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This year in baseball

2000s

2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005
2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

1990s

1999 • 1998 • 1997 • 1996 • 1995
1994 • 1993 • 1992 • 1991 • 1990

1980s

1989 • 1988 • 1987 • 1986 • 1985
1984 • 1983 • 1982 • 1981 • 1980

1970s

1979 • 1978 • 1977 • 1976 • 1975
1974 • 1973 • 1972 • 1971 • 1970

1960s

1969 • 1968 • 1967 • 1966 • 1965
1964 • 1963 • 1962 • 1961 • 1960

1950s

1959 • 1958 • 1957 • 1956 • 1955
1954 • 1953 • 1952 • 1951 • 1950

1940s

1949 • 1948 • 1947 • 1946 • 1945
1944 • 1943 • 1942 • 1941 • 1940

1930s

1939 • 1938 • 1937 • 1936 • 1935
1934 • 1933 • 1932 • 1931 • 1930

1920s

1929 • 1928 • 1927 • 1926 • 1925
1924 • 1923 • 1922 • 1921 • 1920

1910s

1919 • 1918 • 1917 • 1916 • 1915
1914 • 1913 • 1912 • 1911 • 1910

1900s

1909 • 1908 • 1907 • 1906 • 1905
1904 • 1903 • 1902 • 1901 • 1900

1890s

1899 • 1898 • 1897 • 1896 • 1895
1894 • 1893 • 1892 • 1891 • 1890

1880s

1889 • 1888 • 1887 • 1886 • 1885
1884 • 1883 • 1882 • 1881 • 1880

1870s

1879 • 1878 • 1877 • 1876 • 1875
1874 • 1873 • 1872 • 1871 • 1870

Early Years

1869 • 1845-1868

See also
Sources

The following are the baseball events of the year 2000 throughout the world.  


Champions[]

Major League Baseball[]

Other champions[]

  • Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico)
  • College World Series: LSU
  • Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (4-2)
  • Little League World Series: Sierra Maestra, Maracaibo, Venezuela
  • Summer Olympic Games at Sydney, Australia: United States (Gold), Cuba (Silver), Korea (Bronze)

Awards and honors[]

MLB Statistical Leaders[]

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Nomar Garciaparra .372 Todd Helton .372
HR Troy Glaus 47 Sammy Sosa 50
RBI Edgar Martinez 145 Todd Helton 147
Wins Tim Hudson & David Wells 20 Tom Glavine 21
ERA Pedro Martinez 1.74 Kevin Brown 2.58

Major League Baseball final standings[]

American League
Rank Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
East Division
1st New York Yankees 87 74 .540    --
2nd Boston Red Sox 85 77 .525   2.5
3rd Toronto Blue Jays 83 79 .512   4.5
4th Baltimore Orioles 74 88 .457 13.5
5th Tampa Bay Devil Rays 69 92 .429 18.0
Central Division
1st Chicago White Sox 95 67 .586    --
2nd Cleveland Indians 90 72 .556   5.0
3rd Detroit Tigers 79 83 .488 16.0
4th Kansas City Royals 77 85 .475 18.0
5th Minnesota Twins 69 93 .426 26.0
West Division
1st Oakland Athletics 91 70 .565    --
2nd Seattle Mariners * 91 71 .562   0.5
3rd Anaheim Angels 82 80 .506   9.5
4th Texas Rangers 71 91 .438 20.5


National League
Rank Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
East Division
1st Atlanta Braves 95 67 .586    --
2nd New York Mets * 94 68 .580   1.0
3rd Florida Marlins 79 82 .491 15.5
4th Montréal Expos 67 95 .414 28.0
5th Philadelphia Phillies 65 97 .401 30.0
Central Division
1st St. Louis Cardinals 95 67 .586    --
2nd Cincinnati Reds 85 77 .525 10.0
3rd Milwaukee Brewers 73 89 .451 22.0
4th Houston Astros 72 90 .444 23.0
5th Pittsburgh Pirates 69 93 .426 26.0
6th Chicago Cubs 65 97 .401 30.0
West Division
1st San Francisco Giants 97 65 .599    --
2nd Los Angeles Dodgers 86 76 .531 11.0
3rd Arizona Diamondbacks 85 77 .525 12.0
4th Colorado Rockies 82 80 .506 15.0
5th San Diego Padres 76 86 .469 21.0
* The asterisk denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league.
NOTE: Oakland and Seattle finished the season with the same record; Oakland was awarded the division title due to winning their season series (9-4).

Events[]

January-March[]

  • January 6 - Major league officials order Atlanta Braves reliever John Rocker is to undergo psychological testing following derogatory remarks he made in an interview with Sports Illustrated magazine. Commissioner Bud Selig says he will listen to what the doctors say before deciding what punishment—if any—will be handed down to the pitcher.
  • 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 - 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's also fined an undisclosed amount and ordered to undergo sensitivity training.
  • March 1 - Independent arbitrator Shyam Das cuts 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. Shane Andrews hits the first home run of the new millennium. Mark Grace and Mike Piazza also homer.
  • March 30 - The Houston Astros play their first game at the new Enron Field.

