query: Is Fortnite a Battle Royal game?

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: As a battle royale game, Fortnite Battle Royale features up to a hundred players, either alone, in duos, or in squads of up to four players, attempting to be the last player or group alive by killing other players or evading them, while staying within a constantly shrinking safe zone to prevent taking lethal damage from being outside it. Players start with no intrinsic advantages, and must scavenge for weapons and armor to gain the upper hand on their opponents. The game adds the construction element from Fortnite; players can break down most objects in the game world to gain resources they can use to build fortifications as part of their strategy. Limited-time modes are cycled through the game that introduce experimental or unconventional gameplay but otherwise follow the battle royale "last player standing" goal. While the game world remains the same for all matches, Epic presents a seasonal approach that may make small or major changes to the game world, including simultaneous single-time events that occur on all game servers. The game features cross-platform play between the platforms that was limited for the first five seasons, before the restrictions were eased.

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: At the time of Tencent's investment into Epic in 2012, Epic Games had a US$825 million valuation.[119] Because of Fortnite Battle Royale, Epic's valuation increased to US$4.5 billion as of May2018.[120] Bloomberg raised the estimate to around US$8.5 billion by the end of 2018 should Fortnite Battle Royale reach US$2 billion during the year.[119] Partially due to the influx of revenue from Fortnite Battle Royale, Epic reduced its portion of sales it collected from the Unreal Engine Marketplace from 30% to 12% in July 2018, applying that retroactively to past sales.[121]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Part of the game's success is also considered to be related to its impact on social media.[102] By March 2018, Fortnite Battle Royale became the most-viewed game on Twitch, exceeding the average-concurrent viewership numbers of League of Legends and Battlegrounds.[129] One notable streamer was Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, who gained a large number of subscribers by March 2018, in part due to his skill and through promotions on Twitch that offered free Fortnite Battle Royale cosmetic items; by March 2018, he was estimated to be making US$500,000 a month from his streaming revenue.[130] YouTube streamer Rubén Doblas Gundersen held a Fortnite Battle Royale match with 99 other well-known YouTube streamers in late March, which drew over 1.1 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched gaming YouTube streams.[131] The Fortnite Pro-Am event held at E3 2018 was estimated to have drawn over 1.3 million views across Twitch and other streaming services, making it one of the highest-viewed live-streamed event to date.[132]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Tencent, who is a partial owner of Epic Games, will bring Fortnite Battle Royale to China; the company is already involved in bringing and supporting Battlegrounds in China as well. Tencent plans to spend up to US$15 million to help promote the game in China, set up eSports tournaments, and fight against copyright infringement and clones of Fortnite that have appeared in the country.[47] Epic also worked with Neowiz Games to bring a version of Fortnite to South Korea, launched in November 2018.[48][49]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Analysis firm SuperData estimated that Fortnite Battle Royale made over US$126 million in February 2018, surpassing Battlegrounds's revenues for the same period of US$103 million.[111] SuperData estimated Fortnite's revenues over all platforms to exceed US$223 million for the month of March.[112] By April 2018, SuperData estimated that Fortnite Battle Royale had surpassed both sales and player count on all platforms over Battlegrounds.[113] The game generated US$296 million in revenue in April, followed by US$318 million in May, according to SuperData.[114][115] By July 2018, Fortnite Battle Royale had been estimated to have brought in over US$1 billion in revenue.[116][3] Prior to the Season 5 start in July 2018, Sensor Tower estimated that the mobile version of Fortnite Battle Royale made over US$1.2 million daily; following the launch of Season 5, revenues jumped to US$2 million per day.[117] SuperData estimated that Fortnite Battle Royale brought in $2.4 billion in revenue during 2018, the highest annual revenue of any free-to-play title.[118]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: A release of Fortnite for the Nintendo Switch video game console had been rumored in the week prior to the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 in June 2018. During the Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo and Epic Games announced the release of Fortnite Battle Royale for the Nintendo Switch, supporting cross-platform play with any other platform except the PlayStation 4; such users are able to carry over their inventory, Battle Pass status, and in-game currency between these platforms through their Epic user account. The game was released on June 12, 2018, the same day as the announcement. It is the first game to support direct voice chat through the Switch console.[50]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: In May 2018, Epic announced a partnership with sports apparel manufacturing company IMG to produce official Fortnite-themed clothing.[77] A Hasbro-licensed Fortnite Battle Royale-themed version of Monopoly was announced for release by late 2018; the Fortnite Monopoly game reflects some elements of the video game, such as the money being replaced with player's lives, and the ability to protect properties on the board with walls.[78] Further, with this deal, Hasbro will produce Fortnite-based Nerf blasters, which are expected to reach retail in 2019.[79] Funko will release a series of Fortnite themed Pop! figurines by late 2018.[80]

title: Fortnite

text: Fortnite is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: Fortnite: Save the World, a cooperative shooter-survival game for up to four players to fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects with fortifications they can build, Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play battle royale game where up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing, and Fortnite Creative, where players are given complete freedom to create worlds and battle arenas. The first two game modes were released in 2017 as early access titles and Creative was released on December 6, 2018. Save the World is available only for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while Battle Royale has been released for those platforms in addition for Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android devices.

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Journalists attributed Fortnite Battle Royale's success over PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds as a combination of several factors: besides being free-to-play and available on consoles, the game was released at a time when Battlegrounds was struggling with game cheaters and a toxic community, and that it features a less violent, cartoonish quality to it that, like Minecraft, was able to draw in a younger and mixed-gendered audiences to play.[122][123] Further, Epic has maintained frequent updates for the game, adding new weapons and in-game tools alongside limited-time events and longer-term narrative elements that help to further draw in players.[124] The high interest in the game within March 2018, which has been able to draw larger audiences compared to existing multiplayer games like Grand Theft Auto Online and Destiny 2, has had a financial impact on competing publishers Take-Two Interactive and Activision Blizzard, their stocks having fallen during this period, according to analysts from Morgan Stanley and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.[104][120] Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick, on their quarterly results released May 2018, stated that "Fortnite is definitely a lot of competition right now...it’s been a really important catalyst in attracting new gamers to gaming",[125] and the company is looking to develop its own battle royale title.[126] Electronic Arts CEO Blake Jorgensen also considered both Fortnite Battle Royale and Battlegrounds as having a significant market impact. Jorgensen said " [Fortnite is] bringing younger people into the marketplace and younger people into first-person shooters, and I think that's good for the long run health of that category for all of us in the industry".[127] Non-video game entertainment companies have also seen the impact of Fortnite. Netflix, in reporting its Q4 2018 results, stated that their competition is more with Fortnite, including streaming content related to the game, rather than rival television network stations like HBO.[128]

title: Battle pass

text: The popularity of battle passes grew in 2018 with the use in Epic Games's "Fortnite Battle Royale", which released in September 2017. The free-to-play "Fortnite Battle Royale" adopted a "season"-driven release schedule, each season lasting 10 weeks, during which they offered a new set of cosmetic items and emotes. The battle pass approach was added starting in its second season, during a time when the game was seeing a large growth in its player base, and has been used by the game since. Battle passes are purchased through an in-game currency (V-bucks) which either must be purchased with real-world funds via microtransactions, or earned via the "Fortnite: Save the World" cooperative game mode. Analyst Michael Pachter estimated that on the first day of the third season, in February 2018, Epic sold more than five million battle passes, generating over in revenue in a single day. With expansion of "Fortnite" to mobile devices in March 2018, revenue estimates from the game were in the hundreds of millions of dollars per month in the following months, primarily from battle pass sales.

title: Epic Games

text:
In June 2015, Epic agreed to allow Epic Games Poland depart the company and sold its shares in the studio; the studio reverted to their former name, People Can Fly. The "Bulletstorm" IP was retained by People Can Fly who has since launched a remastered version called "Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition" on April 7, 2017, published by Gearbox Software.
By July 2017, "Fortnite" was finally in a state for public play. Epic launched the title through a paid early access then, with a full free-to-play release expected in 2018. Following on the popularity of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds", a battle royale game released earlier in 2017, Epic developed a variant of "Fortnite" called "Fortnite Battle Royale", which was released in September 2017 as a free-to-play title across computer, console, and mobile platforms. "Fortnite Battle Royale" quickly gained an audience, amassing over 125 million players by May 2018 with estimates of having earned over by July 2018 through microtransactions. Epic Games, which had been valued at around at the time of Tencent's acquisition, was estimated to be worth in July 2018 due to "Fortnite Battle Royale", and expected to surpass by the end of 2018 with projected growth of the game. Due to the success of "Fortnite", Epic announced it would be ending support for "Paragon", its other free-to-play title, to focus on supporting "Fortnite".

