saw randomly assigned tag team partners work together in order to progress to a battle royal. He was partnered with 2 Cold Scorpio, with whom he lost in the first round to Stunning Steve Austin and Ric Flair. <mask> later turned face and formed a tag team with Cactus Jack towards the end of the year.At Starrcade 1993 they defeated Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce, and at the January 27, 1994 Clash of the Champions XXVI, they defeated The Nasty Boys. They faced the Nasty Boys once more, this time for the WCW World Tag Team Championships, in a Chicago Street Fight at Spring Stampede 1994, but were defeated. During his and Jack's feud with The Nasty Boys, <mask> had become increasingly unhappy with their stiffness and insistence on controlling the match. During their brawl at SuperBrawl IV, Brian Knobbs and <mask> did not cooperate on a

masks: Payne Payne Payne Payne Payne Payne Payne Payne Payne Payne


title: Maxx Payne

texts:
 fall, and Knobbs broke his shoulder as a result. After the match, WCW President Eric Bischoff shouted at <mask> for hurting Knobbs, and <mask> responded in kind. As a result, he was subsequently buried. He was fired from WCW soon after, although he did help Jack and his new partner, Kevin Sullivan, defeat The Nasty Boys with a guitar shot.World Wrestling Federation (1995)
The morning after he was released by WCW, Peterson was contacted by wrestler Rick Rude, who convinced WWF owner Vince McMahon to hire him. Renamed Man Mountain Rock in honor of early-20th century wrestler Man Mountain Dean, his WWF character was considerably more upbeat and less gritty than the popular <mask> <mask> character, and did not achieve the same success. Debuting in February 1995 on an episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, Man Mountain Rock played a large electric guitar shaped like the WWF logo. He would come to the ring during a commercial, with the arena going pitch black and ring announcer Manny Garcia saying "Ladies and Gentleman, Man Mountain Rock!" He would then play his "axe" (electric guitar) while pyro went off. He would frequently state, "If it's too loud, then you're too old!" Vince McMahon, then a commentator, would often comment that Rock "rocked the house".In the latter part of his WWF tenure, his music incurred the wrath of veteran Bob Backlund, then playing the part of a cantankerous heel crusading against the younger generation, who objected to the music Man Mountain Rock was playing. Man Mountain Rock had suffered several injuries during his amateur career, and had hoped to secure a backstage position with WCW. When he moved to the WWF, he asked to be made an announcer, but his request was denied. His career in the WWF met with several disruptions, including a serious hernia, an addiction to pain pills and downers and a marijuana habit, which ultimately led to his release in October 1995. While working for the WWF, Peterson filmed several hours of

masks: Payne Payne Maxx Payne


title: Maxx Payne

texts:
 behind-the-scenes footage with a video camera which he often carried and claimed that he would release a documentary called The Thing that Should Not Be or The Real Maxx Payne based on the footage, but never did. The footage reportedly contained scenes showing substance abuse and solicitation. <mask> lawsuit
In July 2003, Peterson filed a $10 million lawsuit in the United States district court for Utah against Rockstar Games, 3D Realms, Gathering of Developers, and Remedy Entertainment, accusing them of stealing his ring name <mask> <mask> and his neo-noir theme for the protagonist of the video game <mask>.The case was settled out of court. Retirement
On April 17, 2004, Peterson addressed an audience in the Schubert Theater at the Western States College for the Performing Arts in Gooding, Idaho, talking about professional wrestling. Movies and television appearances
Take Down (1979) as "Ted Yacabobich"
Touched by an Angel (February 1, 1998) as "Cato"
A Town Has Turned to Dust (1998) as "Pig Iron"
Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012 (1998)
The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (1999) as "Muscle"
Touched by an Angel (January 9, 2000) as "Man #2"
Nobody's Baby (2001) as "Truck Driver"
Paradise (2004) as "XL"

Championships and accomplishments
Catch Wrestling Association
CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Continental Wrestling Association
CWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
CWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Gary Young
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Ranked No. 73 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1993

