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2000 in baseball

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See also: 2000 Major League Baseball season

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

Champions

Major League Baseball

  • Regular Season Champions
League Eastern Division Champion Central Division Champion Western Division Champion Wild Card Qualifier
American League New York Yankees Chicago White Sox Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners
National League Atlanta Braves St. Louis Cardinals San Francisco Giants New York Mets
  • World Series Champion – New York Yankees
  • Postseason – October 3 to October 26

Template:Baseballplayoffsbracket1994-2011 Click on any series score to link to that series' page.
Higher seed has home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series.
The American League Champion has home field advantage in the World Series as a result of the pre-2003 "alternating years" rule.

Other champions

Awards and honors

MLB statistical leaders

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Nomar Garciaparra BOS .376 Todd Helton COL .372
HR Troy Glaus ANA 47 Sammy Sosa CHC 50
RBI Edgar Martínez SEA 145 Todd Helton COL 147
Wins Tim Hudson OAK
David Wells TOR		 20 Tom Glavine ATL 21
ERA Pedro Martínez BOS 1.74 Kevin Brown LAD 2.58

Major league baseball final standings

* The asterisk denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league.
NOTE: Oakland did not have to make up one postponed game, because even if they had lost and had finished in a tie with Seattle, they would have been awarded the division title due to winning the season series (9-4) between the teams.

Events

January–March

  • 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.
  • 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 is also fined an undisclosed amount and ordered to undergo sensitivity training.
  • 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 Jake Meyer.
  • February 29 – Manager Sparky Anderson, 19th-century star Bid McPhee, and Negro League player Norman "Turkey" Stearnes are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
  • 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. Mark Grace and Mike Piazza also homer.

April–May

June–July

  • 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 retires all 27 batters he faces 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 – 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 save in a 2-0 Chicago victory.
  • June 2 – 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.
  • June 2 – 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 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 – 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 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 3-run home run off reliever Terry Mulholland. There are 4 walks in the inning, and 9 of the 10 runs score with 2 outs in the inning.
  • 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.
  • July 6 – Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser announces his retirement.
  • 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 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. 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 (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)
    • Esix 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).
    • 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 since Rocky Colavito almost a full 32 years earlier, on August 25, 1968.
  • 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

October–December

Movies

Deaths

January

  • January 1 – Andy Spognardi, 91, infielder for the 1931 Boston Red Sox.
  • January 4 – John Milner, 50, first baseman and left fielder for the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates who hit 20 home runs twice, including 10 career grand slams.
  • January 11 – Bob Lemon, 79, Hall of Fame pitcher who spent his entire career with the Cleveland Indians, winning 207 games, including a no-hitter, and recording seven 20-win seasons and winning final game of the 1948 World Series, before managing the New York Yankees to the 1978 AL Championship Series title.
  • January 15 – Marie Kazmierczak, 79, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League outfielder.
  • January 16 – By Saam, 85, broadcaster for the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies teams from 1938 through 1975.
  • January 19 – Lynn Myers, 85, shortstop who played from 1938 to 1939 for the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • January 20 – Ron Herbel, 62, relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, who holds the dubious distinction of the lowest career batting average for a minimum of 100 career at-bats (.029).
  • January 26 – Bill Strickland, 91, pitcher for the 1937 St. Louis Browns.
  • January 26 – Frankie Pack, 75, pinch-hitter for the 1949 St. Louis Browns.
  • January 27 – Dorothy Damaschke, 82, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League outfielder.
  • January 28 – Ted Gullic, 93, outfielder who played for the St. Louis Browns between 1930 and 1933.

February

  • February 3 – John Leovich, 81, backup catcher for the 1941 Philadelphia Athletics.
  • February 10 – Gene Lambert, 78, who pitched from 1941 to 1942 for the Philadelphia Phillies.
  • February 10 – Blas Monaco, 84, second baseman who played with the Cleveland Indians in the 1937 and 1946 seasons.
  • February 11 – Robert Gaston, 89, catcher for the Homestead Grays of the Negro leagues from 1933 to 1948.
  • February 15 – Bob Ramazzotti, 83, backup infielder who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs between 1946 and 1953.
  • February 16 – Soup Campbell, 84, outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians from 1940 to 1941.
  • February 17 – Turkey Tyson, 85, pinch-hitter for the 1944 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • February 18 – Lefty Hoerst, 82, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies between 1940 and 1947.
  • February 25 – Culley Rikard, 85, fourth outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1941–1942 and 1947 seasons.