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: In January 2018, Bluehole's PUBG Corp., the South Korean company behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), filed a lawsuit against Epic Games, claiming that Fortnite Battle Royale was a copyright infringement of Battlegrounds; they accused Epic Games of copying PUBG's user interface and game items.[167][168] According to Korea Times, market observers predicted that there would be little likelihood of Bluehole winning the case, as it would be difficult to establish the originality of PUBG in court due to the battle royale game genre, which includes both PUBG and Fortnite Battle Royale, being derived from the 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale.[169] The case has since closed, with PUBG Corp. dropping the lawsuit in June 2018 under undisclosed reasons.[170]

title: Fortnite: Save the World

text: The game is supported through microtransactions to purchase in-game currency that can be used towards these upgrades. A standalone battle royale game version, "Fortnite Battle Royale", was released for the same platforms in September 2017. Following the release, the player-versus-environment mode was officially distinguished as "Save the World".

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: The idea for Fortnite Battle Royale arose following the release of the similar battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which saw numerous player count records broken throughout 2017. Seeing its rapid growth and commercial success, Epic Games saw the opportunity to create a battle royale mode of their own. Originally released as part of the paid Fortnite game, Epic spun out a dedicated version of the game offered as free-to-play funded by microtransactions, sharing in-game currency with the main Fortnite game, allowing players to buy or earn cosmetic items to customize their character, as well as completing challenges through a battle pass to earn additional rewards. As of January2019, the game has seen over 200 million players, and has been estimated to have earned $2.4 billion in microtransactions. Fortnite Battle Royale has become a cultural phenomenon, with streams of the game achieving record-high viewerships, and with several high-profile celebrities stating their appreciation of the game.

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: In those two months of development, Epic's plan was to include Battle Royale within the paid Fortnite game, and originally announced this approach publicly in early September 2017. Only two weeks before it was released did Epic decide to make it a separate free-to-play title, fearing that having it as part of the paid package would slow down the growth of the title.[37] Epic announced this change formally about a week after first announcing Battle Royale, allowing those that had purchased early access to Fortnite in anticipation of this mode to request refunds.[38] This release, which beat out Battlegrounds to consoles, caused some concern with Battlegrounds developer Bluehole, as they had been working closely with Epic for Unreal engine support in Battlegrounds, and were worried that Fortnite might be able to include planned features to their Battle Royale mode before they could release those in Battlegrounds.[39][40][41]

title: Battle royale game

text: "Business Insider" projected that battle royale games will bring in over during 2018, and will grow to in 2019. SuperData Research reported that, in 2018, the three top-grossing battle royale games ("Fortnite", "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4") generated nearly in combined digital revenue. Sensor Tower reported that, in 2018, the top three most-downloaded battle royale mobile games ("PUBG Mobile", "Garena Free Fire" and "Fortnite") received over 500million downloads combined.

title: Fortnite: Save the World

text: With the popularity of "Fortnite Battle Royale", which was first released in early access around September 2017 and gained considerable attention by early 2018, Epic split off a separate development team to focus on improvements for this mode. Epic said that their attention to "Fortnite" was causing some of their other games to see lower player populations, leading them to reduce development efforts on these games, particularly "Paragon". By the end of January 2018, Epic announced it was shutting down "Paragon" by April of that year, providing refunds to all players. Players on a "Fortnite"-dedicated Reddit forum had expressed concerns that a similar fate could befall the "Save the World" mode of "Fortnite", as externally, the "Save the World" mode has not received the same attention in providing updates and improvements compared to the "Battle Royale" mode since that mode's release. Epic's Ed Zobrist said that as of March 2018 that the retention rates for "Save the World" have been high, and have grown since the release of "Fortnite Battle Royale", and the company has since improved communications with the player base, such as providing development road maps and known bug lists.

title: Fortnite

text: Near the same time that Epic released Fortnite into early access, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds had become a worldwide phenomenon, having sold over 5 million copies three months from its March 2017 release, and drawing strong interest in the battle royale genre. Epic recognized that with the Fortnite base game, they could also do a battle royale mode, and rapidly developed their own version atop Fortnite in about two months.[12] By September 2017, Epic was ready to release this as a second mode from "Save the World" in the paid-for earlier access, but then later decided to release it as a free game, Fortnite Battle Royale, supported with microtransactions. This version quickly gained players, with over 10 million players during its first two weeks of release, and leading Epic to create separate teams to continue the Fortnite Battle Royale development apart from the "Save the World" mode, outside of common engine elements and art assets.[13][14] This allowed Fortnite Battle Royale to expand to other platforms otherwise not supported by the "Save the World" mode, including iOS and Android mobile devices and the Nintendo Switch.[15][16]

title: Battle royale game

text: There are various modifications that can be implemented atop the fundamentals of the battle royale. For example, "Fortnite" introduced a temporary mode in an event which is 50-versus-50 player mode in its "Fortnite Battle Royale" free-to-play game; players are assigned one of the two teams, and work with their teammates to collect resources and weapons towards constructing fortifications as the safe area of the game shrinks down, with the goal to eliminate all the players on the other team.

title: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

text: "Battlegrounds" is considered the defining game of the battle royale game genre due to its popularity, even though other games, including Greene's previous mods, were already on the market. After its large early access sales numbers, other games followed with battle royale mechanics, with either existing games that added a battle royale mode or fully new games. Notably, Epic Games updated their in-development title "Fortnite", a sandbox-based survival game that included the ability to construct fortifications, to include a battle royale mode that retained the fortification aspects. Known as "Fortnite Battle Royale", Epic later released it as a standalone free-to-play game in September 2017. Shorty after its release, Bluehole expressed concerns about the game, acknowledging that while they cannot claim ownership of the battle royale genre, they feared that since they had been working with Epic for technical support of the Unreal engine, that they may have had a heads-up on planned features they wanted to bring to "Battlegrounds" and could release it first. PUBG Corporation later filed a lawsuit against Epic Games Korea in January 2018, alleging that "Fortnite Battle Royale" was infringing the copyright of "Battlegrounds". However, the lawsuit was closed by PUBG in June 2018 for undisclosed reasons.

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: The main gameplay for Fortnite Battle Royale follows the battle royale genre's standard format. The game normally is played either with each player on their own, or in a squad of two to four players, with up to 100 players participating each round. The round starts with players, weaponless, skydiving from floating buses ("Battle Bus") then deploying a glider onto a region of land. The island's fixed layout includes several landmarks and locations (named in an alliterative fashion, such as "Loot Lake", "Tilted Towers", and "Retail Row") that are mostly ghost towns, while a random distribution of weapons, shields, and other combat support features can be found by searching buildings and other sites. The goal is to be the last player or team alive by eliminating or avoiding other players. Over time, the game's safe zone (representing the eye of a storm), decreases in size, and players caught outside the zone will take damage. This directs the surviving players into tighter spaces, forcing player encounters. Supply drops will spawn in random locations during a match, providing random weapons and items. Like in the original Fortnite game, Fortnite Battle Royale is primarily played in a third-person perspective.

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Fortnite Battle Royale's primary distinction from other battle royale games is the building system, which originated from the original Fortnite survival game. Nearly all objects in the environment can be destroyed and harvested for materials (wood, stone, and metal), which can then be used to build fortifications of limited durabilities, such as walls, ramps, floors, and roofs, which can be used to help traverse the map, protect the player from gunfire, or slow down progression of other players. Weaker pieces can be destroyed in a few hits, but can be built quickly, while stronger pieces can withstand more punishment, but take longer to build.

title: Battle royale game

text: Epic Games had released "Fortnite", a cooperative survival game, into early access near the release of "Battlegrounds". Epic saw the potential to create their own battle royale mode, and by September 2017, released the free-to-play "Fortnite Battle Royale" which combined some of the survival elements and mechanics from the main "Fortnite" game with the Battle Royale gameplay concept. The game saw similar player counts as "Battlegrounds", with twenty million unique players reported by Epic Games by November 2017. Bluehole expressed concern at this move, less due to being a clone of "Battlegrounds", but more so that they had been working with Epic Games for technical support of the Unreal Engine in "Battlegrounds", and thus they were worried that "Fortnite" may be able to include planned features to their battle royale mode before they could release those in "Battlegrounds". "Battleground" developer, PUBG Corporation, filed a lawsuit against Epic in South Korea in January 2018 claiming "Fortnite Battle Royale" infringements on "Battlegrounds" copyrights. By the end of June 2018, the lawsuit had been closed by PUBG, under undisclosed reasons.

