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343_14	At the same time, a commercial system based on social economy enterprises has been developed, e.g. as cooperative societies. These companies represent the 62% of production and sales. They assure the access to the market in optimal conditions, because they increase its position inside the agri-food supply chain, facilitate financing, technical advice, and incorporation of technology. Moreover, local ties increase environmental sustainability. Transport
343_15	By land, Almería can be reached by the A-7 Mediterranean Highway, which connects the Mediterranean area with the Spanish A-92 that unites it with the rest of Andalusia. Almería railway station is served by Renfe Operadora with direct rail services to Granada, and Madrid Atocha using a branch off the Alcázar de San Juan–Cádiz railway; the Linares Baeza–Almería railway. In the future, high-speed rail AVE services will link Almería to Madrid via Murcia. The central railway station has been closed for several months and it is not known exactly when it will re-open. Passengers currently start their journey by being bussed a few kilometres to Huercal de Almería station.
343_16	By sea, the port of Almería has connections to Melilla, Algeria, Morocco, and tourist cruises in the Mediterranean. It also has a marina with moorings for pleasure boats. Currently the port of Almería is being expanded with new docks and transformed into a container port to take large-scale international shipping and thereby increase its freight traffic. It normally connects with the following destinations: Acciona: Ghazaouet (Algeria), Oran (Algeria), Nador (Morocco) and Melilla. Comarit: Nador. Comanav: Nador. By air, Almería is served by Almería Airport, the fourth largest in Andalusia. The winter timetable includes flights to Madrid, Barcelona, Melilla, London, and Seville, with international connections to Manchester, Birmingham, Brussels, Dublin and Swiss, German and other EU airports being added during the summer. Geography
343_17	Due to its arid landscape, numerous Spaghetti Westerns were filmed in Almería and some of the sets are still remain as a tourist attraction. These sets are located in the desert of Tabernas. The town and region were also used by David Lean in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), John Milius in The Wind and the Lion (1975) and others. One of Almería's most famous natural spots is the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park. This park is of volcanic origin, and is the largest and most ecologically significant marine-terrestrial space in the European Western Mediterranean Sea. The Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park runs through the municipal areas of Níjar, Almerimar and Carboneras. Its villages, previously dedicated to fishing, have become tourism spots. The beaches of Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park are also an attraction.
343_18	Climate With a yearly precipitation of just and with only 26 days of precipitation and an annual temperature of , Almería has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) bordering on a hot desert climate (BWh) according to the Köppen climate classification, and it's the closest city in Europe to a hot desert climate, reaching it closely in the south-eastern outskirts of the city until the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park located east of the city. It is one of the driest zones on both shores of the Mediterranean coast.
343_19	The BWh climate is present in the city of Almería, in nearby areas of Almería province (such as the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, the Andarax/Almanzora river valleys), the only region in Europe to have this climate (this excludes the Canary Islands, which are also part of Spain and are geographically on the continent of Africa, which have a hot desert climate on most of the islands, specifically on the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the Province of Las Palmas). With an average annual temperature above , it also qualifies as the 2nd warmest city in continental Europe, after Seville, also in Andalusia, Spain. This arid climatic region spreads along the coastline around Almería to Torrevieja, in the northeast. The nearby Faro del Cabo in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, has the lowest annual precipitation on the European continent (156mm).
343_20	Almería also experiences the warmest winters of any city on the European continent with a population over 100,000, having hot and dry summers, with precipitation rare between June and August (July and August have in average 0.3 rainy days). Almería enjoys about 3,000 hours of sunshine with over 320 sunny days per year on average (6 hours of sunshine in January and 12 in July) so it is one of the sunniest cities in Europe. Almería is unique, for a city in Continental Europe, for not having any registered temperature under the freezing mark in its recorded weather history. The coldest temperature recorded was at the airport in January 2005. Before that, the previous record was on 9 February 1935.
343_21	During the winter, daily maximum temperatures tend to stay around . At night, the minimum temperature is usually around 8–10 °C (47–50 °F). This makes Almería the city with the second warmest winters in Spain and Europe, just after Cádiz. The city only receives 26 days of rainfall annually; so while no month could be described as truly wet, there are strong differences in terms of rainfall, with coastal parts of the city (such as the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park) receiving a rainfall amount of per year, which is also noted as the driest location in Europe, while inland areas (such as the Tabernas Desert) receive a rainfall amount of per year, since the average altitude is , and it has an average temperature of , so it would be classified as a cold desert climate (BWk) bordering a cold semi-arid climate (BSk) according to the Köppen climate classification.
343_22	Inland areas of the Almería province are believed to have reached temperatures close to in summer (dubious). Perhaps, temperatures above are very rare in the city of Almería. During the warmest months - July and August, the sky is usually cloudless and almost no rainfall occurs. The typical daily temperatures are around during the day while the minimum temperatures stay around during July and August. As is the case for most of coastal Iberia, heatwaves in Almería are much less common than in the interior because of its coastal location; The hottest temperature recorded was in July 2019.
343_23	Crystal cave In 2000, a team of geologists found a cave filled with giant gypsum crystals in an abandoned silver mine near Almería. The cavity, which measures , may be the largest geode ever found. The entrance of the cave was blocked by five tons of rocks, and was under police protection (to prevent looters from entering). According to geological models, the cave was formed during the Messinian salinity crisis 6 million years ago, when the Mediterranean sea evaporated and left thick layers of salt sediments (evaporites). The site is currently open for tourists under guided tours. Festivities The festive events that occur in the municipality are listed below: Carnival Holy Week Cruces de mayo Saint Joan's Eve
343_24	Notable people José Tomás "Tomatito" (born 1958), Flamenco guitar player. Lita Baron (1923-2015), actress, singer and dancer. Was born in Almería. David Bisbal (born 1979), Grammy Award winner. Nieves Navarro (born 1938), actress. Manuel Lao Hernández, founder of Cirsa, Spain's largest casino operator Rosa García-Malea López (born 1981), first female fighter pilot in the Spanish Air Force Juan Martínez Oliver (born 1964), road bicycle racer. Eduardo del Pino Vicente, journalist and writer. Chus Lampreave (1930-2016), actress who died in Almería. Jimena Quirós (1899 - 1983), Spanish scientist considered the first female oceanographer in the country and the first female staff scientist of the Spanish Institute for Oceanography (IEO) See also Solar Almeria Platform References Notes Sources External links Postal codes in Almería
343_25	955 establishments Mediterranean port cities and towns in Spain Municipalities in the Province of Almería Province of Almería 10th-century establishments in Al-Andalus Populated places established in the 10th century
344_0	Braehead (, Gaelic: Ceann a' Bhruthaich) is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. It is particularly notable for its large shopping centre, arena and leisure facilities. The shopping centre was rebranded as Intu Braehead in 2013 and carried that name until 2020. The rebranding was done as part of a corporate rebranding exercise by Capital Shopping Centres plc, who also was renamed, this time as Intu Properties plc. King's Inch Until at least the 18th century, the site was an island in the River Clyde, called King's Inch (a name that is preserved in the name of the road that bisects the site).
