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Yankee4Life

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OKay guys I can't believe nobody has put "The Kid" in yet.

 

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Teddy Ball Game was the last player to hit over .400 in a season.

Awards

 

1939 Rookie of the Year Award

1942 American League Triple Crown

1946 Most Valuable Player Award

1947 American League Triple Crown

1949 Most Valuable Player Award

1958 Silver Slugger Award

1966 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction

 

Honors

17 All-Star Game Player Honors

1953 All-Star Game First Ball Honor

12 Career Batting Title Honors

1946 World Series Game Honor

1999 Baseball All-Century Team Honor

1999 All-Star Game Honors

 

Also how much better could have his statistics been if he hadn't gone to serve in the Marines twice!!! He was amazing and most likely the greatest hitter of all time!!!

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Ted Williams:

1918-2002

 

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Honus Wagner

 

Honus Wagner is considered by many to be baseball's greatest all-around player. The Pittsburgh Pirates' shortstop was a sensational hitter, a brilliant base-runner and a flawless fielder. He broke into the majors by hitting .344 in 1897 and put together 17 consecutive .300 seasons. He was the NL batting champion for seven of those 17 seasons with a lifetime average of .329.

 

One of the first five players inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he led the league in stolen bases on six occasions, finishing his career with a total of 722 steals. Wagner retired with more hits, runs, RBI, doubles, triples, games and steals than any other National League player.

After his career as a player, Honus became a manager for his longtime team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Honus Wagner baseball card, one of the most valuable in existence today, was recalled in 1909. At the time, the cards were distributed along with tobacco; Wagner, a nonsmoker, objected to being included in the promotion because he did not want to set a bad example for children.

 

 

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Joseph Jefferson Jackson (Shoeless Joe)

It's been written that the great Babe Ruth copied Joe Jackson's swing when he came up to the major leagues. Ruth, of course, at the time was a pitcher and he knew a good hitter when he saw one. Joe Jackson was more than a good hitter, he was a superstar. His career batting average of .356 is third highest in baseball history. Jackson is not in Baseball's Hall of Fame due to his supposed involvement in the fixing of the 1919 World Series, a fact that has never been proven to this day.

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For more information on Shoeless Joe, go to this site:

http://www.blackbetsy.com/

 

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Bernie Williams

------------------------------

 

Born: September 13, 1968, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Full Name: Bernabe Figueroa Williams

Height: 6-2

Weight: 205 lbs.

Bats: Both

Throws: Right

Pos: CF

Season after season, Bernie keeps piling up huge offensive statistics, partly explaining why he's becoming a Yankee legend. It also doesn't hurt that he plays a solid center field in mythic Yankee Stadium and provides quiet though steady leadership to the clubhouse. He also has been a member of four world championship Yankee squads, as well.

 

Bernie outdid himself a bit in 2002, posting career bests in at-bats (612) and hits (204) on his way to hitting at a .333 clip, third best in the AL. Bernie smoked 37 doubles, 19 homers and collected 102 RBI, the fifth time he's gone over 100 in the latter category. He accomplished all that despite battling shoulder pain throughout the season.

 

Bernie is the picture of consistency, hitting more than .300 the past eight seasons and scoring over 100 runs the previous seven. The perennial all-star (six times) can also handle the glove, winning four straight Gold Gloves (1997-2000). His career numbers are rapidly piling up into something quite special, as he boasts 1,833 hits, 1,066 runs, 353 doubles, 226 home runs and 998 RBI while hitting .308.

Bernie grew up in Puerto Rico and played Little League ball against current Texas Rangers Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez. As a teenager, Bernie also was one of the world's top 400-meter runners for his age group.

 

Many people forget that Bernie is one of the few remaining Dynasty players on the Yankee team, meaning he has played on the Yankees throughout the 90s.

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Joe Dimaggio

 

Joe Dimaggio.jpg

 

"Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper."

 

 

Played For

New York Yankees (1936-1942, 1946-1951)

 

Post-Season

1936 World Series, 1937 World Series, 1938 World Series, 1939 World Series, 1941 World Series, 1942 World Series, 1947 World Series, 1949 World Series, 1950 World Series, 1951 World Series

World Champion?

 

Yes, nine times.

 

Ultimate Games (2-0)

1947 World Series Game Seven, 1949 Regular Season

 

Honors

All-Star (13): 1936-1942, 1946-1951; American League MVP 1939, 1941 and 1947; voted Greatest Living Player in a 1969 Major League Baseball fans poll.

