What Does Pennant Mean In Baseball?
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A pennant is a flag that indicates to baseball fans that their team has qualified for the playoffs.
Definition of a Pennant
In baseball, a pennant is a flag that indicates the winning team of a division in Major League Baseball (MLB). Each MLB team has three divisional opponents and plays 19 games against each of them. The team with the best record in each division (and sometimes also with the second-best record in its league) earns a playoff berth and is said to have “won” its pennant. A pennant winners is the team that wins either the American League Championship Series (ALCS) or National League Championship Series (NLCS), depending on whether the team competes in the American League (AL) or National League (NL), respectively.
History of the Pennant
In baseball, a pennant is a flag flown from the end of a pole at the start of the baseball season until the end of the season. The pennant indicates which team will represent their league in the playoffs.
The word pennant comes from the Old English word for “flag” or “banner”. Pennants were first used in baseball in 1861, when the National Association of Base Ball Players was formed. The first recorded use of a pennant in Major League Baseball was in 1885, when the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) won their first National League pennant.
The pennant is also sometimes referred to as a flag, particularly in reference to the American League pennant. In some years, particularly before 1969, teams fought not only for their league’s championship, but also for the right to fly a physical flag over their home stadium indicating that they were the best team in baseball. This tradition ended when Major League Baseball expanded from two leagues to four.
How the Pennant is Used Today
The term “pennant” generally refers to a flag that is hung or displayed in support of a team or sporting event. In baseball, a pennant is a flag that is most commonly hung or displayed in the outfield of the team’s home stadium. The pennant typically has the team’s logo on it and/or the team’s name.
The pennant is also used as a symbol of achievement by teams who have won their league championship. A team will raise a pennant at their home stadium when they win their divisional title, league title, or (most notably) the World Series. Pennants are also sometimes given out to individual players on a team who have achieved certain milestones, such as hitting for the cycle or throwing a no-hitter.
The Different Types of Pennants
In baseball, a pennant is a flag that indicates which team is the league champion for a particular season. The word “pennant” comes from the Old French word for “flag,” which is “pennon.”
There are two types of pennants in baseball: the divisional pennant and the league pennant. The divisional pennant is awarded to the team that wins each of baseball’s six divisions. The league pennant is awarded to the team with the best record in each of baseball’s two leagues (the American League and National League).
The divisional and league pennants are both made of cloth and measure approximately three feet by six feet. They are attached to a pole in the center so they can be hung from the ceiling or in a window.
The divisional pennants are usually blue or red, while the league pennants are white with blue or red stripes. Each team’s pennant has that team’s logo in the center.
The winner of each league’s championship series (the best-of-seven playoff series between the two pennant winners) receives a larger flag, known as a world’s championship flag or world series flag. These flags measure approximately four feet by eight feet.
The Significance of the Pennant
In baseball, a pennant is a piece of cotton or wool fabric that is hung from the rafters of a ballpark to signify that a team has clinched a playoff berth. The pennant is usually triangular in shape and bears the team’s colors and logo.
A pennant winner is the team that finishes first in their league at the end of the regular season. In order to win a pennant, a team must have the best record in their league. If two teams are tied for first place, they will play each other in a one-game playoff to determine who will win the pennant.
The significance of the pennant was much greater in the early days of baseball when there were only two major leagues, the National League and the American League. Winning a pennant meant that your team was the best in all of baseball and would represent your league in the World Series.
Today, there are three major leagues (the National League, the American League, and the Third Base League) as well as many minor leagues. The playoffs have also been expanded so that now it is possible for two teams from the same league to meet in the World Series. As a result, winning a pennant is no longer synonymous with being the best team in baseball. Nevertheless, it is still considered to be a prestigious accomplishment and something that every team strives for at the beginning of every season.