1988 in baseball

Major League Baseball

• World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Oakland Athletics (4–1); Orel Hershiser, MVP

• American League Championship Series MVP: Dennis Eckersley
• National League Championship Series MVP: Orel Hershiser
• All-Star Game, July 12 at Riverfront Stadium: American League, 2–1; Terry Steinbach, MVP

Other champions

• Baseball World Cup: Cuba
• Caribbean World Series: Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic)
• College World Series: Stanford
• Japan Series: Seibu Lions over Chunichi Dragons (4–1)
• Korean Series: Haitai Tigers over Binggrae Eagles
• Big League World Series: Taipei, Taiwan
• Junior League World Series: Mexicali, Mexico
• Little League World Series: Tai Ping, Taichung, Taiwan
• Senior League World Series: Pingtung, Taiwan
• Summer Olympic Games at Seoul, South Korea (demonstration sport): United States (1st), Japan (2nd), Puerto Rico (3rd)

January

• January 4:
  • First baseman Bob Horner, 30, a member of the November 1986 "Collusion II" class of free agents, rejoins the majors after spending the 1987 season in Japan, signing with the St. Louis Cardinals; 1988 will be Horner's final season in "Organized Baseball."
  • The defending World Series champion Minnesota Twins sign free-agent catcher Brian Harper, 28, released by the Oakland Athletics last October 12. Harper will bat .306 in 730 games over the next six seasons with the Twins, and earn a World Series ring.
• January 5:
  • The Milwaukee Brewers and future Hall of Famer Paul Molitor agree on a two-year contract worth up to $3.7 million. Molitor, 31, batted .353 in 1987; his 39-game hitting streak was the American League's longest since Joe DiMaggio's fabled 56-game skein 46 years earlier. He had been granted free agency on November 9, 1987.
  • Right-hander Don Sutton, 42, himself a future Hall of Famer, returns to his original team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on a one-year contract; he had been released by the California Angels last October 30. Sutton won 230 games and was a four-time All-Star as a Dodger between 1966 and 1980.
  • The Boston Red Sox sign 12-year veteran relief pitcher Dennis Lamp, granted free agency by the Oakland Athletics last October 19.
• January 6 – In a move that "shatters the two-year calm" in free agency since the dawn of the collusion era in November 1985, the New York Yankees sign National League slugger Jack Clark to a two-year contract worth as much as $4 million with incentives. First baseman Clark, 32, is a 4x All-Star who'll be the Yanks' designated hitter in 1988. He had granted free agency from the St. Louis Cardinals last November 9.^[1]
• January 7:
  • The Minnesota Twins re-sign All-Star, Gold Glove Award-winning third baseman Gary Gaetti, 29, voted MVP of the 1987 ALCS, granted free agency last November 9. He signs a three-year $4.3 million contract.
  • The Kansas City Royals re-sign 16-game-winning left-hander Charlie Leibrandt, 31, a November 9 free agent, to a two-year contract.
• January 8:
  • On deadline day for November 9's free agents to sign with their 1987 teams—or wait until May 1 to do so—the Houston Astros come to terms with three important members of their 1987 pitching staff, retaining starter Danny Darwin, set-up man Larry Andersen, and ace closer Dave Smith.
  • The New York Yankees, however, lose free agent starting pitcher Bill Gullickson to the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball; he rejects the Bombers' two-year, $1.8 million offer and signs with the Japanese team for two years and $3.3 million.^[2]
• January 12:
  • Former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Willie Stargell is the only player elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Stargell becomes the 17th player to be elected in his first year of eligibility. Pitcher Jim Bunning garners 317 votes (74.2%), and falls four votes shy of the 321 needed for election in his 13th year on the ballot.
  • The Milwaukee Brewers unconditionally release five-time AL All-Star Cecil Cooper, ending the 38-year-old first baseman's 17-year MLB playing career.
• January 15 – The New York Yankees sign 13-year MLB veteran southpaw John Candelaria, granted free agency from the New York Mets on November 9.
• January 19 – For the third consecutive off-season, the Major League Baseball Players Association files a collusion-related grievance, alleging that the 26 team owners are illegally working together to depress player salaries; "Collusion III" deals with an "information bank" the owners have created to compare salary offers being made to free agents.^[3][4]
• January 22:
  • Four months after he ruled in favor of the MLBPA in its "Collusion I" grievance, arbitrator Thomas T. Roberts declares seven players no-risk, "new-look" free agents, enabling them to sign with competing clubs despite their already having contracts. The seven are Juan Beníquez, Tom Brookens, Kirk Gibson, Carlton Fisk, Donnie Moore, Joe Niekro and Butch Wynegar.^[5][6][7] All were members of the "Class of 1985," granted freedom by the CBA to "test the market," but who encountered the owners' "gentleman's agreement" to restrict player movement, salaries and contract terms.
  • Catcher Lance Parrish returns to the Philadelphia Phillies on a one-year, $1 million contract. Last year, Parrish was one of seven marquee members of free-agency's "Class of 1986" whose negotiations were affected by owner collusion.
• January 25 – Veteran outfielder Juan Beníquez is the first of January 22's "new-look" free agents to negotiate a new contract—although he remains with the Toronto Blue Jays.^[5]
• January 29 – One week after being declared a new-look free agent, outfielder Kirk Gibson abandons the Detroit Tigers to sign a three-year, $4.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[5][8] Gibson, 30, will have a massive impact on the 1988 Dodgers, winning the National League MVP Award, authoring one of the most dramatic moments in World Series history, and earning his second career world-championship ring.^[9]

February

• February 9:
  • New-look free agents Tom Brookens, Carlton Fisk, Donnie Moore, Joe Niekro and Butch Wynegar sign new contracts to return to their 1987 teams.
  • The St. Louis Cardinals obtain right-hander José DeLeón from the Chicago White Sox for southpaw Ricky Horton, outfielder Lance Johnson and cash.
  • The Oakland Athletics sign DH Don Baylor, unconditionally released by the Minnesota Twins last December 21.
• February 12 – The Chicago Cubs trade infielder Mike Brumley and outfielder Keith Moreland to the San Diego Padres in exchange for pitchers Goose Gossage and Ray Hayward.
• February 15 – The Cincinnati Reds trade pitcher Jeff Montgomery to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Van Snider.
• February 17 – In Tallahassee, Florida, legendary broadcaster Red Barber, enshrined in Cooperstown as one of the first winners of the Ford C. Frick Award, is honored on his 80th birthday by the state where he grew up. He's lauded by Howard Cosell as a man who "always told it like it is."^[10]
• February 18:
  • Veteran southpaw starter Frank Tanana, a 15-game winner in 1987, wins his arbitration case and returns to the Detroit Tigers; he had been granted free agency November 9 and opted for arbitration.
  • The Kansas City Royals sign first baseman/DH Steve Balboni as a free agent, after unconditionally releasing him last December 21.
• February 20 – The Tigers sign outfielder/third baseman Luis Salazar, granted free agency from the San Diego Padres last October 20.
• February 25 – Outfielder José Cruz, 40, a two-time NL All-Star who has spent the 14 seasons with the Houston Astros, signs with the New York Yankees. He had been granted free agency last November 9.
• February 26 – Despite bitter neighborhood opposition, the Chicago City Council votes 29–19 to allow night baseball at 72-year-old Wrigley Field this coming season. The Cubs will be permitted to host eight night games in 1988, and 18 from 1989 through 2002. In response, MLB magnates award Wrigley the 1990 All-Star Game, which will be played under the lights.
• February 27 – The Baltimore Orioles trade third baseman Ray Knight to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Mark Thurmond.
• February 28 – The Cleveland Indians sign 28-year-old outfielder/first baseman/DH Terry Francona, granted free agency from the Cincinnati Reds last November 2. Francona, whose father, Tito, was a Cleveland stalwart from 1959–1964, will return there in 2013 to manage the Indians/Guardians for 11 seasons, winning 921 games—the most of any skipper in the club's 125-year history—and the 2016 American League pennant.