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: With the popularity of Fortnite Battle Royale by the start of 2018, Epic split off a separate development team to focus on improvements for this mode.[42] Epic said that their attention to Fortnite was causing some of their other games to see lower player populations, leading them to reduce development efforts on these games, particularly Paragon.[43] By the end of January 2018, Epic announced it was shutting down Paragon by April of that year, providing refunds to all players.[44] Similarly, Epic announced it had halted development of the planned free-to-play Unreal Tournament game, its team transitioned to Fortnite, though the game will remain available, playable, and open to end-user modifications.[45] Players on a Fortnite-dedicated Reddit forum had expressed concerns that a similar fate could befall the Save the World mode of Fortnite, as externally, the Save the World mode has not received the same attention in providing updates and improvements compared to the Battle Royale mode since that mode's release.[46]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Fortnite Battle Royale was made available to South Korea and their numerous PC bangs in November 2018; shortly after this point, Epic reported that Fortnite has surpassed a concurrent player count of 8.3 million, surpassing the game's previous record of 3.4 million in February 2018.[49]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Fortnite Battle Royale has been jokingly referred to as the honomyn "Fork Knife" on social media, believed to have originated with people, unfamiliar with the game, described their friends and family spending time playing the game.[141] Epic added a harvestable, non-playable "Fork Knife" food truck to the game map as the term gained popularity.[3] In September 2018, Fortnite was featured as a question on the game show Jeopardy!,[142] and was spoofed in a skit on the September 29, 2018, episode of Saturday Night Live.[143] The South Park episode "The Scoots" featured the cast wearing Fortnite-based Halloween costumes.[144] In The Big Bang Theory episode "The Citation Negation", Bernadette attempts to learn how to play Fortnite Battle Royale to beat Howard.[145] Fortnite also makes an easter egg appearance in the Disney animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet.[146] Fortnite was a central focal point on the 2018 YouTube Rewind year retrospective, and included an appearance by Ninja.[147]

title: Fortnite

text: Fortnite Battle Royale has also become a cultural online phenomenon, with several celebrities reporting they play the game, and athletes using Fortnite emotes as victory celebrations.[24] A notable streaming event in March 2018, with streamer Ninja playing Fortnite Battle Royale alongside Drake, Travis Scott, Kim DotCom, and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, broke viewership records for Twitch to date, and led to Epic arranging a Fortnite Battle Royale pro–am with 50 pairs of streamers and professional players matched with celebrities at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 in June 2018.[25][26][27] Epic Games is working to develop organized eSports competitions around Fortnite Battle Royale, including a Fortnite World Cup tournament in 2019.[28]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Fortnite Battle Royale is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed and published by Epic Games. It was released as an early access game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in September 2017, and for iOS, Nintendo Switch, and Android in 2018. It is a spin-off from Epic's Fortnite: Save the World, a cooperative survival game with construction elements.

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Fortnite Battle Royale has been packaged as special bundles with both the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, each version providing redeemable codes for V-bucks and platform-unique customization options.[81][82] A retail release of Fortnite Battle Royale, called Fortnite: Deep Freeze Bundle, was distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in late 2018. The package included a redeemable code for V-Bucks and unique in-game cosmetics.[83]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: Fortnite Battle Royale has become a own phenomenon, compared by analysts to the success in drawing in players that are not average video game players as World of Warcraft and Minecraft had done previously.[102] Fortnite Battle Royale obtained over 10 million players two weeks after its release.[103] By March 2018, it was estimated to have more than 45 million players.[104] Three months later, in June 2018, Epic announced they had achieved over 125 million players in less than a year, with at least 40 million players playing the game once per month.[105] In November 2018, Bloomberg reported that Fortnite had over 200 million registered accounts across all platforms.[106]

title: Fortnite Battle Royale

text: A number of celebrities and athletes have said they play Fortnite Battle Royale, such as Chance the Rapper, Joe Jonas, Finn Wolfhard, Roseanne Barr, and Norm Macdonald.[133] For athletes, their appreciation for the game has taken on the form of recreating the various emotes in game as part of their on-field celebration dances.[134] Such Fortnite celebrations were frequently throughout the 2018 FIFA World Cup event in June and July 2018,[135] including by Antoine Griezmann after a scoring penalty kick during the final.[136]


query: Where was Kou Voravong born?

title: Kou Voravong

text: Born in this influential family in 1914 in Khanthabouri district, Kou Voravong was the only son[n 7] of Thaan-krou[n 5] Khammanh Nakphoumin (ທ່ານຄຣູຄຳໝັ້ນ ນັກພູມິນ) – schoolteacher, and Nang[n 5] Chanheuang (ນາງຈັນເຮືອງ), one of Phagna Poui's daughters. When his parents separated, he was adopted as infant by Nang Kiengkham (ນາງກຽງຄຳ), his mother's older sister, married to Thao Taan Voravong,[4] who was, at the time, interpreter at the « Résidence de France ». The couple didn't have any children.

title: Kou Voravong

text: The attack occurred at approximately 22:15, at Phoui Sananikone's, an official residence nearby the Voravong family's. The attackers launched three grenades by one of the windows on the ground floor, in the dining room. They fired three or four pistol shots and then run away. Kou voravong, sitting with his back to the window, was directly hit by a bullet which came in by the kidney and out through the navel, after cutting the vena cava and crossed the liver and intestines. His dead is declared shortly after admission to hospital. A dozen people were injured by the explosion of the grenades, slightly for most of them.

title: Kou Voravong

text: Kou Voravong (lao: ກຸ ວໍຣະວົງ) (6 December 1914 – 18 September 1954) was a Laotian politician. He was part of the anti-Japanese resistance leading group during the Second World War and after then anti-Lao Issara (ລາວອິດສລະ) in the post-war period. Throughout his career, from 1941 to 1954, he has been District Chief, Province Governor, member of the Lao National Assembly, and Lao Royal Government Minister.

title: Kou Voravong

text: After a first relationship with Nang Meng (ນາງເມັງ) with whom he had a son – Thao Bouaphet (ທ້າວບົວເພັດ) – Kou Voravong, a young official at the time, married in 1938, Nang Sounthone Souvannavong (ນາງສູນທອນ ສຸວັນນະວົງ), a young nurse / midwife at the Mahosot Hospital in Vientiane. From this union four children were born: Thao Anorath (ທ້າວອະໂນຣາດ) – Nang Phokham (ນາງໂພຄຳ) – Nang Phogheun (ນາງໂພເງິນ) and Thao Anouroth (ທ້າວອນຸຣົດ).

title: Kou Voravong

text: As the Prime Minister Chao Boun Oum had submitted the resignation of his government on February, 13th, 1950, the 3rd Royal Government, chaired by Phoui Sananikone (ຜຸຍ ຊນະນິກອນ) was invested on 27th of the same month – just two months before the effective transfers of powers, on April, 13th, Buddhist year 2492's last day[18] – with Kou Voravong as Minister of the Interior.[13] Being himself behind the creation of the National police force in 1949 and consequently very attentive to its development, Kou Voravong imposed on its direction, colonel Jean Deuve, a man of experiment,[n 31] who he could fully trust, for having fought side-by-side four years ago against the Japanese and the Lao Issara troops.[11][19]

title: Kou Voravong

text: Kou Voravong grew up in Savannakhet and pursued a primary education there. He obtained the « certificat d'études primaires complémentaire indochinois » - Certificate of Indochinese Additional Primary Studies - (CEPCI)[n 8] in 1930, went afterward to Vientiane and began his first-secondary-school year at the Collège[n 9] Auguste Pavie. But because of a conflict which opposed him to French Colonial administration,[n 10] his adopted father was sentenced to prison that same year. As reaction to this situation, Kou Voravong left school and returned to Savannakhet. As an out-of-school teenager, he practiced sports, especially soccer.[n 11]

title: Kou Voravong

text: We can find a Kou Voravong Road in the city of Thakhek as well as in Savannakhet where his name is also given to an old stadium now a sports park. Since 1995, a statue is erected in the garden of the family residence where he lived as a child.

title: Kou Voravong

text: When the general Phoumi Nosavan died in Bangkok in 1985, since the time-limit for conservation by the Department of Fine Arts was thirty years, questions arose regarding the statue of Kou Voravong. In 1989, the collapse of the communist Eastern Bloc – symbolized by the Berlin Wall's fall – allowed gradually Laos to enter the market economy, which then provided the opportunity for the Voravong children to approach the LPDR authorities for the return to the country of their father's statue.[41] In 1992, the cost of conserving paid, the statue was legally returned to the family. The eldest daughter of Thao Bouaphet, who lived in Bangkok, entrusted it to the monastery of Amphawan (thai language: วัดอัมพวัน), around the Thai capital.

title: Kou Voravong

text: Following Kou Voravong's death, he led his family members in their search for the truth concerning the assassination. In 1960, during the legislative election campaign of Ou (ອຸ) and Bounthong (ບຸນທົງ) – Kou Voravong's half-brothers – the three cousins promised to the Savannakhet population that in the event of electoral success they would pay tribute to their brother and cousin, "the home-grown child", a murdered rising political figure. Ou and Bounthong Voravong shall be both elected assembly members of the Savannakhet Province that year.

