2020 in baseball
Appearance
The following are the baseball events of the year 2020 throughout the world.
Champions
Major League Baseball
International competition
- National Teams
- U-23 Baseball World Cup: October 2–11
- International club team competitions
- Domestic Winter Leagues
- Australian Baseball League: Melbourne Aces[2]
- Colombian League: Vaqueros de Montería[3]
- Cuban National Series: Matanzas[4]
- Dominican League: Toros del Este[5]
- Mexican Pacific League: Tomateros de Culiacán[6]
- Nicaraguan League: Leones de León[7]
- Panamanian League: Astronautas de Chiriquí[8]
- Puerto Rican League: Cangrejeros de Santurce[9]
- Venezuelan League: Cardenales de Lara[6]
Cancelled events
The following events and seasons scheduled to be played this year were cancelled or postponed to the following year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
International Tournaments
- 2020 Summer Olympics: Postponed to 2021[10]
- European Cup: Cancelled[11]
- Grand Forks International: Cancelled[12]
- Haarlem Baseball Week: Cancelled[13]
- U-15 Baseball World Cup: Postponed [14]
- Women's Baseball World Cup: Postponed [14]
Domestic seasons
- Atlantic League of Professional Baseball: Cancelled[15]
- Frontier League: Cancelled[16]
College
- 2020 College World Series: Cancelled[17]
- 2020 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament: Cancelled[17]
- 2020 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament: Cancelled[17]
- NAIA World Series: Cancelled[18]
- JUCO World Series: Cancelled[19]
- Cape Cod League: Cancelled[20]
Little League Tournaments
- Intermediate League World Series: Cancelled[21]
- Junior League World Series: Cancelled[21]
- Little League World Series:Cancelled[21]
- Senior League World Series: Cancelled[21]
National Leagues
- French League: Cancelled[22]
Awards and honors
Major League Baseball
- Baseball Hall of Fame Honors
Events
January
- January 21 – Derek Jeter and Larry Walker are voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Jeter is named on all but one of the 397 votes cast or 99.7 percent; he misses joining 2019 inductee Mariano Rivera as unanimous Hall of Fame inductees. Meanwhile, Walker receives 304 votes, or 76.6 percent, in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, all in their eighth year on the ballot, are the only other players to be named on 60 percent of the vote at 70.0, 61.0 and 60.7 respectively.[23]
- January 26 – John Altobelli, coach of the Orange Coast College baseball team is killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California that also kills NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
February
- February 4 – The Philadelphia Phillies announce that they will retire Roy Halladay's number 34 on May 29, Halladay who was killed in a plane crash in November 2017 will be the ninth team member to have his number retired. It will be retired on the 10th anniversary of Halladay's perfect game.
- February 26 – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, NPB announced that their remaining 72 preseason games would be held behind closed doors and would not allow spectators to attend.[24]
March
- March 9 – NPB announces the postponement the March 20 start of the regular season because of coronavirus. The league ultimately set its return date for June 19.[25]
- March 12 – MLB cancelled the remaining spring training games and announced that the start of the regular season would be delayed indefinitely, due to the coronavirus pandemic.[26]
April
May
- May 5 - 2020 KBO League season
Upcoming events
- Note: All of the leagues of Minor League Baseball and the Mexican League are also currently suspended and have not started play, with a start date yet to be determined.
July
- July 14: 91st MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA
- July 26: Baseball Hall of Fame inductions
- July 31: Trading deadline for players signed to MLB contracts
August
- August 13: MLB at Field of Dreams near Dyersville, IA
- August 20–30: 2020 Little League World Series at South Williamsport, PA
- August 23: 2020 MLB Little League Classic
- August 28–30: Players Weekend
- August 31: postseason-eligible trading deadline
September
- September 1: rosters expand
- September 27: end of the regular season
Postseason
- September 29: NL Wild Card Game
- September 30: AL Wild Card Game
October
- October 1: American League Division Series begins
- October 2: National League Division Series begins
- October 9: National League Championship Series begins
- October 10: American League Championship Series begins
- October 20: 116th World Series begins
- October 28: Game 7 of World Series (if necessary)
November
- November 13: (tentative) Day to file lists for all major and minor league levels.
- Immediately after World Series: Eligible players become free agents
- Second day after the end of the World Series: Trading window reopens.
- Fifth day after the end of the World Series: Deadline for clubs to make qualifying offers to their eligible former players who become free agents.
- Sixth day after the end of the World Series: First day free agents may sign contracts with a club other than their last club.
- 12th day after the end of the World Series: Last day for article XX (B) free agents to accept a qualifying offer from a former club (midnight Eastern Time).
December
- December 7–10: Winter Meetings in Dallas
- December 10: Rule 5 Draft
Deaths
January
- January 1 – Don Larsen, 90, pitcher best known for his perfect game in the 1956 World Series.[30]
- January 9 – David Glass, 85, owner of the Kansas City Royals from 2000 to 2019 who helped lead the team to back-to-back pennants in 2014 and 2015 while winning the World Series in the latter year.