March

• March 1 – For the first time since 1956, the Special Veterans Committee does not elect anyone to the Hall of Fame. Phil Rizzuto, Leo Durocher, Joe Gordon and Gil Hodges are among the candidates passed over.
• March 7:
  • Jim Abbott, a junior left-handed pitcher for the University of Michigan who was born without a right hand, wins the James E. Sullivan Award as 1987's top amateur athlete in the U.S. Abbott, now 20, will forge a ten-year MLB career beginning in 1989 and win 87 games.
  • American League umpires, instructed to more strictly enforce the balk rule during the coming season, call 12 such infractions in an exhibition game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. Knuckleballer Charlie Hough commits nine balks in only four innings of work—including seven in the second.
• March 11 – Veteran manager Gene Mauch, 62, takes an abrupt medical leave from the California Angels' spring training camp for treatment of bronchitis; he will formally retire from managing on March 26. Advance scout and former MLB second baseman Cookie Rojas, 49, takes his place. Mauch spent 26 seasons as a big-league skipper for four clubs; his teams never won a pennant.^[11]
• March 17:
  • A study commissioned by the players' union and presented in a remedy hearing before arbitrator Thomas Roberts claims that major-league players have lost between $70 million and $90 million in 1986 and 1987 salaries to owners' collusion.^[12]
  • A little over a month after being acquired from the San Diego Padres, pitcher Ray Hayward is on the move again. The Cubs trade the left-hander to the Texas Rangers in exchange for infielder Greg Tabor and outfielder Dave Meier.
• March 21 – The Baltimore Orioles trade outfielder Mike Young and a player to be named later (minor-league outfielder Frank Bellino) to the Philadelphia Phillies for third baseman Rick Schu and outfielders Keith Hughes and Jeff Stone. Young, 28, slugged 45 home runs during his first two seasons with Baltimore (1984–1985), but injuries and inconsistency have derailed his career.
• March 24 – The Montreal Expos purchase the contract of third baseman Graig Nettles from the Atlanta Braves. Nettles, 43 and a 21-year MLB veteran, filed for bankruptcy last month in his native city of San Diego.
• March 25 – The Toronto Blue Jays sell the contract of first baseman Willie Upshaw to the Cleveland Indians.
• March 29 – The Chicago White Sox sign 38-year-old southpaw Jerry Reuss, granted free agency from the California Angels last November 9. Reuss will go 13–9 (3.44) in 32 games for the 1988 ChiSox in his 20th MLB season.
• March 30 – After a month-long spring training trial, the Los Angeles Dodgers sign free-agent catcher Rick Dempsey, a San Fernando Valley native and 19-year MLB veteran who was the MVP of the 1983 World Series during his long stint with the Baltimore Orioles. Dempsey, 38, will be a prominent member of "The Stuntmen," the 1988 Dodgers' bench players who'll help fuel the club's drive to the World Series championship.^[13]

April

• April 4:
  • Toronto Blue Jays slugger George Bell, last year's American League Most Valuable Player, drills three home runs on Opening Day—the first man in MLB history to achieve that milestone—to key a 5–3 victory over the host Kansas City Royals.^[14] Bell is also one of only two major leaguers (José Canseco will be the other) to homer three times in a game this season. Two days from now, in the Jays' second contest of 1988, Bell goes five-for-five with two doubles, becoming the first of 23 players to collect five hits in a game this year.^[15]
  • The New York Mets blast six homers off Montreal Expos pitchers in a 10–6, Opening Day victory at Olympic Stadium.^[16] Darryl Strawberry hits two of the long balls, including a tape-measure shot, estimated at 525 feet (160 m), that hits a concrete ring high above right field that supports the domed stadium's roof.^[17]
• April 11 – Rickey Henderson of the New York Yankees steals four bases in a 17–9 loss to Toronto at Exhibition Stadium, notching the first of three four-theft days of his 1988 campaign. The Hall of Famer will also steal three bags in seven more games, and win his eighth AL stolen-base crown (with 93)^[15] by year's end.
• April 12 – The Baltimore Orioles dismiss manager Cal Ripken Sr. after their sixth consecutive loss to start the season. He's replaced by Frank Robinson, who will see the winless streak extended to an MLB-record 21 consecutive games. All-time Orioles great and future Hall of Famer Robinson, 52, becomes MLB's first Black manager since he himself was dismissed by the San Francisco Giants on August 4, 1984.^[18]
• April 14 – Pilot Field opens in Buffalo as home to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. The first retro-classic ballpark in the world, the stadium was built to try to attract a major league franchise.
• April 15 – The Boston Red Sox sign veteran catcher Rick Cerone, unconditionally released by the New York Yankees April 4.
• April 22 – The Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals, combatants in last year's World Series, exchange starting players with Minnesota acquiring second baseman Tom Herr from the NL champs for right fielder Tom Brunansky.
• April 28 – The Hall-of-Fame MLB career of Steve Carlton ends when the 43-year-old hurler, author of 329 victories, is released by the Twins.
• April 29 – The Baltimore Orioles shut out the Chicago White Sox, 9–0, at Comiskey Park, for their first victory of 1988 after 21 consecutive losses. Starter Mark Williamson is credited with the win (allowing three hits, with two strikeouts and no walks in six innings); he and closer Dave Schmidt, who earns the save (one hit allowed, with one strikeout and no walks in three innings), keep Chicago scoreless. Two future Hall of Famers—Cal Ripken Jr. (4-for-5, including a double and a home run) and Eddie Murray (two-run homer)—pace the offense.^[19]
• April 30:
  • At Riverfront Stadium, in the ninth inning of a game already marked by a bench-clearing brawl involving Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tom Browning and the New York Mets' Darryl Strawberry, Cincinnati manager Pete Rose and umpire Dave Pallone engage in a physical altercation after a delayed "safe" call by first-base arbiter Pallone enables the Mets' Howard Johnson to score the eventual winning run all the way from second base. During the ensuing argument, Pallone allegedly pokes Rose under the eye, and the Reds' manager responds by shoving Pallone twice. Home fans shower the umpires with debris, forcing them to temporarily exit the field.^[20]
    • Two days from today, National League president A. Bartlett Giamatti suspends Rose for 30 days, the longest such penalty for an on-field incident levied on a manager in MLB history; Rose is also fined $10,000.
    • Former Reds' second baseman Tommy Helms, now their first-base coach, becomes acting manager until Rose's reinstatement June 1; Cincinnati goes 12–15 under Helms from May 2–31.
  • Dave Winfield, his name prominent in trade talks, drives in two runs and helps his New York Yankees rout the visiting Texas Rangers, 15–3. With 29 RBIs in 23 games, Winfield ties Ron Cey (1977 in 20 games) and Dale Murphy (1985 in 19 games) for most runs driven in during the month of April; he's also batting .398.