April-May[]

  • April 3 - Andrés Galarraga hits a home run in his first game back after missing the entire 1999 season following cancer surgery. Atlanta defeat the Colorado Rockies 2-0.
  • April 4 - Expos closer Ugueth Urbina strikes out the Dodgers in the top of the ninth inning on nine pitches, tying a major league record.
  • 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 were 36 homers hit in the AL, smashing the previous mark for a single league.
  • April 10 - Colorado beats Cincinnati 7-5, despite Ken Griffey, Jr.'s 400th career home run. At age of 30, Griffey is the youngest player in major league history to reach that milestone.
  • April 11 - The 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 Dodger attack with three home runs.
  • April 15 - The Baltimore Orioles defeat the 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 7th to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.
  • April 16 - Cleveland Indians starter Chuck Finley, who was 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 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 down 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 29 - The Giants finally win, beating the Expos 2-1 for their 1st victory at Pacific Bell Park. They are the 1st team to lose six straight game to begin play in a newly constructed home park.
  • April 30 - 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 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 1999.
  • 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 18 - Mark McGwire hit three home runs and seven RBI in a St. Louis 7-2 victory over the Phillies. The homers move McGwire past Mickey Mantle into 8th place on the all-time list with 539.
  • May 19 - The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Cardinals 13-1, as catcher Jason Kendall hits for the cycle, becoming the first Pirate ever to do so at Three Rivers Stadium.
  • May 23 - Baltimore defeats Seattle 4-2. The Mariners' Rickey Henderson draws his 2,000th career walk in the 9th inning, making him the 3rd player to reach that level, 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 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. In 1995, while with the Yankees, Velarde turned an unassisted triple play against the Los Angeles Dodgers in spring training following the strike.

June-July[]

  • June 1 - Japanese righthander 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 all 27 batters he faced in a 2-0 triumph over the Charlotte Knights. The 24-year-old Ohka needs just 76 pitches to toss the first nine-inning perfect game in the IL since Dick Marlowe did it for Buffalo in 1952.
  • June 2 - The Montréal 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 last week. It is believed to be the first time a major league team has honored an athlete from another sport in this way.
  • June 21 - Oakland defeats the 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 - The Diamondbacks defeat the Astros 6-1. Arizona rookie first baseman Alex Cabrera hits a two-run pinch-hit home run in his first major league at bat.
  • 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. Theirs 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 Arizona Diamondbacks 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.
  • July 6 - 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 played 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 precipitate a near-brawl when he drills Mike Piazza in the helmet with an inside fastball. Piazza suffers a concussion.
  • 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, 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 began the year with Tampa Bay and also played with the Cubs, in addition to Texas and Toronto. The last to do 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 - The Yankees beat the Angels 9-1, hitting a major league record-tying three sacrifice flies in the 3rd inning.
  • August 21 - Potomac's Exis Snead breaks Lenny Dykstra's Carolina League record of 105 stolen bases by swiping his 106th. Snead has a batting average of .242 and a .338 on base percentage. It's the 10th time in the last 20 years that a minor-leaguer has 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 (Macon, South Atlantic, 1983—145)
    • Donell Nixon (Bakersfield, California, 1983—144)
    • Jeff Stone (Spartanburg, South Atlantic, 1983—123)
    • Alan Wiggins (Lodi, California, 1980—120)
    • Marcus Lawton (Columbia, South Atlantic, 1985—111)
    • Exis Snead (Potomac, Carolina, 2000—106)
    • Lenny Dykstra (Lynchburg, Carolina, 1983—105)
    • Donell Nixon (Chattanooga, Southern, 1984—102)
    • Vince Coleman (Louisville, American Association, 1983— 101)
    • Albert Hall (Durham, Carolina, 1980—100)
  • August 22 - The Dodgers defeat the Expos 14-6, as Eric Karros becomes the first Dodger player to hit two home runs in a single inning (6th).

September[]

  • 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.
  • 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 has 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 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.

October-December[]

  • October 8 - Bobby Jones of the New York Mets one-hits the San Francisco Giants in Game Four of the NLDS to advance the Mets to the NLCS. It is widely regarded as one of the best-pitched games in franchise history.
  • November 18 - The Mariners sign Japanese star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to a three-year contract.
  • December 11 - The Rangers sign free agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez to a record $252 million, 10-year contract. It is the richest contract in the history of professional sports.

Deaths[]

  • January 1 - Larry Bearnarth, 58, relief pitcher for the Mets from 1963-66; later the Expos' pitching coach
  • January 4 - John Milner, 50, first baseman and left fielder for the Mets and Pirates who hit 20 home runs twice, had 10 career grand slams
  • January 11 - Bob Lemon, 79, Hall of Fame pitcher who won 207 games including a no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians, posting seven 20-win seasons; won final game of 1948 World Series, and managed Yankees to 1978 championship
  • January 16 - By Saam, 85, broadcaster for the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies from 1938 to 1975
  • March 7 - Jack Sanford, 70, All-Star pitcher who was the 1957 NL Rookie of the Year; was 24-7 for 1962 Giants
  • June 2 - Ellis Clary, 83, infielder for the Senators and Browns; later a scout for 32 years
  • June 5 - Don Liddle, 75, pitcher for the New York Giants during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series when teammate Willie Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch
  • June 21 - Bud Stewart, 84, outfielder who was the AL runnerup in triples with the 1948 Senators
  • June 23 - Bob Tillman, 63, catcher for the Red Sox and Braves who caught two no-hitters and had three home runs in a 1969 game
  • September 3 - Clyde Sukeforth, 98, catcher for the Reds and Dodgers who later scouted Jackie Robinson, and also signed Don Newcombe and Roberto Clemente
  • September 17 - Chico Salmon, 59, infielder for the Indians and Orioles who had a crucial pinch hit in the 1970 World Series
  • September 23 - Aurelio Rodríguez, 52, third baseman, primarily for the Tigers, who won a Gold Glove and retired with the sixth most games at his position
  • October 28 - Andújar Cedeño, 31, shortstop for the Astros and Padres who hit for the cycle in a 1992 game
  • November 25 - Hugh Alexander, 83, outfielder who played seven games for 1937 Indians; became a scout for 61 years after losing his left hand in an accident
  • December 10 - Willard Nixon, 72, pitcher who won 69 games for the Red Sox
  • December 19 - Lou Polli, 99, Italian relief pitcher for the 1932 Browns and 1944 Giants
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