344_1	The original castle at Renfrew was built on King's Inch in the 12th century by Walter Fitz-Alan, High Steward of Scotland. It was abandoned in the 13th century and replaced by a stone castle in what is now the centre of Renfrew. In the latter half of the 15th century, Sir John Ross was granted the lands of Inch with the ruins of this castle, upon which he built a three-storeyed castle known as the Inch Castle. In 1769, the King's Inch was purchased by Glasgow tobacco merchant Alexander Speirs, who demolished Inch Castle in order to build a country mansion, Elderslie House. Completed in 1782, Elderslie House was designed by Robert Adam. It was on the site of what is now the Shopping Centre and was demolished in 1924. Braehead power station The power station was built after World War II. It remained operational into the 1980s, being demolished in the 1990s.
344_2	The Braehead explosion On 4 January 1977, a serious fire and explosion occurred at a warehouse in the Braehead Container Clearance Depot, adjacent to the Power Station. The fire was accidentally started by three boys who had lit a fire to warm themselves at a den which they had made, during the New Year holiday, from cardboard cartons stacked beside the warehouse. The fire detonated 70 tonnes of Sodium Chlorate weedkiller stored in the warehouse, producing a blast estimated by HM Inspectorate of Explosives as being equivalent to up to 820 kg of TNT. The explosion was heard across the whole Greater Glasgow area, sent flying debris up to 2.8 km away, shattered windows in about 200 shops and houses in Renfrew and Clydebank, and caused an estimated £6 million of damage. Fortunately, and largely because it was a public holiday in Scotland, there were no deaths and only 12 people required treatment for shock and minor injuries.
344_3	Renfrew Riverside redevelopment Braehead forms part of the Renfrew Riverside redevelopment area, a part of the wider Clyde Waterfront Regeneration project. The Braehead area includes: an indoor shopping centre; ice skating / curling facilities; Krispy Kreme doughnuts; the Braehead Arena - along with extensive covered and open-air car parking); a Xsite (formerly Xscape and Soar) adventure complex; a small business park. Braehead shopping centre
344_4	The shopping centre opened in late 1999. It comprises of retail and leisure floorspace. The centre has 110 shops in the main covered mall, and a further 10 in a retail park of larger stores. Braehead is also home to Renfrew's IKEA store, which opened in 2001 and sits near the King George V Dock. At , it is the largest IKEA store in Scotland and at the time of opening was the largest in the United Kingdom. Since opening, the centre has proved popular with consumers, and it has even been blamed for a downturn in the fortunes of shops in nearby Paisley, Govan and Renfrew. Sited within the same building as the shopping centre is the Braehead Arena and other facilities such as an ice rink. In 2000 its curling facilities hosted the World Championships, and in 2005 were used as training facilities when the Women's World Championships were being held in Paisley.
344_5	On 7 October 2011, a father was stopped by security and questioned by police under anti-terror legislation after photographing his daughter at an ice-cream stall. This resulted in a social media backlash and statements from both Braehead's management and Strathclyde Police. A planning application has been submitted to Renfrewshire Council for 'permission in principle' to build a new mixed-use development at the centre in January 2013. In 2018 Braehead was named the top Scottish shopping centre in a GlobalData report.
344_6	Following Intu Properties plc entering administration in June 2020, a subsidiary of the company called Intu SGS received funding to take full control of the centre along with Lakeside, Victoria Centre and Intu Watford. The transfer from Intu to Intu SGS is expected to take place by the end of 2020, and will involve Global Mutual becoming asset manager of the centres and Savills serving as property manager. In 2020 it was reported that Braehead Shopping Centre was trialling the use of full-body security scanners at the entrance. Clydebuilt, Braehead From September 1999 to October 2010, the Scottish Maritime Museum operated Clydebuilt at Braehead, a museum which explored the history of the Clyde shipbuilding industry and the industrial development of Glasgow and the River Clyde.
344_7	The museum had been built by and was subsidised by the owners of the shopping centre, but after they withdrew support the museum became financially unviable and Scottish Maritime Museum were forced to close it and transfer its exhibits to their other sites at Irvine and Dumbarton. The building is now occupied by Krispy Kreme. Xsite Braehead Xsite Braehead (formerly known as Intu Braehead Soar and Xscape Braehead) () began construction in November 2004 and was opened in March 2006 with its main use to teach people how to ski or snowboard. It is shaped differently, more like a conventional building but with the ski slope using a sloped cuboid structure projecting out the roof. The complex features a wide variety of entertainment, including an indoor ski slope, rock climbing, an Odeon, bowling, RoboCoaster, mini golf and laser tag, as well as a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and bars.
344_8	The Snow Factor indoor snow slope features a 168 m main slope with an additional dedicated beginners' area for ski and snowboard lessons. On the main slope, two Poma button lifts give a drag tow to the top and can be exited either at the halfway point on the slope or at the top station of the 200 m slope. Rope tows are used on the beginners slope. Skiers and boarders are fully provided for with hire equipment, although the more advanced typically will have their own equipment. Sledging and an ice slide are provided. Lessons can be booked for both boarding and skiing. Beginners start on the exclusive teaching slope before moving to the main slope. Initially only half of the main slope will be used before one advances to using the full slope. Once passed at the ability to ski or board from the full length of the slope, the pupil is allowed full access as they are deemed to have reached recreational level.
344_9	Clothing can be hired for a nominal charge, but gloves must be either purchased unless provided by the attendee. There are also helmets available for free use. In March 2006, weeks before the complex was scheduled to open, the roof of screen seven of the Odeon fell in and required extensive re-building. The mini-golf (which is housed below the cinema) opened in July 2006. The cinema opened on 19 October 2007, 18 months later than planned. "Stardust" was the first film shown at the cinema. The cinema is fitted with Real D (also known as Disney Digital 3D technology) in screen 7, and is also capable of showing IMAX films. The cinema held the Scottish Pink Carpet Premiere of Universal Pictures film "Wild Child" on 30 July 2008. Both stars of the film, Emma Roberts and Alex Pettyfer, attended. In December 2011, SNO! Zone Braehead was acquired by the Ice Factor Group and renamed Snow Factor.
344_10	In March 2018, an 18 metre high slide, known as The Big Slide, opened to the general public. It is the tallest indoor slide in the UK. Further development To the west of Braehead and adjacent to the town of Renfrew is the Renfrew Riverside area. Between the residential area and the shopping centre an Xscape complex, providing an indoor ski slope and other entertainments and leisure facilities opened in early 2006. To the south of the shopping centre is a small development called Braehead Business Park. Transport It can be reached from Junctions 25a (westbound) and 26 (eastbound) of the M8 motorway, and has extensive public transport connections including its own bus station. Buses run from many areas linking Braehead to Largs, Greenock, Paisley, Glasgow, Erskine and Johnstone. The Pride of the Clyde ferry service ran from Glasgow City Centre to Braehead's pier down the River Clyde regularly until October 2007.
