1964 in baseball - Wikiwand

The following are the baseball events of the year 1964 throughout the world.

1964 in sports
Years in baseball
← 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 →
Air sports American football Aquatic sports Association football Athletics Australian rules football Badminton Baseball Basketball Canadian football Chess Climbing Combat sports Sumo Cricket 1963–64 1964 1964–65 Cycling Dance sports Darts Equestrianism Esports Field hockey Flying disc Golf Gymnastics Handball Ice hockey Ice sports Korfball Lumberjack sports Mind sports Modern pentathlon Motorsport Orienteering Paralympic sports Precision sports Shooting Racquetball Roller sports Sailing Skiing Speedway Rugby league‎ Rugby union Snooker 1963–64 1964–65 Strength sports Weightlifting Squash Table tennis Tennis Triathlon Volleyball

Major League Baseball

World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees (4–3); Bob Gibson, MVP
All-Star Game, July 7 at Shea Stadium: National League, 7–4; Johnny Callison, MVP

Other champions

College World Series: Minnesota
Japan Series: Nankai Hawks over Hanshin Tigers (4–3)
Little League World Series: Mid Island, Staten Island, New York
Senior League World Series: Massapequa, New York

Awards and honors

Baseball Hall of Fame
- Luke Appling
- Red Faber
- Burleigh Grimes
- Tim Keefe
- Heinie Manush
- John Ward
- Miller Huggins (manager)

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Dick Allen (PHI)	Tony Oliva (MIN)
Cy Young Award	—	Dean Chance (LAA)
Most Valuable Player	Ken Boyer (STL)	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Bobby Shantz (PHI/CHC/STL)	Jim Kaat (MIN)
Catcher	Johnny Edwards (CIN)	Elston Howard (NYY)
1st Base	Bill White (STL)	Vic Power (PHI^[a]/LAA/MIN)
2nd Base	Bill Mazeroski (PIT)	Bobby Richardson (NYY)
3rd Base	Ron Santo (CHC)	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Shortstop	Rubén Amaro (PHI)	Luis Aparicio (BAL)
Outfield	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	Vic Davalillo (CLE)
	Curt Flood (STL)	Al Kaline (DET)
	Willie Mays (SF)	Jim Landis (CWS)

Statistical leaders

	American League		National League
Stat	Player	Total	Player	Total
AVG	Tony Oliva (MIN)	.323	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	.339
HR	Harmon Killebrew (MIN)	49	Willie Mays (SF)	47
RBI	Brooks Robinson (BAL)	118	Ken Boyer (STL)	119
W	Dean Chance (LAA) Gary Peters (CWS)	20	Larry Jackson (CHC)	24
ERA	Dean Chance (LAA)	1.65	Sandy Koufax (LAD)	1.74
K	Al Downing (NYY)	217	Bob Veale (PIT)	250

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

v
t
e
American League
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	99	63	.611	—	50‍–‍31	49‍–‍32
Chicago White Sox	98	64	.605	1	52‍–‍29	46‍–‍35
Baltimore Orioles	97	65	.599	2	49‍–‍32	48‍–‍33
Detroit Tigers	85	77	.525	14	46‍–‍35	39‍–‍42
Los Angeles Angels	82	80	.506	17	45‍–‍36	37‍–‍44
Cleveland Indians	79	83	.488	20	41‍–‍40	38‍–‍43
Minnesota Twins	79	83	.488	20	40‍–‍41	39‍–‍42
Boston Red Sox	72	90	.444	27	45‍–‍36	27‍–‍54
Washington Senators	62	100	.383	37	31‍–‍50	31‍–‍50
Kansas City Athletics	57	105	.352	42	26‍–‍55	31‍–‍50

Orioles

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Angels

Twins

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1962–1964 American League seasons

American League

National League final standings

v
t
e
National League
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	93	69	.574	—	48‍–‍33	45‍–‍36
Philadelphia Phillies	92	70	.568	1	46‍–‍35	46‍–‍35
Cincinnati Reds	92	70	.568	1	47‍–‍34	45‍–‍36
San Francisco Giants	90	72	.556	3	44‍–‍37	46‍–‍35
Milwaukee Braves	88	74	.543	5	45‍–‍36	43‍–‍38
Pittsburgh Pirates	80	82	.494	13	42‍–‍39	38‍–‍43
Los Angeles Dodgers	80	82	.494	13	41‍–‍40	39‍–‍42
Chicago Cubs	76	86	.469	17	40‍–‍41	36‍–‍45
Houston Colt .45s	66	96	.407	27	41‍–‍40	25‍–‍56
New York Mets	53	109	.327	40	33‍–‍48	20‍–‍61

Cubs

Reds

Colt .45s

Dodgers

Braves

Mets

Phillies

Pirates

Giants

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1964 National League season

National League

Nippon Professional Baseball final standings

Central League final standings

Central League	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Hanshin Tigers	140	80	56	4	.588	—
Taiyo Whales	140	80	58	2	.580	1.0
Yomiuri Giants	140	71	69	0	.507	11.0
Hiroshima Carp	140	64	73	3	.467	16.5
Kokutetsu Swallows	140	61	74	5	.452	18.5
Chunichi Dragons	140	57	83	0	.407	25.0

