2018 in baseball
The following are the baseball events of the year 2018 throughout the world.
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Champions
Major League Baseball
Other champions
- Amateur
International competition
- International club team competitions
- Domestic Winter Leagues
- Australian Baseball League: Brisbane Bandits[7]
- Colombian League: Leones de Montería[8]
- Cuban National Series: Alazanes de Granma[9]
- Dominican League: Águilas Cibaeñas[10]
- Mexican Pacific League: Tomateros de Culiacán[11]
- Nicaraguan League: Tigres del Chinandega[6]
- Panamanian League: Caballos de Coclé[12]
- Puerto Rican League: Criollos de Caguas[13]
- Venezuelan League: Caribes de Anzoátegui[14]
Awards and honors
Major League Baseball
- Baseball Hall of Fame honors
Events
January
- January 12 – The Chicago Cubs and Kris Bryant avoid salary arbitration, agreeing to a $10.85 million salary for the 2018 season, setting a new record for a first-time arbitration eligible player.[15]
- January 24 – Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman are elected into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.[16]
- January 31 – Mookie Betts prevailed in his arbitration case against the Boston Red Sox, as he will earn $10.5 million in 2018, the largest salary won in a hearing by a first-year arbitration-eligible player.[17]
February
- February 23 – Spring training begins for all 30 Major League Baseball clubs in the warm climates of Florida and Arizona for pre-season training. Of the 30 teams, 15 spend spring training in Florida while the other 15 hold spring training in Arizona.[18]
March
- March 6 – The Arizona Diamondbacks announced the introduction of a bullpen car, the first in MLB since 1995.[19]
- March 29 – The Major League Baseball regular season began with Chicago Cubs and the Miami Marlins playing at Marlins Park. In the game, the Cubs' Ian Happ hit a home run on the first pitch of the season, off the Marlins' José Ureña as the Cubs defeated Miami 8–4. Happ became the first player since Dwight Evans in 1986 to hit a home run on the first pitch of a regular season.[20]
April
- April 10 – Roberto Osuna of the Toronto Blue Jays became the youngest pitcher to record his 100th career save at age 23 surpassing Francisco Rodriguez to reach that milestone mark.
- April 12 – Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins recorded his 2000th career hit in the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox he became the 287th player to reach that mark.
- April 21 - At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Sean Manaea of the Oakland Athletics no-hit the Boston Red Sox 3-0, striking out 10 batters along the way. The no-hitter was the first by an Athletic since Dallas Braden's perfect game in 2010. The Red Sox entered the game with a winning percentage of .894, making them the team with the highest winning percentage ever to be no-hit.
May
- May 4 – Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels recorded his 3000th career hit, becoming the 32nd player to do so.
- May 6 - Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals recorded 15 outs via strikeout in 6 1/3 innings pitched, becoming the first to accomplish the feat.[21]
- May 8 - At the Rogers Centre, Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-0. A native of Ladner, British Columbia, Paxton became the first Canadian to pitch a Major League Baseball no-hitter in his home country. In addition, Paxton is the second Canadian to throw a no-hitter in Major League Baseball history. The first was Toronto’s Dick Fowler, who led the Philadelphia Athletics to a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Browns at Shibe Park on September 9, 1945.[22]
June
Upcoming events
June
- June 17 : Father's Day
July
- July 4: Independence Day
- July 17: 89th MLB All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.
- July 29: Baseball Hall of Fame enshrinement
- July 31: Trading Deadline
August
- August 16–26: Little League World Series Willamsport, PA
- August 22–31: Women's Baseball World Cup, Viera, FL
- August 24–26: MLB Players Weekend
September
- September 1: Rosters Expand
- September 3: Labor Day
- September 30: End of The Regular season
October
Postseason
- October 2: NL Wild Card Game
- October 3: AL Wild Card Game
- October 4: ALDS Begins
- October 5: NLDS Begins
- October 12: NLCS Begins
- October 13: ALCS Begins
- October 23: 114th World Series Begins
- October 31: Game 7 of World Series (if necessary)
November
- November 16 (tentative): Day to file reserve lists for all Major and Minor League levels
- Immediately after World Series: Eligible Players become free agents
- Fifth Day after end of world series: Deadline for clubs to make qualifying offers to their eligible former players who become free agents
- Sixth Day after end of world series: First Day free agents may sign contracts with a club other than former club
- 12th Day after end of world series: Last Day for article XX (B) free agents to accept a qualifying offer from a former club (Midinght ET).