- January 9 – Hal Smith, 89, infielder best known as a member of the 1960 World Series Pittsburgh Pirates.[31]
February
- February 11 – Katsuya Nomura, 84, Hall of Fame NPB catcher and manager who played for 26 seasons with three teams, primarily the Nankai Hawks, and managed four teams, including Yakult Swallows, who he led to three Japan Series titles.
- February 15 – Tony Fernández, 57, a shortstop who played for seven major league baseball franchises and winning a championship with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993 and currently ranks first in Blue Jays history in hits and games played.[32]
- February 28 – Johnny Antonelli, 89, left-handed pitcher primarily for the New York/San Francisco Giants who posted a 21-7 record with a National League best 2.30 ERA in 1954 while helping the team win the World Series that year.
March
- March 26 – Jimmy Wynn, 78, outfielder nicknamed the "Toy Cannon" who hit 291 home runs in 15 major league seasons, who was most prominently known for his time with the Houston Astros.
April
- April 6 – Al Kaline, 85, Hall of Fame right fielder who spent his entire 22-season career with the Detroit Tigers from 1953 to 1974, collecting 3,007 hits and hitting 399 home runs while winning 10 Gold Glove Awards along the way.
- April 12 – Jim Frey, 88, manager who led the Kansas City Royals to their first pennant in 1980 and the 1984 Chicago Cubs to their first postseason appearance in 39 years and also led them to the playoffs again as their general manager five years later.
- April 15 - Dámaso García, 63, second baseman who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos.
May
- May 1 – Matt Keough, 64, pitcher who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball, six of which with the Oakland Athletics, and three seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Hanshin Tigers.
- May 14 - Bob Watson, 74, first baseman-outfielder who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.
- May 24 - Biff Pocoroba, 66, catcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, all with the Atlanta Braves.
June
- June 10 - Claudell Washington, 65, outfielder who played 17 season in Major League Baseball with the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and California Angels.
References
- ^ "Dominican Republic defeats Venezuela and crowns champion of the Caribbean Series". Dominican Today. February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ Jacobson, Lance (February 11, 2020). "Melbourne Aces clinch first ABL title". Star Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ "Vaqueros de Montería is the new Colombian baseball champion". El Espectador. January 17, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ González, Jhonah Díaz (January 21, 2020). "Víctor Mesa's legacy of Matanzas baseball success in Cuba". Breaking News. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ "La Romana's Toros win Dominican Winter Baseball crown". Dominican Today. January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ a b Venn, David (January 31, 2020). "Team-by-team preview for 2020 Caribbean Series". mlb.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Rayo, Fernando (January 14, 2020). "León repeats the title of the Professional League". TN8. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Chiriquí astronauts make history and win Probeis to go to the Caribbean Series". rcpctv.com. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ Rosa Rosa, Carlos (January 20, 2020). "The Cangrejeros revalidate as champions in winter baseball". elnuevodia.com. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ Tariq Panja and Motoko Rich (March 30, 2020). "Summer Olympics in Tokyo to Start on July 23, 2021". New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ "CEB cancels 2020 European Cup Tournaments for Clubs, scheduled for June". Mister-Baseball. April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Edwards, Jensen (April 22, 2020). "Organizers cancel 2020 Grand Forks International baseball tournament due to COVID-19". nelsonstar.com. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Officials cancel NAIA World Series". Mister-Baseball. March 24, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "WBSC postpones 2020 Women's and U-15 Baseball World Cups, U-18 Women's Softball World Cup". Mister-Baseball. April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ "Skeeters Intend to Host Four-Team Pro Baseball League at Constellation Field". sugarlandskeeters.com. June 13, 2020.
- ^ Chris Dugan Sports editor dugan@observer-reporter.com. "Frontier League season canceled". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
{{cite news}}
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has generic name (help) - ^ a b c Brew, Tom (March 12, 2020). "Breaking: NCAA Cancels All College Sports Through End of School Year". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Clark, Colton (March 17, 2020). "Officials cancel NAIA World Series". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Arnold, Patti (March 17, 2020). "NJCAA cancels JUCO World Series". The Daily Sentinel. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ "Cape Cod Baseball League Cancels 2020 Season Due To Coronavirus". CBS Boston. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Little League® Cancels 2020 World Series and Region Tournaments". littleleague.org. April 30, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- ^ "French Division I cancels 2020 Season". Mister-Baseball. May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ https://sports.yahoo.com/derek-jeter-and-larry-walker-voted-into-hall-of-fame-232200672.html
- ^ "Japanese baseball to play remainder of preseason without spectators due to virus fears". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. February 26, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^ "Japan's pro baseball league delays season start over coronavirus". Kyodo News. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ "Opening Day delayed at least 2 weeks; Spring Training games cancelled". MLB.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- ^ "2020 BBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ Este es el calendario de la Serie del Caribe 2020 Septima Entrada, Jan 5, 2020
- ^ Important Dates - Upcoming Events on the MLB calendar Archived 2015-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. MLB.com
- ^ Metro US Yankees World Series hero Don Larsen dies 90
- ^ Houston Chronicle, Former Colt 45 Pirates Catcher Hal Smith dead
- ^ ."NY Tony Fernandez Baseball Death 57 Years Old". NYDaily News.com. February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.