Pacific League final standings

Pacific League	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Nankai Hawks	150	84	63	3	.571	—
Hankyu Braves	150	79	65	6	.549	3.5
Toei Flyers	150	78	68	4	.534	5.5
Tokyo Orions	150	77	68	5	.531	6.0
Nishitetsu Lions	150	63	81	6	.438	19.5
Kintetsu Buffaloes	150	55	91	4	.377	28.5

Events

January

January 3 – The Cincinnati Reds announce that manager Fred Hutchinson, 44, has contracted lung cancer. He will begin two months of radiology treatment in Seattle and will make spring training with the team.
January 6:
- Owner Charlie Finley signs a two-year pact to move his Athletics‚ pending American League approval‚ from Kansas City, Missouri to Louisville, Kentucky.
- The Chicago White Sox introduce their new powder-blue road uniforms.
January 9 – The Philadelphia Phillies release first baseman Frank Torre.
January 14 – The Pittsburgh Pirates sign pitcher Dock Ellis as a free agent.
January 15 – Willie Mays‚ the highest-paid player in baseball‚ signs a $105‚000 contract with the Giants.
January 16 – American League owners vote 9–1 against Charlie Finley's attempt to move his club to Louisville. Finley is given an ultimatum to sign a lease in Kansas City or lose his franchise.^[2]
January 20 – The Houston Colt .45s acquire veteran shortstop Eddie Kasko from the Cincinnati Reds for pitchers Jim Dickson and Wally Wolf, plus cash considerations.
January 28 – Cincinnati center fielder Vada Pinson is cleared of assault charges stemming from a September 5‚ 1963 incident when local sportswriter Earl Lawson does not pursue charges further.
January 29 – Pitcher-author Jim Brosnan is given permission by the Chicago White Sox to make his own deal with another team. His in-season writing has been censured by Sox general manager Ed Short.
January 30 – The United States Senate Subcommittee on Monopolies begins hearings on baseball.

February

February 2 – Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes, Tim Keefe, Heinie Manush, John Montgomery Ward, and Miller Huggins are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.
February 13 – Chicago Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs, 1962 National League Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove winner, is killed in the crash of his private plane.
February 17:
- Former Chicago White Sox shortstop Luke Appling is selected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in a runoff election. In 1953, the first year of eligibility for Appling, he received just two votes.
- The St. Louis Cardinals reacquire outfielder Carl Warwick from the Houston Colt .45s for pitcher Chuck Taylor and outfielder Jim Beauchamp. Warwick will help the Redbirds win the 1964 World Series, setting a Fall Classic record for reaching first base consecutively as a pinch hitter.

March

March 18 – Bolstering their bullpen, the Chicago White Sox acquire 35-year-old left-hander Don Mossi from the Detroit Tigers in a cash transaction.
March 22 – The Milwaukee Braves sign outfielder Cito Gaston as an amateur free agent.
March 23:
- Finally, Charlie Finley gives in to American League pressure and signs a four-year lease with the municipal government to keep the Athletics in Kansas City. Finley wanted a two-year deal. His exasperated AL colleagues voted 9–1 that KC's offer was reasonable.
- The San Francisco Giants sign pitcher Masanori Murakami‚ third baseman Tatsuhiko Tanaka‚ and catcher Hiroshi Takahashi, the first Japanese ballplayers ever to play for American teams. Murakami played for the Fresno Giants and later the MLB Giants, while Tanaka and Takahashi played for the Magic Valley Cowboys.
March 31:
- The Washington Senators acquire pitcher Buster Narum from the Baltimore Orioles for a "player to be named later"/PTBNL, who turns out to be 20-year-old outfield prospect Lou Piniella.
- The Chicago White Sox sell the contract of pitcher Mike Joyce to the New York Mets.