May

• May 2:
  • Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ron Robinson, one out away from a perfect game, surrenders a single to Wallace Johnson and a home run to Tim Raines, before Cincinnati finally beats the Montreal Expos, 3–2. John Franco secures the final out to get the save.^[21]
  • The Baltimore Orioles release former All-Star pitcher Scott McGregor, ending his comeback bid.
• May 7 – Trouble finds Billy Martin again when the New York Yankees' manager sustains a 40-stitch cut inside his left ear during an early-hours fight in the restroom of an Arlington, Texas, nightclub. Martin, who will turn 60 on May 16, is held for observation in a local hospital, but discharged in time for him to manage tonight's game, a 3–2 defeat inflicted by the Texas Rangers.^[22][23]
• May 9:
  • The Oakland Athletics win their 14th consecutive game, defeating the visiting Detroit Tigers, 3–1, behind the pitching of Bob Welch and Dennis Eckersley and José Canseco's ninth home run of 1988. Oakland (24–7) has built an eight-game lead in the American League West. The A's winning streak is the majors' longest since 1977.
  • Bill Buckner, 38, is given his outright release by the California Angels; he'll sign as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals four days from now.
• May 10 – Three days after signing as a free agent, first baseman Chris Chambliss is released by the New York Yankees.
• May 14 – At Busch Memorial Stadium, infielder José Oquendo of the St. Louis Cardinals becomes the first non-pitcher to gain a decision since outfielder Rocky Colavito on August 25, 1968.^[24] The Atlanta Braves beat the Cardinals, 7–5, in 19 innings in MLB's longest game, by innings, of 1988.^[16] The Redbirds' eighth pitcher of the game, Oquendo hurls three scoreless frames before he surrenders the game-winning hit to Ken Griffey Sr.^[25]
• May 19:
  • A plethora of heavy rainstorms has led to a bumper crop of postponed baseball games, schedule and travel disruptions, impromptu doubleheaders, and make-up dates. So far in 1988, in six weeks, 28 MLB games have been rain-outs—one more than in all of 1987. Even Los Angeles, known for dry springs and summers, is not immune: the Dodgers had three consecutive home games washed out in April, a first since the club moved West in 1958.
  • To make room for top prospect Mark Grace, the Chicago Cubs trade first baseman Leon Durham to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Pat Perry and cash considerations.
• May 22:
  • The Atlanta Braves fire manager Chuck Tanner after a 12–27 start and replace him with Russ Nixon, promoted from Double-A Greenville. The firing ends Tanner's 19-year MLB managerial career; his Atlanta record is only 153–208 (.424).
  • Pedro Guerrero of the Los Angeles Dodgers flings his bat at New York Mets hurler David Cone after Cone brushes back Guerrero then hits him with a pitch during the same at bat. A full-scale brawl does not ensue, but Guerrero is ejected by home-plate umpire John Kibler, then fined by the National League office.
• May 25 – The Texas Rangers unconditionally release former All-Star outfielder Steve Kemp, 33, whose productive and promising early career was ruined by injuries.
• May 28 – With the San Diego Padres (16–30) battling the Braves for last place in the NL West, general manager "Trader Jack" McKeon fires second-year pilot Larry Bowa and takes the reins of the team himself. Multi-tasker McKeon will pull the Padres out of their doldrums; they'll post a 67–48 mark through the remainder of 1988.
• May 30 – Lou Piniella quits as general manager of the New York Yankees, a job he's held for only seven months. Amid rumors he may return to the managing ranks, with the Philadelphia Phillies if not the Yankees themselves, he'll stay on with the Bombers performing undisclosed duties. Bob Quinn, a Yankee vice president, will succeed Piniella in the GM role, although owner George Steinbrenner dominates the team's baseball decisions.^[26]

June

• June 1 – The San Diego Padres select 21-year-old right-hander Andy Benes of the University of Evansville as the first overall selection in the 1988 MLB amateur draft. One of eight future All-Stars taken in the first round, he'll win 155 MLB games over a 14-season career.
  • As a favor to Tom Lasorda, the Los Angeles Dodgers select Miami–Dade Community College first baseman Mike Piazza, 19, in the 62nd round. The 1,390th player chosen in the lottery—considered a "non-prospect"—Piazza is drafted at Lasorda's request because the Dodger manager is friendly with the player's father, who hails from his home town. Converting to catcher in the minor leagues, Piazza will graduate to the Dodgers in 1992, then win the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1993; by the time he retires in May 2008 as a 12-time All-Star, he will have set the career MLB record for home runs by a receiver (396) and batted .308 lifetime.^[27] He'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.^[28]
• June 3 – The Cleveland Indians trade first baseman Pat Tabler to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for pitcher Bud Black.
• June 6 – The Seattle Mariners (23–33) fire old-school, hard-nosed Dick Williams, their manager since May 9, 1986. His dismissal ends Williams' Hall-of-Fame managerial career after 21 seasons, 1,563 regular-season wins, four pennants, and two World Series championships.^[29] Coach Jim Snyder will serve as interim skipper for the remainder of 1988.
• June 7 – Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth, in office for less than four years, announces he won't seek re-election when his term expires on March 31, 1989.^[30] He will leave a mixed legacy: negotiating new television contracts that will funnel $1.5 billion into owners' coffers and enable all 26 clubs to turn a profit or break even, but inspiring the ill-conceived owner conspiracy to illegally limit salaries and player movement that will cost them $434 million in collusion penalties,^[4] and plant the seeds for the disastrous 1994–1995 player strike.^[31]
• June 8:
  • Philadelphia Phillies club president Bill Giles dismisses general manager Woody Woodward, on the job for only seven months himself, for what Woodward describes as "philosophical differences."^[32] The Phillies receive permission from the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals to speak with their director of player development, Lee Thomas, about the opening and they will hire Thomas, 52, as vice president, player personnel, later this month.
  • The San Francisco Giants trade veteran outfielder Jeffrey Leonard, reigning NLCS MVP, to the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League for infielder Ernest Riles. Leonard, 32, is due to become a free agent in November.
• June 12:
  • Against the Atlanta Braves at the Astrodome, Houston's Mike Scott's a bid for a second career no-hitter is broken up with two out in the ninth by Ken Oberkfell's single. Oberkfell's is the only one Scott allows in a 5–0 Astros victory. Scott had no-hit the San Francisco Giants in 1986 on September 25.
  • Robin Yount hits for the cycle and scores four runs and leads his Milwaukee Brewers to a 16–2 blowout win over the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park.^[15]
• June 18 – The Los Angeles Dodgers sign 16-year-old right-hander Pedro Martínez of Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic, as an international free agent. Pedro's brother Ramón, 20, is one of the Dodgers' top pitching prospects and he will make his National League debut this coming August.
• June 19 – The Boston Red Sox rip 23 base hits—most in a game by any team in 1988—and outscore the Baltimore Orioles, 15–7, at Memorial Stadium.^[16] For the home side, Eddie Murray slugs his 314th career homer, temporarily tying him for second place with Reggie Smith among MLB switch-hitters. He remains far behind the all-time leader, Mickey Mantle, who hit 536.^[33]
• June 20 – The Cincinnati Reds release pitcher Mario Soto.
• June 21 – With his team trailing 6–3 in the bottom of the ninth at Tiger Stadium against the New York Yankees, Alan Trammell hits an "ultimate walk-off grand slam" (with two outs and his team down by three runs) off reliever Cecilio Guante. Trammell becomes the first, however, in major league history to do so with a 3–2 (three ball, two strike) count on him.
• June 23 – Billy Martin is fired from his fifth stint as New York Yankees manager by owner George Steinbrenner after a four-game losing streak and a 2–7 road trip; his club is 40–28, second in the AL East, 2½ games behind the Detroit Tigers. The firing, followed 18 months from now by his sudden death on Christmas Day 1989, will bring an end to Martin's 16-season managerial career; his final totals: 1,253–1,013 (.553) for five AL teams (556–385, .593, as a Yankee) in the regular season, with one World Series win (1977), two AL pennants and six division titles.^[34][35]
  • Steinbrenner taps Lou Piniella to return to the dugout and replace Martin; it's ex-GM Piniella's second term as the club's manager.
  • Martin becomes the fourth high-profile, veteran manager whose careers will end this season; the others: Gene Mauch, Chuck Tanner and Dick Williams.
• June 26 – Craig Biggio makes his MLB debut. In three plate appearances, Biggio strikes out once, draws a walk, and scores a run as his Houston Astros notch a 6–0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
• June 30 – The Illinois General Assembly votes to help fund a new baseball stadium to replace Comiskey Park, now the oldest facility in Major League Baseball. The vote keeps Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf from carrying out his threat to move the team.