title: Kou Voravong

text: In 1951, Kou Voravong was elected deputy of his native province and chosen as President of the National Assembly. But military tensions at the borders becoming increasingly strong, the 4th, new royal Government appointed on November 21, 1951 and chaired by the neutralist Chao Souvanna Phouma, called on his veteran's experiences to direct the ministry of National Defense.[11][13]

title: Kou Voravong

text: Starting from 1959 and during six years, with the financial support of the CIA, the general Phoumi Nosavan became the dominant figure in the Laotian political life. At the height of his career in May 1960, thanks to his relationship with Sarit Thanarat – the current Thai Prime Minister – and in association with Ou and Bounthong Voravong, he commissioned and financed a life-size statue of Kou Voravong at the Department of Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture of Thailand. In Savannakhet, a "Kou Voravong Stadium" was built at the extreme north of the avenue of the same name, and the site of the statue was planned on an esplanade just at the entrance.

title: Kou Voravong

text: One day, after a game, Kou Voravong and friends gathered some coconuts from trees bordering the playground to satisfy their thirst. Madame Malpuech, the previous Commissioner's wife shouted at them, considering these behaviors as an act of vandalism on public property. As captain, he defended his teammates with such virulence that she filed complaint with the police against him for assaulting.

title: Kou Voravong

text: Upon returning of the Geneva delegation, conflicts appeared within the Government. At the same period, rumors of coup by revolutionary conspiracies supporting Chao Phetsarath circulated, creating strong troubles in the country. These extreme tensions reached the summit, when two months later, an attack was committed on September 18, during a reception at Phoui Sananikone's residence, one of the delegates at the Geneva Conference. Present among the dinner guests, hit by a bullet in the back, Kou Voravong died one half an hour later at the Mahosot Hospital (ໂຮງພຍາບານມະໂຫສົດ), in Vientiane.

title: Kou Voravong

text: As for the city of Thakhek, the capital of Khammouan Province, a tribute was paid to the former governor Kou Voravong by giving his name to the main street which was completed in 2003.[44][n 54]

title: Kou Voravong

text: Shortly after the Kou Voravong's murder, Phoui Sananikone tendered his resignation. But it was not made public because of fear of major political crisis considering the current state of tension in the country after the Geneva Conference. Supported by France, the current government was trying hard to apply the agreements signed in Geneva, in particular maintaining political neutrality and integrating the Pathet Lao. But as might be expected, the crisis broke out as soon as revelation, and his resignation led to the fall of the whole government, already weakened by this case.[35]

title: Kou Voravong

text: To close the file definitively, in July 1959, the 9th Royal Government, chaired by Phoui Sananikone, brought the case to trial quickly and behind closed doors, dealing exclusively with the assassination of Kou Voravong, in order not to revive "old issues". Apart from that of Oudom Louksourine – sentenced to death in absentia – no other name was pronounced and the judgement legally exonerated Phoui Sananikone of all charges.[34]

title: Kou Voravong

text: Although it is located within a family property and therefore considered by the Government as a private monument, the statue remains visible to the general public and may nevertheless be extended to general knowledge.[42] Situated at the corner of "Soutthanou Street" and "Kou Voravong Street",[n 53] it is presented as a "curiosity" of Savannakhet City by some tourist guides as the site is located coincidentally in front of the birthplace of Kaysone Phomvihane – the very first president of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.[43]

title: Kou Voravong

text: Appointed Governor (Chao Khoueng) of Vientiane Province since late 1945, Kou Voravong created a civic guard[n 17] and directed the political and military struggle of Monarchists from the occupied capital, facing the Lao Issara, Chinese and Việt Minh who took control of the major cities of the country. But after some months, besieged, injured and threatened, he had to withdraw into the countryside, where he continued to manage for liberation.[7] On April 24, 1945, French army entered Vientiane. The Lao Issara Government went into exile on the right bank of the Mekong River. The movement dissolved in 1949 and was divided into three factions:

title: Kou Voravong

text: In this historical context, Kou Voravong's maternal grandfather,[n 4] Phagna[n 5] Poui (ພຍາປຸ້ຍ), was appointed the first District Chief (chao muong - ເຈົ້າເມືອງ) of Khanthabouri (ຄັນທະບຸຣີ)[n 6] in 1902,[3] in Savannakhet Province, South-Laos. His younger brother, Thao[n 5] Taan Voravong (ທ້າວຕານ ວໍຣະວົງ) would succeed him from 1922 to 1928.

title: Kou Voravong

text: The plot headed by Bounkong, supported by Thai separatists, sympathizers of both Việt Minh revolutionists and of Chao Phetsarath, was firmly anti-French. Massive desertions from several military camps[n 36] – and among them, the Chinaimo camp – started just after Chao Phetsarath and his Thai wife's visit along the Mekong River, in the Isan region.[n 37][24] Police officers were wondering if the attack were committed on his instructions or simply on his behalf.[25] In addition, investigations revealed that Bong Souvannavong – fervent supporter of Chao Phetsarath's return – had regular contact with members of the conspiracy. His son Boutsabong, would have informed the conspirators of the reception at Sananikone's, which had been although decided in the afternoon. Bong Souvannavong was then arrested and jailed on October 6. According to some conspirators testimony, this attack would be aimed at Phoui Sananikone, who was accused of the anti-Pathet Lao attitude and not having resisted Western pressures on the Geneva Agreements. For some of them, Kou Voravong's death would be first of all an error, which was then exploited to threaten pro-French government members,[26] and for others, it would be a fatal consequence of his intense anti-subversive activity when he was Minister of the Interior,[27] and for still others, that could be an extreme reaction of the French Government to his active anti-feudal militancy for a Laotian led administration. Immediately after the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)'s signing in Manila, Philippines, the Thai Army was deployed in the North and on the East Bank of the Mekong River, along the Laotian borders. Following the refusal of the UNO's Security Council to monitor borders against communist infiltration,[n 38] the Bangkok Government fear facing the Việt Minh was effective, and the Thai Authorities role in this case appeared decisive. Kou Voravong's refusal to join the military organization blocked any US intervention and thus hindered the "containment" policy of which Thailand was part of. During a National Assembly session, Kou Voravong revealed that strong pressures were put on the two Laotian delegation's leaders by the United States so that they refused to sign the agreement's part concerning Laos at the Geneva Conference. Phoui Sananikone would have accepted a one million bribe not to affix his signature. In his speech, Kou Voravong also revealed that the right-wing forces had planned the Pathet Lao's troops suppression, as soon as they were withdrawn from Samneua and Phongsaly Province, as set out in the Geneva Agreements. And lastly, nine days before his murder, he was preparing a meeting between Chao Souvanna Phouma – the Lao Royal Government's chief – and his half-brother Chao Souphanouvong – the Pathet Lao's leader – for the discussions in order to organize the free elections envisaged by these same agreements. For some circles, particularly in the Communist left-wing, Kou Voravong would have become a target of the Lao-Thai right-wing and the CIA: the main "beneficiaries" of his death being the Thai and American governments who considered the Geneva Agreements as a serious concession from France to communist bloc countries.[28][29][30] This affair confronted the three most influential rival families in Laos: the Sananikones, the Souvannavongs and the Voravongs. This was typical in Lao political circles where conflicts of families or personalities were mingled with national politics. Kou Voravong – leading supporter of the policy of "neutrality" – stood in opposition to the American "anti-communist" policy which started to find many sympathizers, and among them was Phoui Sananikone. Actually, Kou Voravong was murdered at the residence of Phoui Sananikone, who shortly after became Minister of the Interior and hastily got Bong Souvannavong- a left-wing sympathizer – arrested, whom he accused of being the instigator of Chinaimo's conspiracy, and therefore to be behind the assassination. On January 5, 1955, Thai authorities arrested Oudom Louksourine in Bangkok and declared that the latter confessed to having been paid by Phoui Sananikone to kill Kou Voravong, but however refused to extradite him to Laos. The two rival families newspapers then started a violent campaign against Phoui Sananikone and the March 9, 1955, complaints for assassination was filled against him by the Voravong family at the Vientiane Court. Despite of the given judgement which concluded to dismiss the case for insufficient evidence, the resentments persisted and the charges were maintained. From now on, a gap deepened between the Sananikone and Voravong families – conducted now by the General Phoumi Nosavan (ນາຍພົນ ພູມີ ໝໍ່ສະຫວັນ) – the Lao National Army's new chief of staff.[31][32] These conflicts would later largely influence the political events in 1960–62.