April

April 1 – Cleveland Indians manager Birdie Tebbetts suffers a heart attack. Third-base coach George Strickland will fill in for three months until the 51-year old skipper returns to the team with limited duties.
April 8 – Houston Colt .45s relief pitcher Jim Umbricht dies of cancer at the age of 33. In 1965, the franchise will retire his uniform number 32.
April 9:
- The Los Angeles Dodgers acquire well-traveled minor-league outfielder Lou Johnson from the Detroit Tigers' organization for relief pitcher and 1959 World Series hero Larry Sherry. Detroit even sends the Dodgers $10,000 in cash to sweeten the deal. To this point in his 12-season professional baseball career, Johnson, 29, has appeared in only 96 MLB games. But he will be recalled to the Dodgers in May 1965 to replace an injured Tommy Davis and help Los Angeles win two NL pennants and the 1965 World Series.
- To the chagrin of special consultant Branch Rickey, the St. Louis Cardinals trade Jimmie Coker and Gary Kolb to the Milwaukee Braves for reserve catcher Bob Uecker. After introducing himself, the Redbirds' new backstop is quickly informed by Rickey. "I didn't want you. I wouldn't trade one Gary Kolb for a hundred Bob Ueckers".
April 10 – Demolition of the Polo Grounds in Manhattan begins, using the same wrecking ball that demolished Ebbets Field in Brooklyn four years earlier.
April 13:
- Lyndon Johnson, the 36th U.S. President, throws out the ceremonial first pitch in 1964's traditional Presidential Opener before 40,145 at District of Columbia Stadium. The home-standing Washington Senators can muster only one hit, a third inning double by Claude Osteen, off Ken McBride and Julio Navarro, and fall to the Los Angeles Angels 4–0.^[3]
- After beating the Reds 6–3 in the traditional home opener in Cincinnati, the Houston Colt .45s sit in first place in the National League for the only time under their original nickname. The next year the Colt .45s are renamed the Astros, to reflect Houston's status as the home of the NASA space program.
April 14:
- Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers goes all the way in his only Opening Day start, allowing no walks and beating the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, 4–0. Frank Howard homers for the Dodgers.
- Meanwhile, the New York Mets sell the contract of 1950s Dodger legend Duke Snider, 37, to the San Francisco Giants. Snider will spend the last year of his 18-season, Hall-of-Fame MLB career with the arch-rival Giants, batting .210 largely as a pinch hitter.
April 17 – The Mets play their first game at brand-new Shea Stadium and lose 4–3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates before 48,736. Willie Stargell hits the first home run in the stadium's history, a second-inning solo shot off the Mets' Jack Fisher. In the first-ever "Kiner's Korner" from Shea, Ralph Kiner's guest is Casey Stengel. Two days later, the Mets win their first of 1,859 victories at the stadium when they beat the Pirates 6–0 behind Al Jackson's six-hitter.
April 21 – The Philadelphia Phillies purchase the contract of veteran relief pitcher Ed Roebuck from the Washington Senators. Roebuck, 32, will bolster the Phils' bullpen this season, working in 60 games and posting a 5–3 (2.21) record with 12 saves.
April 23:
- At Colt Stadium, Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt .45s no-hits his former team, the Cincinnati Reds, but loses 1–0. Two ninth-inning errors allow the Reds to score the game's lone run: a two-base throwing error by Johnson himself on Pete Rose's ground ball, and the second by Nellie Fox on Vada Pinson's grounder, which scores Rose. To date, the game is the only one in Major League history whose losing pitcher had pitched a nine-inning no-hitter.^[4] The no-hitter is the first of three in MLB this season—all of them thrown by National League hurlers.^[5]
- The New York Mets pick up third baseman Charley Smith, 26, from the Chicago White Sox for shortstop Humberto "Chico" Fernández, minor-league catcher Bobby Catton, and cash.
April 24 – Willie Mays reaches base five times in five plate appearances—two singles, two bases on balls, and a solo homer—and scores five runs in the San Francisco Giants' 15–5 romp over the Reds at Crosley Field.^[5]
April 28 – The Los Angeles Angels acquire left-handed pitcher Willie Smith from the Detroit Tigers for right-hander Julio Navarro. An exceptional hitter among pitchers, Smith, 25, will become a full-time outfielder by mid-June to get his bat into the Angel lineup; he'll post a .301 batting average, best among the team's regulars, with 108 hits this season and remain a valuable outfielder and pinch hitter for the rest of his MLB career.^[6]

May

May 2 – The Minnesota Twins become the third club in MLB history to hit four consecutive home runs in the same inning, as Tony Oliva, Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall and Harmon Killebrew go deep in the top of the 11th inning in a 7–3 victory against the Kansas City Athletics. The Twins also become the first team to hit at least three consecutive home runs in an extra innings game.^[7] The Twins' six homers on the day (an accomplishment they'll match just 12 days from now, on May 14, in a nine-inning contest) are the most by a big-league team in one game in 1964.^[8]
May 5 – Rookie right-hander Wally Bunker of the Baltimore Orioles pitches a one-hitter in the first start and second-ever appearance of his MLB career, defeating the Washington Senators 2–1 at Memorial Stadium. The Senators' lone hit belongs to Chuck Hinton, in the fourth inning, when Washington scores its lone run on an RBI groundout by Bill Skowron. Bunker, 19, will throw another one-hitter on July 3 against Kansas City, authoring two of MLB's 15 one-hit complete games of 1964.^[5] He is en route to a 19–5 (2.69) freshman campaign and a second-place finish in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
May 6 – Dave Nicholson of the Chicago White Sox hits a home run off of Athletics' pitcher Moe Drabowsky which either bounces atop and over the left-field roof of Comiskey Park or is said to have entirely cleared it. The home run is officially measured at 573 feet, one of baseball's longest of all time.
May 8 – The Milwaukee Braves trade veteran shortstop Roy McMillan, 34, a three-time former Gold Glove Award winner, to the New York Mets for pitcher Jay Hook and outfielder Adrian Garrett (player to be named later/PTBNL).
May 12 – The Braves release outfielder Gus Bell, 35, a four-time former NL All-Star and 15-year veteran.
May 26:
- Journeyman outfielder Jim King of the Washington Senators becomes the first of four major-leaguers to hit for the cycle in 1964;^[5] however, Washington falls to the Boston Red Sox 3–2 at Fenway Park. The Red Sox' starting pitcher, Earl Wilson, pitches a complete game win despite King's achievement.
- The New York Mets find themselves on the right side of a "laugher," humbling the Chicago Cubs 19–1 at Wrigley Field. Their 23 hits and 19 runs set MLB team highs for 1964,^[8] while their victory margin is the greatest to date in the club's two-plus year history.^[9]
May 31 – The second game of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium between the Mets and San Francisco Giants lasts 23 innings and an MLB-record seven hours and 23 minutes. The Giants eventually win it 8–6, on a two-run double by pinch hitter Del Crandall. The winning pitcher is future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, who throws ten shutout innings of relief.^[10] The doubleheader (swept by the Giants) clocks in at nine hours, 52 minutes of play—also the longest in MLB annals.^[11]