December
- December 3–6: Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada
- December 6: Rule 5 Draft.[23]
Deaths
January
- January 3 – Rob Picciolo, 64, versatile middle infielder for three teams in nine seasons from 1977–1985, who later became a longtime coach in the San Diego Padres system, working for them at both the Major and Minor league levels between 1985 and 2005.
- January 4 – Senichi Hoshino, 70, Japanese manager who led the 2003 Hanshin Tigers to their first Central League pennant in 18 years, and also guided the 2013 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to a Pacific League pennant and the Japan Series championship title.
- January 7 – Dick Young, 89, second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1951 to 1952.
- January 8 – Bob Bailey, 75, third baseman who played for five teams in a span of 17 seasons from 1962 through 1978, and earned a World Championship ring with the 1976 Cincinnati Reds.
- January 12 – Rudy Árias, 86, Cuban pitcher for the Chicago White Sox in their 1959 season.
- January 12 – Keith Jackson, 89, legendary sports broadcaster best known for his long career with ABC Sports between 1966 and 2006, which included three World Series, three All-Star games, and several playoff matchups.
- January 13 – Doug Harvey, 87, Hall of Fame umpire who officiated at five World Series, nine National League Championship Series and six All-Star Games, while serving as a crew chief during 18 years.
- January 15 – Bob Barton, 76, catcher who spent five seasons with the San Francisco Giants from 1965 to 1968, and also played five more for the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds between 1970 and 1974.
- January 19 – Moose Stubing, 79, pinch hitter who appeared in five games for the 1967 California Angels.
- January 20 – Bill Johnson, 57, relief pitcher who posted a 1–0 record over 14 games for the Chicago Cubs from 1983 to 1984.
- January 24 – Marcos Carvajal, 33, Venezuelan relief pitcher who played with the Colorado Rockies in 2005 and the Florida Marlins in 2007.
- January 24 – Julio Navarro, 82, Puerto Rican relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, and Atlanta Braves in a span of six seasons between 1962 and 1970.
- January 30 – Kevin Towers, 56, former general manager for the San Diego Padres from 1995 to 2009 and the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2010 to 2014, who led the Padres won its division in two of his first three seasons at the helm, while advancing to the World Series in 1998.
- January 31 – Oscar Gamble, 68, slugging outfielder who played for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers in a span of 17 seasons from 1969 to 1985, including stints with the 1976 and 1981 American League Champion Yankees.
February
- February 3 – Roy Dietzel, 87, backup infielder who appeared in nine games for the 1949 Washington Senators.
- February 4 – Don Choate, 79. pitcher for the 1960 San Francisco Giants.
- February 4 – Laurin Pepper, 88, pitcher who played from 1954 through 1957 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, previously an All-American halfback at Mississippi Southern, where he also pitched the first no-hitter in school history and two overall.
- February 7 – Ralph Lumenti, 81, spot starter for the Washington Senators in part of three seasons from 1957 to 1959.
- February 9 – Wally Moon, 87, slugging outfielder named Rookie of the Year in the National League in 1954 after batting .304 for the St. Louis Cardinals, who later became a celebrated figure in the early history of the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose monstrous home runs over the short left-field screen at the legendary Memorial Coliseum helped take an aging team to a 1959 World Series title, while earning two more series rings in 1963 and 1965, two All-Star berths in 1957 and 1959, as well as a National League Gold Glove in 1960.
- February 12 – Rudy Regalado, 87, third baseman for the Cleveland Indians in part of three seasons from 1954 to 1956, including the 1954 American League champion Indians team who won a then league-record 111 games.
- February 13 – Tito Francona, 84, All-Star outfielder and a 15-year MLB veteran with eight teams, mainly for the Cleveland Indians between 1956 and 1970, whose son, Terry, is the Indians manager.
- February 14 – Lois Barker, 94, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.
- February 15 – Tom Brewer, 86, All-Star pitcher who won 19 games in 1956 and had double-digit wins in seven of his eight seasons, all with the Boston Red Sox, whose promising career was derailed by diverse arm and shoulder injuries at the age of 29.
- February 22 – Jack Hamilton, 79, pitcher for six different teams in a span of eight seasons from 1962–1969, who was best known for accidentally beaning Boston Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro during the 1967 season, causing him a severe eye injury and derailing his career.