References

Footnotes

Sources

References

 Iowa State Wrestling Honors
 Iowa State NCAA Competition Results

External links

1961 births
American male film actors
American male professional wrestlers
American male television actors
Iowa State Cyclones wrestlers
Living people
Sportspeople from Salt Lake City
Sportspeople from Marietta, Georgia
Professional wrestlers from Utah
Musicians from Marietta, Georgia
American male writers
Male

masks:
Max Payne
Maxx
Payne
Max Payne


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts:
, nicknamed "Shotime", is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Pacific League. <mask> was the first pick of the Fighters in the 2012 draft. He played in NPB for the Fighters from 2013 through 2017 as a pitcher and an outfielder. <mask> recorded the fastest pitch by a Japanese pitcher and in NPB history at . The Fighters posted <mask> to MLB after the 2017 season, and he signed with the Angels. He won the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year Award and the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player Award.On January 31, 2022, it was announced that <mask> Will be on the cover of MLB the Show 22. In 2021, <mask>'s season was formally recognized as "historically significant" and a "major impact on the sport" by Commissioner Rob Manfred, as he became the first two-way player in the history of Major League Baseball with 10+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases as a hitter and 100+ strikeouts and 10+ pitching appearances as a pitcher in the same season while also holding at least a share of the major league lead in home runs in fourteen starts, as well as being the first player in MLB history to be an All-Star as both a pitcher and a hitter in the 2021 All-Star Game, where he was a starter in both capacities, as the American League's manager-selected starting pitcher (who earned the win) and fan-elected starting designated hitter (who was also the leadoff hitter). Early career
<mask> <mask> attended Hanamaki

masks: Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Shohei Ohtani


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts:
 Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture, Northern Japan. He pitched a  fastball as an 18-year-old high school pitcher. He threw the pitch in the Japanese national high school baseball championship tournament, commonly called Summer Koshien. In the 2012 18U Baseball World Championship, <mask> had an 0–1 win–loss record with 16 strikeouts, eight walks, five hits, five runs, and a 4.35 earned run average in 10⅓ innings pitched. <mask> expressed a desire to move directly to the major leagues after high school and received interest from numerous teams including the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.On October 21, 2012, he announced that he would pursue a career in Major League Baseball rather than turn professional in Japan. The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters decided to draft him anyway, knowing that there was a high likelihood he would not play for them. But after an exclusive negotiating window between him and the Fighters, <mask> announced that he would sign with the Fighters and spend some years in Japan before a possible MLB move. Hokkaido said it would allow <mask> to serve as a pitcher and position player; the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had become <mask>'s top-choice MLB team, were not prepared to let him play both ways. He was assigned the jersey number 11, previously worn by Yu Darvish. Professional career

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

Rookie year (2013)
<mask> made his debut at age 18 in the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters' season-opening game on March 29, 2013, playing as a right fielder. He was selected for a Pacific League roster spot for the 2013

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texts:
 All-Star Game.As a pitcher, he finished the season with a 3–0 record in 11 starts. <mask> was used as a rookie in both the outfield (leading the Fighters with 51 games in right) and as a pitcher. He was the second Nippon Pro Baseball rookie drafted out of high school the previous year to be used as both a pitcher and position player, following Kikuo Tokunaga in 1951; <mask> was the first to start in both roles. He was the first NPB pitcher since Takao Kajimoto in 1963 to bat 3rd, 4th or 5th and the first rookie hurler to do so since Junzo Sekine in 1950. He was the second player, following Osamu Takechi (also 1950), to start a game at pitcher, bat in the heart of the order (3rd through 5th) and get a hit and a run batted in (RBI) in that game. He missed time during the year with a right ankle sprain and right cheekbone fracture. For the season, he was 3–0 with a 4.23 ERA, 33 walks, and 46 strikeouts (K) in  innings.and hit .238/.284/.376 in 204 plate appearances. He had seven outfield assists to one error. His 8 hit batsmen tied Manabu Mima, Tadashi Settsu, Hideaki Wakui and Ryoma Nogami for 5th in the 2013 Pacific League. <mask> got 4 of the 233 votes for the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (Pacific League), tying Tatsuya Sato for a distant second behind Takahiro Norimoto. Second NPB All-Star selection (2014)