July

• July 4 – At the unofficial half-way mark of the 1988 season, the closest pennant race is in the American League East, where the Detroit Tigers (49–30) hold a 2½-game lead over the New York Yankees (47–33). With MLB's best record, the Oakland Athletics (52–29) maintain a six-game cushion in the AL West over the defending world champion Minnesota Twins (45–34). The New York Mets (52–30), who have the majors' second-best record so far, lead the National League East by seven lengths over the Chicago Cubs (44–36). In the NL West, the resurgent Los Angeles Dodgers (46–33) are 5½ in front of the arch-rival San Francisco Giants (41–39).
• July 5 – Dave Dombrowski becomes the youngest general manager in the major leagues when the Montreal Expos promote him to succeed Bill Stoneman. Three weeks from his 32nd birthday, Dombrowski joined the club's front office in 1986 after spending his early career with the Chicago White Sox working under Roland Hemond.
• July 9:
  • In their 21–2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, the San Francisco Giants establish a franchise record (since its move to the West Coast in 1958) for most runs scored in a game. Chris Speier hits for the cycle^[15] and Ernest Riles slugs the 10,000th home run in the Giants' all-time, 105-year history.^[36]
  • Nolan Ryan becomes the first pitcher to win 100 games in both the American and National League, as the Houston Astros defeated the New York Mets 6-3.
• July 12 – After being maligned by the press as an unworthy All-Star starter, catcher Terry Steinbach hits a solo home run and a sacrifice fly to lead the American League to a 2–1 victory over the National League at Riverfront Stadium. Steinbach is named MVP.
• July 14:
  • The Boston Red Sox, a disappointing 43–42 and 8½ games out of first in the AL East, fire John McNamara, their manager since 1985, and appoint third-base coach "Walpole Joe" Morgan interim pilot. Morgan, so nicknamed to differentiate him from the Hall-of-Fame former second baseman, is a 57-year-old, ex-utility infielder who hit only .193 with 36 hits for five MLB teams, then managed in the minors for 16 seasons. The Red Sox respond to his hiring by winning their next 12 games and 19 of their next 20—earning "Walpole Joe" a permanent job and causing the press to coin the term "Morgan Magic."^[37]
  • Ten days after being released by the Kansas City Royals, relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry is signed by the St. Louis Cardinals.
• July 21 – In what will become known as one of the most one-sided trades of its era, the Seattle Mariners obtain outfielder Jay Buhner, along with two minor-league pitchers, Rick Balabon and Troy Evers (PTBNL), from the New York Yankees for DH/first baseman Ken Phelps. Phelps will play half a season for the Yankees before injuries derail his career, and Buhner blossoms into an All-Star with Seattle, smashing 307 home runs and twice leading his league's outfielders in assists. Seven years after the trade, it will be mocked by actor Jerry Stiller in a 1995 episode of Seinfeld.
• July 27:
  • Just six days after he pulls off the Buhner coup, the Mariners' general manager, Dick Balderson, is fired by his impatient owner, George Argyros. The Ms are only 39–62 and last in the AL West. Argyros names Woody Woodward as Balderson's successor; it's Woodward's third major-league GM job in less than a calendar year.
  • Julio Franco goes three-for-five and drives in five runs, helping his Cleveland Indians trounce the host Baltimore Orioles, 12–2, and extending his hitting streak, which started July 3, to 22 games. While not MLB's longest hit streak of 1988 (that belongs to John Shelby of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a 24-game skein between May 14 and June 9), it's the longest in the American League and Franco's second 20+-game streak of the season; he earlier hit safely in 21 straight between May 11 and June 3.^[15]
  • The Texas Rangers sign catcher Iván Rodríguez as an international free agent.
• July 29 – The Boston Red Sox trade future World Series hero Curt Schilling, currently age 21 and pitching for Double-A New Britain, and rookie outfielder Brady Anderson to the Baltimore Orioles for veteran right-hander Mike Boddicker.

August

• August 2 – Outfielder Ken Griffey Sr. returns to the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent; Griffey, now 38, was a three-time National League All-Star as a member of Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" between 1973 and 1981. He had been released by the Atlanta Braves on July 28.
• August 9 – The Chicago Cubs win the first official night game at Wrigley Field, 6–4, over the New York Mets. The lights had been turned on just before the start of the prior night's game, but that game was rained out.
• August 10 – The Los Angeles Dodgers release pitcher Don Sutton.
• August 11:
  • Having been stuck at 299 career home runs since May 16, New York Mets catcher Gary Carter clubs career home run #300 in a 9–6 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
  • The Boston Red Sox set an AL record with their 23rd straight win at home, beating the Detroit Tigers 9–4. Boston surpassed the league mark of 22 set by the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics.
• August 26 – Donnie Moore is released by the California Angels, setting off a chain reaction of events that will end in July 1989, when Moore shoots his wife and then turns his gun on himself, dying in an attempted murder/suicide.
• August 31 – Outfielder Fred Lynn is traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for catcher Chris Hoiles and two minor leaguers.

September

• September 3 – Gary Sheffield makes his MLB debut as a late inning defensive replacement for Dale Sveum, and does not make a plate appearance in Milwaukee's 7–3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Sheffield would get his first start the next day and go 0–4 in his first four plate appearances.
• September 8 – A. Bartlett Giamatti is unanimously elected by the owners to replace outgoing Commissioner Peter Ueberroth.
• September 9 – Bruce Sutter converts his 300th career save (the third player in history to do so) to preserve an Atlanta Braves win over the San Diego Padres. It is the last save of his career.
• September 14 – Mike Greenwell hits for the cycle and scores three runs, driving his Boston Red Sox to a 4–3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park, helping his team maintain its 4½-game lead in the AL East.^[15] Greenwell's sixth-inning triple comes as the result of a disputed official scorer's ruling on a wind-blown fly that's misplayed by Baltimore left-fielder Larry Sheets.^[38]
• September 16 – Tom Browning of the Cincinnati Reds pitches a 1–0 perfect game over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Browning becomes the second left-hander to pitch a perfect game, joining Sandy Koufax in 1965. It is not only the tenth perfect game in Major League history, but the first to ever be pitched against the team that will go on to win the World Series that year. In defeating the San Diego Padres on June 6 of this season, Browning had another no-hitter broken up in the ninth inning by Tony Gwynn's single with one out.^[39]
• September 17 – Jeff Reardon becomes the first pitcher to save 40 games in one season in both leagues as the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 3–1. Reardon, who saved 41 games for the Montreal Expos in 1985, pitches the ninth inning for his 40th save in 47 opportunities.
• September 20 – Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox becomes the first player in major league history since 1901 to collect 200 or more hits in six consecutive years. He is also the second player (to Lou Gehrig) to collect 200 hits and 100 bases on balls in three straight seasons.
• September 22:
  • With nine games left in the 1988 campaign, the Philadelphia Phillies, last in the NL East at 60–92–1, fire Lee Elia, their manager since June 18, 1987.^[40] Coach John Vukovich will guide them to a 5–4 record as interim pilot down the final stretch.
  • The California Angels, 75–79 and fourth in the AL West, make another managerial change, dropping Cookie Rojas, their skipper since March 26, in favor of coach Moose Stubing on an interim basis; Stubing goes 0–8 in the Halos' waning days of 1988.
• September 23 – Jose Canseco steals his 40th base of the year and becomes the first member of the 40–40 club.
• September 24 – The Oakland Athletics defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 5–2 at County Stadium for their 100th win of the season. A's starter Dave Stewart picks up his 20th win of the season, and Dennis Eckersley gets his 44th save of the season.
• September 28 – One of the great season closing games in history is played as Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Andy Hawkins of the San Diego Padres each pitch ten scoreless innings. The Padres eventually win, but the tenth inning proves to be Hershiser's 59th consecutive scoreless inning, breaking Don Drysdale's record streak of 58 consecutive innings.
• September 30 – For the second consecutive start, Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays has a no-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth, and has to settle for a one-hit shutout. In the Blue Jays' 4–0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Exhibition Stadium, he has the bid broken up by a Jim Traber single. Six days earlier, in a 1–0 shutout over the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland Stadium, Stieb's bid for a no-hitter was broken up by a Julio Franco single with two out in the ninth. Had Stieb accomplished the double no-hit feat, he would have joined Johnny Vander Meer (1938) as the only pitchers to hurl no-hitters in consecutive starts.