344_11	Boundary dispute After opening in 1999, Braehead was the subject of a boundary dispute between the Glasgow and Renfrewshire council areas, as originally the council boundary line divided the shopping centre in two. In 2002, a Local Government Boundary Commission ruling eventually redrew the boundary to include all of the centre in Renfrewshire, as this was the original ancient boundary. The boundary runs along Kings Inch Drive and is marked by a chain linked fence at this point. References External links Intu Braehead Braehead Business Parks Clyde Waterfront Shopping centres in Scotland Buildings and structures in Renfrewshire Shopping malls established in 1999 1999 establishments in Scotland Tourist attractions in Renfrewshire Buildings and structures in Glasgow Indoor ski resorts Ski areas and resorts in Scotland Greater Glasgow Renfrew
345_0	Commander is a series of supplemental Magic: the Gathering card game products. Its mechanics are derived from a fan-created format known as "Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH)". The official Commander format is "the only sanctioned format maintained by an outside entity" other than Wizards of the Coast.
345_1	History The original fan-created format, Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH), was developed by Adam Staley in the late 1990s and became a staple of his local play groups in Alaska. Staley's original name was "a tribute to the line 'there can be only one' spoken repeatedly in the 1986 film Highlander" evoking the idea of a battle royale and that there could only be one of a given type of card in a player's deck. The first part of the name referenced the Elder Dragons in the Magic storyline. However, Polygon highlighted that there is some contention on the creative origins of the format as The Duelist also published a multiplayer format called "Elder Legend Dragon Wars" in July 1996 which was shared with the magazine by reader Jesus M. Lopez who claimed he had designed this format. When asked by Polygon, Staley said "I do not remember reading that article. Some things are similar to my version and some are very different".
345_2	Sheldon Menery, who was introduced to EDH while stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, then developed the format further culminating in his 2004 article outlining the format on the Magic fan site Star City Games which "spread the word about it beyond his circle of judges for the first time". This format differed in several ways such as an expanded deck size and a larger health total. Scott Larabee, the Wizards of the Coast’s Pro Tour manager, played the format for the first time in 2005 with one of Menery's decks at a tournament. In the following year, Menery along with other Pro Tour judges, Gavin Duggan and Duncan McGregor, created a rules committee with an official website.
345_3	Larabee went on to advocate the format within Wizards of the Coast which led to the commercial launch of the format in 2011. The EDH name was changed due to intellectual property concerns. , Wizards of the Coast has released a product line containing preconstructed Commander decks. However, the format is still maintained by the Commander Rules Committee which is run independently of Wizards of the Coast. In 2020, Wizards of the Coast released metrics from stores in its Wizards Play Network (WPN) on the total number of participates in Magic events (referred to as Tickets). Per the industry trade ICv2, "the number of unique players attending Commander events per week at WPN stores went from 9,000 in 2018 to 28,000 in 2020. In February 2020, all stores that ran events were averaging 1846 Tickets per year. However, stores that ran Commander events averaged about 2111 Tickets per year which is a 12.6% increase over the stores not running Commander. [...] Commander is clearly a growing
345_4	format and is driving [organized play] numbers upward [...]. On a final note, for stores that carry singles, Reserved List Commander cards have been on a tear lately. [...] The market price sits at around $600.00 which represents more than a 45% increase in value in only about nine months".
345_5	During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Wizards of the Coast partnered on a webcam version of Magic: The Gathering playable online called SpellTable, which allows remote play of the Commander format. In 2021, Dot eSports highlighted that "Commander has become one of the biggest formats in Magic over the past five years, even leading to Wizards of the Coast dubbing 2020 as 'The Year of Commander.' The format is a boon for novice and experienced deckbuilders to craft thematic decks centered around Magic’s over 1,200 Legendary creatures". Gameplay
345_6	Commander is a format where players construct 100-card decks, with each card (except basic lands) appearing no more than once. The format is primarily played with four players, each with their own deck. Players also choose a legendary creature or Planeswalker to be their "Commander" or "General" (a Planeswalker must be designated as allowed to be used as a Commander), which begins the game in the "Command Zone". Each player's deck is based and built around their Commander's colors. In addition to the same losing conditions that exist in a normal game of Magic, each player starts the game with 40 life points instead of 20, and a player may lose if he or she is dealt 21 or more total points of combat damage from a single Commander throughout the game. The format "supports two to six players, sometimes more".
345_7	Commander also has its own "banned list" of cards, separate from any other format which is controlled by the Commander Rules Committee. This committee also maintains the rules for the format. A list of the recommended banned cards in the format can also be found on the Wizards of the Coast official website. Variants
345_8	Commander is often played in conjunction with existing game formats such as Two-Headed Giant, Planechase, and Archenemy. Duel Commander, also known as French Commander, got its origins from Magic judge Kevin Desprez, who brought the initial idea of EDH to France from the USA, before it spread across Europe and later globally. The game is played by two combatants, each starting with 20 life points, obeys the same rules as a regular Magic game, and has one commander (or commanders with Partner ability) plus 99 (or 98 with Partners) cards in the starting library. The mulligan system is the same as for sanctioned formats, and the deck construction rules follow the same color identity rule as the multiplayer version does. It also has its own ban list and is meant to be more competitive than traditional Commander.
345_9	Magic Online 1v1 Commander is Wizards of the Coast's variant of Commander for Magic: The Gathering Online. The format utilizes a ban list created by Wizards that differs from that of the Rules Committee. Brawl is Wizards of the Coast's Commander variant which launched in 2018. Brawl utilizes all cards that are currently legal in Standard and has a rotation schedule similar to that of Standard. While similar to traditional Commander, deck size is limited to 60 cards and each player starts with 30 health. The format is commonly played as a sanctioned event on Magic: The Gathering Online and on MTG Arena. It was a highly requested addition to MTG Arena but the "variant never took off on paper". The physical format was not well-received by the players due to a "shortage of preconstructed decks" and the resale price of individual cards.
345_10	Pauper Commander is a variant in which each card in the deck must be Pauper legal (had to be printed or released online at one point with a Common rarity) and the Commander must be any creature (legendary or not) that was printed or released online at least one time at Uncommon rarity. On this variation, commander damage is 16 to 18 and starting life is 30 points.
345_11	Commander sets 2011 Magic: The Gathering Commander was released on June 17, 2011. It consisted of five preconstructed decks, each containing three foil oversized legendary creature cards. This set is notable in that it was the first set printed outside of the normal booster pack expansions to have functionally new cards. The set introduced 51 new cards made specifically for multi-player games.
