January • January 3 -
Bobby Bonilla is released by the New York Mets. The Mets, still owing Bonilla money on his contract, agree to a deferment system that would pay Bonilla $1.19 million dollars every year on July 1st from 2011 until the year 2035. • January 6 – Major league officials say that
Atlanta Braves reliever
John Rocker is to undergo psychological testing following derogatory racist remarks he makes in an interview with
Sports Illustrated magazine. Commissioner
Bud Selig says he'll listen to what the doctors say before deciding what punishment—if any—is handed down to the pitcher. •
Dwight Gooden is signed as a free agent by the
Houston Astros. • January 11 – The baseball writers elect catcher
Carlton Fisk and first baseman
Tony Pérez to the
Hall of Fame. Fisk is chosen in his 2nd year on the ballot, while Pérez is picked on his 9th try. • January 31 – Atlanta Braves reliever
John Rocker is suspended from baseball until May 1 by Commissioner
Bud Selig for his racial and ethnic remarks in an article published in
Sports Illustrated last month. He is also fined an undisclosed amount and ordered to undergo sensitivity training.
February • February 10 – The
Seattle Mariners accommodate center fielder
Ken Griffey Jr., trading him to his hometown
Cincinnati Reds in exchange for
Mike Cameron,
Brett Tomko,
Antonio Pérez and minor leaguer Jake Meyer. • February 29 – Manager
Sparky Anderson, 19th-century star
Bid McPhee, and Negro leagues player
Norman "Turkey" Stearnes are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
March • March 1 – Independent arbitrator Shyam Das cuts
Atlanta Braves pitcher
John Rocker's suspension from 28 days to 14 days. Rocker, who is allowed to report to spring training with the team, also has his fine cut. • March 29 – The
Chicago Cubs open the major league season in the
Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, by defeating the
New York Mets, 5–3, in the first big league game ever played outside of North America.
Jon Lieber gets the victory and
Mike Hampton takes the loss.
Mark Grace and
Mike Piazza also homer.
April • April 3 •
Andrés Galarraga hits a
home run in his first game back after missing the entire
1999 season following
cancer surgery, as the
Atlanta Braves defeat his former team, the
Colorado Rockies, 2–0, at
Turner Field. • A new major league record for
Opening Day is set with five players having multiple
home run games.
Gabe Kapler becomes the first player to hit home runs in his first two at-bats in a
Texas Rangers uniform, while his teammate
Iván Rodríguez also adds a pair of homers in a 10–4 Texas victory against the
Chicago White Sox.
Vladimir Guerrero also hits a pair of homers for the
Montreal Expos, but the
Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Montreal, 10–4, behind
Eric Karros'
grand slam.
Jason Giambi of the
Oakland Athletics hits two home runs against the
Detroit Tigers. Despite Giambi's effort, Detroit edges the Athletics, 7–4. • April 4 –
Montreal Expos closer
Ugueth Urbina ties a major league record by
striking out the side on nine pitches. His victims are
F. P. Santangelo,
Devon White and
Mark Grudzielanek in the ninth inning, as Montreal defeats the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10–4, at Montreal's
Olympic Stadium. • April 7 : • A total of 57 home runs are hit in the 15 games played, for a new major league record. The previous mark of 55 was set in 17 games on August 13,
1999. There are 36 homers hit in the AL, smashing the previous mark for a single league. • The
Philadelphia Phillies defeat the
Houston Astros, 4–1, in the first game played at
Enron Field in Houston. • April 9 – The
Minnesota Twins defeat the
Kansas City Royals 13–7. In the process, they become the first teams in major league history to each hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the same game.
