2007 in baseball

See also: 2007 Major League Baseball season

Calendar

March

• 2-11 - MLB: Teams may renew contracts of unsigned players
• 14 - MLB: Last day to place a player on unconditional release waivers and pay 30 days termination pay instead of 45 days
• 28 - MLB: Last day to request unconditional release waivers on a player without having to pay his full 2007 salary

April

• 1 - MLB Opening day, New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals. Active rosters reduced to 25 players
• 2 -The other 28 teams start their season

May

• 21 - Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York, between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles.

June

• First-Year Player Draft

July

• 10 - MLB All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California
• 14-19 - Baseball tournament at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 31- Major League Baseball trading deadline for teams to make last minute deals without player clearing waivers, Non-waiver trade deadline (4 p.m. ET)

August

• 1 - Beginning today through the final day of the regular season, players can be traded only after trade waivers have been secured during the current waiver period
• 15 - Last date to bring player up for "full trial" to avoid draft-excluded status.
• 31 - Any player unconditionally released between this date and Opening Day of next season may not be re-signed to a Major League contract by the releasing team until May 15 of the following season.
• 31 - Postseason eligibility lists established at midnight ET

September

• 1 - Active player limit expands from 25 to 40 players
• 7-16 - European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, to be held in Barcelona, Spain
• 30 - End of MLB regular season.

October

• 1 - All players on optional assignment must be recalled
• 1 - Beginning today, players may be traded between major league clubs without any waivers in effect. Playoff teams may not make trades, however, until they finish play.
• 2 - MLB postseason begins.
• 23 - 103rd Edition of MLB's Championship World Series begins

November

• 20 - Day to file reserve lists for all minor league levels and major leagues
• 26-December 1 - Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament, to be held in Taipei, Republic of China

December

• 1 - Last day for teams to offer salary arbitration to ranked free agents in order to be eligible for compensation
• 3-6 - Winter meetings, Nashville, Tennessee
• 6 - Major League Rule 5 Draft
• 7 - Player deadline to accept salary arbitration
• 12 - Last date to tender contracts

Champions

• International
  • Caribbean World Series: Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic)
  • Claxton Shield - Victoria Aces def. New South Wales Patriots

Awards and honors

• Baseball Hall of Fame honors
  • Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn are elected by the BBWAA in their first year of eligibility.
  • Rick Hummel, columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who covered the St. Louis Cardinals for three decades, will receive the J. G. Taylor Spink Award. Denny Matthews, broadcaster for the Kansas City Royals since the team's 1969 formation, will receive the Ford C. Frick Award.

Events

January-March

• January 9- As the result of questions regarding his involvement in the ongoing steroids investigations, Mark McGwire falls well short in his first effort to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, meanwhile, are elected easily.
• January 11 - The New York Daily News reports that Barry Bonds had tested positive for amphetamines at some point during the 2006 season and that Bonds had initially cited a supplement he had received from San Francisco Giants teammate Mark Sweeney as a possible reason for the positive test. Testing rules established in 2006 had required that first positive tests must remain confidential.

Deaths

January-March

• January 1 - Ernie Koy, 97, left fielder for four NL teams from 1938-1942 who homered in his first at bat, with the Dodgers
• January 4 - Bob Milliken, 80, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953 and 1954
• January 16 - Betty Trezza, 81, shortstop for the Racine Belles of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
• January 20 - Vern Ruhle, 55, pitcher for the Tigers and Astros who had notable starts for Houston in the 1980, 1981 playoffs; later a pitching coach for four NL teams
• January 23 - Dick Joyce, 63, pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965
• January 25 - Jack Lang, 85, sportswriter for New York area newspapers from 1946 to 1989, and longtime BBWAA official who was responsible for notifying Hall of Famers of their election from 1966 to 1988
• January 27 - Bing Devine, 90, general manager who built the Cardinals' pennant winners of 1964, '67 and '68; later president of the Mets
• January 29 - Art Fowler, 84, pitcher from 1954 to 1964, mainly with the Redlegs and Angels, who became pitching coach for five teams under manager Billy Martin
• January 30 - Max Lanier, 91, All-Star pitcher who won 101 games for the Cardinals, led NL in ERA in 1943 and won final game of the 1944 World Series; father of infielder-manager Hal
• February 1 - Ray Berres, 99, catcher for four NL teams from 1934 to 1945, later a White Sox pitching coach for nearly two decades
• February 4 - Steve Barber, 68, All-Star pitcher for the Orioles who in 1963 became the first 20-game winner in modern Baltimore history
• February 4 - Jim Pisoni, 77, outfielder for the St. Louis Browns, Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves and New York Yankees from 1953 through 1960
• February 6 - Lew Burdette, 80, All-Star pitcher for the Braves who was MVP of the 1957 World Series, led NL with 21 wins in 1959
• February 9 - Hank Bauer, 84, All-Star right fielder for the Yankees on seven World Series champions; managed Orioles to 1966 World Series title
• February 15 - Buddy Hancken, 92, catcher for the 1940 Philadelphia Athletics; later a minor league manager, scout, coach and executive
• February 20 - Bob Malloy, 88, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Browns between 1943 and 1949
• February 21 - Sherman Jones, 72, pitcher for three NL teams from 1960-1962; later a Kansas legislator for twelve years
• March 2 - Clem Labine, 80, All-Star relief pitcher for the Dodgers who helped the team win its first World Series in 1955, held NL record for career saves from 1958 to 1962
• March 3 - Gene Oliver, 71, catcher and first baseman for five teams in the 1960s who hit 21 home runs for the 1965 Milwaukee Braves
• March 8 - John Vukovich, 59, third baseman for three teams, mainly the Phillies, from 1970 to 1981; later a Phillies coach for 17 seasons