345_12	Each deck is built around a new legendary creature and a distinct mechanical theme. In addition to the intended Commander, they include two other new legendary creatures. Heavenly Inferno (white/black/red, commanded by ) features a variety of Angels, Demons, and Dragons that Kaalia can put directly into play, and numerous creature destruction effects. Its other new Legendary creatures are and . Mirror Mastery (blue/red/green, commanded by ) uses large amounts of mana acceleration to cast powerful spells and creatures for Riku to copy. Its other new Legendary creatures are and . Counterpunch (black/green/white, commanded by ) is constructed around the dual themes of creature tokens and +1/+1 counters. Its other new Legendary creatures are and . Political Puppets (red/white/blue, commanded by ) uses Zedruu to gain cards and life while earning good will and turning opponents against each other. Its other new Legendary creatures are and .
345_13	Devour for Power (green/blue/black, commanded by ) fills graveyards with creatures in order to power up The Mimeoplasm and other synergistic cards. Its other new Legendary creatures are and .
345_14	2012 Commander's Arsenal is a set with 18 premium foil cards, 10 oversized premium foil cards, card sleeves, a life counter, and tokens for keeping track of in-game effects. The set was released on November 2, 2012. Each card in the set was the first edition of that card to receive premium foil treatment, the first to be printed in the modern frame, and/or received special art. 2013 Commander 2013 was released on November 1, 2013. It introduced five new pre-constructed decks, each built around one of the three-colored "shards". 51 new cards were printed for Commander 2013, including five that introduced the mechanic Tempting offer, which allows opponents to duplicate the card's effect but at the cost of granting its controller a larger effect. Each of the Commanders interacts with the Command Zone, either offering a benefit for playing the commander repeatedly or giving the player a benefit while remaining in the Command Zone.
345_15	Evasive Maneuvers (green/white/blue, commanded by ) has a tap/untap and exile-and-return theme. Eternal Bargain (white/blue/black, commanded by ) features the two themes of life gain and artifacts. Mind Seize (blue/black/red, commanded by ) features an instant and sorcery theme alongside cards that punish opponents for drawing. Power Hungry (black/red/green, commanded by ) features a creature token theme, sacrificing them for a benefit. Nature of the Beast (red/green/white, commanded by ) features a creature token theme. 2014 Commander 2014 was released on November 7, 2014. It introduced five new pre-constructed decks, each built around one of the five colors. 61 new cards were printed for Commander 2014, including five that introduced the Lieutenant mechanic, which gives a bonus for the creature if you also control your Commander, and the first ever Planeswalkers that can be your Commander.
345_16	Forged In Stone (white, commanded by ) with an equipment theme. Peer Through Time (blue, commanded by ) Sworn To Darkness (black, commanded by Built From Scratch (red, commanded by ) themed around artifacts. Guided By Nature (green, commanded by ) themed around elves.
345_17	2015 Commander 2015 was released on November 10, 2015. It introduced five new pre-constructed decks, built around "enemy" two-color combinations. 55 new cards were printed, including new commanders that utilized "experience counters" to grow more powerful as the game progressed. Other new cards introduced the Myriad mechanic, which allowed a single creature to attack every opponent simultaneously. Call the Spirits (white/black, commanded by ) themed around enchantments. Seize Control (blue/red, commanded by ) themed around instants and sorceries. Plunder the Graves (black/green, commanded by ) themed around sacrificing creatures and returning creatures from the graveyard. Wade into Battle (red/white, commanded by ) themed around giants. Swell the Host (green/blue, commanded by ) themed around creating multiple smaller creatures and increasing their power.
345_18	2016 Commander 2016 was released on November 11, 2016. It introduced five new pre-constructed decks, built around four-color combinations. The new "Partner" mechanic allows two legendary creatures, both with Partner, to serve as your commander. 56 new cards were printed, including the first 4-color legendary creatures. Entropic Uprising (blue/black/red/green, commanded by ) with a "windmill" theme that gains benefits from opponents drawing or discarding cards. Open Hostility (black/red/green/white, commanded by ) with a focus on combat damage. Stalwart Unity (red/green/white/blue, commanded by ) with a focus on "Group Hug" effects that benefit all players and encourage playing politics with the other players. Breed Lethality (green/white/blue/black, commanded by ) with a focus on +1/+1 counters and multiplying those counters. Invent Superiority (white/blue/black/red, commanded by ) with a focus on artifacts.
345_19	2017 Commander Anthology was released on June 9, 2017. It is a boxed re-release of four pre-constructed decks, one from each of the first four years of Commander sets. Heavenly Inferno (2011) (white/black/red, commanded by ) Evasive Maneuvers (2013) (green/white/blue, commanded by ) Guided By Nature (2014) (green, commanded by ) Plunder the Graves (2015) (black/green, commanded by ) Commander 2017 was released on August 25, 2017. Starting with Commander 2017, Commander sets are reduced from five to four preconstructed theme decks (without reducing the number of new cards) and will be built around themes instead of focusing on color combinations. Commander 17 is a tribal set, with each deck focusing on one creature type. The new "Eminence" mechanic grants a benefit while a Commander is in play or in the command zone, with each commander having an additional effect while they are on the battlefield. Draconic Domination (all five colors, commanded by ) a dragon deck.
345_20	Feline Ferocity (green/white, commanded by ) a Cat deck, with an equipment theme that encourages improving a single creature at a time. Vampiric Bloodlust (red/white/black, commanded by ) a vampire deck. Arcane Wizardry (blue/black/red, commanded by ) a wizard deck.
345_21	2018 Commander Anthology Volume 2 was released on June 8, 2018. Like the previous year's Commander Anthology, Volume 2 was a boxed re-release of four pre-constructed decks. It contains the following decks: Devour for Power (2011) (green/blue/black, commanded by ) Built from Scratch (2014) (red, commanded by ) Wade into Battle (2015) (red/white, commanded by ) Breed Lethality (2016) (green/white/blue/black, commanded by ) Commander 2018 was announced on February 14, 2018 for release on August 10, 2018. It sees the return of Planeswalkers as Commanders. It contains the following decks: Exquisite Invention (blue/red, commanded by ) an artifact deck that produces artifact tokens. Subjective Reality (white/blue/black, commanded by ) with a theme of controlling the top card of the deck. Nature's Vengeance (black/red/green, commanded by ) a land/landfall themed deck. Adaptive Enchantment (white/blue/green, commanded by ) an enchantment themed deck.
345_22	2019 Commander 2019 was announced on February 21, 2019 for release on August 23, 2019. It contains the following decks: Faceless Menace (blue/green/black, commanded by ) with the overarching theme of playing face-down 'Morph' creatures and benefiting of playing creatures. Mystic Intellect (red/blue/white, commanded by ) a spell-heavy deck focused on casting spells multiple times, using 'Flashback' to cast spells again from the graveyard. Primal Genesis (red/green/white, commanded by ) a token deck aiming to create a bunch of token creatures and 'Populate' them. Merciless Rage (red/black, commanded by ) Designed around discarding cards and benefiting of this by employing the 'Madness' keyword for value.