Ron Coomer,
Jacque Jones and
Matt LeCroy hit consecutive homers for Minnesota in the 6th inning, followed by three in a row by
Carlos Beltrán,
Jermaine Dye and
Mike Sweeney of Kansas City two innings later. • April 10 – The
Colorado Rockies punch out the
Cincinnati Reds, 7–5, despite
Ken Griffey Jr.'s 400th career home run. Aged 30, Griffey is the youngest player in major league history to reach that milestone. • April 11 : • The
Los Angeles Dodgers edge the
San Francisco Giants, 6–5, in the first game played at
Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco. Shortstop
Kevin Elster leads the Dodgers attack with three home runs. • The
Detroit Tigers sink the
Seattle Mariners, 5–2, in the first game played at
Comerica Park in Detroit. • April 13 The
Tampa Bay Devil Rays purchase the contract of Dwight Gooden from the Houston Astros. • April 15 – The
Baltimore Orioles defeat the
Minnesota Twins, 6–4, as
Cal Ripken Jr. gets the 3,000th hit of his illustrious career. Ripken goes 3-for-5 in becoming the 24th player to reach the milestone, and the seventh to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. • April 16 –
Cleveland Indians starter
Chuck Finley, who is already the only pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning twice, does it for the third time as the left-hander strikes out
Tom Evans,
Royce Clayton,
Chad Curtis (who takes first base on a
passed ball) and
Rafael Palmeiro in the third inning. Finley beats the
Texas Rangers 2–1 with the help of back-to-back ninth-inning home runs from
Manny Ramírez and
Jim Thome. • April 21 – The
Anaheim Angels melt the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9–6.
Mo Vaughn and
Tim Salmon hit back-to-back home runs for Anaheim in the fourth inning, then repeat the feat in the ninth.
Troy Glaus also homers in those same two innings, marking the first time in major league history that three players homer in the same inning twice in the same game. The three players with two home runs in the game ties another major league record. • April 23 – In the
New York Yankees' 10–7 victory over the
Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees'
Bernie Williams and
Jorge Posada each hit home runs from both sides of the plate, marking the first time in major league history that a pair of teammates accomplish the feat in the same game. • April 26 –
Vladimir Guerrero hits his 100th career home run helping the
Montreal Expos beat the
Colorado Rockies 9–2. • April 29 – The
San Francisco Giants finally win, beating the
Montreal Expos 2–1 for their first victory at
Pacific Bell Park. The Giants are the first team to lose six straight games to begin play in a newly constructed home park. • April 30 : •
Randy Johnson of the
Arizona Diamondbacks compiles what might have been the best first month for a pitcher in major league history, going 6–0 with an 0.91
ERA, three
complete games and a pair of
shutouts. • The
St. Louis Cardinals defeat the
Philadelphia Phillies, 4–3, as
Mark McGwire and
Jim Edmonds hit home runs. St. Louis finishes the month with 55 homers, a new record for the month of April. It also ties the National League mark for homers in any month. Major league batters also set a record for most home runs in a month by hitting 931 in April – the total is 140 more than the number hit in .
May • May 10 –
Rickey Henderson becomes the 21st major leaguer to garner 10,000
at-bats in his career. Henderson finishes the night with 10,002 at bats and trails only
Cal Ripken Jr. among active players. • May 11 – The
Milwaukee Brewers crash into the
Chicago Cubs, 14–8, in the longest nine-inning game played in National League history. Not only is the game memorable for Milwaukee's four-hour, 22-minute drubbing of Chicago, but also because it features one of the longest home runs in the history of
Wrigley Field. A captioned picture circulated by the
Associated Press put it this way: "Rick Frohock celebrates on the rooftop of a three-story building on Waveland Ave. behind the left-field bleachers of Wrigley Field after catching a home run hit by Chicago's
Glenallen Hill against the Brewers. It is believed to be the first time a ball lands on top of the apartment building." Hill's shot is estimated at 490 feet by the next day's press accounts and eventually measured at 500 feet. • May 12 –
Boston Red Sox pitcher
Pedro Martínez, who posts 17 strikeouts in his last start on May 6 against the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays, strikes out 15 batters in a 9–0 shutout over the
Baltimore Orioles, to tie an American League pitching record for the most strikeouts over two games. The mark is set in by
Luis Tiant, while pitching for the
Cleveland Indians. • May 18 –
Mark McGwire hits three home runs and drives in seven runs in a
St. Louis Cardinals 7–2 victory over the
Philadelphia Phillies. The three homers move McGwire past
Mickey Mantle into eighth place on the all-time list with 539. • May 19 – The
Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the
St. Louis Cardinals, 13–1, as catcher
Jason Kendall hits for the cycle to become the only Pirate ever to do so at
Three Rivers Stadium. • May 20 –
Rickey Henderson of the
Seattle Mariners hits a
leadoff home run in the Mariners' 4–3 loss to the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays at
Safeco Field. Henderson joins
Ted Williams and
Willie McCovey as the only players who have hit at least one home run in four different decades. Henderson signs with the Mariners the day before, after being released by the
New York Mets on May 13. • May 23 – The
Baltimore Orioles top the
Seattle Mariners, 4–2. Seattle's
Rickey Henderson draws his 2,000th career
walk in the ninth inning, making him the third player to reach that level in the majors, just behind
Babe Ruth and
Ted Williams. • May 29 – Second baseman
Randy Velarde of the
Oakland Athletics turns an
unassisted triple play, just the 11th in major league history, on a line drive smashed by the
New York Yankees'
Shane Spencer. With runners on first and second running with the pitch, Velarde tags
Jorge Posada as he nears second base, then touches the bag to retire
Tino Martinez. New York wins the game, 4–1. In
1995, while playing with the Yankees, Velarde turned an unassisted triple play against the
Los Angeles Dodgers in
spring training after the
1994–95 strike ended.