 

 

DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941 remains one of baseball's most cherished records. As a young player he teamed with Lou Gehrig to lead some of the best Yankee teams ever. As an older player he formed a powerful lineup with Johnny Mize and Yogi Berra. When he retired, young star Mickey Mantle arrived to fill his shoes. Baseball fans soon realized that no one would ever accomplish that.

According to many eye witnesses, DiMaggio was the best all-around player of his time. He could hit, hit for power, throw, field, and run. He bridged the Gehrig era to the Mantle era. He was a winner: playing on ten pennant winners and failing to win the World Series just once in those ten tries.

 

He retired when he could have played a few more years and won some more titles. But that wasn't his style. He moved aside to make way for Mickey Mantle. Joe DiMaggio lived the life of an American Hero. In an amazing life as an American icon, DiMaggio married Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe, becoming the envy of every American male. Even after they split, DiMaggio remained in the spotlight as a spokesman for several products, including the Mr. Coffee maker.

 

DiMaggio came from a baseball family, his two brothers also were major leaguers. Dominic was the better of the two siblings, starring with the Red Sox, earning All-Star status and Hall of Fame support from teammate Ted Williams. Vince was best known for his defense and the long swing which led to him lead the league in strikeouts six times in his ten year career.

 

DiMaggio frequently battled the Yankees over his salary and was once almost traded straight up for Williams, in what would have been the biggest deal in baseball history. The Yankees benefited from his leadership, as DiMaggio helped break in Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle.

 

In 1969, as Major League Baseball celebrated the 100th anniversary of professional baseball, DiMaggio was voted the "Greatest Living Player."

 

Chasing .400

 

As the 1939 season drew to a close, 24-year old Joe DiMaggio was on the brink of baseball history.

 

"I remember there were about three weeks to go in the season and I had a plus-.400 batting average," Joe recalled in 1963. "I figured I was odds-on to finish the year with a .400 mark. I remember Joe McCarthy calling me into his office and telling me he didn't think I wanted to be a cheese champion so he was going to play me every day, even though the pennant was about clinched."

 

"I agreed, but a few days later I got this terrible pain over my right eye. I didn't tell anyone, and I went to a doctor who gave me Novocain shots over the eye to kill the pain. I was taking a terrible chance, but I never thought of the consequences. All I wanted to do was stay in the lineup and hit .400. I didn't make it though."

 

DiMaggio finished the season at .381, winning his first batting title and Most Valuable Player Award.

 

Position

Center field

Major League Debut: May 3, 1936; Dimaggio's debut was delayed by his contract holdout.

Feats

His record 56-game hitting streak has stood for more than 60 years.

Uniform #'s

#9 (1936), #5 (1937-1942, 1946-1951)

Best Season, 1941

 

Though Ted Williams great '41 season denied DiMaggio a batting or slugging title, Joltin' Joe had a monster year. He slugged .643 with a .440 OBP (1.083 OPS). He led the league with 125 RBI, and hit 30 homers and 43 doubles. He also scored 122 runs, collected 193 hits, and smashed 11 triples. Amazingly, he struck out just 13 times! He had 76 walks, and did all of this while playing his usual fantastic center field. Oh yes...and he also posted his 56-game hitting streak and led the Yankees to a World Series title.

 

Hitting Streaks

 

56 games (1941); DiMaggio's streak was stopped by Cleveland pitcher Jim Bagby Jr., son of former big league pitcher Jim Bagby. In the minor leagues, DiMaggio had a 610game hitting streak stopped by Ed Walsh Jr., son of Hall of Fame right-hander Ed Walsh.

DiMaggio and the MVP Award

 

DiMaggio won two controversial MVP awards over Ted Williams: in 1941 (by 37 votes, despite Williams' .406 average); and in 1947, (by a single vote). Twice he finished second, once in a very close vote. In 1937 he lost the honor to Detroit's Charlie Gehringer by four votes.

 

1936 - 8th

1937 - 2nd

1938 - 6th

1939 - 1st

1940 - 3rd

1941 - 1str> 1942 - 7th 1943-45 (military)

1946 - 19th

1947 - 1st

1948 - 2nd

1949 - 12th

1950 - 9th

 

Fighting with Casey

Late in his career, DiMaggio had a feud with Yankee manager Casey Stengel, whom he had little respect for. On July 8, 1951, after DiMaggio committed an error in center field, Stengel measured some revenge when he replaced Joe with rookie Jackie Jensen in the middle of the game. DiMaggio retired at the end of the 1951 season.