Throughout the entire season, <mask> performed double-duty as a pitcher and outfielder, utilizing his strong throwing arm as well as his impressive batting skills. As a hitter, he batted .274, with 28 extra-base hits (including 10 home runs), 31 RBIs and a

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title: Shohei Ohtani

texts: .842 on-base plus slugging percentage in 212 at-bats. As a pitcher, he was 11–4 with a 2.61 ERA in 24 starts and struck out 179 (third in NPB) in 155.1 innings.His 10.4 K/9 was the best in the league and opponents hit just .223 against him. In a September 7 game against the Orix Buffaloes, he homered to straightaway center at Kyocera Dome to become the first Japanese player to reach double digits in both home runs and wins. He tossed a 1–0 shutout against Orix on September 13 and became the first pitcher out of high school to record a 1–0 shutout victory within his first two years for the Fighters since Toshiaki Moriyasu in 1967. He also became the first pitcher out of high school to notch two shutout victories within his first two years in the NPB since Yu Darvish. During the July 2014 Mazda All-Star Game, he threw a  fastball in the bottom of the 1st inning, setting a new record for the fastest official pitch thrown by a Japanese pitcher, beating the record set by the Yakult Swallows' Yoshinori Sato in 2010 (). The jersey he wore during the game sold for 1,752,000 yen ($), making it the top-seller at the All-Star 2014 Charity Auction. The proceeds were donated to three Tohoku earthquake children's relief funds.On October 5 against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, <mask> recorded the fastest pitch by a Japanese pitcher in an official game, tying Marc Kroon's all-time record for NPB pitchers. The pitch came against lead-off hitter Akaminai Ginji in the 1st inning. With the count 0–1, <mask> threw a fastball that registered  on the stadium radar gun and shattered Ginji's bat in half. He also

masks: Ohtani Ohtani


title: Shohei Ohtani

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 hit 162 km/h twice against the second hitter, Aoi Enomoto. Of the 15 pitches he threw in the 1st inning, eight were in the 160s; 99s in MPH. During the postseason, <mask> was chosen to become a member of the national team, dubbed Samurai Japan, and participated in the Suzuki All-Star Series, a five-game friendly competition with a squad of major leaguers. In game 1, he pitched one shutout inning in relief, retiring three consecutive batters.He started game 5 at the Sapporo Dome and, although his team ultimately lost (3–1), he wasn't charged with an earned run (he gave up two unearned), and of the 12 outs he recorded in four innings, he got seven via strikeout. He threw mostly fastballs, even clocked one at , occasional curveballs, and a few forkballs in the mid-140s, including one he threw perfectly in the second inning to strike out Tampa Bay Rays star Ben Zobrist. In December, he became the 2nd player out of high school in NPB history to reach 100M yen in salary in his third year, after Daisuke Matsuzaka in 2001. His new contract more than tripled his previous salary estimated at 30M yen. Pacific League Pitcher Best Nine and ERA leader (2015)
2015 marked <mask>'s third professional season (and second full season). Though his offensive production declined somewhat (5 home runs), his performance on the mound was among the best in the league, earning him the starter role in the 2015 All-Star Game and the pitching spot in the end-of-year Pacific League Best Nine awards. <mask> started 2015 NPB All-Star Game 1 for the PL.He went two innings and fanned two, allowing one run (on a double by

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title: Shohei Ohtani

texts: Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and a single by Jose Lopez), relieved by Nishi with a 1–0 deficit. The PL would lose 8–6 but he got a no-decision. He finished the season 15–5 with a 2.24 ERA, 196 strikeouts and only 100 hits in  innings. He led the PL in ERA (.14 over Nishi), tied Wakui for the most wins and was second in strikeouts (19 behind Norimoto, though he threw 34 fewer innings). He rarely played the field but did see some action at DH, hitting .202/.252/.376 with 5 home runs in 109 at bats. He made the Best Nine as the PL's top hurler. He finished third in MVP voting again, placing behind Yanagita and Shogo Akiyama for the 2015 Pacific League MVP.<mask> placed third in MVP voting (first among pitchers) and was one of three candidates considered for the 2015 Sawamura Award, given annually to the top pitcher in either league. <mask> led the league in wins and winning percentage with a 15–5 record in just 22 starts, and his 2.24 ERA, 5 complete games, and 3 shutouts were also best in the league. All these stats were career bests, as were his 196 strikeouts, 0.909 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts per nine innings. <mask> was dominant for the Japanese national team in the 2015 Premier 12. He hit 100 mph while blowing away eventual champion South Korea (10 K, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 R in 6 IP) before Norimoto relieved. Facing South Korea again in the semifinals, he was even sharper (11 K, 0 BB, 1 HB, 1 H in 7 IP). He did not give up a hit until Keun-woo Jeong singled in the 7th and had the most whiffs in a game for the first Premier 12 ever.Norimoto relieved with a 3–0 lead but he and two other relievers combined to allow