June • June 1 – Japanese right-hander
Tomokazu Ohka, a top prospect with the
Pawtucket Red Sox, becomes the first pitcher in nearly 50 years to throw a nine-inning
perfect game in the
International League. Ohka retired in succession all 27 batters he faces in a 2–0 triumph over the
Charlotte Knights. Aftermath, the 24-year-old rookie needs just 76 pitches to toss the first nine-inning perfect game in the league since
Dick Marlowe did it for the
Buffalo Bisons in
its 1952 season. • June 2 : • With the
Detroit Tigers visiting
Wrigley Field for the first time since the
1945 World Series,
Chicago Cubs reliever Rick Aguilera pitches a perfect ninth inning for
his 300th career save in a 2–0 Chicago victory. •
Tampa Bay Devil Rays first baseman
Fred McGriff becomes the 31st player to reach
400 career home runs, when he goes deep against
Glendon Rusch with a two-run drive in a 5–3 loss to the
New York Mets at
Shea Stadium. • The
Montreal Expos announce they will wear
Maurice Richard's uniform number 9 on their jerseys for the rest of the season to honor the
Montreal Canadiens great who died the previous week. It is believed to be the first time a major league team honored an athlete from another sport in this way. • June 11 – After being released by the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays,
Dwight Gooden agrees to terms with the
New York Yankees. • June 21 – At the
Oakland Coliseum, the
Oakland Athletics defeats the
Baltimore Orioles, 10–3, as
Eric Chavez becomes the first Athletics player to
hit for the cycle at home since the team moved to Oakland in 1968. • June 26 – After hitting 35 home runs in 53 Minor league games,
Alex Cabrera makes his big league debut with the
Arizona Diamondbacks and hits a two-run,
pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning. Arizona defeats the
Houston Astros, 6–1, while Cabrera becomes the 78th player in Major League Baseball history to homer in his first career at-bat. • June 27 – One day after lasting just 1.2 innings and giving up eight runs in a start against the San Diego Padres,
Orel Hershiser is released by the
Los Angeles Dodgers. He never again appears in a major league game. • June 30 – Trailing 8–1 to the
Atlanta Braves, the
New York Mets score 10 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning, capped off by
Mike Piazza's three-run
home run off reliever
Terry Mulholland. There are four
walks in the inning, and 9 of the 10 runs score with two outs in the inning. The Mets win the game 11–8.
July • July 1 – On Canada's 133rd birthday, the Marlins'
Ryan Dempster and the Expos'
Mike Johnson hook up in a rare matchup of Canadian starters. Dempster comes out on top as Florida defeats Montreal 6–5. Johnson hails from
Edmonton, Alberta, while Dempster is a native of
Sechelt, British Columbia. This is the first matchup of Canadian-born starters since September
1999, when Dempster took on
Éric Gagné of the Dodgers. • July 5 – Arizona outfielder
Luis Gonzalez becomes the first
Diamondback to
hit for the cycle, helping his team to trip the Astros 12–9. It is the first time the feat is accomplished in new
Enron Field, and Gonzalez is just the 9th player to both hit for the cycle and have a 30-or-more-game hitting streak. • July 6 : • St. Louis rookie catcher
Keith McDonald hits a home run in his second at bat, becoming only the second player in major league history to hit home runs in each of his first two big league at bats.