March

  • March 2 – Danny Musser, 94, third baseman for the 1932 Washington Senators.
  • March 2 – Jack Robinson, 79, relief pitcher for the 1949 Boston Red Sox.
  • March 7 – Jack Sanford, 70, All-Star pitcher who was named 1957 National League Rookie of the Year, and posted a 24-7 record for the 1962 San Francisco Giants.
  • March 13 – Harry Bright, 70, utility infielder for five different teams between 1958 and 1965, who later became a longtime player and manager in the minor leagues and also served as a scout for several major league organizations.
  • March 16 – Carlos Velázquez, 73, Puerto Rican pitcher for the 1973 Milwaukee Brewers of the American League.
  • March 19 – Joanne Weaver, 64, All-Star outfielder for the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, who hit a league-leading .429 in 1954, which remains the highest professional baseball single-season average posted in modern era.
  • March 19 – Dewey Williams, 84, catcher who played from 1944 through 1948 for the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds.
  • March 29 – Hank Miklos, 89, relief pitcher for the 1944 Chicago Cubs, and one of several players who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II.
  • March 30 – Mary Flaherty, 74, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.

April

  • April 6 – Don Johnson, 88, twice All-Star second baseman who in 1945 hit .302 with 94 runs and 58 runs batted in as leadoff hitter for the last Chicago Cubs team to win a pennant.
  • April 13 – Frenchy Bordagaray, 90, outfielder/third baseman who played for six teams during eleven seasons, most of them with the Brooklyn Dodgers, being also a member of the 1941 World Champion Yankees.
  • April 14 – Bob Barthelson, 73, pitcher for the 1944 New York Giants, and one of several players who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II.
  • April 25 – Edna Scheer, 73, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitcher for the 1950 Rockford Peaches champion team.
  • April 27 – Brooks Lawrence, 75, All-Star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds from 1954 through 1960.
  • April 28 – Jack Merson, 78, infielder who played from 1951 to 1953 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox.
  • April 29 – Buck Varner, 69, backup outfielder who played briefly for the 1952 Washington Senators.

May

  • May 3 – Ed Chapman, 94, pitcher for the 1934 Washington Senators.
  • May 10 – Carden Gillenwater, 81, backup outfielder for the Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves and Senators in the early 1940s.
  • May 14 – Sarah Mavis Dabbs, 78, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League outfielder.
  • May 18 – Doyle Lade, 79, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs from 1946 to 1950.
  • May 27 – Jane Stoll, 71, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League outfielder, and a veteran of three champion clubs between 1947 and 1954.
  • May 31 – Hank Ruszkowski, 74, backup catcher for the Cleveland Indians in the mid-1950s.

June

  • June 2 – Ellis Clary, 83, infielder for the Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns from 1942 through 1945, who later worked as 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 13 – Bobby Tiefenauer, 70, knuckleball reliever who pitched for six different teams during a ten-year career that stretched between 1952 and 1968.
  • June 17 – Joe Albanese, 66, pitcher for the 1958 Washington Senators, who also had a significant career in the minor leagues.
  • June 21 – Bud Stewart, 84, outfielder who was the American League runner-up in triples with the 1948 Washington 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 single 1969 game.

July

  • July 14 – Georges Maranda, 68, Canadian pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants in 1960 and the Minnesota Twins in 1962.
  • July 20 – Jim Suchecki, 73, pitcher from 1950 through 1952 for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Pirates.

August

  • August 6 – Marv Felderman, 64, backup catcher for the 1942 Chicago Cubs.
  • August 14 – Ken Heintzelman, 84, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies between 1937 and 1952, who led the National League in shutouts in 1949 and was a member of the Phillies pennant winners in 1953.
  • August 21 – Russ Kerns, 79, pinch-hitter who played briefly for the 1945 Detroit Tigers.
  • August 22 – Bill Bradford, 78, pitcher for the 1956 Kansas City Athletics.
  • August 26 – Ed Rakow, 65, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves in the early 1960s, who later played and coached in the Senior Professional Baseball Association.
  • August 27 – Bob Mahoney, 72, who pitched from 1951 to 1952 for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns.
  • August 29 – Fern Bell, 87, backup outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1939 to 1940.
  • August 31 – Dolores Moore, 67, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League infielder.