October

• October 4 – Nick Leyva, 35, a coach for Whitey Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals since 1984, takes the managerial reins of the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies, signing a three-year contract. Recently hired GM Lee Thomas was Leyva's boss when Thomas served as the Redbirds' farm system director.
• October 7 – Dave Concepción, one of the last remaining active members of the Reds' "Big Red Machine" dynasty teams of the 1970s, is released. Ron Oester will be the final remaining player from that era on the Reds roster after Ken Griffey is released August 24, 1990.
• October 15 – In Game 1 of the 1988 World Series at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers trail the Oakland Athletics, 4–3, in the bottom of the ninth inning when the Dodgers' Kirk Gibson, badly injured in the NLCS against the New York Mets, hobbles to the plate to pinch-hit against Oakland's lethal closer, Dennis Eckersley. With two outs, a 3–2 count against him, and Mike Davis on second base, Gibson uses his upper body and wrists to launch a backdoor slider from Eckersley into the right-field stands for a 5–4 Los Angeles victory. Gibson's home run re-energized the underdog Dodgers and shattered the confidence of the A's, who lost the series in five games. It inspired the coining of the phrase "walk-off home run" and is widely regarded as one of the greatest moments in baseball history.
• October 20 – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser ends his dream season with a 5–2 four-hitter over the Oakland Athletics in Game Five of the World Series. The win gives the Dodgers their first championship since 1981, and makes them the only team to win more than one World Series in the 1980s. Hershiser is elected the Series MVP.
• October 24 – The New York Yankees trade Jack Clark and Pat Clements to the San Diego Padres for Jimmy Jones, Lance McCullers and Stan Jefferson.
• October 25 – Tony La Russa of the Oakland Athletics is elected American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
• October 26 – Six days after leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to an improbable World Series championship, Tommy Lasorda is named National League Manager of the Year by the BBWAA.

November

• November 8 – The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced the inauguration of Women in Baseball, a permanent display to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than any individual figure, which began play in 1943 and lasted a dozen years and gave more than 500 women an opportunity that had never existed before.^[41]
• November 9 – Minnesota Twins pitcher Frank Viola is selected with 27 of 28 first place votes as the American League Cy Young Award winner. The left-hander posted a 24–7 record with 193 strikeouts and a 2.64 ERA.
• November 10:
  • Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser, who posted a 23–8 record with 178 strikeouts and a 2.31 ERA, is a unanimous choice as National League Cy Young Award winner. Hershiser becomes the ninth pitcher in National League history to win the award unanimously, after receiving all twenty-four first place votes from the BBWAA.
  • Tommy John is released by the New York Yankees.
• November 14 – The California Angels fill their 1989 managerial vacancy by hiring former 5x NL Gold Glove-winning third baseman and one-time Texas Rangers skipper Doug Rader, 44. Owner Gene Autry admits he initially offered the post to Gene Mauch, who has already served two terms in the job and resigned twice, in 1982 and again this past March, when he stepped down in the middle of spring training for health reasons.
• November 28 – Rich Gedman becomes the highest paid catcher in American League history when he signs a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox for $1.2 million.

December

• December 4 – The Baltimore Orioles trade future Hall-of-Fame first baseman Eddie Murray to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitchers Brian Holton and Ken Howell and infielder Juan Bell. Native Angeleno Murray—who wears #33—has slugged 333 homers in his 12-season career in Baltimore.
• December 5 – The estate of late owner Edward Bennett Williams, who died in August, sells the Orioles for $70 million to a group headed by financier Eli Jacobs and including incumbent team president Larry Lucchino, a Williams protégé. Jacobs and Lucchino will spearhead the design and construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which, after its opening in 1992, will serve as a model for a new era of "jewel box" style MLB ballparks built expressly for baseball.^[42]
• December 8 – The Cleveland Indians trade second baseman Julio Franco to the Texas Rangers for first baseman Pete O'Brien, second baseman Jerry Browne and outfielder Oddibe McDowell.
• December 13 – One month after winning the National League's Cy Young Award, Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers is named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
• December 14 – CBS pays approximately $1.8 billion^[43] for exclusive over-the-air television rights to Major League Baseball for four years, beginning in 1990. CBS will pay MLB and its clubs about $265 million each year^[44] for the World Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the Saturday Game of the Week. CBS replaces ABC (which has broadcast Monday and later Thursday night games and LCS and World Series in alternating years since 1976) and NBC (which has broadcast major-league games, including World Series and All-Star games, in some shape or form since 1947 and the Game of the Week exclusively since 1966) as MLB's national network television home.^[45] It is one of the largest agreements^[46] (to date) between the sport of baseball and the business of broadcasting. The cost of the deal between CBS and Major League Baseball is about 25% more^[47] than in the previous television contract with ABC and NBC.^[48] The deal with CBS is also intended to pay each team (26 in 1990 and then, 28 by 1993) $10 million a year.

