Each team in Major League Baseball is scheduled to play a 162-game season. The season begins in April (or sometimes the end of March) and ends in October. The teams play other teams in their own division the most, and play very few (no more than six) games against teams in the other league. Teams usually play each other in series of three or four games at a time. If a game is canceled because of bad weather, it may be held later, sometimes as part of a doubleheader (two games in one day). Sometimes these games are not held again if it would not affect either team's place in the standings (the list of teams ordered by their number of wins and losses).
Highest ranking teams after this regular season enter a post-season of "playoff" games. Teams that are tied at the end of a season may play another game to decide which team(s) will enter the playoffs. The playoff games determine the champion for each of the two leagues.
In July, there are three days where teams do not play normal games, and a group of the best players play in the "Major League Baseball All-Star Game". This period is called the "All-Star Break", and it is thought of as the point where half of the season is over. Some games at the beginning of the regular season have been played in other countries, such as Japan.
There is one difference between games played in the American League and games played in the National League. The American League teams play with a "designated hitter", a player who bats in place of the pitcher and does not play in the field. In the National League, the pitcher must bat along with the other players. In games played in teams from both leagues, the rule that the home team usually plays by is used.
At the end of every season, ten teams play in the playoffs. Five teams from the AL, and five teams from the NL are in the playoffs. The team from the West, Central, or East division from each league with the most wins makes the playoffs (a team with the best record in its division is said to have "won its division"). The next two best teams in the AL and the next two best teams in the NL also get to play in the playoffs. They are called "wild card" teams. The first playoff round is called the Wild Card game. The two wild card teams from each league play each other in a one-game playoff. The winner of each game moves on to the Division Series. The team with the best record in each league plays the winner of its league's Wild Card game. The division winner with the second best record plays against the division winner with the third best record.
In the Division Series, teams play "best out of 5". Once one team beats the other three times, the winning team moves onto the next round of the playoffs. The teams that lose are out of the playoffs. The AL teams that win play in the AL Championship Series. The NL teams that win play in the NL Championship Series. The Championship series is "best out of 7 games". Once one team beats the other four times, the winning team moves onto the next round of the playoffs. After the Championship Series, there are only two teams left.
These two teams play each other in the World Series, which is also a "best out of 7 games" series. The winner of the World Series is the champion of the league.
The first league of professional baseball teams began in 1871 and was called the National Association. This league did not play baseball the same way MLB does. For example, batters would walk after nine pitches instead of four. Many of the teams had problems with money and split up after only one or two seasons. However two teams are still playing today. Those teams were the Boston Red Stockings, which today are the Atlanta Braves, and the Chicago White Stockings, which today are the Chicago Cubs.
In 1876, the National League began, and included the Red and White Stockings as well as six other teams. This league was run better, but many teams still would split up after only a few seasons. Some, like the teams that are now called the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants, are also still playing today. There were other leagues also. The American Association started in 1882 and was almost as good as the National League. However many of its teams would go to the National League, and the American Association disappeared in 1891. The National League had problems, though. Players and fans did not behave well, and in 1894 a fire started during a game and destroyed the stadium and part of Roxbury, Boston.
"A star (*) means a relocation of a franchise. See team articles for more information."
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis Gehrig (born Ludwig Heinrich Gehrig; June 19, 1903 — June 2, 1941) was an American baseball player. Due to his reliability and stamina, he was nicknamed the Iron Horse. He played with Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees who were thought the best team of that time. He played with the Yankees for most of his playing time which started in 1923 and ended in 1939. He played in 2,130 games without a rest, which was the most of any player until Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1995. When he stopped playing as well, he went to a doctor who found out Gehrig had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS – which is now sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease). The doctor told Gehrig he had only a short time to live. On July 4, 1939, there was a celebration of Gehrig by the other Yankees, and Gehrig gave a speech that became well-known. When he spoke that day he said he was "the luckiest man on the face of the earth". The mayor of New York City congratulated him for his teamwork. He died less than two years later in New York City.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the United States Congress, which is a small group of elected people who decide the laws of the country. Every U.S. state elects two people to represent them in the US Senate. These people are called senators. Since there are 50 US states, there are 100 senators. Senators only serve six years at a time, and one-third of them are picked every two years. Originally the legislature of each state decided who their senators would be. After 1913, all the people of the state chose their senators by vote. The Vice President of the United States is in charge of the Senate, but only does anything when there is a tie vote or a special event.
In order to be a senator, a person has to be 30 years old or older, and has to be a citizen of the United States for 9 years or more. They must also live in the state they represent at election time.
The Senate, along with the United States House of Representatives, votes on which laws the United States should have. In most cases, both of these groups have to agree on the suggested law and the President has to sign it before it becomes a law.
The Senate is the side of Congress where every state has the same number of votes (two). This is different from the House of Representatives, where states with more people have more votes than states with fewer people. This was decided at the Constitutional Convention, because small states like Delaware did not want the larger states to be able to decide everything. Also, only part of the Senate runs for election during elections. Every two years, 33 (two elections) or 34 (one election) senators are elected. For each state, this means that after two elections to the Senate, during one election no one will be elected to the Senate.
Also, like the House, the Senate can override the president's veto with a ⅔ (67 votes) vote. But unlike the house, some bills require a 3/5 (60 votes) vote (it used to be ⅔ of the vote) to overcome the filibuster. A filibuster is when senators band together, they can stop bills from going through the senate.
The United States Senate was formerly the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which, along with the United States House of Representatives ― the lower chamber ― comprised the legislature of the United States.