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 four in the 9th to blow it as Japan fell in a shocking defeat. He led the event in ERA (Scott Diamond had 12 innings with a 0.00 ERA to <mask>'s 13) and strikeouts (one ahead of Chun-Lin Kuo) while allowing the lowest average by a starting pitcher. He was named the All-Star SP for the event (Sho Nakata was the only other member of Samurai Japan to be picked for the All-Star team). Pacific League Most Valuable Player and first Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize (2016)
In 104 games and 382 plate appearances in 2016, <mask> hit 22 home runs. He also hit 18 doubles, 67 RBI, batted .322 with an OBP of .416, scored 65 runs and had 7 stolen bases. He won the Best Nine award as the designated hitter. <mask> was the same dominant pitcher on the mound.In 21 games pitched, he had a career low in ERA at 1.86. He had a 10–4 record, struck out 174 batters in 140 innings with 4 complete games and one shutout. He also won the Best Nine award as a pitcher and won the Pacific League MVP. He got nearly double as many votes as any other pitcher for the PL for the 2016 NPB All-Star Game; he had 300,025 while #2 Shota Takeda had 158,008. He could not pitch in the event due to a blister on his finger but wound up starring as a designated hitter (DH). In Game 1, he batted for DH Yuya Hasegawa and lined out in the 8th against Scott Mathieson. Starting at DH and hitting 5th in Game 2, he homered off Shoichi Ino in the 5th to start the PL comeback from a 3–0 deficit.He singled against Ryo Akiyoshi in the 7th and scored on a hit by Kenta Imamiya for a 4–3 lead. Coming up with a 5–4 deficit in the 8th, he singled off


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts: Shinji Tajima to bring in Shogo Akiyama with the tying run. He thus produced three of the PL's five runs in the 5–5 tie, earning him game MVP honors. He hit 165 km/h (102.5 mph) on the radar gun during the year, setting a new NPB record. He finished the year at .322/.416/.588 with 22 home runs in 382 plate appearances on offense and a 10–4 record and 1.86 ERA on the mound with 174 strikeouts in 140 innings. He tied for 8th in the PL in wins and was third in strikeouts (behind Norimoto and Kodai Senga). He led Nippon Ham to the 2016 Japan Series, but lost the opener to the Hiroshima Carp; he fanned 11 in 6 innings but allowed 3 runs, two on a homer by Brad Eldred and one on a steal of home by Seiya Suzuki.Down 2 games to 0, he came up big as the DH in game 3, getting 3 hits, a run and a RBI. In the bottom of the 10th, he singled off Daichi Osera score Nishikawa with the winner; Nippon Ham would take the next three games to win their second Japan Series title. Teammate Brandon Laird would win the Series MVP. <mask> hit .375/.412/.625 with four doubles, doing more on offense than on the mound for the Series. He made the Best Nine as the top pitcher and top DH in the PL. He became the first player to received the awards as both a pitcher and a hitter. He topped 4-time Cuban MVP Alfredo Despaigne easily at DH (190 votes to 47; 3 others combined for 8 votes) but the vote at pitcher was closer (he had 111 of 245 votes, Ishikawa 69 and Tsuyoshi Wada 61).He was the run-away winner of the 2016 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award, getting 253 of 254 first-place votes (Naoki Miyanishi got the other