Bob Nieman, in
1951, is the other. • Dodgers pitcher
Orel Hershiser announces his retirement. • The American Sportscasters Association names Dodgers legend
Vin Scully as the No. 1 sportscaster of the 20th century.
Howard Cosell finishes second, followed by
Mel Allen and
Red Barber. • July 8 – In a New York match, the Yankees whip the Mets by identical 4–2 scores in both ends of an unusual day-night doubleheader. With the first game played at
Shea Stadium and the nightcap at
Yankee Stadium, it is the first time since
1903 that two teams play two games in different stadiums on the same day.
Dwight Gooden wins the first game with a six-inning effort in his first start since returning to the Yankees.
Roger Clemens wins the nightcap and precipitates a near-brawl when he drills
Mike Piazza in the helmet with an inside fastball. Piazza suffers a concussion. • July 11 – The
American League wins its fourth consecutive
All-Star Game, beating the
National League 6–3.
Derek Jeter of the Yankees and
Chipper Jones of the Braves each go 3-for-3 in the contest. Jeter takes MVP honors, while
James Baldwin of the White Sox is the winning pitcher. • July 15 – A 1909
Honus Wagner baseball card is auctioned for a record $1.1 million on
eBay. Other high-priced items in the auction include a baseball autographed by the entire 1919 "
Chicago Black Sox" team, including
Shoeless Joe Jackson as well as the umpires who worked the final game of the 1919 World Series, which sells for $93,666, including a 15% buyer's premium. A ball signed by the 1919 Reds goes for $11,208, while a baseball autographed by
Babe Ruth sells for $76,020. A contract from Shoeless Joe Jackson's sale of his Chicago pool hall to teammate
Lefty Williams sells for $36,098. The contract, dated October 6, 1921, is for just $1. • July 20 – In a Houston 6–2 win over Cincinnati, Reds pinch-hitter
Mike Bell strikes out in his major league debut, making history by becoming part of the first third-generation family to play for the same major league team. His grandfather
Gus Bell and father
Buddy Bell also played for the Reds.
August • August 4 – The Blue Jays obtain outfielder
Dave Martinez from the Rangers. Martinez becomes the 9th major leaguer to play for four teams in a season. He begins the year with Tampa Bay and also plays with the Cubs, in addition to Texas and Toronto. The last one who did so was
Dave Kingman (1977). Before him, according to historian Scott Flatow, the four-in-one players were
Frank Huelsman (1904),
Willis Hudlin (1940),
Paul Lehner (1951),
Ted Gray (1955),
Wes Covington (1961) and
Mike Kilkenny (1972). • August 19 – In the
Houston Astros' 10–8 victory over the
Milwaukee Brewers,
Jeff Bagwell has two home runs and five RBI. Bagwell becomes the first Houston player to reach 300 homers in his career. • August 21 – Potomac's
Esix Snead breaks
Lenny Dykstra's
Carolina League record of 105 stolen bases by swiping his 106th of the season. Snead has a batting average of .242 and a .338 on-base percentage. It was the 10th time in the last 20 years that a minor-leaguer had stolen 100 or more bases in a season. According to
Howe Sports data, the eight players who stole 100 or more bases in the minors were: •
Vince Coleman : 145 (Macon, South Atlantic, 1983) •
Donell Nixon : 144 (Bakersfield, California, 1983) •
Jeff Stone : 123 (Spartanburg, South Atlantic, 1983) •
Alan Wiggins : 120 (Lodi, California, 1980) •
Marcus Lawton : 111 (Columbia, South Atlantic, 1985) •
Esix Snead : 106 (Potomac, Carolina, 2000) •
Lenny Dykstra : 105 (Lynchburg, Carolina, 1983) •
Donell Nixon : 102 (Chattanooga, Southern, 1984) •
Vince Coleman : 101 (Louisville, American Association, 1983) •
Albert Hall : 100 (Durham, Carolina, 1980) • August 22 : • The Dodgers defeat the Expos 14–6, as
Eric Karros becomes the first Dodger player to hit two home runs in the same single inning. • In the 12th inning of 6–6 tie game against the
Atlanta Braves at
Coors Field,
Colorado Rockies manager
Buddy Bell, out of pitchers, sends catcher
Brent Mayne in to pitch. Mayne pitches a scoreless inning; the Rockies win the game in the bottom of the 12th as
Adam Melhuse, pinch-hitting for Mayne, who is unable to swing a bat due to a sprained left wrist, singles off
John Rocker to drive in
Neifi Pérez with the winning run. Mayne is credited with the win, becoming the first non-pitcher to win a game in 32 years since
Rocky Colavito did it on August 25, . • August 27 – The
Anaheim Angels edge the
Cleveland Indians 10–9, as outfielder
Tim Salmon hits his 30th home run of the year in the 5th inning. The Angels become the first team in AL history to have four players (
Troy Glaus,
Mo Vaughn,
Garret Anderson, Salmon) reach the 30-homer mark in a single season. The
Toronto Blue Jays are close with two hitters over 30 and two at 28. It was done seven times in the NL.