June

June 2:
- Lew Burdette's tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals lasts less than a calendar year when the 37-year-old hurler is dealt to the Chicago Cubs for fellow righty Glen Hobbie, 28. Each club will add a "PTBNL", outfielders Corky Withrow and Bob Will, to complete the transaction.
- The New York Yankees sign 18-year-old amateur free agent shortstop Bobby Murcer, after a standout schoolboy career at Oklahoma City's Southeast High School.
June 4 – Sandy Koufax pitches the third of his four career no hitters, to pace the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3–0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium.
June 8 – The Kansas City Athletics sign pitcher Catfish Hunter, 18, as an amateur free agent out of Perquimans County High School in North Carolina.
June 10 – Eddie Lopat, manager of the last-place Kansas City Athletics (17–35), is fired and replaced by coach Mel McGaha.
June 11 – Three American League teams make a tri-cornered trade in which the Minnesota Twins obtain second baseman Jerry Kindall and utilityman Frank Kostro, the Los Angeles Angels receive first baseman Vic Power and outfielder Lenny Green, and the Cleveland Indians get 2x AL All-Star second baseman Billy Moran.
June 12 – The New York Mets sign 19-year-old southpaw Tug McGraw as an amateur free agent.
June 15:
- The Chicago Cubs trade outfielder Lou Brock and pitchers Jack Spring and Paul Toth to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Ernie Broglio and Bobby Shantz and outfielder Doug Clemens. The swap eventually gains notoriety as perhaps the most lopsided in the history of baseball, as Brock goes on to a Hall of Fame career in St. Louis, while Broglio posts a 7–19 record in a Cubs uniform. Brock also is a key cog in the Redbirds' 1964 and 1967 World Series titles, and their 1968 NL championship.
- The Minnesota Twins acquire right-hander Jim "Mudcat" Grant from the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Lee Stange and third baseman George Banks. Grant will win 21 games at the top of a pennant-winning starting rotation for the 1965 Twins.
June 16 – Ken Boyer hits for the cycle in the Cardinals' 7–1 road victory over the Houston Colt .45s.^[5] The All-Star third baseman (and soon-to-be NL MVP) drives in three runs. Playing right field, Lou Brock starts his first game for St. Louis and goes two-for-three with a stolen base and run scored.
June 22 – For the second time in nine days, the New York Yankees sweep a series from the Chicago White Sox, who are vying for the American League lead with the Bombers and Baltimore Orioles. Today, New York completes a four-game sweep at Comiskey Park after earlier taking all five contests of their series at Yankee Stadium from June 12–14 (which included two doubleheaders). The mid-season disaster will haunt the White Sox, who will finish just one game behind the Yankees when this season's pennant race concludes October 4.
June 21 – On Father's Day at Shea Stadium, Jim Bunning fans ten, drives in two runs, and pitches the first perfect game (excluding Don Larsen's 1956 World Series effort, and Harvey Haddix's 1959 extra-innings loss) since Charlie Robertson's on April 30, 1922, as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 6–0.^[12] Bunning also becomes the first pitcher to throw no-hitters in both leagues, and Gus Triandos becomes the first catcher to catch a no-hitter in each league. Bunning throws just 90 pitches in winning his second no-hitter. The next time Bunning faces the Mets he will shut them out, the first no-hit pitcher in the 20th century to do that. The Mets fare little better in the nightcap, as 18-year-old rookie Rick Wise pitches into the seventh inning to win his first game, giving up just three hits and three walks (Johnny Klippstein hurls the final three frames). The Phillies increase their National League lead to two games over the San Francisco Giants.
June 24:
- The Minnesota Twins sign second baseman Rod Carew as an amateur free agent. Panamanian immigrant Carew, 19, is signed to a contract while playing sandlot baseball in New York City by an off-duty police officer who "moonlights" as a Twins scout.
- Sought-after University of Wisconsin outfielder Rick Reichardt signs a then-record, $205,000 bonus contract to join the Los Angeles Angels as an amateur free agent.^[13] The highly publicized bonus will be the "last straw" that convinces MLB owners to end their bidding wars for amateur domestic talent and institute the Major League Baseball draft, which will take effect in June 1965.^[14]
June 26
- Hard-hitting sophomore Cleveland Indians third baseman Max Alvis, 26, is hospitalized in Boston after an attack of spinal meningitis. He will recover completely but miss six weeks of action.
- At D.C. Stadium, American League umpire Alaric Smith ejects Baltimore Orioles manager Hank Bauer in the 13th inning of the Orioles' 9–4 victory for "talking to someone in the stands"—who turns out to be Bauer's boss, general manager Lee MacPhail.
- Twins owner Calvin Griffith strengthens his bullpen by acquiring Al Worthington, 35, from the Cincinnati Reds in a cash transaction. Three days from today, Griffith will add another veteran National League relief pitcher by purchasing the contract of Johnny Klippstein, 36, from the Philadelphia Phillies.