March
- March 2 – Sammy Stewart, 63, Baltimore Orioles pitcher who set a major league record by striking out seven straight batters in his 1978 debut against the Chicago White Sox, had the best earned run average in the American League in 1981 (2.32), and would later help his team win two pennant titles and the World Series championship in 1983, while collecting a perfect 0.00 ERA with one save and eight strikeouts in 12.0 innings of relief over six postseason games.[24]
- March 3 – Curt Raydon, 84, promising pitcher who posted a 8-4 record with a 3.62 ERA and a four-hit shutout as a rookie for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1958, but would never pitch again in the majors after developing a cyst on the index finger of his pitching hand and then a sore arm the next two years.
- March 5 – Bob Engel, 84, umpire who officiated in the National League from 1965 through 1990, whose 26-year career included three World Series, six NL Championship Series and four All-Star Games, as well as serving as president of the MLB umpires union.
- March 6 – Steve Stroughter, 66, outfielder and designated hitter who played for the Seattle Mariners during the 1982 season.
- March 13 – Gloria Cordes, 86, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitcher from 1950 to 1954.
- March 15 – Ed Charles, 84, third baseman who was a key component on the Miracle Mets team that unexpectedly defeated the highly favored Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series.
- March 15 – Augie Garrido, 79, college baseball coach who coached at Cal State Fullerton and The University of Texas and took Texas to 2 national titles and became college baseball's winningest coach with 1,975 wins before retiring in 2016.
- March 16 – Jane Moffet, 87, utility player who played from 1949 to 1952 in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League.
- March 18 – Jerry Schoonmaker, 84, outfielder who played for the Washington Senators from 1955 through 1957 before sustaining a eye injury that ended his playing career.
- March 19 – Dick LeMay, 79, pitcher for the New York Giants and Chicago Cubs for three major league seasons from 1961 to 1963.
- March 21 – Larry Miller, 80, pitcher who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets from 1964 to 1966.
- March 22 – Wayne Huizenga, 80, former owner of the MLB Florida Marlins, NFL Miami Dolphins and NHL Florida Panthers for several years, while leading the Marlins to the 1997 World Series championship.
- March 24 – Carl Scheib, 91, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics in all or parts of 11 seasons who, in 1943 at age 16, became the youngest player to appear in an American League game.
- March 27 – Jerry Moses, 71, All-Star catcher whose career lasted from 1965–1975 while playing for seven clubs, who jn his major league debut at age 18 became the youngest Boston Red Sox player to hit a pinch-hit home run, and in 1967 was a member of the Impossible Dream Red Sox team during its first winning season since 1958, while reaching the World Series for the first time since 1946.
- March 29 – Ed Samcoff, 93, second baseman for the 1951 Philadelphia Athletics.
- March 29 – Rusty Staub, 73, six-time All-Star right fielder, designated hitter and first baseman who played 23 major league seasons for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers from 1963 to 1985, while leading the Mets to the 1973 World Series, being also the first player to have his number retired by the Expos and the only player in MLB history to collect 500 hits with 4 different teams.
April
- April 12 – Len Okrie, 94, catcher who played for the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators in all or parts of five seasons from 1948–1952, and later managed in the Red Sox farm system from 1954 to 1960.
- April 16 – Ken Hottman, 69, Minor League Baseball slugger whose Major League career as an outfielder was limited to six games and 17 plate appearances with the Chicago White Sox in 1971.
- April 18 – John Hope, 47, pitcher who played from 1993 through 1996 for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- April 19 – John Duffie, 72, starting pitcher in two games for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 1967 season.
- April 20 – George Alusik, 83, outfielder and first baseman who played with the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Athletics in a span of five seasons from 1958–1964.
- April 21 – Ron Hayter, 81, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, an avid sportman as a player, coach, manager, executive and organizer of Canadian and international baseball for close to 50 years, from developing the first Canadian rulebook to organizing the inaugural national championships, and also representing Canada in the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) for 18 years.
- April 22 – Dave Nelson, 73, All-Star second baseman who played from 1968 through 1977 for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, and later coached in the major leagues and also served as a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers between 1979 and 1999.
- April 24 – Marv Rackley, 96, outfielder for three different teams from 1947 to 1950, who at the time of his death was one of the last living Brooklyn Dodgers players.
May
- May 5 – Roy Wright, 84, pitcher who played one Major League Baseball season for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1956 and then three seasons in the minors from 1957–1959 before retiring in 1960.
- May 8 – Al Stanek, 74, pitcher for the 1963 San Francisco Giants.
- May 9 – Tom Fletcher, 75, pitcher who appeared in just one game with the Detroit Tigers in its 1962 season.