 

 

Joe Dimaggio, the Yankee Clipper.jpg

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Nolan Ryan

 

Born: January 31, 1947

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 195 Lbs.

First Game: September 11, 1966

Final Game: September 22, 1993

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Drafted: 12th Round (!) of the 1965 draft by the Mets

Teams: New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers

Elected to HOF: 1999 (98.79% of votes)

Notable Achivements: 324 Wins, 27 Seasons, 5714 Strikeouts, 8 Time All-Star, 1 World Series Win

 

 

 

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Billy Herman

Billy Herman played on pennant winners in the 30's for the Chicago Cubs and in the 40's for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Manager Leo Durocher called Herman the final piece to the puzzle in 1941 for Brooklyn when he acquired Herman in a trade that year. Durocher proved to be right as the Dodgers won their first pennant that year in twenty-one years.

 

About Herman

One of the best hitting second baseman in history, Herman spent nearly four years in the minor leagues before being purchased by the NL's Chicago Cubs late in the 1931 season. He became a starter in 1932.

 

Although he wasn't fast, his reflexes and lateral quickness gave him great defensive ability. He led NL second baseman in putouts a record 7 times, in assists 3 times, and in fielding percentage 3 times.

 

He batted .314 in his first full season, collecting 206 hits and 102 runs to help lead the Cubs to a pennant. However, they lost the World Series in four games to the New York Yankees. After slipping to .279 in 1933, he hit over .300 the next 4 seasons, leading the league with 227 hits and 57 doubles in 1935, when the Cubs again won the pennant.

 

Herman batted .333 against the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, but the Cubs again lost. They won another pennant in 1938, again losing to the Yankees in the series, when Herman hit only .188.

 

He led the NL in triples with 18 in 1939, then was traded early in the 1941 season to the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he played on another pennant-winner but batted just .125 in a five-game World Series loss to the Yankees.

 

After serving in the Navy in 1944 and 1945, Herman returned to the Dodgers in 1946. He was traded during the season to the Boston Braves and in 1947 he became manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, appearing in only 15 games. He was fired the day before the last game of the season.

 

Herman managed in the minor leagues and coached in the majors for several years before becoming manager of the AL's Boston Red Sox for the last two games of 1964. He was replaced late in the 1966 season.

 

 

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Nolan Ryan

Born: January 31, 1947

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 195 Lbs.

First Game: September 11, 1966

Final Game: September 22, 1993

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Drafted: 12th Round (!) of the 1965 draft by the Mets

Teams: New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers

Elected to HOF: 1999 (98.79% of votes)

Notable Achivements: 324 Wins, 27 Seasons, 5714 Strikeouts, 8 Time All-Star, 1 World Series Win

Also known for punching Robin Ventura in a classic brawl...

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"Wahoo" Sam Crawford was born in Wahoo, NE, near Lincoln where I was born and raised. I played many Legion games on Sam Crawford Memorial Field in Wahoo. He was an apprentice to become a barber before he turned to baseball full-time in Omaha. If anyone has the chance to read The Glory Of Their Times, they should. Here are some other HOFers who were born in Nebraska (Not necessarily living there anymore):

Pete Alexander (P), Richie Ashburn (OF), Wade Boggs (3B), and Bob Gibson (P).

Another great Nebraskan was Bob Cerv. Cerv was an All-Star in the '50's with the Kansas City A's before becoming a backup outfielder in 1961 with Mantle and Maris. He is portrayed as Maris' roommate in Billy Crystal's movie "61*."

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Herb Pennock

 

Herb Pennock was born on Saturday, February 10, 1894, and began his Major League baseball career on May 14, 1912, with the Philadelphia Athletics. The 18 year-old played for 22 seasons on 3 different teams and ended his big league playing career in 1934. The highlight of Pennock's career was being a member of the 1927 Yankees, a team considered the greatest of all time. Pennock that year was 19 - 8 with a 3.00 ERA. Pennock was called the "Knight of Kennett Square" because he hailed from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

 

About Pennock

Every great team has a strong mix of hitting and pitching. The 1927 New York Yankees had "Murderer’s Row" of Ruth, Gehrig, and company to provide offensive explosions. The pitching staff was just as instrumental in the team’s success. The staff was anchored by left-handed journeyman, Herb Pennock. When the Yankees traded for Pennock in 1923, they figured to get a few solid starts out of the ten-year veteran. What they got was an ace that would perform brilliantly for ten more seasons and compile a perfect 5-0 World Series record. When all was said and done and his career ended in 1934, Pennock tallied a 240-162 record and completed an astounding 247 games. In 1948, Herb Pennock joined many of his Yankee teammates in Cooperstown with his election to baseball's Hall of Fame.