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts:
 one) and one second-place vote. He had 1,268 vote points, to 298 for runner-up Laird. 2017
In 2017, he played in 65 games, hitting .332 with 8 homers and 31 RBIs while posting a 3–2 record, a 3.20 ERA, and 29 strikeouts as a pitcher. In September, it was revealed that <mask> would ask to be posted at the end of the season in order to play in Major League Baseball in 2018. However, before that could happen, he had surgery on his right ankle in early October. The injury had originally occurred in the 2016 Japan Series, and had cost him a chance to play in the 2017 World Baseball Classic in addition to restricting his playing time during the season. On November 21, 2017, MLB and NPB came to a posting agreement for <mask>.Because he was under 25 years old, <mask> was subjected to international signing rules. This capped his bonus at $3.557 million and limited him to a rookie salary scale, while the signing team also had to pay a $20 million posting fee to the Fighters. <mask> narrowed his finalists to seven teams, signing with the Angels for a $2.315 million bonus. Los Angeles Angels

On December 8, 2017, <mask> agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The deal was finalized the next day. On December 13, it was revealed that <mask> was diagnosed with a first-degree UCL sprain in his right elbow. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the injury.2018: AL Rookie of the Year

Prior to the start of the season, the Angels announced that they would continue to use <mask> as both a hitter and a pitcher. <mask> started as the designated hitter on Opening Day, March 29, against the

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texts: Oakland Athletics, singling in his first at bat. On April 1, he made his pitching debut, striking out six batters in six innings while allowing three runs, to pick up his first MLB win. On April 3, <mask> hit his first MLB home run, a 397-foot three-run homer against Josh Tomlin. On April 6, he hit his third home run in three days, becoming the first Angels rookie to do so. In only his second start on the mound on April 8, <mask> took a perfect game through 6⅓ innings before allowing a hit. Overall, <mask> pitched seven scoreless innings while striking out 12.Making his third start pitching on April 18 against the Boston Red Sox, <mask> exited after two innings due to a blister on his right middle finger. On June 7, <mask> left the game after a blister on the same finger. The next day, he was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his MLB career due to a Grade 2 UCL sprain in his right elbow. He received platelet-rich plasma and stem-cell injections to treat the injury. <mask> was activated from the disabled list as a hitter on July 2, and went 0-for-4 against the Seattle Mariners. On August 3, <mask> hit two home runs against the Cleveland Indians, marking his first career multiple-home run game and his first two home runs in a road game. After <mask> had not pitched for 11 weeks, Angels manager Mike Scioscia announced that <mask> would start the game against the Houston Astros on September 2.On September 7, <mask> broke the MLB home run record by a Japanese rookie when he hit his 19th home run for the season. <mask> ended his first major league season with a batting average of

masks: Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani Ohtani


title: Shohei Ohtani

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 .285, a .361 on-base-percentage, 22 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. In 10 starts on the mound, he notched a 4–2 record with a 3.31 ERA, 1.16 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) and 63 strikeouts. His .564 slugging percentage ranked seventh overall among MLB players with at least 350 plate appearances for this season. He became the second-fastest Angels rookie to reach 20 home runs, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only MLB players with 10 pitching appearances and 20 homers in a season. He also won the American League Rookie of the Month award twice; in April and in September. On September 3, 2018, ESPN announced  that doctors recommended that Ohtani undergo Tommy John surgery, after an MRI showed new damage to his UCL.The Angels announced on September 25 that <mask> had agreed to the procedure, which would keep him off the mound until 2020. On October 1, Angels general manager Billy Eppler announced that <mask> underwent successful Tommy John surgery. On November 12, he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. 2019

On May 7, 2019, <mask> played in his first game with the Angels since undergoing Tommy John surgery, batting as a designated hitter against the Detroit Tigers. In a June 13 game against the Tampa Bay Rays, <mask> became the first Japanese-born player to hit for the cycle in MLB history. On September 12, <mask>'s 2019 season prematurely ended after it was revealed that he needed surgery to repair a bipartite patella. He finished the season batting .286/.343/.505 with 18 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 106 games.2020