January

• January 1 – Dallas Keuchel
• January 2 – Aaron Barrett
• January 2 – Eric Fornataro
• January 6 – Cody Hall
• January 7 – Jhoulys Chacín
• January 8 – Jon Edwards
• January 10 – Rafael Dolis
• January 10 – Jason Gurka
• January 12 – Hyun-soo Kim
• January 12 – Justin Marks
• January 18 – Luis Jiménez
• January 19 – Shawn Tolleson
• January 21 – Preston Claiborne
• January 21 – Josh Ravin
• January 22 – Josh Spence
• January 24 – Ashur Tolliver
• January 26 – Josh Prince
• January 28 – A. J. Griffin
• January 29 – Mike Bolsinger
• January 29 – Hank Conger

February

• February 1 – Brett Anderson
• February 1 – Allan de San Miguel
• February 2 – Brad Peacock
• February 2 – Travis Snider
• February 10 – Jake Brigham
• February 10 – Jeanmar Gómez
• February 11 – Shane Peterson
• February 12 – Josh Phegley
• February 13 – Ryan Goins
• February 14 – Paul Clemens
• February 16 – Jorge Rondón
• February 19 – Kevin Chapman
• February 20 – Spencer Patton
• February 21 – Tyler Lyons
• February 22 – Rocky Gale
• February 24 – Chris Parmelee
• February 25 – Nathan Adcock
• February 25 – Conor Mullee
• February 26 – Dustin Ackley
• February 26 – Héctor Rondón
• February 28 – Aroldis Chapman

March

• March 1 – Trevor Cahill
• March 1 – Yang Hyeon-jong
• March 4 – José de Paula
• March 4 – Ryan Strausborger
• March 5 – Joe Benson
• March 5 – Héctor Gómez
• March 6 – Leonys Martín
• March 7 – Tyler Ladendorf
• March 8 – Tommy Pham
• March 8 – Ken Roberts
• March 10 – Cedric Hunter
• March 11 – Pedro Báez
• March 11 – Vince Belnome
• March 13 – Jason Rogers
• March 14 – Josh Stinson
• March 15 – Steve Ames
• March 19 – Clayton Kershaw
• March 23 – Dellin Betances
• March 26 – Marcus Hatley
• March 28 – Ryan Kalish

April

• April 1 – Alex Hassan
• April 3 – Hirokazu Sawamura
• April 6 – Mitsuo Yoshikawa
• April 7 – Charles Brewer
• April 9 – Simón Castro
• April 9 – Tommy Medica
• April 10 – Chris Dwyer
• April 10 – Chris Heston
• April 11 – Pete Kozma
• April 11 – Kenta Maeda
• April 11 – Chris McGuiness
• April 11 – Ryan Schimpf
• April 13 – Tsubasa Aizawa
• April 15 – Chris Tillman
• April 16 – Shogo Akiyama
• April 20 – Brandon Belt
• April 22 – Dee Strange-Gordon
• April 27 – José Miguel Fernández
• April 30 – Ryan O'Rourke
• April 30 – Jesús Sucre

May

• May 2 – Neftalí Feliz
• May 3 – Ben Revere
• May 4 – Christian Bergman
• May 7 – Sam Dyson
• May 7 – Osvaldo Martínez
• May 9 – Buddy Boshers
• May 10 – Ryan Jackson
• May 20 – Kyle Jensen
• May 20 – Carlos Rivero
• May 20 – Tony Sanchez
• May 23 – Vic Black
• May 27 – Brad Boxberger
• May 27 – Garrett Richards
• May 28 – Justin Bour
• May 28 – Ryan Court
• May 28 – Craig Kimbrel
• May 28 – Lester Oliveros

June

• June 1 – Francisco Peguero
• June 5 – Jake Petricka
• June 8 – Terrance Gore
• June 9 – Joe Kelly
• June 9 – Zach Rosscup
• June 11 – Brock Holt
• June 19 – Jacob deGrom
• June 19 – Devin Mesoraco
• June 28 – Kevan Smith
• June 29 – Brooks Raley
• June 30 – Jeff Kobernus
• June 30 – Blake Treinen

July

• July 2 – Chris Marrero
• July 5 – Andre Rienzo
• July 10 – Ryan Wheeler
• July 13 – DJ LeMahieu
• July 18 – Brett Nicholas
• July 20 – Ty Kelly
• July 20 – Stephen Strasburg
• July 22 – Kwang-hyun Kim
• July 25 – José Martínez
• July 27 – Yoervis Medina

August

• August 1 – Roenis Elías
• August 2 – Brett Jackson
• August 3 – Pat McCoy
• August 10 – Sammy Solis
• August 11 – Andrew Lambo
• August 12 – Jake Dunning
• August 12 – Jhan Mariñez
• August 12 – José Tábata
• August 13 – Brandon Workman
• August 14 – Alex Liddi
• August 16 – Justin Grimm
• August 16 – J. C. Ramírez
• August 19 – Chris Smith
• August 23 – Miles Mikolas
• August 26 – Elvis Andrus
• August 26 – Mario Hollands
• August 27 – A. J. Achter
• August 27 – Seth Frankoff
• August 27 – Mike Olt
• August 29 – Alex White
• August 31 – Matt Adams
• August 31 – Caleb Gindl

September

• September 3 – Josh Osich
• September 4 – Adam Duvall
• September 6 – Arnold León
• September 8 – Chance Ruffin
• September 8 – Alex Sanabia
• September 9 – Will Middlebrooks
• September 9 – Joey Terdoslavich
• September 11 – Mike Moustakas
• September 13 – Marcus Walden
• September 13 – Andy Wilkins
• September 17 – Casey Crosby
• September 20 – Steve Lombardozzi Jr.
• September 21 – Che-Hsuan Lin
• September 23 – Jedd Gyorko
• September 24 – James Jones
• September 24 – Moisés Sierra
• September 24 – Hunter Strickland
• September 26 – Chris Archer
• September 26 – Yūdai Ōno
• September 28 – Gary Brown
• September 28 – Cameron Rupp
• September 29 – Tyler Thornburg
• September 30 – Sugar Ray Marimón
• September 30 – Brian Moran

October

• October 3 – Mike Belfiore
• October 3 – Phil Gosselin
• October 4 – Lonnie Chisenhall
• October 7 – Brandon Cunniff
• October 8 – Manny Barreda
• October 9 – Starling Marte
• October 9 – Yuki Yanagita
• October 10 – Fernando Martínez
• October 11 – David Goforth
• October 11 – Edison Barrios
• October 12 – José Ortega
• October 12 – Nick Tepesch
• October 14 – Merrill Kelly
• October 14 – Seth Maness
• October 17 – Stefen Romero
• October 20 – Michael Mariot
• October 20 – Gus Schlosser
• October 25 – Alberto Cabrera
• October 27 – T. J. Rivera
• October 28 – Corban Joseph
• October 29 – Johnny Hellweg

November

• November 1 – Masahiro Tanaka
• November 1 – Alex Wimmers
• November 2 – Seth Rosin
• November 3 – Carlos Moncrief
• November 6 – James Paxton
• November 7 – Dariel Álvarez
• November 8 – Yasmani Grandal
• November 9 – Curt Casali
• November 9 – Zach Neal
• November 10 – Rob Segedin
• November 15 – Ben Rowen
• November 16 – Brandon Cumpton
• November 17 – Shane Greene
• November 20 – Cody Allen
• November 21 – Ryan LaMarre
• November 21 – Matt West
• November 22 – Drew Pomeranz
• November 22 – Austin Romine
• November 24 – Jarrod Parker
• November 25 – Jimmy Paredes
• November 26 – Josh Smoker
• November 26 – Matt Tracy
• November 26 – Héctor Velázquez
• November 28 – Kevin Quackenbush
• November 29 – Brett Nicholas

December

• December 1 – Daniel Straily
• December 2 – Brett Eibner
• December 6 – Adam Eaton
• December 12 – Juan Díaz
• December 12 – Mike Kickham
• December 13 – Perci Garner
• December 14 – Matt Grace
• December 14 - Hayato Sakamoto
• December 15 – Ryan Pressly
• December 20 – Erik Goeddel
• December 20 – Braulio Lara
• December 21 – Danny Duffy
• December 21 – Cody Stanley
• December 21 – Asher Wojciechowski
• December 23 – Audry Pérez
• December 23 – Roberto Pérez
• December 27 – Rick Porcello
• December 27 – Addison Reed
• December 30 – Bryce Brentz
• December 30 – Danny Burawa
• December 30 – Drew Rucinski
• December 31 – Álex Colomé

January

• January 6 – Ralph Buxton, 76, Canadian pitcher who played briefly for the 1938 Philadelphia Athletics and the 1949 New York Yankees.
• January 12 – John H. Johnson, 66, president of Minor League Baseball from 1979 until his death; previously, farm system director of the Yankees from 1958 to 1971, and assistant to Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn from 1971 to 1979.
• January 15 – George Hennessey, 80, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs between 1937 and 1945.
• January 16 – Dutch Kemner, 88, relief pitcher who appeared in nine games with the 1929 Cincinnati Reds.
• January 23 – Johnny Gee, 72, who pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Giants in the 1940s and also played basketball with the NBA Syracuse Nationals during the 1946–1947 season.
• January 24 – Ray Rohwer, 92, outfielder who hit .284 for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1921 to 1922.
• January 28 – Al Rubeling, 74, backup infielder for the Philadelphia Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1940 through 1944.

