This, I feel, is a post that needs no introduction. All images courtesy of Wikipedia.
Baseball Players And Their Representative Volcanoes
No longer can we stand to ignore the striking similarities between certain baseball players and various volcanoes from around the globe. A comparative list must be written.
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Volcano
Crater Lake
Player
Buster Posey
Why
Once the highly active and explosive Mount Mazama in what is now central Oregon, much of the body of the volcano was destroyed in one particularly dramatic eruption. The volcano is no longer what it once was, although it’s still pretty to look at. Hydrothermal activity at the floor of the lake suggests that activity may resume in the future.
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Volcano
Mount Damāvand
Player
Derek Jeter
Why
Old and thought by many to be extinct, Damāvand does have a little fumarole activity near the summit, implying that it may still wake from its rest. As is, Damāvand is an important physical and spiritual icon of the surrounding region, and Ferdowski’s Shahnameh claims it to possess magical powers.
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Volcano
Krakatau
Player
Adrian Beltre
Why
The eruption - and subsequent destruction - of Krakatau in 1883 is said to have produced the loudest sound ever heard, and the event was picked up by instruments located around the world. Krakatau remains active to this day and is gradually rebuilding its original cone, but it has not come close to duplicating its legendary outburst, and possibly never will.
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Volcano
Kronotsky
Player
Mike Adams
Why
An enormous and active volcano, Kronotsky is thought to be among the more beautiful in the world, but its location in Kamchatka means that it receives few visitors and little global attention.
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Volcano
Laki
Player
Mark McGwire
Why
In 1783, Iceland’s Laki fissure opened up and began spewing an estimated 14 cubic kilometers of lava, along with mammoth clouds of toxic gas. The eruption was devastating not only on a local scale - where it caused a widespread famine - but on a global scale as well, as the elements and compounds introduced to the atmosphere are thought to have lowered the world’s temperature and contributed to the deaths of as many as six million people.
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Volcano
Parícutin
Player
Jose Bautista
Why
You’ll know Parícutin as the famous volcano that emerged in a Mexican farmer’s backyard. Out of nowhere, a hole in the ground began to erupt one day in 1943, and as activity continued, the volcano reached a height of 1,000 feet in less than a year. It continued to erupt all the way through 1952, and is thought to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
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Volcano
Mount Rainier
Player
Felix Hernandez
Why
Situated majestically in the Pacific Northwest, Rainier is a beloved symbol of the region, and if anything ever goes wrong within its body, there stands a non-zero chance that the city of Seattle will be destroyed.
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Volcano
Mount Shasta
Players
Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee
Why
Shasta is one of North America’s largest and most beautiful volcanoes, rising abruptly from the ground and achieving considerable topographic prominence. It is composed of four overlapping volcanic cones of varying ages.
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Volcano
Stromboli
Player
Placido Polanco
Why
Stromboli has been continuously, consistently active throughout recorded history, with little in the way of true explosiveness but frequent small, limited bursts every few minutes or hours.
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Volcano
Yellowstone caldera
Player
Jesus Montero
Why
Yellowstone caldera has grown famous as a potential supervolcano that threatens life as we know it, with the media serving to exaggerate the danger it poses. Scientists acknowledge the possible risk and have the caldera under constant surveillance, but don’t believe that there will be a cataclysmic eruption any time in the foreseeable future.
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