The 2020 MLB season did not

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 start until July 24 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 24, 2020, <mask> was the first ever automatic player on second base in an official MLB game at the start of the 10th inning as part of one of the new 2020 MLB season rules in a game against the Oakland Athletics. He was thrown out in a rundown. On July 26, 2020, <mask> returned to the mound against the Oakland Athletics, making his first pitching appearance since September 2018. He allowed 5 runs and was removed from the mound without recording an out, starting his season with a loss and an infinite ERA. After his second start of the season against the Houston Astros, <mask> began to experience discomfort in his right arm, and it was eventually revealed that he had a flexor strain in his right elbow after undergoing an MRI. Angels manager Joe Maddon later stated that <mask> would not pitch for the rest of the season.On the offensive side, <mask> finished the season batting .190/.291/.366 with 7 home runs, 24 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases in 43 games. The culmination of experiencing injuries in his 2019 and 2020 campaigns led to <mask> describing feeling "frustrated" and "useless." He went on to say that while his 2019 had been disappointing, his 2020 had been "more like pathetic," because he could not pitch or hit the way he wanted to. <mask> said, "[Until 2019], I could more or less do the things I wanted to do. I'd pretty much never experienced the feeling of wanting to do something but being completely unable to do it." 2021: AL MVP

After the results of the 2019 and 2020 seasons, <mask> spent the offseason overhauling himself. He


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts: adjusted his diet based on blood-sample analysis and started squatting heavy again, focusing on strengthening his lower half and bulking up to 225 pounds.He threw bullpen sessions earlier than usual and took batting practice against live pitching, an offseason first for him. <mask> also embraced data and technology to optimize his training and recovery by visiting Driveline Baseball, a popular player-development destination for underperforming pitchers, where he also tinkered with a changeup. Furthermore, in spring training, the Angels general manager Perry Minasian, manager Joe Maddon, and <mask> agreed to allow <mask> to play without limitations or restrictions and drop the "Ohtani Rules", a plan the Angels mirrored from <mask>'s schedule in Japan and had implemented since his 2018 rookie season that restricted his usage to a schedule of pitching once a week and hitting only three to four times between starts. Free of the "Ohtani Rules", <mask> would be in charge of his own daily diagnostics with Maddon to determine his pitching and hitting schedule. On February 8, <mask> agreed to a two-year $8.5 million contract with the Angels, avoiding arbitration. In his first pitching start against the Chicago White Sox on  Sunday Night Baseball on April 4, 2021, he threw 4⅔ innings,  allowing one earned run and two unearned runs. During that start, he struck out seven batters.Additionally, <mask> batted 2nd in the lineup. He went 1 for 3, hitting a 450-foot solo home run on the first pitch he faced. After skipping a scheduled start against the Toronto Blue Jays due to a blister, <mask> made his


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts:
 second start of the season on April 20, against the Texas Rangers. Under a 75-pitch limit, he threw 4 scoreless innings, striking out 7 batters and allowing 1 hit. In his third start on April 26,  once again against the Texas Rangers, <mask> collected his first win of the season. He pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 runs in the first inning and striking out 9. Offensively, he went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs.<mask> also became the first player in nearly 100 years to start a game on the mound while also entering the day leading the Majors in home runs. Such an event had not occurred since Babe Ruth took the mound as starting pitcher for the Yankees on June 13, 1921, leading the AL with 19 home runs. All-Star debut
On June 18, <mask> was elected to the 2021 Home Run Derby, becoming both the first pitcher and the first Japanese player to do so. Three days later, <mask> was named AL Player of the Week for the third time in his career after hitting six home runs and picking up a win as starting pitcher. Two weeks later, he was again named AL Player of the Week for the fourth in his career after hitting six home runs and recording a 1.543 OPS with eight RBIs in six games to help the Angels go 5–1. On June 23, he made history yet again as he hit for himself as a pitcher and the second batter in the lineup against the Giants with designated hitter rules in place, making it the first time in MLB history that an American League team chose not to use a DH while a National League team utilized one. For the first time in his career, <mask> was named the American League Player of the Month for June, as he hit