February

• February 1 – Red Phillips, 79, relief pitcher who posted a 4–4 record in 29 games for the Detroit Tigers in the 1934 and 1936 seasons.
• February 3 – Jocko Thompson, 71, left-hander who pitched in 41 games for the Philadelphia Phillies for all or parts of four seasons (1948–1951); a much-decorated United States Army lieutenant who served in the European Theater during World War II.
• February 16 – Bill Cox, 74, pitcher in 50 games for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns from 1936 to 1940, who later served in Germany in the U.S. Army during World War II.
• February 20:
  • Bob O'Farrell, 91, catcher for four National League teams over 21 seasons who won the 1926 MVP award with the St. Louis Cardinals; player-manager of Cardinals (1927) and Cincinnati Reds (Opening Day through July 6, 1934).
  • Jim Woods, 71, nicknamed "Possum", well-traveled but highly regarded #2 play-by-play broadcaster between 1953 and 1981 who called games for the New York Yankees, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and USA Network; noted for his chemistry and collaboration with Pittsburgh's Bob Prince (1958–1969) and Boston's Ned Martin (1974–1978).
• February 23 – Pete Donohue, 87, pitcher who had three 20-win seasons for the Cincinnati Reds and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 20 consecutive times from 1922 to 1925.
• February 26 – Tom Oliver, 85, fine defensive center fielder for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1930s; later a coach for the Philadelphia Athletics and Baltimore Orioles between 1951 and 1954.
• February 28 – Harvey Kuenn, 57, eight-time All-Star shortstop and outfielder, most notably with the Detroit Tigers, who batted .303 lifetime and led the American League in hits four times and doubles three times, while winning the 1953 Rookie of the Year Award and the 1959 batting title; later, a longtime batting coach who managed the Milwaukee Brewers—nicknamed "Harvey's Wallbangers"—to their only AL pennant in 1982; compiled a 159–118 mark (.572) as skipper of the Brewers between June 2, 1982 and end of the 1983 season.

March

• March 1 – Luis "Canena" Márquez, 62, the third Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues (after Hiram Bithorn and Luis Rodríguez Olmo), who appeared in 68 games from 1951 to 1954 with the Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.
• March 6:
  • Lou Legett, 86, catcher for the Boston Red Sox between 1929 and 1935.
  • Dick Ricketts, 54, pitcher for the 1959 St. Louis Cardinals and also a forward-center in NBA with the St. Louis Hawks and the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955 to 1958; his brother Dave was a longtime backup catcher and coach in MLB.
• March 11 – Art Daney, Chief Whitehorn, 84, Native American of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, who pitched briefly for the 1928 Philadelphia Athletics.
• March 14 – Zeb Terry, 96, shortstop/second baseman who hit .260 in 589 games for the Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1916 to 1922.
• March 16 – Jigger Statz, 90, outfielder for the New York Giants, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Robins from 1919 to 1928, who hit .319 for the 1923 Cubs including 209 hits, 110 runs, 51 extrabases, 70 RBI and 29 stolen bases; played 18 seasons for Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League; amassed 4,093 hits over a 24-year career.
• March 21 – Edd Roush, 94, Hall of Fame center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds who batted .323 lifetime, leading the National League in batting twice and in slugging, doubles and triples once each, while hitting 30 inside-the-park home runs and ending with 182 triples for the 13th-most triples in major league history.
• March 29 – Ted Kluszewski, 63, All-Star first baseman who played from 1947 through 1961 for four teams, most prominently the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs; led the National League with 49 home runs and 141 RBI in 1954 and batted .300 seven times; batting star for Chicago White Sox in 1959 World Series and author of first homer in Los Angeles Angels' MLB history (1961); known for sporting a sleeveless uniform jersey that showcased his muscular biceps; served as Cincinnati's hitting coach during "The Big Red Machine" dynasty of the 1970s.

April

• April 4:
  • Jack Aragón, 72, a 12-season catcher and manager in the minor leagues who appeared in one game for the 1941 New York Giants; son of Angel Aragón.
  • Charlie Snell, 94, backup catcher who hit .211 in eight games for the 1912 St. Louis Browns.
• April 5 – Tom Earley, 71, relief pitcher who posted an 18–24 record with a 3.78 ERA for the Boston Braves from 1938 to 1945.
• April 9 – Syd Cohen, 81, pitcher for the Washington Senators from 1934 to 1937, and later a minor league baseball manager; elder brother Andy was an MLB player and coach who died six months and 20 days after Syd.
• April 12 – Frank Skaff, 77, first baseman for the 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers and the 1943 Philadelphia Athletics; longtime scout, minor league skipper and MLB coach who served as acting manager of the 1966 Detroit Tigers.
• April 14 – Ralph Winegarner, 78, infielder/outfielder/pitcher for the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns in parts of six seasons spanning 1930–1949; coached for the Browns, 1949–1951.
• April 15 – John Hines, 87, outfielder/catcher for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro National League between 1923 and 1934; member of its 1926 Negro World Series champions.
• April 22 – Len Church, 46, relief pitcher for the 1966 Chicago Cubs.
• April 27 – Alphonse "Tommy" Thomas, 88, pitcher who won 117 games for the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox from 1926 through 1937; managed minor-league Baltimore Orioles, 1940 to 1949, then served as a Red Sox scout.
• April 29 – Dom Dallessandro, 74, outfielder for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs in eight seasons from 1937 to 1947; posted a .304 average and a .400 on-base percentage in 1944; missed 1945 Cubs' pennant-winning season and a chance to play in the World Series due to World War II military service.

May

• May 2 – Art Hefner, 74, centerfielder and third baseman for the 1948 New York Black Yankees and 1949 Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League.
• May 12:
  • Jacquelyn Kelley, 61, All-Star outfielder in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
  • Hank Schenz, 69, scrappy backup infielder who posted a .247 average in 207 games for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants from 1946 through 1951.
• May 25 – Charlie Perkins, 82, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1930s.
• May 26 – Dick Strahs, 64, relief pitcher for the 1954 Chicago White Sox.

June

• June 1 – Belve Bean, 83, relief pitcher who posted an 11–7 record with the Indians and Senators from 1930 to 1935.
• June 8 – Walt Chipple, 69, backup outfielder for the 1945 Washington Senators.
• June 9 – Newt Allen, 87, five-time All-Star second baseman for the Negro leagues' Kansas City Monarchs; two-time (1924, 1942) Negro World Series champion, the latter year as the Monarchs' player-manager.
• June 12 – Merle Settlemire, 85, relief pitcher for the 1928 Boston Red Sox.
• June 15 – Hugh Willingham, 82, backup infielder for the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies from 1930 to 1933; later became a longtime White Sox scout.
• June 17 – Ed Montague, 82, shortstop for the Cleveland Indians between 1928 and 1932, who later became a scout, most notable for signing Willie Mays; father of the longtime umpire.
• June 19 – Alice DeCambra, 66, infielder/pitcher during five seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
• June 21 – Ed Linke, 76, relief pitcher who posted a 22–22 record with the Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns from 1933 to 1938.
• June 22 – Hank Edwards, 69, outfielder who hit .280 with a .343 on-base percentage in 735 games with the Indians, Cubs, Dodgers, Reds, White Sox and Browns from 1941 to 1953.
• June 27 – Red Bullock, 76, pitcher for the 1936 Philadelphia Athletics.