345_23	2020 Commander 2020 was released on May 15, 2020. It contains the following Decks: Timeless Wisdom (blue/red/white, commanded by ) Symbiotic Swarm (white/black/green, commanded by ) a creature deck focusing on Ability Counters. Enhanced Evolution (black/green/blue, commanded by ) a creature deck based on the new Mutate Ability. Arcane Maelstrom (green/blue/red, commanded by ) Ruthless Regiment (red/white/black, commanded by ) Commander Zendikar Rising were released on September 25, 2020. This was the first Commander Deck set to change from the annual 4-5 deck sets to 2 deck sets for each major expansion release. It contains the following Decks: Land's Wrath (green/white/red, commanded by ) a landfall deck. Sneak Attack (blue/black, commanded by ) a rogues deck. Commander Legends Commander Decks were released on November 20, 2020. It contains the following Decks: Arm For Battle (white/red, commanded by ) an equipment/aura deck.
345_24	Reap The Tides (blue/green, commanded by ) a sea-themed landfall deck.
345_25	2021 Commander Kaldheim were released on February 5, 2021. It corresponded with the Kaldheim set. It contains the following Decks: Elven Empire (green/black, commanded by ) an elf deck. Phantom Premonition (white/blue, commanded by ) a spirit deck. Commander 2021 was released on April 23, 2021. It corresponded with the Strixhaven: School of Mages set. It contains the following Decks: Silverquill Statement (white/black, commanded by ), a deck with a politics and aggro theme. Prismari Performance (blue/red, commanded by ) a deck with an instants and sorceries theme. Witherbloom Witchcraft (black/green, commanded by ) a deck with a lifegain theme. Lorehold Legacies (red/white, commanded by ) a deck with an artifacts / graveyard theme. Quantum Quandrix (green/blue, commanded by ) a deck with a tokens and +1/+1 counters theme
345_26	Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Commander was released on July 23, 2021. It corresponded with the Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set. It contains the following Decks:
345_27	Aura of Courage (green/white/blue, commanded by ) a deck with an aura/equipment theme. Draconic Rage (red/green, commanded by ) a deck with a dragon tribal and ramp theme. Dungeons of Death (white/blue/black, commanded by ) a midrange deck focusing on the dungeon mechanic. Planar Portal (black/red, commanded by ) a tempo deck that aims to cast spells from exile. Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Commander was released on September 24, 2021. It corresponded with the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt set. It contains the following Decks: Coven Counters (green/white, commanded by ) a deck with a focus on going wide with humans and +1/+1 counters. Undead Unleashed (blue/black, commanded by ) a control deck with zombie tribal support. Innistrad: Crimson Vow Commander was released on November 19, 2021. It corresponded with the Innistrad: Crimson Vow set. It contains the following Decks:
345_28	Spirit Squadron (white/blue, commanded by ) a deck with a spirit tribal theme. Vampiric Bloodline (black/red, commanded by ) an aggro deck that gets card advantage with Blood tokens. 2022 Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Commander will be released on February 18, 2022. It will correspond with the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set. It contains the following Decks: Buckle Up (white/blue, commanded by ) a deck with an Artifact and Vehicle theme. Upgrades Unleashed (red/green, commanded by ) a deck with a theme of modifying creatures via Equipment, Counters, and Enchantments.
345_29	Reception Charlie Hall, for Polygon, commented in 2020 that "many Magic players see creating a Commander deck as the ultimate expression of a player’s skill, and of their ability to use their personal collection of cards to its fullest. The Commander format embodies the game’s reputation for competition, but also for storytelling". Jason Coles, for Dicebreaker, wrote that Commander is "possibly the most popular format in all of Magic: The Gathering [...]. It’s a fun format that generally features groups of up to four players duking it out and trying to keep each other in check".
345_30	Jan Švelch, in the academic journal Analog Game Studies, wrote that "the popular Commander format has been receiving yearly expansions since 2011 when the first official Commander pre-constructed decks were released. Many of these emergent formats address the more controversial aspects of the official and sanctioned Magic formats [...]. The interactions between players and developers often follow the logic of cultural convergence with popular community formats receiving official expansions. Creation of such community formats and their consequent commercialization by publishers can also be seen as a manifestation of fan labor in which fans create value which is later capitalized on by the official producers".
345_31	In 2013, Steve Heisler, for The A.V. Club, wrote that "EDH is dorky and fun. [...] But ironically, EDH is in danger of transforming into the same kind of serious, streamlined structure that its original creators wanted to avoid". Heisler was concerned that Wizards of the Coast's expansion into the casual Magic scene would recreate issues of the competitive format such as players only using the most optimal deck; additionally, he commented that the preconstructed decks add a new metagame to the format. Heisler highlighted "now there are cards created just for Commander that are inarguably better than their counterparts, and their inclusion in the pre-made decks implies you really should think about picking them up. [...] But if you’re not going to use these optimal cards, you’d better get ready to play against them. [...] The metagame of Commander has largely been dictated by the collector marketplace, which itself is largely dictated by a card’s demand in non-Commander settings".
345_32	Heisler stated that Wizards of the Coast began to add cards to Commander decks that are more useful in the Legacy format leading to collectors buying the preconstructed decks for a single card which then led to the price of the Commander decks increasing. Heisler wrote, "by feeding Commander product into the collector-driven sludge pot, and by emphasizing the inclusion of cards that are absolutely better than others, Wizards and the Magic collector community threaten to make this format just like all the others".
345_33	In 2021, Xavier Johnson, for Dot eSports, highlighted that deck building thrives in Commander's more casual format. Johnson wrote, "Commander is a casual Constructed format that emphasizes the importance of individual playgroups setting expectations rather than adherence to a strict set of rules and a win-at-all-costs mentality. This underlying philosophy influences how players craft their Commander decks, since many players view deckbuilding as a form of self expression or a way to make use of their collections. [...] A quirk of Commander deckbuilding is the social contract and the format’s focus on a fun, communal experience rather than wins and losses. This leads to certain cards being generally shunned by many playgroups". Since there is so much variety between playgroups and the focus is on the social experience, there isn't the same adherence to the metagame as there is in other formats such as Standard and Modern; optimized cards might not be used in a local playgroup because
345_34	these cards are "frustrating to play against".
345_35	References External links Commander Product Info Commander site Official Commander rules Cards Currently Banned in Commander Official 1v1 Commander Website Card games introduced in 2011 Magic: The Gathering sets
346_0	LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his 21-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays. Through the 2020 season, his 1,042 games pitched were the 10th-most of any major league player. He has also registered saves against all 30 MLB teams.
346_1	Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Hawkins was a seventh-round draft pick of the Twins out of high school. He debuted with the team in 1995 and reached the major leagues for good in 1997. After posting some of the worst earned run averages (ERA) in the American League (AL) in 1998 and 1999, Hawkins was moved to the bullpen in 2000. He struggled as the Twins' closer in 2001 but found better success thereafter in a setup role, posting a career-low 1.86 ERA in 2003 and reaching the playoffs in 2002 and 2003 with Minnesota.