title: Kou Voravong

text: Whereas all details of the cease-fire in Vietnam were settled, the agreement #3 which was equivalent to a recognition of the Pathet Lao as an official authority through its « Fighting Units », divided the royal representatives of the Laotian delegation and extended negotiations till late in the night of July 20. Shortly after midnight, despite the opinion of his delegation's leader, Phoui Sananikone, Kou Voravong finally granted to sign the final declaration, thereby closing the conference on July 21, 1954.

title: Kou Voravong

text: At the conference, the Kingdom of Laos delegation was composed of Phoui Sananikone (minister of Foreign Affairs – leader), Kou Voravong (Minister of Defense – vice-leader) and eight members of Parliament. The members of Pathet Lao including Chao Souphanouvong, who carried North-Vietnamese passports, were integrated into the Việt Minh delegation.

title: Kou Voravong

text: In June 1958, the "Committee for the Defense of National Interests"[n 50] was created in Vientiane. Its program was the eviction of communist ministers of the "Lao Neo Hak Sat" party[n 51] (ແນວລາວຮັກຊາດ), and the overthrow of the neutralist Government, in order to maintain Laos in the United States orbit. This civic association of young Laotians, anti-communist and renovator, was led by the army strongman, the general Phoumi Nosavan. Born in the Thai-Lao region border (Moukdahane-Savannakhet), he was the nephew of Sarit Thanarat (thai: สฤษดิ์ ธนะรัชต์) – the current Thai Government Prime minister – and first of all, the general Phoumi Nosavan was Kou Voravong's cousin and brother-in-law.

title: Kou Voravong

text: According to the police investigations, one of bullets fired by Oudom Louksourine reached Kou Voravong and caused his death. Oudom was a dangerous and notorious gangster, who confessed to have committed about fifteen assassinations. Imprisoned since 1950, he escaped in 1954 and with Mi -his partner in crime- joined a band of bandits established in Isan region, northeast Thailand, whose leader named Bounkong (ບຸນກອງ), a veteran Lao Issara and faithful follower of Chao Phetsarath.

title: Kou Voravong

text: Once Vientiane released, Kou Voravong continued to fulfill his initial function of this province Governor. Then in 1947, he became Governor of Khammouane Province (ຄຳມ່ວນ) whose capital was Thakhek (ທ່າແຂກ).

title: Kou Voravong

text: On the 11th, 1946, an election was organised to set up a constituent assembly. Khammouan Province won 4 seats including Kou Voravong, who had to go to the capital for the development of the Constitution. On March 6, 1947, he undertook the trip, accompanied by 2 other deputies[n 18] and the French counselor of the Savannakhet Province's Governor. On the west side of Khammouane Province, between Thakhek and Paksan, they encountered an ambush, established by a Việt Minh company from Thailand, near a bridge located upstream on the mouth of the Hinboun and the Mekong rivers (Paak Hinboun – ປາກຫິນບູນ). The French counselor and both other deputies were instantly killed; Kou Voravong, seriously wounded, was left for dead. Shot by several bullets, in his head, legs and body, he nevertheless managed to crawl nearly one kilometer in the jungle, to slip into a pirogue and to row along the river until finding assistance. He was then saved, healed at the hospital of Thakhek.[6][11][12]

title: Kou Voravong

text: , on September 20, 1954 – Tribute of the Prime Minister. Thao Taan Voravong, Kou Voravong's father, firing the funeral pyre. Repatriation of ashes to Savannakhet. The funeral urn was placing in the stupa. Kou Voravong's sepulcher in Savannakhet.

title: Kou Voravong

text: Early in 1950, when Bounkong and his band engaged in violent anti-government campaigns in the South of the country, Kou Voravong created the "Pacification of Southern Laos Mission" to combat internal subversion and border piracy. This organization whose headquarter was based in Pakse, was responsible to bring together supporters, volunteers and former members of the Lao Issara movement, to form units to combat subversion and banditry. Occupied with his ministerial responsibilities in Vientiane, he entrusted the command to his cousin and brother-in-law, the young lieutenant Phoumi Nosavan.

title: Kou Voravong

text: Kou Voravong supported a progressive autonomy encouraged by France, and he was opposed to the nationalist movement Lao-Issara (ລາວອິດສລະ[n 14])[6][7] founded by the Viceroy Chao[n 5] Phetsarath Rattanavongsa (ເຈົ້າເພັດຊະຣາດ ຣັດຕະນະວົງສາ), whose objective was to combat the colonial power and to proclaim the independence of Laos at the end of the war.[8]

title: Kou Voravong

text: In this first parliamentary royal Government, to the young democrat Kou Voravong was attributed two ministries: Public Works and Justice/Religion.[13] In the same year, with a colleague, Thao Bong Souvannavong (ບົງ ສຸວັນນະວົງ),[n 21] he co-founded the first officially recognized Laotian political party: « Lao Union » (Phak Lao Houam Samphan - ພັກລາວຣ່ວມສຳພັນ):[14] a democratic party with original ideas, which advocated an uncompromising nationalism, but whose members were willing to cooperate with French authorities in order to prepare their country to total independence. But a year later, because of various disagreements with him, Kou Voravong founded his own party: « Democracy » (Phak Paxaathipataï - ພັກປະຊາທິປະໄຕ),[15] fighting as democratically as possible for an independent nation under a Constitutional monarchy.


query: Who is the youngest player in MLB?

title: Joe Nuxhall

text: In addition to his 40 years of broadcasting Reds games, Nuxhall is most remembered for having been the youngest player ever to appear in a major league game, pitching 2⁄3 of an inning for the Reds on June 10, 1944 at the age of 15years, 316days. Called upon for that one game due to player shortages during World War II, Nuxhall eventually found his way back to the Reds in 1952, and the National League All-Star team in 1955 and 1956. Long known as "The Ol' Left-hander", he compiled a career earned run average of 3.90 and a record of 135–117 during his 16-season career, with all but five of his victories being earned with the Reds. Nuxhall died in 2007 after a long battle with cancer.

title: Mike Trout

text: On April 17, 2015, Trout became the youngest player in MLB history to reach 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases. He was 23 years and 253 days old when he reached the milestone, passing the previous record-holder, Alex Rodriguez, who had achieved it at the age of 23 years and 309 days in 1999. Trout led off the 2015 MLB All-Star Game with a home run, becoming the fourth player in All-Star Game history to do so. For the second year in a row, Trout won the All-Star Game MVP Award, becoming the first player ever to win it in consecutive years. On September 22, Trout hit his 40th home run, becoming only the second Angels player to hit 40 home runs in a season. Trout led the AL in WAR for the fourth straight year.

title: 2013 World Baseball Classic

text: In the first round, ties were to be broken in the following order of priority:The deadline for submitting provisional rosters was January 16, but teams had until February 20 to finalize their roster decisions. Many Major League Baseball (MLB) players participated. The United States provisional roster was made up entirely of players from MLB, and champions Dominican Republic provisional roster had only one player not signed to an MLB team in 2013. The Canadian team had 12 players who appeared in MLB in 2012. Japan had none and two prominent Japanese MLB players, Yu Darvish and Ichiro Suzuki, chose not to play. Though five members who competed for the Cuban national team in the 2009 WBC have since defected, the Cuban team was considered strong despite its 2nd-round sacking. Three members of MLB.com's Top 100 prospect participated: Xander Bogaerts, Eddie Rosario, and Jameson Taillon.

title: Posting system (KBO)

text: Under this system, when a KBO player is "posted", MLB holds a four-day-long silent auction during which MLB teams can submit sealed bids in an attempt to win the exclusive rights to negotiate with the player for a period of 30 days. If the KBO team accepts the winning bid, then the player is free to negotiate with the highest-bidding MLB team. If the MLB team and the KBO player agree on contract terms before the 30-day period has expired, the KBO team receives the bid amount as a transfer fee, and the player is free to play in MLB. If the KBO team rejects the winning bid or if the MLB team cannot come to a contract agreement with the posted player, then no fee is paid, and the player's rights revert to his KBO team.

title: 2020 Major League Baseball draft

text: The 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft will take place in June 2020. The draft will assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order will be set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be distributed for players who did not sign from the 2019 MLB Draft and for teams who lose qualifying free agents. The first day of the draft will be broadcast by MLB Network from their studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The remaining two days of the draft will be streamed on MLB.com.

title: Bill Ford (baseball)

text: On the last day of the 1936 season, September 27, Ford made his MLB debut, appearing as the starting pitcher against the Philadelphia Phillies at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Still only 20 years old, he was the fifth-youngest MLB player that season.

title: Charlie Vaughan (baseball)

text: Charles Wayne Vaughan (born October 6, 1947) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for two seasons. He pitched for the Atlanta Braves for one game during the 1966 Atlanta Braves season and one game during the 1969 Atlanta Braves season. Vaughn was the youngest player to play in the MLB in 1966, the second youngest being Nolan Ryan. Vaughan had one career hit in four at bats.