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts: .309/.423/.889 with 13 home runs and a 1.312 OPS as a hitter and earned two wins as a pitcher.On July 3 against the Baltimore Orioles, <mask> became the first player in American League history to reach 30 home runs and 10 stolen bases in the first 81 games of the season. On July 4, <mask> made history by becoming the first player to be selected as an All-Star as both a position player and a pitcher. He had already been selected as the starting designated hitter by the fans for the 2021 All-Star Game on July 1, while being voted by the players as one of five starting pitchers to make the American League roster on July 4. On July 7, <mask> hit his 32nd home run of the year, a solo shot off of Boston Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodríguez, passing Hideki Matsui's mark in 2004, for the most home runs hit during a season by a Japanese-born player in MLB. Additionally, <mask> won the Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award, becoming the first Japanese player to win the award. <mask> participated in the Home Run Derby on July 12. In the first round, he hit 22 home runs, tying him with opponent Juan Soto.A tiebreaker round saw <mask> and Soto tied again at 28 home runs. While Soto won the round after a second tiebreaker, <mask> set a record for the most home runs in the Derby of at least 500 feet with six. For participating in the Derby, <mask> received $150,000, which he proceeded to donate his earnings to approximately 30 Angels support employees to thank them for their work, which included trainers, clubhouse workers and media relations staffers. <mask> had decided that he was going to use the

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 money in this manner no matter what his Derby outcome was. On July 13, <mask> made All-Star Game history again as the starting pitcher and leadoff designated hitter for the American League. After pitching a perfect first inning, he also became the first player in major league history to compete in the Home Run Derby and earn a win as the starting pitcher in the All-Star Game. Additionally, he became the first leadoff man to throw a 100-mph fastball in the All-Star Game.Two-way season

On July 26, in his 15th pitching start of the season against the Colorado Rockies, <mask> became the first pitcher in league history to register 100 strikeouts while holding a major-league-leading 35 home runs before the end of July, as no pitcher had ever recorded triple-digit strikeouts and added more than nine home runs in the same season. Additionally, in the same game, <mask> became the first pitcher to throw a scoreless top half and record a hit, a RBI, a stolen base and a scored run while playing in an AL ballpark since Luis Tiant did so for the Minnesota Twins on April 26, 1970. <mask> would finish the month of July as the first player in Major League history to ever have at least 37 home runs and 15 stolen bases before the end of July. And for the second straight month, <mask> also earned his second American League Player of the Month Award, becoming the first back-to-back Player of the Month Award winner in either league since Chase Headley in August and September 2012, and the first in the AL since Josh Hamilton in 2012. For the month of July, he produced nine home runs, 19 RBIs, 16 walks and a


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts: .282/.396/.671 slash line in 23 games at the plate, and a 1.35 ERA with 17 strikeouts and one walk in 20 innings. On August 18, <mask> pitched a dominant 8 innings against the Detroit Tigers, setting a career high by throwing 90 pitches to record 24 outs in eight innings while also hitting a solo homer for his 40th of the year in the eighth inning to lead the Angels to a 3–1 win. He became the first left-handed batter in Angels history to reach 40 home runs, surpassing lefty Reggie Jackson's 1982 record of 39.He also became just the fourth AL pitcher to throw at least eight innings and hit a homer in a game since the DH was instituted in 1973, joining Jon Garland in June 2006, Kris Benson in June 2006, and Bobby Witt in June 1997. <mask> would cap off the month of August by stealing his 20th base in a game on August 28 against the San Diego Padres, becoming the first Japanese-born player and the first player in Angels history to hit 40 home runs and have 20 stolen bases in the same season. He joined Alex Rodriguez in 2007 and Ken Griffey Jr. in 1999 as the 3rd AL player to accomplish this feat before September. He also became the first AL player to reach both of those totals in a season since Curtis Granderson in 2011. On September 21, after hitting his 45th home run of the season, <mask> became the first player to hit at least 45 homers and steal 20 bases in a season since Alex Rodriguez in 2007. And on September 25, <mask> joined Willie Mays as the only players with at least 45 home runs, 20 stolen bases and six triples in a season, when he hit two triples in consecutive plate appearances,