346_2	In 2004, the Cubs signed Hawkins to setup for closer Joe Borowski, but he blew several saves and became unpopular with the team's fans. He was traded to the Giants in 2005 and served as a setup man again for various teams for the next few seasons. He reached the World Series with the Rockies in 2007, though the team was swept by the Boston Red Sox in four games. Hawkins joined the Yankees in 2008, struggled, and was traded to the Astros, where he was very effective. In 2009, he filled in for an injured José Valverde as the Astros' closer and posted a 2.13 ERA. He signed a two-year contract with the Brewers after the season and reached the playoffs with Milwaukee again in 2011.
346_3	After spending a year with the Angels in 2012, Hawkins had to sign a minor league contract with the Mets in 2013. He made their roster and had become their closer by the end of the year. In 2014, as the oldest player in the NL, he served as Colorado's closer. In 2015, he reached the playoffs with the Blue Jays before retiring at the end of the year.
346_4	Amateur career Hawkins was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. Hawkins' father was absent, and he was raised primarily by his mother, Debra, and his maternal grandparents. Growing up, he played baseball with broom handles, not getting to use a glove until he started playing Little League Baseball. Hawkins attended West Side High School. At West Side, he competed in basketball against Glenn Robinson and received a full scholarship offer to play college basketball at Indiana State. Hawkins also participated in track and field and the 1600 meters relay while in high school. Initially, he favored basketball over baseball, but Hawkins chose to pursue a baseball career after his grandfather told him that the latter was his better sport. Professional career
346_5	Minnesota Twins (1995–2003)
346_6	Hawkins was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the seventh round of the 1991 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft and received a $47,500 signing bonus. He spent the next four years in the Twins' minor league system before making the team's starting rotation out of spring training in 1995. His MLB debut on April 29, 1995, was a disastrous start against the Baltimore Orioles, where he gave up seven earned runs on seven hits in only innings of work. After losing his first three starts, Hawkins was demoted to the Salt Lake Buzz of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in May when the Twins had to shrink their roster. Promoted again in September, he won for the first time in the second game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals on September 18. Altogether, Hawkins made six starts with a 2–3 record and an 8.67 earned run average (ERA). He began 1996 in the Twins' rotation as well, and struck out 10 batters in a win over the Detroit Tigers on April 25.
346_7	However, he was demoted to the Buzz in May after posting an 8.20 ERA in seven starts for the Twins. This time, he was not promoted in September.
346_8	For the 1997 season, Hawkins started out pitching in Salt Lake City. Though his ERA with the Buzz was 5.45, his record was 9–4. He was promoted to the Twins in June, spending the rest of the season in their rotation. In 20 starts, he compiled a 6–12 record and a 5.84 ERA. Though his first start had not come until June 17, his 12 losses tied him with 11 other pitchers for 10th in the American League (AL). 1998 was the first year that Hawkins spent an entire season in the Twins' rotation. On May 17, he was the opposing starting pitcher during David Wells' perfect game. Hawkins led the team with 33 starts but sported a 7–14 record, leading the team in most runs allowed (126) and walks (70). He had the worst walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) figure among Twins starters, with a 1.53 mark. His 5.25 ERA ranked him 88th out of 97 pitchers who threw enough innings to qualify for the MLB ERA title, and his 14 losses tied him with four other pitchers for eighth in the AL.
346_9	In 1999, for the second year in a row, Hawkins made 33 starts. He won 10 games this time but lost 14 again, and his 6.66 ERA was the worst among MLB starters who pitched enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. Hawkins led the AL in earned runs allowed (129), and his 14 losses were tied with four other pitchers for fourth in the AL. Hawkins was moved to the bullpen in 2000. Twins manager Tom Kelly, unable to decide who he wanted as his full-time closer, used both Hawkins and Bob Wells in the role throughout the year. Hawkins appeared in 66 games, posting a 2–5 record and an ERA of 3.39. After never having recorded a save before, he converted 14 without blowing any chances.
346_10	By 2001, Hawkins was the everyday closer. He converted his first nine save opportunities, stretching his streak of consecutive saves recorded to 23 before he finally blew a save on May 5, against the Royals. As the season wore on, however, his ERA climbed to almost 6.00, and he was replaced as the closer by Eddie Guardado. He led the Twins in saves (28) but recorded a 5.96 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP in 61 games.
346_11	Over the next two seasons, Hawkins served as a setup man for Guardado. In 2002, Hawkins was used mainly in the seventh and eighth innings. He appeared in 65 games, winning all six of his decisions, posting a 2.13 ERA, and striking out 63 hitters in innings pitched. The Twins won the AL Central Division title, and Hawkins made three appearances in the AL Division Series (ALDS) against the Oakland Athletics, striking out five batters in scoreless innings as the Twins defeated Oakland in five games. He appeared in four games in the AL Championship Series (ALCS) against the Anaheim Angels as well, but his ERA was 20.25 this time, and the Angels defeated the Twins in four games. The next season, he was primarily used in the eighth inning. He posted a 9–3 record and struck out 75 hitters in innings. His 1.86 ERA was fifth-lowest among AL pitchers who threw at least 60 innings, and his 74 appearances were fifth-highest among AL pitchers. For the second year in a row, the Twins won the AL
346_12	Central Division title, this time facing the New York Yankees in the ALDS. In Game 1, Hawkins was awarded the win after pitching a scoreless seventh and eighth innings. However, he would post a 6.00 ERA in three appearances in the series, which the Yankees won three games to one. Hawkins became a free agent after the 2003 season.
346_13	Chicago Cubs (2004–2005) In December 2003, Hawkins signed a three-year, $11.2 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. He began the year as the eighth-inning setup man for Cubs closer Joe Borowski, but Borowski was sidelined with an injury in early June, and Hawkins took over closing duties. On September 11, Hawkins threw an immaculate inning, striking out the side on only nine pitches in a game against the Florida Marlins. He posted an ERA of 2.63 and recorded 25 saves in 75 games for the Cubs in 2004. However, Hawkins also blew nine saves, including two (against the New York Mets on September 25 and the Cincinnati Reds on September 29) during a late-season losing streak that cost the Cubs the wild card. The blown saves earned him the ire of Cubs fans, who made a habit of booing him loudly at Wrigley Field when he came on in relief. Hawkins feuded with fans and media, and his relationship with both deteriorated.
346_14	Hawkins converted four saves early in the 2005 season but blew an equal number of opportunities. In early May, the Cubs replaced him as closer with Ryan Dempster, who was moved out of the starting rotation. Through 21 games with the team that season, Hawkins had a 1–4 record and a 3.32 ERA. On May 28, the Cubs traded Hawkins to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitchers Jerome Williams and David Aardsma.