title: Lastings Milledge

text: Lastings Darnell Milledge (born April 5, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox. He was the youngest player in MLB's National League during the 2006 season.

title: Great Rivers Athletic Conference

text: Many players over the years have been drafted and gone on to play in the MLB. The following is a list of recent players who have been drafted or have or are currently playing in the MLB or for an MLB minor league team.

title: Clayton Kershaw

text: Kershaw was drafted seventh overall in the 2006 MLB draft. He worked his way through the Dodgers' farm system in just one full season, and reached the majors at 20 years old. When he debuted in 2008, he was the youngest player in MLB, a title he held for one full year. In 2011, he won the pitching Triple Crown and the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the youngest pitcher to accomplish either of these feats since Dwight Gooden in 1985. During the 2013 off-season, the Dodgers signed Kershaw to a franchise record seven-year, $215 million contract extension. Kershaw pitched a no-hitter on June 18, 2014, becoming the 22nd Dodger to do so. Being a left-handed strikeout pitcher and playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kershaw has often been compared to Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. He became the first pitcher in history to lead MLB in ERA for four consecutive years when he did so in the 2011 through 2014 seasons.

title: List of Major League Baseball players from Japan

text: For thirty years Murakami was the only Japanese player to appear in an MLB game. Pitcher Hideo Nomo, with the help of agent Don Nomura, became the second Japanese-born player to play in MLB in 1995. Nomo, who was not yet eligible for free agency in Japan, was advised by Nomura that a "voluntary retirement" clause in the Working Agreement did not specify that a player wishing to play again after retiring must return to NPB. Nomo utilized this loophole to void his NPB contract with the Kintetsu Buffaloes and play in MLB. He announced his retirement from NPB in late 1994 and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 1995. Nomo's maneuver and Hideki Irabu's later MLB contractual complications were contributing factors to a major revision of the Working Agreement in 1998 that created the current posting system. Since its inception 16 Japanese-born players have been signed through the system, however one of these players, Shinji Mori, did not play in a single MLB game due to an injury. NPB players who have nine or more years of playing service with NPB can become free agents and do not need to enter MLB through the posting system. The remaining Japanese-born players that have played in MLB have either signed as free agents or signed as amateur players. Mac Suzuki, Micheal Nakamura, Kazuhito Tadano, and Junichi Tazawa are the only Japanese players to have debuted in MLB without previously playing in NPB.

title: Sporting News Player of the Year Award

text: The "Sporting News" established in 1936 the Player of the Year award. It is the oldest and most prestigious award given to the single player in MLB who had the most outstanding season. Until 1969, it was the only major award given to a single player from MLB, rather than to a player in each league. In 1969, "Baseball Digest" began its Player of the Year award for one player in all of MLB. (The award became limited to position players in 1994, when "Baseball Digest" added a new award for "Pitcher of the Year.") In 1993, the first Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award was given. In 1998, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) began its own Player of the Year award, for one player in all of MLB, as part of its Players Choice Awards. "Baseball America" also began its Major League Player of the Year award in 1998. In 2012, MLB's "GIBBY Awards" added an MLB Most Valuable Player category, which was renamed the Most Valuable Major Leaguer in 2014; its current name is the "Esurance MLB Awards" Best Major Leaguer.

title: 2010 Atlanta Braves season

text:
All-Star
MLB Player of the Month
MLB Pitcher of the Month
MLB Rookie of the Month
MLB Player of the Week
MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award

title: Israel at the World Baseball Classic

text: The team's oldest player was pitcher Shlomo Lipetz, 37, who grew up in Israel and lives in New York. Lipetz is also the only player on the team with no current or past MLB affiliation. Team Israel's youngest player was pitcher Dean Kremer, 20, a Californian drafted by the Dodgers whose parents are Israeli expatriates.

title: Phantom ballplayer

text: A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB active roster without ever appearing in an MLB contest during his career. Most of the first form of phantom players date from the 19th or early 20th century, with at least one showing up as late as World War II.

title: Adelaide Bite

text: The Bite have multiple alumni who have played in the MLB in following years and many players who play for Team Australia in an international level. The team is made up of up-and-coming MLB draft prospects who play minor league baseball in the USA or established Australian players. Former big-league players often play in the ABL.

title: Hank Greenberg

text: When he broke into the major leagues in 1930, Greenberg was the youngest MLB player (19).

title: Posting system

text: The system only applies to players currently under contract with a Japanese team, although players who have nine or more years of playing service with NPB are exempt. It does not apply to free agents or to amateur players who have never played in NPB. Mac Suzuki, Micheal Nakamura, Kazuhito Tadano, and Junichi Tazawa are the only Japanese players to have debuted in MLB without having played in NPB. The system does not work in reverse; it does not regulate MLB players, such as Alex Cabrera, who moved to NPB.

title: Sport in the Dominican Republic

text: Between 1955 and 1980 there were 49 players from the Dominican Republic who played in the MLB. However, in the 1980s hundreds of players started coming to the United States as there became "working relationships between North American and Dominican teams." The first great pitcher from the Dominican Republic who starred in the United States was Juan Marichal who is nicknamed the "Dominican Dandy". He began his playing career in the MLB in 1960 after he was signed from the Dominican Republic by the San Francisco Giants. The first great hitter from the Dominican Republic was Felipe Alou who hit 206 career home runs. Free agency in the MLB, which began in 1976, and the rise of baseball academies in the Dominican Republic have changed Dominican Baseball. For years, owners of traditional Dominican teams have been underpaying their players, however since the salary of Major League Baseball players has gone up dramatically players who once played in the Dominican Winter Baseball League are no longer playing and instead, trying to sign contracts with teams from the MLB.

title: List of baseball players who defected from Cuba

text: While some players who defect succeed in obtaining multimillion-dollar contracts to play in MLB, many receive only minor league contracts and do not reach MLB. Players are often separated from their families, as Cuba often denies exit visas to the families of players who defected. This can lead to severed relationships, such as between Jorge Toca and the mother of his son.

title: Rafael Devers

text: In the postseason, Devers hit a two-run home run in Game 3 of the ALDS against the eventual World Series champions, the Houston Astros, giving the Red Sox their first lead in any game of the series. Devers became the youngest Red Sox player to homer in the postseason, and only the sixth player in MLB history to hit a home run in the playoffs before his 21st birthday, joining Mickey Mantle, Andruw Jones, Miguel Cabrera, Manny Machado, and Bryce Harper. In Game 4, Devers hit an inside-the-park home run, becoming the youngest MLB player (at 20 years, 350 days old) to hit one in the postseason. During the ALDS, Devers batted 4-for-11 (.364) with two home runs and five RBIs.

title: MLB 15: The Show

text: Players who purchased "" will be able to transfer their Franchise, Road to the Show and Postseason Mode progress into "MLB 15: The Show", and continue where they previously left off. Players who have save data from the PS3 version of "MLB 14: The Show" will also be able to carry the data over to the PS4 version of "MLB 15: The Show", and vice versa.

title: Posting system

text: Under this system, when an NPB player is "posted", his NPB team notifies the MLB Commissioner, with the posting fee based on the type of contract a player signs and its value. The fee is a flat 25% of the value of a minor-league contract; for MLB contracts, the fee is based on the value of the contract that the posted player eventually signs. The player is then given 30 days to negotiate with any MLB team willing to pay the NPB team's posting fee. If the player agrees on contract terms with a team before the 30-day period has expired, the NPB team receives the posting fee from the signing MLB team as a transfer fee, and the player is free to play in MLB. If no MLB team comes to a contract agreement with the posted player, then no fee is paid, and the player's rights revert to his NPB team. The current process replaced one in which MLB held a silent auction during which MLB teams submitted sealed, uncapped bids in an attempt to win the exclusive negotiating rights with the posted player for a period of 30 days. Once the highest bidding MLB team was determined, the player could then only negotiate with that team.

title: 2019 Major League Baseball draft

text: The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft will take place in June 2019. The draft will assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order will be set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be distributed for players who did not sign from the 2018 MLB Draft and for teams who lose qualifying free agents. The first day of the draft will be broadcast by MLB Network from their studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The remaining two days of the draft will be streamed on MLB.com.

title: List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise

text: The following is a list of former Major League Baseball (MLB) players who played in at least ten MLB seasons and spent their entire MLB playing careers exclusively with one franchise. In most cases, this means the player only appeared with one team; there are also players whose team was relocated (e.g. the Athletics) or had a name change (e.g. the Angels) during their career. Active players, and free agents who have not yet retired, are not listed. Some listed players subsequently went on to coach or manage with other teams, or may have had minor league appearances with other franchises.

title: Paul Gibson (baseball)

text: Under Gibson’s supervision, the Royals have signed Bubba Starling, Kyle Zimmer, Cameron Gallagher and Alfredo Escalera–Maldonado, at 17, the youngest player ever drafted by any MLB organization since the insertion of the First-Year Player Draft.