July

July 6 – The three-day All-Star break begins with the Philadelphia Phillies (47–28) holding a 1½-game lead over the San Francisco Giants (47–31) in the National League; the sluggish St. Louis Cardinals (39–40) are in fifth place, ten full games out. In the American League, the Baltimore Orioles (48–28) have a three-game bulge over two runners-up, the Chicago White Sox (44–30) and New York Yankees (45–31).
July 7 – At Shea Stadium, Johnny Callison's ninth-inning three-run home run off Dick Radatz caps a four-run rally and gives the National League a 7–4 win over the American League in the All-Star Game. Callison is named Game MVP as the NL triumph evens the series at 17.
July 13 – The contending White Sox swap first basemen with the Washington Senators, obtaining right-handed-hitting, native Chicagoan Bill Skowron, 33, from Washington for lefty-swinging Joe Cunningham, 32, and a PTBNL (young pitcher Frank Kreutzer). Skowron, who made seven AL All-Star teams during his nine-year tenure (1954–1962) with the New York Yankees, has slugged 13 homers in 73 games as a Senator this season.
July 15 – At Metropolitan Stadium, Minnesota Twins pitcher Mudcat Grant serves up 13 singles and a walk during eight innings—but none of the Washington Senators batters comes around to score and the Senators leave 12 men on base. The 13 safeties allowed by Grant in his 6–0 shutout win rank one behind the MLB record.^[15]
July 19 – Luis Tiant pitches a complete-game, four-hit shutout in his Major League debut, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 3–0 victory over Whitey Ford and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Tiant—who posted a 15–1 (2.04) record in 17 games at Triple-A Portland—allows just four singles while striking out 11.^[16]
July 22 – Pittsburgh Pirates future Hall of Famer Willie Stargell hits for the cycle, scores four times, and drives in three runs to lead the Bucs to a 13–2 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.^[5]
July 23 – Rookie Bert Campaneris, 22, of the Kansas City Athletics becomes the second player in history to hit two home runs in his MLB debut, joining Bob Nieman, who did it in 1951. Campaneris victimizes future Hall of Famer Jim Kaat of the Minnesota Twins for each long ball; he also singles and steals a base; the Athletics win 4–3 at Metropolitan Stadium.^[17]
July 28 – The major leagues celebrate the second "cycle" in seven days^[5] when Jim Fregosi of the Los Angeles Angels performs the feat at "Chavez Ravine". His four hits and two RBI give Dean Chance, who'll be this year's Cy Young Award winner, the margin of victory in a 3–1 triumph over the New York Yankees.

August

August 4 – Alvin Dark, manager of the San Francisco Giants, is summoned by Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick to his New York office to discuss remarks attributed to him in July by reporter Stan Isaacs of Newsday in which Dark criticized the "mental alertness" of African-American and Latin-American players. The Giants are one of the most multiracial and multicultural teams in MLB, including key players and team leaders like Jesús Alou, Orlando Cepeda, Jim Ray Hart, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and José Pagán. Dark claims the Newsday story was a "misunderstanding" and his remarks had been "deformed."^[18]
August 7 – The Philadelphia Phillies, leading the National League by 2½ games, fill a gap in their lineup by acquiring veteran power-hitter Frank Thomas from the New York Mets for pitcher Gary Kroll, third baseman Wayne Graham and cash. Thomas, 35, will take over as the Phils' regular first baseman and hit .302 with seven homers over the next month until he's sidelined by a fractured thumb.
August 12:
- Making his MLB debut, 22-year-old right-hander Mel Stottlemyre, just recalled from Triple-A Richmond, throws a complete-game 7–3 victory for his New York Yankees over the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium.^[19] Mickey Mantle hits a home run from both sides of the plate for the tenth time in his career. Third-place New York (66–45) keeps pace with the league-leading Baltimore Orioles (71–43) and gains a game on the second-place ChiSox (69–45). Stottlemyre will win nine of 12 decisions as a starting pitcher, with five complete games and two shutouts, during this season's furious, three-team American League pennant scramble.
- At Crosley Field, the Cincinnati Reds host an emotional, 45th-birthday tribute to their cancer-stricken manager, Fred Hutchinson, before their game with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hutchinson has managed the Reds for 109 of their 115 games while undergoing treatment. But he will enter the hospital the next day to fight the disease for the rest of the baseball season, while coach Dick Sisler pilots the Reds. Hutchinson will resign as manager October 19; he passes away in Bradenton, Florida, on November 12.^[20]
August 17 – With the fifth-place St. Louis Cardinals at 62–55 (.530) and nine games behind the Phillies, owner August A. Busch Jr. replaces general manager Bing Devine with Bob Howsam, former owner of the minor-league Denver Bears.^[21] The roster that Howsam inherits goes 31–14 (.689) to edge Philadelphia and Cincinnati for the National League pennant, and defeats the Yankees in the 1964 World Series. Devine, meanwhile, earns his second consecutive Major League Executive of the Year award from The Sporting News. He will join the New York Mets as assistant to club president George Weiss on September 29.^[22]

August 20 – At Comiskey Park, the Chicago White Sox complete a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees with a 5–0 shutout. As the Yankees' team bus heads to O'Hare International Airport after the game, infielder Phil Linz takes out a harmonica and plays a plaintive version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Manager Yogi Berra tells Linz to put the harmonica away. After Linz asks what Berra had said, Mickey Mantle tells Linz to "play it louder", which he does, prompting an unusually angry Berra to storm to the back to the bus and slap the harmonica out of Linz' hands; the instrument strikes Joe Pepitone's knee.^[23] The "Harmonica Incident" convinces the Yankee front office that Berra has lost control of the team and cannot command respect from his players. As a result, the decision is made to fire Berra at the end of the season.
August 27 – The New York Mets sign Jerry Koosman as an amateur free agent.
August 31 – Groundbreaking is held for the new Anaheim Stadium; it will open in 1966 as the home of the California Angels.