- May 14 – Frank Quilici, 79, second baseman who played five seasons for the Minnesota Twins from 1965–70 hitting five homers and driving in 53 runs before ending his playing career in 1971, who later served as the manager of the Twins from 1972–75 and as a broadcaster for them from 1976–82.
- May 22 – Dave Garcia, 97, who spent 65 years in professional baseball in different areas of the game, including stints as a major league manager with the Cleveland Indians from 1979-82 and the California Angels for parts of the 1977 and 1978 seasons, posting a 310-311 record, while compiling a 890-785 managerial mark in the minors and leading teams to three championships.
- May 28 – Chuck Stevens, 99, first baseman for the St. Louis Browns in a span of three seasons between 1941 and 1948, who was recognized as the oldest living major league ballplayer at the time of his death.
- May 29 – Ray Barker, 82, first baseman who played for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees in part of four seasons spanning 1960–1967.
June
- June 2 – Bruce Kison, 68, pitcher who was part of two Pittsburgh Pirates World Series-winning teams, while defeating the highly favored Baltimore Orioles in 1971 and 1979, being best remembered for his star performance as a rookie in Game 4 of the 1971 World Series, the first night game in series history.
- June 4 – Steve Kline, 70, pitcher who played for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves in all or part of seven seasons spanning 1970–1977.[25]
- June 5 – Chuck Taylor, 76, pitcher who played from 1969 through 1976 with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers and Montreal Expos.
- June 6 – Red Schoendienst, 95, Hall of Fame second baseman and a 10-time All-Star with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants and Milwaukee Braves, who also managed the Cardinals to two National League pennants and a World Series championship in 1967.
References
- ^ Borg, Zach (June 2, 2018). "NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! Augustana Vikings Win NCAA Division Two World Series". KDLT.com. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ "Texas-Tyler wins NCAA Division III baseball championship". Post Crescent. May 29, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ Hahn, John (June 1, 2018). "Southeastern defeats Freed-Hardeman to win NAIA World Series". The Ledger. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ Arnold, Patti (June 3, 2018). "Walters State baseball falls to Chipola in junior-college World Series championship game". Knox News. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ Associated Press (February 9, 2018). "Puerto Rico wins back-to back Caribbean Series titles". Washington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Colantuono, Giovanni (February 1, 2018). "i tigres si confermano campioni anche nella serie latinoamericana battendo in finale 9-1 i tobis de mexico". Baseballmania.eu. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- ^ Penrose, David (February 11, 2018). "Bandits complete ABL three-peat". ABL.com. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- ^ Perez, Manuel Santiago (January 25, 2018). "Lions retained the title of the Colombian Professional Baseball League". eluniversal. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- ^ "Los Alazanes de Granma se refuerzan para la Serie del Caribe". El Nuevo Día website. January 30, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "Toros y Estrellas felicitan a Águilas Cibaeñas". CDN website. February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "Tomateros de Culiacán, campeones de la Liga Mexicana del Pacífico". Proceso website. January 29, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ Cardenas P., Henry (January 6, 2018). "Caballos barren y se coronan en Probeis". La Prensa. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- ^ "Criollos de Caguas repitió el campeonato en Puerto Rico". LVBP website. January 28, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ Suárez, Enrique (January 27, 2018). "Caribes de Anzoátegui campeones de la LVBP tras vencer a Cardenales". El Impulso website. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ Kris Bryant sets arbitration record. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on January 12, 2018.
- ^ Hall of Fame adds four: Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman. Sports Yahoo. Retrieved on January 24, 2018.
- ^ Mookie Betts Wins Arbitration Case Over Red Sox. MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved on February 1, 2018.
- ^ Why MLB teams go to Arizona, Florida for spring training. AccuWeather website. Retrieved on February 23, 2018.
- ^ Rovell, Darren (March 6, 2018). "Golf cart to bring in relief pitchers is reborn with Diamondbacks". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ Chicago Cubs leadoff hitter Ian Happ gets home run first bat season. ESPN. Retrieved on March 29, 2018.
- ^ Max Scherzer 15-strikeout performance. Sporting News. Retrieved on May 19, 2018.
- ^ Mariners' James Paxton no-hits Blue Jays. USA Today. Retrieved on May 19, 2018.
- ^ Important Dates – Upcoming Events on the MLB calendar. MLB.com
- ^ Sammy Stewart article. SABR Biography Project. Retrieved on March 5, 2018.
- ^ Steve Kline profile. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved on June 9, 2018.