346_15	San Francisco Giants (2005) With the Giants, Hawkins assumed an eighth inning setup role, frequently preceding closer Tyler Walker. When Hawkins returned to Wrigley Field in late July, he was booed again by the Cubs fans. He suffered another blown save during the series on July 26, but the Giants won the game 3–2. In 45 games with the Giants, Hawkins had a 1–4 record and a 4.10 ERA. Between the Cubs and Giants, Hawkins's record was 2–8 in 66 games, with an ERA of 3.83. He allowed 58 hits in innings pitched and posted a WHIP of 1.46. On December 6, Hawkins was traded along with cash considerations to the Baltimore Orioles for left-handed reliever Steve Kline. Baltimore Orioles (2006)
346_16	With the Orioles in 2006, Hawkins served as the eighth inning setup man for closer Chris Ray. He spent one season with the Orioles, going 3–2 with a 4.48 ERA and no saves in 60 games. After the season, he became a free agent. Following his departure from Baltimore, he criticized the negative atmosphere that plagued the losing team's clubhouse. "Yeah, it was bad," he stated. "I don't want to knock the Orioles, but it was just bad. Bad."
346_17	Colorado Rockies (2007)
346_18	On December 5, 2006, Hawkins signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Colorado Rockies, who wanted him to serve as the eighth inning setup man in 2007 for closer Brian Fuentes. From April 24 to May 22, Hawkins was on the disabled list due to right elbow inflammation. On July 8, when the Philadelphia Phillies helped the Coors Field groundskeepers get the tarp placed on the field during a heavy storm, Hawkins was the only member of the home team to join them in assisting. In 62 games, Hawkins had a 2–5 record, a 3.42 ERA, and zero saves. At the end of the regular season, the Rockies forced a tie-breaker game against the San Diego Padres to determine the NL wild card team. Hawkins pitched a scoreless seventh inning, and the Rockies eventually won the game 9–8 in 13 innings to reach the playoffs for the first time in their history. He made three appearances for the Rockies in the NLDS (Game 1) and NLCS (Games 2 and 4), pitching a scoreless seventh inning each time as the Rockies
346_19	won seven straight games to earn a trip to the World Series. There, he pitched the last inning of Games 1 and 3 against the Boston Red Sox, allowing Mike Lowell to score on a sacrifice fly hit by Jason Varitek in the latter as Colorado lost four straight games. After the season, he became a free agent.
346_20	New York Yankees (2008) On December 9, 2007, Hawkins signed a one-year, $3.75 million contract with the New York Yankees. Previously, he had worn uniform No. 32 with the Rockies. However, since the Yankees had retired that number in honor of Elston Howard, Hawkins switched to No. 21 in 2008. He became the first Yankee to wear that number since outfielder Paul O'Neill in 2001. However, after returning from a road trip on April 16, Hawkins switched to No. 22 in response to the fans' booing, yelling, and calling O'Neill's name when he took the field. On May 20, during a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Hawkins threw a head-high pitch over left fielder Luke Scott. Hawkins was ejected by home plate umpire Chuck Meriwether, and Scott accused him of deliberately throwing the ball over his head, though Hawkins said he was just pitching inside. Hawkins was suspended by MLB for three games and fined an undisclosed amount.
346_21	Hawkins pitched unimpressively with the Yankees in 2008, going 1–1 with a 5.71 ERA in 33 relief appearances. On July 26, he was designated for assignment. Houston Astros (2008–2009) On July 30, 2008, the Houston Astros acquired Hawkins from the Yankees for minor leaguer Matt Cusick. The trade was made because the Astros needed someone to help Doug Brocail in late-inning setup situations. Hawkins pitched 21 innings out of the bullpen and allowing just one earned run over that span (good for an ERA of 0.43). "No one could have imagined Hawkins would respond with a nearly perfect two-month run with his new team," praised Alyson Footer of MLB.com. Hawkins signed a one-year deal with the Astros to return for the 2009 season.
346_22	Just before the 2009 World Baseball Classic began in March, Hawkins was added to the roster for the United States national baseball team when Joe Nathan had to drop out because of a sore shoulder. He pitched in four games in the tournament, winning one and posting a 7.36 ERA. The United States was eliminated by Japan in the semifinals. From late April through the middle of June 2009, Hawkins served as Houston's closer, as regular closer José Valverde was sidelined with a calf injury. While Valverde was out, Hawkins was 9-for-11 in save opportunities. When Valverde returned, Hawkins again assumed an eighth-inning setup role. From July 28 through August 12, 2009, Hawkins was on the disabled list because of back pain caused by shingles. "Hugs were completely out of the question," he described the pain. In 65 games, Hawkins sported an ERA of 2.13 in 65 games, the lowest ERA he had since 2003. He had a 1–4 record and saved 11 games. After the 2009 season, Hawkins became a free agent.
346_23	Milwaukee Brewers (2010–2011) On December 16, 2009, Hawkins signed a two-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers that was worth $7.5 million. Shoulder soreness prevented him from pitching for Milwaukee from May 6 through July 30, and after appearing in only five further games through August 10, he was placed back on the disabled list with shoulder weakness, never to pitch again that season. All told, the injuries limited him to 18 games in 2010. He was 0–3 with an 8.44 ERA.
346_24	Hawkins served as the eighth-inning setup man for John Axford in 2011. From April 25 through July 1, he did not allow a run in 22 straight games (20 innings pitched). He was 3–1 with a 2.42 ERA in 52 games as the Brewers won the NL Central. Facing the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS, he pitched a scoreless inning in Game 2. The Brewers won that series in five games. In the NLCS against the Cardinals, he was not charged with a run in three appearances, but he did allow two inherited runners to score in Milwaukee's 12–6 loss in Game 6. The Cardinals defeated the Brewers in six games. After the season, he became a free agent.
346_25	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2012) On January 6, 2012, Hawkins agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2012 season. From May 7 through June 9, he was on the disabled list with a broken right pinkie finger. He led Angel relievers with a 1.63 ERA through August 2 but posted a 7.71 ERA thereafter, losing the distinction to Ernesto Frieri by season's end. Frieri posted a 2.32 ERA, compared to Hawkins's 3.64. Hawkins appeared in 48 games, going 2–3. After the season, he became a free agent. New York Mets (2013)
346_26	Unable to get a major league contract in 2013, Hawkins signed a minor league deal with invitation to spring training with the Mets on January 31. He considered retiring rather than accepting the minor league contract, but his agent told him to reconsider for 24 hours, and Hawkins decided ""Next time I leave this game, I'm gonna leave on my own terms." At the end of spring training, he earned a spot on the Mets roster. In August, he became the team's closer after Bobby Parnell was shut down for the season with a herniated disc in his back. After blowing a save against the Padres on August 14, he converted 10 straight save opportunities to end the year. Hawkins appeared in 72 games, amassing a 3–2 record and 13 saves (his most since the 2004 season with the Cubs) while posting a 2.93 ERA. After the season, he became a free agent.