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 becoming the first Angels player to do so since Peter Bourjos in April 2011. From September 22 to September 25, <mask> drew 13 walks in a 4-game span, tying an AL/NL record set by Babe Ruth in 1930, Bryce Harper in 2016, and Yasmani Grandal in 2021.He drew a career-high four walks on September 22 and three walks on September 23, against the Houston Astros, followed by four more walks on September 24 and two walks on September 25 against the Seattle Mariners. His 11 walks drawn in the three game span also tied the MLB record set by Harper in 2016. MVP award and other honors

The Angels announced on September 25 that <mask> was named as both the team's Los Angeles Angels Player of the Year of 2021 and the team's Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year Award, as voted by his teammates. On September 26, <mask> reached the 150-strikeout milestone against the Seattle Mariners and finished the year unbeaten at home, going 6–0 with a 1.95 ERA in 13 starts. <mask>'s home ERA was the lowest by an Angels starter since Jered Weaver in 2011. He also became the sixth starter in AL or NL history to make at least 13 home starts without a losing decision and an ERA below 2.00 in a season. In the last game of the season against the Seattle Mariners, <mask> passed teammate Mike Trout's 45 home runs in a single season to finish with the second-most home runs in a season in Angels history at 46, trailing only Troy Glaus' 47 home runs in 2000.For the year, <mask> finished his pitching campaign by making 23 starts on the mound, going 9–2 with a 3.18 ERA, 156 strikeouts, 1.09 WHIP and 44 walks in 130 1/3 innings. On the


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts: hitting side, <mask> finished with an American League-leading 20 intentional walks, which was the most by an AL player since Mike Trout in 2018. <mask>, who batted .257/.372/.592, including 46 home runs – runner-up for the MLB lead in homers, 100 RBI, 103 runs and 26 steals in 155 games and 639 plate appearances, hit several milestones to close his season, reaching both 100 RBIs and 100 runs for the first time in his career. He also tied for the MLB lead with eight triples to go along with 26 stolen bases. <mask> became the first player in MLB history to have at least 45 homers, 25 stolen bases, 100 RBIs, 100 runs, and eight triples in a season and the second player in AL history to record at least 45 homers and 25 stolen bases in a season, joining Jose Canseco in 1998. According to Baseball-Reference.com, <mask> led the league with a wins above replacement (WAR) value of 9.1 and finished third in home runs (46), fourth in slugging percentage (.592), fifth in OPS (.965), first in triples (8), fifth in drawing walks (96), eight in stolen bases (26), second in extra base hits (80), second in intentional walks (20), fifth in OPS+ (158), and first in power-speed number (33.2). <mask> was unanimously voted the American League Most Valuable Player, becoming the 23rd pitcher and first designated hitter to win the award.For the 2021 All-MLB Team, <mask> is the only player to be named to both teams, first team and second team, in the same season (as a designated hitter and starting pitcher respectively). He became the first pitcher, the first Japanese player and the first Angels player to win the


title: Shohei Ohtani

texts: Edgar Martínez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. <mask> was also awarded the Silver Slugger Award for being the best offensive player at the designated hitter position in the American League, and was named to Time 100's list of most influential people of 2021, which culminated to many end-of-the-season-accolades. He was named Associated Press AP Athlete of the Year, Sporting News Athlete of the Year, Baseball Digest Player of the Year and Baseball America Major League Player of the Year. From his MLB peers he was given Sporting News Player of the Year Award, Players Choice Player of the Year Award, and Players Choice American League Outstanding Player Award. Additionally, <mask>'s 2021 season was recognized for two Guinness World Records titles: (1) the first MLB player to achieve 100+ innings and record 100+ strikeouts as a pitcher, and 100+ RBIs, hits and runs as a batter in a single season and (2) the first player to start the MLB All-Star Game as a pitcher and a designated hitter. He also became the 16th recipient of the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award, awarded by Commissioner Rob Manfred, who formally recognized <mask>'s 2021 season as "historically significant" and "unprecedented", calling it "so special that it was important to recognize the historic achievement that took place in 2021 with an award just about 2021."<mask> was offered Japan's national honor, the People's Honour Award, by the Prime Minister of Japan in recognition of his accomplishments, but <mask> rejected it, saying it was "still too early" for such an award. On December 22, 2021, Sporting News released