September

  • September 3 – Clyde Sukeforth, 98, catcher for the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers, who later scouted Jackie Robinson and also signed Don Newcombe and Roberto Clemente.
  • September 4 – Pinky May, 89, All-Star second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1939 to 1943, who led his team in seven offensive categories in 1940, including a .293 batting average and a .371 on-base percentage.
  • September 7 – Nick Tremark, 87, outfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1934 through 1936.
  • September 14 – George Myatt, 86, major league infielder, coach and manager during a professional career that spanned more than four decades.
  • September 16 – John Perkovich, 76, pitcher for the 1950 Chicago White Sox.
  • September 17 – Chico Salmon, 59, Panamanian infielder for the Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles from 1964 to 1972, who batted a crucial pinch-hit during the 1970 World Series.
  • September 22 – Bill Sommers, 77, backup infielder for the 1950 St. Louis Browns.
  • September 23 – Aurelio Rodríguez, 52, Mexican third baseman, primarily for the Detroit Tigers, who won a Gold Glove and retired with the sixth most games at his position.
  • September 29 – Lynn Lovenguth, 77, relief pitcher for the Phillies and Cardinals between 1955 and 1957.

October

  • October 1 – Charlie Brewster, 83, backup infielder who played in 69 games for the Reds, Phillies, Cubs and Indians between 1943 and 1946.
  • October 4 – Chuck Oertel, 69, backup outfielder for the 1958 Baltimore Orioles.
  • October 17 – Donna Jogerst, 68, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.
  • October 22 – Hank Wyse. 82, All-Star pitcher who helped the Cubs to clinch the 1945 National League title after going 22-10 with a 2.68 ERA, and also the last Cubs pitcher to appear in a World Series game.
  • October 23 – Benny Culp, 86, catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies 1942 to 1944, one of many baseball players whose career was interrupted by serving in World War II.
  • October 26 – Ruth Lessing, 75, three-time All-Star catcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
  • October 28 – Andújar Cedeño, 31, Dominican shortstop for the Astros, Padres and Tigers from 1990 through 1996, who hit for the cycle in a 1992 game.

November

  • November 2 – Eddie Collins, 83, backup outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics between 1939 and 1942, who later worked in the Philadelphia Phillies' front office.
  • November 5 – Willard Marshall, 79, All-Star outfielder for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox from 1942 to 1955, who in 1947 tied a National League record by hitting a three-home run game, and in 1951 became the second OF in major league history to play an error-less season.
  • November 5 – Harry Taylor, 81, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox between 1946 and 1952, who started Game 4 of the 1947 World Series for the Dodgers.
  • November 14 – Len Gabrielson, 85, first baseman who appeared in five games for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1939 season.
  • November 25 – Hugh Alexander, 83, outfielder for the 1937 Cleveland Indians, who later became a scout for 61 years after losing his left hand in an accident.
  • November 27 – Clara Chiano, 79, American Girls Professional Baseball League player.

December

  • December 1 – Barbara Gates, 66, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.
  • December 1 – Terry Wilshusen, 51, pitcher for the 1973 California Angels.
  • December 3 – Red Nonnenkamp, 80, utility outfielder/first baseman from 1933 to 1940 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox.
  • December 10 – Willard Nixon, 72, Boston Red Sox pitcher, best remembered for his mastery of the New York Yankees in the 1950s.
  • December 13 – Jake Jones, 80, first baseman for the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox in the 1940s, and also a highly decorated World War II veteran for his heroic actions as an aviator.
  • December 15 – Bubba Floyd, 83, shortstop for the 1944 Detroit Tigers.
  • December 19 – Lou Polli, 99, Italian relief pitcher for the 1932 St. Louis Browns and the 1944 New York Giants.
  • December 19 – Lou Thuman, 84, outfielder for the Washington Senators from 1939 to 1940.
  • December 27 – Roy Partee, 83, backup catcher for the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns in the mid-1940s.
  • December 31 – Fritz Dorish, 79, pitcher over all or parts of ten seasons (1947–1956) with the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.

See also

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