September • September 1 – For the second time in the season, pitcher
Ryan Rupe of the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays gives up a
grand slam to
Kansas City Royals outfielder
Jermaine Dye. The other slam was on April 26. • September 3 –
Kenny Lofton of the
Cleveland Indians ties a major league record by scoring in his 18th straight game in the first inning of the Cleveland Indians' 12–11, 13-inning victory over the
Baltimore Orioles.
Red Rolfe set the record in
1939 for the
New York Yankees. • September 4 – At
Fenway Park,
Carl Everett of the
Boston Red Sox becomes only the sixth major-league switch-hitter to drive in 100 runs in both leagues when he knocks in his 100th RBI of the year. Boston wins over the
Seattle Mariners, 5–1. Everett drove in 108 runs for the
Houston Astros in 1999. The other five 100-100 switch-hitters are
Ted Simmons,
Ken Singleton,
Eddie Murray,
Bobby Bonilla and
J. T. Snow. Before the game, the Red Sox honor Hall of Fame catcher
Carlton Fisk. Fisk, who plays his first nine seasons with Boston, joins
Bobby Doerr (1),
Joe Cronin (4),
Carl Yastrzemski (8) and
Ted Williams (9) in having his number (27) be retired at Fenway. • September 6 : •
Scott Sheldon of the
Texas Rangers becomes just the third player in major league history to play all nine positions in one game when he does it in a 13–1 loss to the
Chicago White Sox. Sheldon joins
Bert Campaneris (September 8,
1965) and
César Tovar (September 22,
1968) as true utility players. • After reaching an agreement with
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Major League Baseball obtains the right to use
http://www.mlb.com. The law firm had registered the mlb.com domain name in 1994 and refused to release it, making it necessary for the sport to use
http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com until reaching this agreement. • September 10 –
Randy Johnson of the
Arizona Diamondbacks becomes the 12th pitcher to reach the 3,000-strikeout plateau, fanning a season-high 14 in seven innings as the Diamondbacks lose to the
Florida Marlins 4–3 in 12 innings. Johnson's 3,000 strikeout victim is
Mike Lowell, who fans to end the 4th inning. In the first inning, Johnson also records his 300th strikeout for the third consecutive season and the fourth time overall.