September

September 1 – At Shea Stadium, pitcher Masanori Murakami of the San Francisco Giants becomes the first Japanese player to appear in the Major Leagues. He enters the game in the ninth inning of the Giants' 4–1 loss to the New York Mets and strikes out Charley Smith, the first batter he faces; Ed Kranepool also strikes out two batters later.
September 5 – Locked in a three-team struggle for the American League pennant, the New York Yankees bolster their bullpen by acquiring hard-throwing right-hander Pedro Ramos from the Cleveland Indians for $75,000 and two players to be named later, pitchers Ralph Terry and Bud Daley. Ramos, 29, earns eight saves in 13 games over the next four weeks and goes 1–0 (1.25).
September 7 – The Labor Day weekend ends with 1½ games separating the top three AL teams: the Baltimore Orioles (83–56), Chicago White Sox (84–58) and New York Yankees (80–56). In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies (83–54) hold a 6½-game lead over three clubs virtually tied for second: the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals (both 77–61) and the Giants (78–62).
September 9:
- The Phillies acquire veteran first baseman Vic Power from the Los Angeles Angels as an emergency replacement for Frank Thomas, sidelined by a fractured thumb. Power, 36, is a seven-time AL Gold Glove Award winner but his offensive skills are in decline.
- In tonight's game at Connie Mack Stadium, the Cardinals and Phillies go into extra innings tied at five. An error by third baseman Dick Allen leads to three unearned runs and the Cards score five in the 11th for a 10–5 victory.
September 12 – Frank Bertaina of the Baltimore Orioles beats Bob Meyer of the Kansas City Athletics, 1–0, in a game in which both pitchers throw a one-hitter.
September 17 – Seattle Mayor James d'Orma Braman publicly declares his intention to lure the Cleveland Indians to the city. The following month, the Indians' board of directors will announce the club will remain in Cleveland.
September 19 – The Houston Colt .45s (61–88) change managers, with coach Lum Harris taking the reins from the team's first pilot, Harry Craft.
September 20 – Jim Bunning strikes out John Roseboro in the ninth inning to preserve the visiting Philadelphia Phillies' 3–2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The win comes after two straight losses (both charged to Jack Baldschun) and leaves the first-place Phils in front of the National League by 6½ games with 12 to play. When they return to Philadelphia in the early morning, 2,000 fans, including mayor James Tate, greet the team.
September 21 – John Tsitouris hurls a 1–0 shutout for the Cincinnati Reds over Art Mahaffey and the first-place Phillies; Cincinnati rookie Chico Ruiz scores the only run when, with Frank Robinson at bat, he steals home with two outs in the sixth inning. The defeat launches the Phillies on a ten-game losing streak.
September 27 – Johnny Callison hits three home runs, but the Phillies lose to the Milwaukee Braves 14–8. The Phils suffer the seventh loss in their ten-game losing streak, while the Reds sweep the New York Mets (4–1 and 3–1). The results knock Philadelphia out of first place, with the Reds replacing them—and the Phillies will never return to the top of the NL standings this season.

September 29 – The Pittsburgh Pirates blank Cincinnati 2–0 at Crosley Field (despite the Reds getting 11 hits off Bob Friend) to end the Reds' nine-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Ray Sadecki records his 20th victory as his St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Phillies 4–2 at Busch Stadium, the seventh win in the Cardinals' eight-game winning streak and the ninth loss in the Phillies' ten-game losing streak. The win vaults the Cardinals into a tie for first place with the Reds; St. Louis had been 11 games out of first on August 23.
September 30 – Danny Murtaugh, 46, announces his pending retirement as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates due to ill health after 7½ seasons, including their 1960 world championship campaign. But he will remain with team in a front-office post and return to the Pirates' helm three more times through 1976, and lead them to a second world title in 1971.