 

Fast Facts

Name: Herbert Jefferis Pennock

Born: February 19, 1894 Kennett Square, PA

Died: January 30, 1948

Batted: Both

Threw: Left

Position: Pitcher

Pitcher for Philadelphia Athletics 1912-15

Boston Red Sox 1915-22 and 1934

New York Yankees 1923-33

Earned 33 career saves Compiled a perfect 5-0 record in World Series Play Had a league-leading .

760 winning percentage in 1923

Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1948.

Led the league in innings pitched in 1925

Logged 247 complete games in his career

 

 

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Bobby Shantz

Bobby Shantz was a crafty lefthanded pitcher that played in the major leagues for 16 seasons on eight different teams. His best year was in 1952 when he was the American League's Most Valueable Player for the Philadelphia Athletics. He went 24 - 7 with a 2.48 ERA for a team that only finished four games over .500

 

About Shantz

The 5'6" 139-lb Shantz broke in spectacularly, winning a 13-inning game in relief, pitching nine hitless innings along the way while giving up one run and two hits overall. He was handicapped by manager Connie Mack, a former catcher who wouldn't let Shantz use his knuckleball and was predisposed against small pitchers. When Mack finally retired after the 1950 season, Jimmy Dykes took over the club and gave the little lefthander more rest between starts; Shantz blossomed. Finally allowed to use his knuckler, and with a curveball that Ted Williams called the best in the AL, Shantz learned to change speeds and went 18-10 for the 70-84 Athletics.

 

 

Shantz reached the peak of his career in 1952, going 24-7 for a fifth-place team to win the MVP award in a landslide. He led the AL in wins, winning percentage, and fewest walks per game (2.03), and finished third with a 2.48 ERA and 152 strikeouts, tied for third with five shutouts, second with 27 complete games, fourth with 255 innings, and fifth in fewest hits per game (7.39).

 

Plagued by injuries for most of the next four seasons, Shantz went to the Yankees in a 12-player deal before the 1957 season and made a great comeback that year, leading the AL with a 2.45 ERA while going 11-5. After that, he was used more frequently in relief, and contributed 11 saves to the 1960 pennant winners before being traded to the Pirates, who had defeated New York in the World Series; Shantz saved Game Two for the Yankees. He bounced around the NL after that, effective until his last year.

 

Shantz won Gold Gloves in the first four years of the award (1957-60). His brother Billy was a catcher for the A's in 1954-55 and in one game for the 1960 Yankees.

 

 

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Gaylord Perry

Born: September 15, 1938

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 215 Lbs.

First Game: April 14, 1962

Last Game: September 21, 1983

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Drafted: N/A (Signed as free agent with S.F. Giants in 1958)

Teams: San Fransisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals

Elected to HOF: 1991 (77.20% of votes)

Notable Achivements: First player to win Cy Young in both leagues, 314 Wins, 3534 Strikeouts, 5 Time All-Star, 22 Year Career

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Roger Maris

 

Some consider him still to be the home run king. He was one of the most underated and underapreciated players of his era.

Everyone knows that he hit 61 in 1961. He hit his last one on the last day of the year. A little known fact is that he not only won the MVP award in 1961, but the year before in 1960. He led the league in many single season stats during his career other than homers including slugging(1960), runs (1961), total bases (61), RBIs (1960, 1961), extra base hits ( 1960, 1961). He also won a Golden Glove in 1960.

 

 

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Roger Maris

Some consider him still to be the home run king. He was one of the most underated and underapreciated players of his era.

Everyone knows that he hit 61 in 1961. He hit his last one on the last day of the year. A little known fact is that he not only won the MVP award in 1961, but the year before in 1960. He led the league in many single season stats during his career other than homers including slugging(1960), runs (1961), total bases (61), RBIs (1960, 1961), extra base hits ( 1960, 1961). He also won a Golden Glove in 1960.

Baseball-Reference.com says he is most like Jeremy Burnitz.

Have you seen the Movie 61*

It is just great!

Billy Crystal @ his best!!!

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Have you seen the Movie 61*

It is just great!

Billy Crystal @ his best!!!

Yes, I own it. Top 5 baseball movie ever. Top 10 sports movie ever. I think ESPN when they did all of those top 25 lists thought it was the 16th best.