title: Don Nomura

text: In 1994 Nomura discovered a loophole in the NPB player contract and working agreement between MLB and NPB. According to the 1967 working agreement between MLB and NPB, NPB players could not sign a contract with a MLB team until they reached free agency after 10 years of service or unless their team sold their contract to a MLB team. However, a player who "voluntarily retired" from NPB was no longer bound to their NPB team outside Japan and was free to sign overseas without violating the working agreement.

title: 2018 Major League Baseball draft

text: The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who did not sign from the 2017 MLB Draft and for teams who lose qualifying free agents.< The first 43 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast by MLB Network on June 4. The remainder of the draft was streamed on MLB.com on June 5 and 6.

title: 2016 Major League Baseball draft

text:
The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams.
The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be distributed for players who did not sign from the 2015 MLB Draft. The Philadelphia Phillies received the first overall selection. The Los Angeles Dodgers received the 36th pick as compensation for failing to sign Kyle Funkhouser, the 35th overall selection of the 2015 MLB Draft.

title: Starlin Castro

text: Starlin DeJesus Castro (born March 24, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. Castro is a four-time MLB All-Star and holds the record for most runs batted in in an MLB debut. In 2011, he led the National League in hits, becoming the youngest player to do so. He is listed at 6 foot 2 inches (1.88 meters) and 230 lbs (104 kg).

title: List of oldest and youngest National Basketball Association players

text: The youngest player to ever play in the NBA was Andrew Bynum who played his first game at the age of 18 years and 6 days old. Bynum, who was also the youngest player ever selected in the NBA Draft, went into the NBA straight out of high school. Jermaine O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, both drafted in 1996, were the second- and third-youngest players. Serbian Darko Miličić was the youngest player ever to play in an NBA Finals game. He played for the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of the 2004 Finals at the age of 18 years and 356 days old. The Pistons won the 2004 Finals and Miličić became the youngest player ever to win the NBA championship, being only five days away from his 19th birthday at the time. There are currently 27 players who played in the NBA before they turned 19. Nineteen of them came to the league straight out of high school, while 6 of them are international players who never played basketball in the U.S. high schools or colleges before they entered the NBA, and two more players ended up playing only a year of college before entering the NBA.


query: What is cider made with?

title: Cider

text: Cider (/ˈsaɪdər/ SY-dər) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples.[1] Cider is popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the West Country, and widely available. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, as well as its largest cider-producing companies.[2][3][4] Cider is also popular in many Commonwealth countries, such as India, Canada, Australia,[5][6] and New Zealand.[7] Aside from the UK and its former colonies, cider is popular in other European countries including Ireland, Portugal (mainly in Minho and Madeira), France (particularly Brittany and Normandy), northern Italy (Piedmont and Friuli), and Spain (especially Asturias and the Basque Country). Central Europe also has its own types of cider with Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse producing a particularly tart version known as Apfelwein. In the U.S. and parts of Canada, varieties of fermented cider are often called hard cider to distinguish alcoholic cider from non-alcoholic "cider" or "sweet cider", also made from apples.

title: Scrumpy

text: Scrumpy is a term for certain types of cider originating in the West of England, particularly Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. Traditionally, the dialect term "scrumpy" was used to refer to what was otherwise called "rough", a harsh cider made from unselected apples.

title: Alcoholic drinks in Sweden

text: Sweet cider is also common. As of July 1, 2005, new rules established that only fermented juice from apple or pear is allowed to be called 'cider'. Before this change, any fruit-based drink could be called cider, meaning that what would be considered alcopop in other countries could be sold as cider in Sweden.

title: Cider

text: In the US, "cider" refers to unfiltered apple juice, traditionally made with a distinct sweet-tart taste, and in these regions, the fermented beverage is known as "hard cider". In Canada, the terms "cider" and "apple cider" are interchangeable although they generally refer to alcoholic and juice beverages, respectively.

title: Cider

text: In New Zealand, cider is categorised as a fruit wine and the rules which define what can be called a cider are very lax – the standards do not even specify a minimum for the amount of apple juice required to call a drink "cider".[97] At the same time Ready to Drink beverages are not permitted for sale in supermarkets and grocery outlets. These two factors have resulted in the production of a wide range of low juice content, sweet, often flavoured drinks under the "cider" banner being used to circumvent this restriction. Most of these ciders are produced and marketed by the three large brewers (Lion Nathan, DB and Independent).

title: Perry

text: "Pear cider" has in recent years been used as an alternative name for alcoholic drinks containing pear juice, in preference to the term perry . According to the BBC, the term was first used when Brothers Cider, a product industrially made from pear concentrate, rather than the traditional method using perry pears, was sold at Glastonbury Festival in 1995: nobody understood what perry was and were told that it was "like cider, but made from pears".

title: Cider

text: Heritage ciders are made from both culinary and cider apples, including bittersweet, bittersharp, heirlooms, wild apples, and crabapples.[21] Common apples used in heritage cider production include Dabinett, Kingston Black, Roxbury Russet, and Wickson.[21] Heritage ciders are higher in tannins than modern ciders.[21] They range in color from yellow to amber, and range from brilliant to hazy in clarity.[21] Clarity of heritage ciders also depends on the cider making practices used and will differ by cider maker as well.[21]

title: Cider

text: Despite a strong apple tradition, Denmark has little cider production. Six places that produce cider in Denmark are Pomona (since 2003), Fejø Cider (since 2003), Dancider (since 2004), Ørbæk Bryggeri (since 2006), Ciderprojektet (since 2008), and Svaneke Bryghus (since 2009). All are inspired mainly by English and French cider styles. The assortment of imported ciders has grown significantly since 2000, prior to that only ciders from Sweden, primarily non-alcoholic, were generally available. The leading cider on the Danish market is made by CULT A/S.[73] In 2008, Carlsberg launched an alcoholic cider in Denmark called Somersby cider which has an alcohol content of 4.7% and a sweet taste.[74][75]

title: Kingstone Press Cider

text: Kingstone Press Cider is an English cider made from apples from an orchard in Malvern in Worcestershire. Kingstone Press is Aston Manor's main cider blend.

title: Apple cider

text: Authentic "sparkling cider" is a naturally carbonated beverage made from unfiltered apple cider. "Sparkling apple juice", often confused with it and sometimes even labeled as "sparkling cider", as does the popular Martinelli's brand, is filtered, pasteurized, and mechanically carbonated and thus not true cider.

title: Handcrafts and folk art in Puebla

text: Apple cider in Mexico is mostly drunk for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. It is generally sweet, mildy alcoholic, and carbonated. The most famous variety is made in and around the town Huejotzingo, which hosts an annual cider and handcrafts Fair. It is made with locally grown apples and comes in two varieties: rose (mixed with red wine) and natural. It is sold in various parts of the country. Cider and fruit wines are commonly made in small enterprises in the north of the state, in communities such as Acaxochitlan, which makes one wine from a local fruit called acachul. The Copa de Oro cider enterprise in Huejotzingo hosts a museum dedicated to cider making in Puebla, especially to the history of the enterprise, with photographs, documents, and keepsakes.

title: Perry

text: CAMRA defines perry and pear cider as different drinks, stating that "pear cider" as made by the large industrial cidermakers is a pear-flavoured drink, or more specifically a cider-style drink flavoured with pear concentrate, whereas "perry" should be made by traditional methods from perry pears only. (Brothers, Bulmers and other pear ciders are made from pear concentrate, often imported.) Others, including the industry trade National Association of Cider Makers, maintain that the terms "perry" and "pear cider" are interchangeable. Its own rules specify that perry or pear cider may contain no more than 25% apple juice.

title: Cider

text: Cider has been made in Chile since colonial times. Southern Chile accounts for nearly all cider production in the country. Chileans make a distinction between "sidra" ("cider"), in fact, sparkling cider, and "chicha de manzana" ("apple chicha"), a homemade cider that is considered of less quality.

title: Cider

text: Most New Zealand ciders are made from concentrate or from reject apples from the country's significant export apple industry. These ciders are made year round with little consideration given to maturation.

title: Melick's Town Farm

text: In her article, Maude Kenyon reports that the Melicks have been making their own apple cider since 1962, when George Melick bought a cider press. While they had always made unpasteurized cider, the presence of e-coli in the cider forced them to begin pasteurization. However, pasteurization done through heating significantly alters the flavor of the cider. In order to accomplish pasteurizing without ruining the cider, the Melicks use an ultra-violet light system that maintains the true cider flavor. This system, often called "cold pasteurization", incorporates the same technology used for water treatment. Despite the high costs of the cider business, Melick’s remains one of the few cider producers in the state. The Melicks know that the cider draws customers to their stands who are likely to buy more products. As of 2001, Melick’s was selling 70,000 gallons of cider each year.