October

October 1 – Johnny Pesky is fired as manager of the Boston Red Sox with two games remaining in his second season. Future Hall of Fame second baseman Billy Herman, 55, the Bosox' third-base coach, replaces Pesky.
October 3:
- The New York Yankees clinch their 15th American League pennant in 18 years, scoring five eighth-inning runs to break open a tie game and defeat the Cleveland Indians 8–3 in the Bronx. When the season ends tomorrow, New York's margin will be a single game over the Chicago White Sox and two lengths over the Baltimore Orioles.
- As a result of the now-concluded Philadelphia Phillies' ten-game losing streak, the day begins with four teams still having a mathematical shot at the National League pennant, and a four-way tie is also still a possibility. But then one of the four, the San Francisco Giants, is eliminated with a 10–7 loss to the Chicago Cubs. At the end of the day, the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals are tied for first place, with the Phillies a game back. The scramble forces the NL to devise multiple emergency playoff scenarios.
October 4:
- The Phillies defeat the Reds 10–0 in the last regular-season game for both teams unless there is a playoff; with the Reds' loss, the Cardinals clinch a tie for the pennant. At the end of their game, the Phillies and Reds are a half-game back of the Cardinals, and await the result of the Redbirds' contest with the New York Mets at Busch Stadium.
- Then the Cardinals—never in first place until the last week of the season—clinch their first pennant since 1946, tenth overall, with an 11–5 win over the last-place Mets, who had beaten the Redbirds twice in the two preceding days. St. Louis's triumph averts a three-way tie for the NL crown, with Philadelphia and Cincinnati finishing one game back in a second-place tie.
- As soon as their season is completed, the San Francisco Giants fire manager Alvin Dark and replace him with Herman Franks, a coach whose links to the team extend to the Leo Durocher era in New York.
October 11 – A team of U.S. college baseball players defeats a Japanese amateur all-star team, 6–2, in the lone game of baseball at the 1964 Summer Olympics, featured as a demonstration sport.
October 14 – The Los Angeles Dodgers release infielder Jim Gilliam and outfielder Lee Walls; Gilliam will return to active status as a player-coach for the 1965 Dodgers. Also today, the Boston Red Sox release two veteran outfielders, Al Smith and Dick Williams; Williams will begin his Hall-of-Fame managerial career in 1965 at the helm of Boston's Triple-A Toronto affiliate.
October 15 – The St. Louis Cardinals take an early lead in the deciding World Series Game 7 over the New York Yankees. Lou Brock hits a fifth-inning home run to give pitcher Bob Gibson a 6–0 lead. Mickey Mantle, Clete Boyer and Phil Linz homer for New York, but the Cardinals hold on to win 7–5 and their seventh Fall Classic. The Boyer brothers, the Yankees' Clete and the Cardinals' Ken, homer in their last career World Series plate appearance, a first in major league history.
October 16 – The day after the Series' final game, the managerial posts of both pennant-winning teams are vacant. In the morning, Johnny Keane, manager of the victorious St. Louis Cardinals, resigns, much to the surprise of owner Gussie Busch;^[24] hours later, New York Yankees general manager Ralph Houk fires Yogi Berra,^[25] citing Berra's lack of control over his team and inability to command respect from his players.
- Less than a week later, on October 20, Houk replaces Berra with Keane; the two had managed against each other in the Triple-A American Association during the mid-1950s.^[26]
- The same day, Cardinals owner Busch, whose "secret" September discussions with Leo Durocher about becoming the Redbirds' 1965 manager may have prompted Keane's resignation,^[24] instead hires coach and popular former Cardinal star Red Schoendienst as the club's dugout boss for coming season.^[27]
- Spurning the Yankees' offer of an off-field role, on November 17, Berra, 39, will sign a two-year contract as a playing coach with the New York Mets, reuniting him with Casey Stengel.
October 19 – Harry "The Hat" Walker is named to succeed Danny Murtaugh as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A gifted batting instructor and successful minor-league pilot, Walker's last MLB managerial assignment came with the Cardinals during the latter half of the 1955 season.
October 30 - Joe Stanka is named MVP of the Pacific League of Nippon Professional baseball after leading the Nankai Hawks over the Yomiuri Giants in the 1964 Japan Series.

November

November 2 – CBS Broadcasting Inc. becomes the first corporate owner of a Major League team after buying 80% of the New York Yankees assets for $11,200,000. Del Webb and Dan Topping each retain ten percent; CBS will acquire Webb's share in March 1965 and Topping's in September 1966 to assume sole ownership of the Yankees.
November 9 – Dean Chance, 23-year-old Los Angeles Angels right-hander, is selected the ninth winner of the Cy Young Award, taking 17 of 20 first-place votes; Larry Jackson (two votes) and Sandy Koufax (one) are distant contenders. In 1964, Chance led the American League in games won (21), earned run average (1.65), complete games (15), shutouts (11), and innings pitched (2781⁄3); he even earned four saves.^[28] He will be the third and last AL hurler to win the all-MLB "CYA", which is dominated by National League moundsmen prior to its replacement by separate awards for each circuit in 1967.
November 10 – The Milwaukee Braves sign a 25-year lease to play in the new Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. The Braves' move has been rumored since 1963; this past season, they attracted 911,951 fans, sixth among the NL's ten teams.^[29]
November 18 – Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson, who hit .317 with 28 home runs and 118 RBI, is named the American League's Most Valuable Player with 18 first-place votes and 269 points, becoming the first non-Yankee to win the award since Nellie Fox in 1959. The Yankees' Mickey Mantle (two votes, 171 points) and Elston Howard (124 points) are the runners-up.^[28] Robinson will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
November 23 – After 20 seasons and 356 victories, most-ever by an MLB left-hander, Warren Spahn and the Braves sever their relationship when Milwaukee sells the future Hall of Famer's contract to the New York Mets. Spahn, 43, had posted his poorest season in 1964—going 6–13 (5.29) in 38 games. Determined to prolong his playing career, he had turned down the Braves' offer of three off-field jobs in their organization.^[30] The Mets name Spahn the club's playing pitching coach for 1965, and reunite him with Casey Stengel, his first big-league manager when Spahn broke in with the 1942 Boston Braves.