Nolan Ryan is the only other pitcher to accomplish the feat, and is the only pitcher who reached 300 strikeouts more times with six (
1972–
74,
1976–
77 and
1989). • September 12 – The Diamondbacks edge the Dodgers 5–4, despite
Dave Hansen's major league record-breaking seventh pinch-hit home run of the season. Hansen's blast, off
Curt Schilling, breaks the mark set in
1932 by
Brooklyn's
Johnny Frederick. • September 15 –
Rickey Henderson scores his first two at bats to pace the
Seattle Mariners to a 10–2 win over the
Baltimore Orioles. Henderson moves into second place on the all-time list of runs (2,175), one ahead of
Babe Ruth and
Hank Aaron, and behind only
Ty Cobb. • September 16 – The
St. Louis Cardinals defeat the
Chicago Cubs 7–6, despite
Sammy Sosa's 50th home run of the season. Sosa becomes the second player to hit 50 or more in three consecutive years, joining
Mark McGwire. • September 19 – In the
Cincinnati Reds' 7–3 loss to the
San Francisco Giants,
Ken Griffey Jr. pinch-hits his 400th home run. He is the first major leaguer to reach the mark as a pinch-hitter. • September 22 –
José Lima of the
Houston Astros sets an NL single-season record by allowing his 47th home run in the Astros' 12–5 loss to the
Cincinnati Reds. The major league record for home runs allowed in a season is 50, set by the
Minnesota Twins'
Bert Blyleven in
1986. • September 23 –
Rafael Palmeiro hits his 400th career home run. • September 25 – For the first time since 1951 and only the second time since 1899, a team plays a doubleheader against two different teams as the
Cleveland Indians beat the
Chicago White Sox in a makeup game 9–2 in the first game and then lose to the
Minnesota Twins 4–3 in the second game. • September 26 – Longtime broadcast partner
NBC declines to renew its rights. NBC had televised baseball since
1947, with the exception of
1990–93, and was the exclusive home of the World Series for
27 years. • September 27 – In an Oakland 9–7 victory over the Angels, Anaheim's
Darin Erstad hits a home run in the 2nd inning for his 99th RBI of the year from the leadoff spot to set a new record.
Nomar Garciaparra drove home 98 in
1997 for the previous mark. • September 28 – At
Camden Yards, the Orioles bat around in back-to-back innings and set a single-game franchise scoring record in a 23–1 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays. • September 28 – In the final game ever played at
Milwaukee's
County Stadium the Brewers drop an 8–1 decision to the Cincinnati Reds.
October • October 1 : • The
Chicago Cubs defeat the
Pittsburgh Pirates, 10–9, in the last game played at
Three Rivers Stadium. Coincidentally, the Pirates defeated the Cubs in 1970 in the last game played at their previous stadium,
Forbes Field. •
Shane Halter of the
Detroit Tigers becomes the fourth player to play all nine positions in a single game as the Tigers won the game 12–11 on the final day of the regular season. • October 8 –
Bobby Jones of the
New York Mets one-hits the
San Francisco Giants in Game 4 of the NL Division Series to advance the Mets to the
NLCS. • October 14 – In Game 4 of the
AL Championship Series,
New York Yankees ace
Roger Clemens strikes out 15 and allows one hit – a seventh-inning double by
Al Martin in a 5–0 victory over the
Seattle Mariners. • October 17 –
Orlando Hernández pitches the
New York Yankees to a 9–7 victory in the decisive sixth game of the
ALCS, in what would be the last Major League Baseball game televised by
NBC. • October 26 – The
New York Yankees defeat the
New York Mets 4–2, to win their 26th
World Series in five games.
Luis Sojo hits a single in the top of the 9th inning and drives home the winning run for the Yankees. Teammates
Bernie Williams and
Derek Jeter hit home runs, and Jeter is named the Series MVP.
November • November 6 –
Kazuhiro Sasaki of the
Seattle Mariners, at the age of 32, becomes the second oldest major league player to be named rookie of the year. Only
Sam Jethroe of the
Boston Braves was older, Jethroe was 33 when he won the award in 1950. • November 16 –
Jeff Kent of the
San Francisco Giants was named the National League MVP. • November 17 –
Jason Giambi of the
Oakland Athletics was named the American League MVP beating out a big lineup of stars like
Frank Thomas,
Alex Rodriguez and
Pedro Martínez. • November 18 – The
Seattle Mariners sign Japanese star outfielder
Ichiro Suzuki to a three-year contract.
December • December 1 – Relief pitcher
Turk Wendell, who wears uniform number 99, agrees to a three-year deal worth $9,999,999.99 with the
New York Mets. Wendell asks that his contract include an option year in which he plays for free, but that plan is unworkable because the MLB collective bargaining agreement set a $200,000 minimum salary. • December 11 – The
Texas Rangers sign free agent shortstop
Alex Rodriguez to a record $252 million, 10-year contract. It is, at the time, the richest contract in the history of professional sports. ==Movies==