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Mickey Mantle

Boys across America in the 1950's looked to Mantle as a hero and he did not let them down. A member of five Yankee champions in the 50's, Mantle was the successor to Joe Dimaggio in centerfield in New York. Mantle was racked by injuries for his entire career, but that did not stop him from hitting 536 homeruns and going to the Hall of Fame.

 

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Mickey Mantle rates as one of the greatest players in baseball history; he was the greatest switch-hitter the game has ever known. Mantle led the league 27 times in various batting titles. He led the league in home runs in four different years, he won six runs scored crowns, four times he led the league in walks, Mantle won three slugging titles, he led the league in batting average and RBI's in 1956.

 

Mickey Mantle, was a popular and well-regarded ballplayer and he won the Most Valuable Player Awards in 1956, 1957, and again in 1962. He is the only switch-hitter to win the Triple Crown, accomplishing this in 1956 when he clubbed 52 home runs, batted .353 and had 130 RBI's. Mantle is one of only three Triple Crown Winners who also won a Gold Glove Award. Mantle was one of the greatest fielding centerfielders of all-time. He was a league leading centerfielder in four different seasons.

 

Mantle, when batting left-handed was timed running from home-plate to first base in 3.1 seconds (the fastest time of any player in history), this is incredible feat. Mickey Mantle is the greatest late inning clutch hitter that ever played. He led the New York Yankees to twelve pennants and seven times the Yankees won the World Championship. If the Yankees were tied or losing the game in the late innings, Mantle would somehow come to their rescue with his late inning heroics. He was the most feared hitter in his time; smashing late inning bases loaded doubles or by hitting a game winning home run. If Mickey Mantle and the Yankees were playing your team; no lead was safe.

 

Mantle was "the Destroyer of Dreams", with his blinding speed and potent hitting. This Hall of Famer holds seven world series records including most home runs with 18, most runs scored with 42, most RBI's - 40 and most total bases with 123. (these records in his world series play are better than a lot of players get for a full season).

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Carl Furillo

Any New Yorker on this board that has relatives that followed baseball in the 1950's will know of Carl Furillo and remember him fondly. Furillo was a "gamer", before that word was used to describe baseball players who played the game hard for nine innings each and every day. He was Brooklyn's regular right fielder and was a fan favorite.

 

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About Furillo

Furillo played his entire 15 year career with the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, taking part in seven World Series and finishing with a career batting average of .299. He hit 192 home runs and had 1,058 runs batted in.

 

His best season was in 1953 when he led the National League in batting with a .344 average. He won the title despite being sidelined with a broken finger incurred in a brawl. Furillo had been hit by a pitch from the New York Giants' Ruben Gomez, and then charged the Giant manager, Leo Durocher.

 

We hated the Giants,he recalled years later. We just hated the uniform.

 

Furillo batted over .300 in four other seasons and drove in 90 or more runs for the Dodgers six times.

 

He was one of the star players for the Dodger team recalled in The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn and was a member of the only Brooklyn team that won the World Series, in 1955.

 

Furillo, who was raised in Lower Alsace Township, Pa., near Reading, started playing baseball as an outfielder for the Pocmoke City in the Eastern Shore League at a salary of $80 a month.

 

He fought his way up through the Dodger organization, where he acquired the name Reading Rifle for his fine throwing arm.

 

Pee Wee Reese, the former shortstop for the Dodgers, recalled a few years ago how the sign for Abe Stark's clothing store at the base of the right-field wall promised a free suit to any batter who hit it on a fly.

 

But Furillo played right in front of it,said Reese. Nobody ever hit it.

 

In 1959, Furillo, then 37 years old, played only 25 games in the outfield, but he delivered a game-winning hit in the World Series to help Los Angeles defeat the Chicago White Sox. His pinch-hit single in the seventh inning of Game 3, coming with the bases loaded, drove in two runs to break a scoreless tie. The Dodgers went on to win that game, 3-1.

 

The following season, however, Furillo was released after suffering a torn calf muscle. It was a heavily publicized incident that left him bitter. Furillo wanted to finish his 15th season so he would qualify in the players pension fund and receive $285 a month compared to $30 a month less if he left when the Dodgers wanted him to leave.

 

But the slugger who had smashed 192 homers over 14 years had only two hits in 10 times at bat.

 

After being released, he sued the Dodgers, saying his release was illegal because he had a baseball-related injury. A court awarded him back pay, and later he said he was blackballed from baseball coaching and scouting jobs.

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