November 24 – St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Ken Boyer, who hit .295 with 24 home runs and 119 RBI, is named the NL's Most Valuable Player with 14 first-place votes and 243 points, becoming the first Redbird MVP since Stan Musial won his third award in 1948. Johnny Callison (two votes, 187 points) and Boyer's teammate Bill White (two, 106) are the runners-up.^[28]
November 28:
- In a near-unanimous decision, Minnesota Twins outfielder and future Hall of Famer Tony Oliva is selected Rookie of the Year in the American League, capturing 19 of 20 votes; Wally Bunker heads one writer's ballot. Oliva, 26, led the AL in batting (.323), runs scored (109), and hits (217).^[28]
- Another future Hall of Famer, the Philadelphia Phillies' Dick Allen, overwhelmingly wins the National League's "ROTY" balloting, taking 18 of 20 first-place votes; Rico Carty and Jim Ray Hart each receive one tally. Third baseman Allen, 22, led the NL in runs scored (125) and triples (13), and finished in the Top Ten in hits (201), batting (.318), and home runs (29).^[28]
November 29 – In need of a regular first baseman, the Phillies acquire slugger Dick Stuart from the Boston Red Sox for southpaw pitcher Dennis Bennett. In his two seasons with Boston, Stuart has hit 75 home runs and amassed 232 RBI, but his lackadaisical defense has earned him the nickname "Doctor Strangeglove".
November 30:
- With Stuart's acquisition and Frank Thomas healthy again, the Phillies sell the contract of first baseman Vic Power back to the Los Angeles Angels. Philadelphia had obtained Power from the Angels in early September (for pitcher and PTBNL Marcelino López) in the aftermath of Thomas's injured thumb; Power batted only .208 with ten hits in 18 games during the NL stretch drive.
- In the first-year professional player draft, among the 22 men selected are future Cy Young Award-winner Sparky Lyle (picked by the Boston Red Sox from the Baltimore Orioles) and three-time All-Star and 2x Gold Glove-winning second baseman Felix Millan (by the Milwaukee Braves from the Kansas City Athletics).

December

December 1:
- The Chicago White Sox trade former 20-game-winner Ray Herbert and first baseman/outfielder Jeoff Long to the Philadelphia Phillies for shortstop Lee Elia and outfielder Danny Cater.
- The Washington Senators trade outfielder Chuck Hinton to the Cleveland Indians for first baseman Bob Chance and infielder Woodie Held.
- The Houston Colt .45s officially change their nickname to Astros. The change coincides with the team's impending move from Colt Stadium to the Harris County Domed Stadium, also known as the Astrodome. A change in name for the three-year-old franchise is necessitated due to a dispute with the Colt firearm company; the Astros name is chosen due to Houston being the home of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center.
December 3 – The Phillies keep dealing, sending two youngsters, southpaw Rudy May and first baseman Costen Shockley, to the Los Angeles Angels for left-handed hurler Bo Belinsky.
December 4:
- Alarmed by the $205,000 signing bonus the Los Angeles Angels bestowed upon University of Wisconsin outfielder Rick Reichardt during the summer, MLB owners vote to implement an amateur free agent draft beginning in 1965. The inverse order of the previous year's standings will be used to select high school and college players. Drafts will occur in June and January, and each will have both primary and secondary phases, the latter for previously drafted, but unsigned, athletes. International free agents, from outside the U.S. and Canada, are not affected.^[31]
- In the most significant trade of the winter meetings, the Los Angeles Dodgers trade pitchers Phil Ortega and Pete Richert, third baseman Ken McMullen, outfielder Frank Howard, and a player to be named later (first baseman Dick Nen) to the Washington Senators for southpaw pitcher Claude Osteen, third baseman John Kennedy and $100,000. Osteen, 25, will become the Dodgers' #3 starter, behind Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, and help his team win the 1965 World Series and 1966 National League pennant. Howard becomes a star in Washington, known as "The Capital Punisher," who slams 44 or more homers for three consecutive seasons (1968–1970), twice leading the American League in that statistic.
- The Minnesota Twins acquire extremely versatile utility César Tovar from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for pitcher Gerry Arrigo. Tovar will play eight seasons in Minnesota.
December 7 – The World Series-champion St. Louis Cardinals and last-place New York Mets make a trade, with the Redbirds acquiring right-hander Tracy Stallard and infielder Elio Chacón for pitcher Gordie Richardson and outfielder Johnny Lewis.
December 14 – The Reds trade former 20-game-winner Bob Purkey to the Cardinals for pitcher Roger Craig and outfielder Charlie James.
December 17 – The New York Yankees fire longtime lead play-by-play announcer Mel Allen and replace him with former MLB catcher Joe Garagiola. Allen, first heard on Yankee games in 1939, is a national figure who has also described at least 17 World Series over the past 23 seasons. He will be the first-ever winner of a Ford C. Frick Award (along with Red Barber) in 1978.
December 24 – The Kansas City Athletics sign amateur free agent pitcher Rollie Fingers, a June graduate of Southern California's Upland High School. Fingers, 18, is a future Hall of Famer, a three-time World Series champion, 7x All-Star, winner of a Cy Young Award and an MVP Award.