346_27	Second stint with the Colorado Rockies (2014–2015) In November 2013, Hawkins signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract to return to the Colorado Rockies. By 2014, the 41-year-old Hawkins was the oldest active player in the NL and the oldest active MLB pitcher. Hawkins served as the Rockies' closer for the 2014 season. He converted his first 10 save opportunities of the year before blowing one on May 18 against the Padres. The streak of 20 (dating back to 2013) was his longest since he converted 23 straight saves from 2000 to 2001. He finished the year with a 3.31 ERA. On September 27, Hawkins made his 1,000th career appearance in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and promptly got Darwin Barney to fly out to right field. Though he converted only 23 saves, he only blew three opportunities and served as Colorado's closer for the entire season. Adam Ottavino was the only other Rockie to record a save in 2014; Colorado's 24 saves were the lowest total among the 15 NL teams.
346_28	On December 12, 2014, during an interview on MLB Network, Hawkins announced that 2015 would be his last MLB season. He opened 2015 as the closer but was removed from the role on April 13 after blowing saves in two of his first three appearances. From April 22 through June 15, he was on the disabled list with right biceps tendinitis. After posting a 2–1 record, two saves, and a 3.63 ERA in 24 games, he and teammate Troy Tulowitzki were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for José Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, and Jesús Tinoco on July 28.
346_29	Toronto Blue Jays (2015) On August 5, Hawkins became the 13th player in MLB history to record a save against all 30 teams, closing out a 9–7 win over the Minnesota Twins, the team he started his professional career with. He also surpassed Darren Oliver as the oldest Blue Jay to record a save. He finished the game against the Orioles on September 30 that clinched the AL East division championship, pitching an inning and striking out Ryan Flaherty to end the game and give Toronto its first AL East championship since 1993. Hawkins made 18 regular season appearances for the Blue Jays, pitching to a 1–0 record, 2.76 ERA, and 14 strikeouts in 16 innings.
346_30	In Game 2 of the ALDS, Hawkins entered the game at the beginning of the 14th inning, retiring the first two hitters for the Texas Rangers before allowing three straight singles. Two runners scored, and Hawkins took the loss in the 6–4 defeat. It was his only appearance of the series, but Toronto rallied from a 2–0 deficit to win the series in five games. He made two appearances in the ALCS but allowed five runs in one inning pitched as the Blue Jays were eliminated in five games by the Royals.
346_31	Through the 2020 season, his 1,042 games pitched were the 10th highest in all-time MLB history. Bob Nightengale of USA Today voted for Hawkins in the 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting. In an article addressing critics of the vote, Nightengale explained that he was so distraught when Hal McRae, a player he greatly admired, failed to get any votes, that he vowed to cast his ballot for anyone else he greatly admired again, even if their statistics did not seem Hall-of-Fame worthy. "Really, Hawkins epitomizes the character clause for the Baseball Writers' Association of America," Nightengale pointed out. The clause reads, “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” Though Nightengale was unaware of it at the time, Hawkins garnered a second Hall of Fame vote from someone else, but this was not enough for him to be eligible for future ballots.
346_32	Pitching style In a 1995 scouting report for the Chicago White Sox, Ed Pebley wrote that Hawkins had just an average fastball which travelled only –. He also threw a curveball, a slider, and a changeup, all of which travelled in the range. However, his fastball velocity improved, averaging around later in the decade. Eventual Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. was so impressed with the pitch, he asked to see Hawkins once when the Seattle Mariners were playing the Twins at the Metrodome. Griffey asked Hawkins why, with a fastball as good as the one he had, he would ever bother throwing a slow changeup. "I learned a lot by him telling me that,” Hawkins said. “I used it to my advantage after that, that’s for sure.” Later in his career, he relied more on the slider and a split-finger fastball.
346_33	Personal life Hawkins and his wife Anita have two children, a son named Dakari and a daughter named Troi. They live in Prosper, Texas, a well-to-do suburb of Dallas. Hawkins' half-brother, Ronald Sewood, was sentenced to prison in 1996 at the Federal Correctional Institution, Milan. Hawkins visited Sewood whenever he played against the nearby Detroit Tigers. As of 2013, Hawkins estimated he spent $10,000 on books and magazine subscriptions for Sewood. Hawkins is the godfather of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose father, Pat Mahomes, was a teammate of his on the Minnesota Twins. Hawkins is good friends with Torii Hunter, his teammate for several years with the Twins. Another godson of Hawkins's, Elijah Johnson, played college basketball for the University of Kansas Jayhawks.
346_34	After the 2016 season, Hawkins was hired as a special assistant to the Minnesota Twins organization. The team announced that he would, among other things, be "contributing to the development of our organizational pitching philosophies used in the selection and development of all players. Additionally, he will contribute to the amateur scouting process and trade deadline preparation meetings."
346_35	On a number of occasions, Hawkins has contributed to charitable efforts. After Hurricane Katrina, Hawkins went to Mississippi and Alabama, working in trailer park hospitals and helping with house rebuilding efforts as part of the Major League Baseball Players Association's relief efforts. He also offered financial help to a young mother with two children whose home had been ruined by the hurricane. Hawkins has given nearly $30,000 to Gary Youth Baseball, which runs the city's Little League teams. In January 2021, Hawkins and his wife paid for a woman who caught a home invasion on TikTok to move into an apartment with better security. Notes References External links , or Baseball Reference Bullpen, or Retrosheet Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
346_36	1972 births Living people African-American baseball players Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona League Brewers players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from Indiana Baseball in Brazil Baseball players from Gary, Indiana Baseball players from Chicago Brevard County Manatees players Chicago Cubs players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Fort Wayne Wizards players Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Twins players Houston Astros players Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Minnesota Twins executives Minnesota Twins players Nashville Xpress players Nashville Sounds players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Mets players New York Yankees players Salt Lake Bees players Salt Lake Buzz players
346_37	San Francisco Giants players Toronto Blue Jays players World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2009 World Baseball Classic players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople
347_0	A splice site mutation is a genetic mutation that inserts, deletes or changes a number of nucleotides in the specific site at which splicing takes place during the processing of precursor messenger RNA into mature messenger RNA. Splice site consensus sequences that drive exon recognition are located at the very termini of introns. The deletion of the splicing site results in one or more introns remaining in mature mRNA and may lead to the production of abnormal proteins. When a splice site mutation occurs, the mRNA transcript possesses information from these introns that normally should not be included. Introns are supposed to be removed, while the exons are expressed.
347_1	The mutation must occur at the specific site at which intron splicing occurs: within non-coding sites in a gene, directly next to the location of the exon. The mutation can be an insertion, deletion, frameshift, etc. The splicing process itself is controlled by the given sequences, known as splice-donor and splice-acceptor sequences, which surround each exon. Mutations in these sequences may lead to retention of large segments of intronic DNA by the mRNA, or to entire exons being spliced out of the mRNA. These changes could result in production of a nonfunctional protein. An intron is separated from its exon by means of the splice site. Acceptor-site and donor-site relating to the splice sites signal to the spliceosome where the actual cut should be made. These donor sites, or recognition sites, are essential in the processing of mRNA. The average vertebrate gene consists of multiple small exons (average size, 137 nucleotides) separated by introns that are considerably larger.

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