title: Cider

text: The juice of any variety of apple can be used to make cider, but cider apples are best.[8] The addition of sugar or extra fruit before a second fermentation increases the ethanol content of the resulting beverage.[9][10] Cider alcohol content varies from 1.2% to 8.5% ABV or more in traditional English ciders, and 3.5% to 12% in continental ciders.[1] In UK law, it must contain at least 35% apple juice (fresh or from concentrate),[11] although CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) says that "real cider" must be at least 90% fresh apple juice.[12] In the US, there is a 50% minimum.[13] In France, cider must be made solely from apples.[14]

title: Ice cider

text: Ice cider (also known as apple icewine or cidre de glace in French; sold as ice apple wine in the United States) is the cider equivalent of ice wine: a fermented beverage made from the frozen juice of apples. Similar to ice wine, the use of frozen apples concentrates the natural sugars in the apples, resulting in a higher alcohol content than cider made by traditional methods.

title: Cider

text: French cidre (French pronunciation:[sidʁ]) is an alcoholic drink produced predominantly in Normandy and Brittany. It varies in strength from below 4% alcohol to considerably more. Cidre Doux is a sweet cider, usually up to 3% in strength. 'Demi-Sec' is 3–5% and Cidre Brut is a strong dry cider of 4.5% alcohol and above. Most French ciders are sparkling. Higher quality cider is sold in champagne-style bottles (cidre bouché). Many ciders are sold in corked bottles, but some screw-top bottles exist. In crêperies (crêpe restaurants) in Brittany, cider is generally served in traditional ceramic bowls (or wide cups) rather than glasses. A kir Breton (or kir normand) is a cocktail apéritif made with cider and cassis, rather than white wine and cassis for the traditional kir. The Domfrontais, in the Orne (Basse-Normandie), is famous for its pear cider (poiré). The calvados du Domfrontais is made of cider and poiré.

title: Cider

text: Modern ciders are made from culinary apples and are lower in tannins and higher in acidity than other cider styles.[21] Common culinary apples used in modern ciders include McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Gala, and Fuji.[21] A sweet or low alcohol cider may tend to have a strong aromatic and flavor character of apple, while drier and higher alcohol ciders will tend to produce a wider range of fruity aromas and flavors.[21] Modern ciders vary in color from pale to yellow and can range from brilliant to a hazy clarity.[21] Clarity can be altered through various cider making practices, depending on the cider maker's intentions.[21]

title: Cider

text: Cider is an ancient beverage. No-one knows when or where it was first made, because the native distribution of its principal component, the apple, is so widespread, from the Near East to Northwestern Europe. In the cider market, ciders can be broken down into two main styles, standard and specialty. The first group consists of modern ciders and heritage ciders. Modern ciders are produced from culinary apples such as Gala. Heritage ciders are produced from heritage, cider specific, crab or wild apples, like Golden Russet. Historically, cider was made from the only resources available to make it,[17] so style wasn't a large factor when considering the production process. Apples were historically confined to the cooler climates of Western Europe and Britain where civilization was slow to develop record keeping.[18] Cider was first made from crab apples, ancestors of the bittersweet and bittersharp apples used by today's English cider makers.[19]

title: Dabinett

text: The fruit is of sufficient quality to make a single varietal cider, and a number of commercial cider manufacturers produce ciders made solely or primarily with 'Dabinett' apples, including The Tricky Cider Co, Thatchers and Sheppy's.

title: Cider in the United Kingdom

text: Cider is made in Scotland mainly by small producers, such as Thistly Cross Cider and Waulkmill Cider. The apples are sourced in Scotland, and the resultant brews are mainly sold near to the place of origin. Thistly Cross Cider produce many fruit flavoured ciders which are now being sold in Scottish Waitrose and Peckham's stores. Waulkmill Cider is made only with apples collected from within Dumfries and Galloway, and is mainly sold at farmers markets and festivals. Other Scottish cideries are Cairn O’Mohr and Scruffy Dog Cider, and in the Highlands there's Caledonian Cider Co.

title: Drink

text: Cider is a fermented alcoholic drink made from fruit juice, most commonly and traditionally apple juice, but also the juice of peaches, pears ("Perry" cider) or other fruit. Cider may be made from any variety of apple, but certain cultivars grown solely for use in cider are known as cider apples. The United Kingdom has the highest per capita consumption of cider, as well as the largest cider-producing companies in the world, , the U.K. produces 600 million litres of cider each year (130 million imperial gallons).

title: Cider apple

text: Cider is made in several countries and can be made from any apples. Historically the flavours preferred and varieties used to produce cider have varied by region. Many of the most traditional apple varieties used for ciders come from or are derived from those from Devon, Somerset and Herefordshire in England, Normandy in France, and Asturias in Spain, and these areas are considered to have their own broad cider styles although the many exceptions make this more of a historic footnote. Normandy cider is usually naturally carbonated and clear: Asturian cider apple varieties are mainly 'sharps' or mild 'bittersweets', producing a mildly acidic cider which is customarily served by being poured from height into the glass to oxygenate it.

title: Cider apple

text: In the UK there are two broad styles of cider, determined by the types of apple available. The style associated with the east of England (East Anglia, Kent, Sussex) used surplus dessert and cooking apples and was therefore characterised by an acidic, light-bodied cider. The other style, using specific cider apple cultivars with higher tannin levels, is usually associated with the West Country, particularly Somerset, and Three Counties. Within these broad types there are also a number of more specific regional styles. The ciders of Devon were often made largely from sweets, the cultivars low in acid and tannins that typified the county's orchards. Devon cidermakers also specialised in "keeved", or "matched" cider, where fermentation was slowed to produce a naturally sweet finish, though such ciders were usually intended for the London market and a fully fermented, dry "rough" cider was preferred for home consumption. Somerset ciders, by contrast, have tended to be stronger and more tannic. Bittersweet cultivars, locally known as "Jersey" apples, were typical of Somerset, although the county's most famous apple, Kingston Black, was a mild bittersharp. The West Midland county of Gloucestershire traditionally favoured bittersharp apples, giving strong ciders with a higher bite of acidity and tannins: neighbouring Worcestershire and Herefordshire also favoured acidic cider apples, but their growers also made plantings of dual purpose apples to take advantage of markets in nearby industrial centres.

title: Cider in the United Kingdom

text: Cloudy, unfiltered ciders made in the West Country are often called "scrumpy", from "scrump", a local dialect term for a small or withered apple. Ciders from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire made from traditional recipes have a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) awarded by the European Union in 1996. There are over 25 cider producers in Somerset alone, many of them small family businesses. Historically, farm labourers in Devon, Wiltshire, Dorset, Cornwall and Somerset would receive part of their pay in the form of a substantial daily allowance of cider and local traditions such as the Wassail recall the earlier significance of cider-apple.

title: Cider in the United Kingdom

text: There are two broad main traditions in cider production in the UK: the West Country tradition and the eastern Kent and East Anglia tradition. The former are made using a much higher percentage of true cider apples and so are richer in tannins and sharper in flavour. Kent and East Anglia ciders tend to use a higher percentage of, or are exclusively made from, culinary and dessert fruit; Kentish ciders such as Biddenden's, Rough Old Wife and Theobolds are typical of this style. They tend to be clearer, more vinous and lighter in body and flavour.

title: Cider

text: Quebec cider is considered a traditional alcoholic beverage. It is generally sold in 750ml bottles, has an alcohol content generally between 7% and 13% (with aperitifs ciders having alcohol content up to 20%), and can be served as a substitute for wine. As in the rest of the world, sparkling cider is getting more and more popular in Quebec and thanks to the law cider sold in the province can only be made from 100% pure apple juice. Cider making was, however, forbidden from the early years of British rule as it was in direct conflict with established British brewers' interests (most notably John Molson). In recent years, a new type called ice cider has been sold. This type of cider is made from apples with a particularly high level of sugar caused by natural frost.

title: Apple cider

text: Apple cider (also called sweet cider or soft cider or simply cider) is the name used in the United States and parts of Canada for an unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples. Though typically referred to simply as "cider" in those areas, it is not to be confused with the alcoholic beverage known as cider throughout most of the world, called hard cider in the US.

title: List of cider brands

text:
This is a list of cider brands. Cider is an alcoholic beverage made exclusively from the juice of apples, although most commercial ciders have very little apple content and tend to be mostly made up of water and chemicals, including artificial sweeteners like aspartame. Any apple content normally comes from a minimal mix of apple concentrate syrup, and not the freshly picked, ripe fruit often depicted on clever marketing campaigns. Craft cider makers claim this mass-produced drink isn't actually cider at all because of this production process.
This list does not include perry, which is a similar alcoholic beverage made from pear varieties.