July

• July 1 – Ed Sauer, 69, outfielder who played in the 1940s with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves; brother of Hank Sauer.
• July 2 – Tom Drake, 75, relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1941.
• July 4 – Lee Weyer, 51, National League umpire from 1963 until his death; worked in 3,827 NL games, four World Series and five NL Championship Series.
• July 8 – Frank Ellerbe, 84, third baseman who hit .268 in 420 games for the Senators, Browns and Indians from 1919 to 1924.
• July 10 – Ernie Nevel, 69, relief pitcher who appeared in 14 games with the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds from 1950 to 1953.
• July 14 – Whitey Witt, 92, outfielder who hit .287 with 18 home runs and 302 RBI in 1,139 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, New York Yankees and Brooklyn Robins from 1916 to 1926; last surviving member of the 1923 New York Yankees' World Series champions.
• July 15 – Clyde Beck, 88, infielder for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds from 1926 to 1931.
• July 20 – John W. Galbreath, 90, real estate magnate and majority owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1950 to 1985, during which period the team won three World Series.
• July 23 – Ken Polivka, 67, relief pitcher who appeared in two games with the 1947 Cincinnati Reds.
• July 24:
  • Jerry Lane, 62, pitcher for the Washington Senators and Cincinnati Redlegs from 1953 to 1955.
  • Joe Orengo, 73, valuable man at all four infield positions, who hit .238 in 366 games for the Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers, Tigers and White Sox between 1939 and 1945.
• July 26 – Al Flair, 62, first baseman for the 1941 Boston Red Sox.
• July 27 – Jack Drees, 71, Chicago sportscaster and television voice of the White Sox from 1968 to 1972; also known for football, boxing and horse racing broadcast work.

August

• August 2 – Bob Berman, 89, backup catcher for the 1918 Washington Senators.
• August 5 – Ralph Michaels, 86, backup infielder who hit .295 in 32 games for the Chicago Cubs from 1924 to 1926.
• August 13:
  • Mel Almada, 75, outfielder who hit .284 from 1933 through 1939 for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Dodgers, who is regarded as the first Mexican player to appear in a major league baseball game.
  • Edward Bennett Williams, 68, owner of the Baltimore Orioles from August 2, 1979, until his death; prominent Washington attorney and sportsman, who previously was co-owner or owner of the NFL Redskins from 1962 to 1974.
• August 22 – Bob Daughters, 74, played for the 1937 Boston Red Sox.
• August 29 – Charles Johnston, 92, American League umpire in 1936 and 1937.
• August 31 – John Daley, 101, shortstop for the 1912 St. Louis Browns, the oldest living major league player at the time of his death.

September

• September 2:
  • Jim Bagby Jr., 71, All-Star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians (1938–1947), who led AL in starts and innings in 1943; his father, Jim Sr., won 127 games for three MLB clubs over nine seasons.
  • Marshall Riddle, 70, Negro league infielder.
• September 6 – Lew Krausse, 76, relief pitcher who posted a 5–1 record with a 4.50 ERA in 23 appearances for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1931 to 1932; longtime scout and minor-league manager; father of the MLB pitcher of the 1960s and 1970s.
• September 8 – Rats Henderson, 92, stalwart pitcher for the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants of the Eastern Colored League from 1923 to 1928; led ECL in both games won and lost (ten) in 1923.
• September 16 – Bob Trice, 62, pitcher who on September 13, 1953 became the first African American player in Philadelphia Athletics history; posted a 9–9 (5.75 ERA) record in 27 games for the A's through May 2, 1955.
• September 29 – Tony Ordeñana, 69, shortstop for the 1943 Pittsburgh Pirates, and one of many players who only appeared in the majors during World War II.

October

• October 6 – Bob Boken, 80, infielder for the Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox from 1933 to 1934.
• October 8 – Boob Fowler, 87, infielder who hit .326 in 78 games for the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox from 1923 through 1926.
• October 14:
  • Abie Hood, 85, second baseman who hit .286 in five games for the 1925 Boston Braves.
  • Vic Raschi, 69, All-Star pitcher who won 20 games for the Yankees in three straight years (1949–1951), including World Series clinchers in 1949 and 1951; all told, played for six World Series champions (1947 and 1949–1953).
• October 19 – Bill Burgo, 67, backup outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1943 and 1944 seasons.
• October 21 – Regino "Reggie" Otero, 73, Cuban first baseman who had a long minor league career (1936–1953); played briefly with the 1945 Chicago Cubs and 13 years in the Cuban League; later a successful career manager in the Cuban, Mexican and Venezuelan leagues; coached in the majors for the Cincinnati Reds (1959–1965) and Cleveland Indians (1966), then scouted for the Indians and Dodgers.
• October 26 – Bill Johnson, 92, catcher in Black baseball who played primarily in the Eastern Colored League during the 1920s.
• October 27 – Ben Steiner, 67, second baseman for the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers from 1945 to 1947.
• October 28 – Dave Tyriver, 50, pitcher for the 1962 Cleveland Indians.
• October 29 – Andy Cohen, 84, second baseman who hit .281 in 262 games with the New York Giants from 1926 to 1929; acting manager of 1960 Philadelphia Phillies for one game (April 14) between terms of Eddie Sawyer and Gene Mauch; younger brother Syd, an MLB pitcher, died earlier in 1988 (on April 9).
• October 30 – Bernie Walter, 80, pitcher for the 1930 Pittsburgh Pirates.

November

• November 1 – Lefty Sullivan, 72, pitcher for the 1939 Cleveland Indians.
• November 5 – Glenn Chapman, 82, infielder who hit .280 in 67 games for the 1934 Brooklyn Dodgers.
• November 9 – Bob Weiland, 82, left-hander who went 62–94 (4.24) in 277 games in a dozen seasons (1928–1935, 1937–1940) for five clubs, primarily the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox.
• November 16 – Johnny Hayes, 78, two-time All-Star catcher who appeared for four Negro National League clubs, mainly the New York Black Yankees, between 1934 and 1948.
• November 19 – Kid Lowe, 88, third baseman for the Memphis Red Sox and three other Negro National League teams between 1921 and 1930.
• November 21 – Carl Hubbell, 85, "The Meal Ticket," Hall-of-Fame pitcher who won 253 games for the 1928–1943 New York Giants, then second-most among NL left-handers; named NL's MVP in 1933 and 1936, he led league in wins and ERA three times each and had 1.79 ERA in six World Series starts; his 1,677 strikeouts were NL record for portsiders until 1958, and he won 24 straight games in 1936–1937; in 1934 MLB All-Star Game, he fanned five straight eventual Hall of Famers, and his #11 uniform was retired upon his playing retirement; served Giants as their farm system director from 1944 until 1975.
• November 22 – Ray Kelly, 74, sportswriter who covered the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies since the late 1940s.
• November 28 – Butch Davis, 72, outfielder who played in Black baseball, the Negro leagues (batting .341 for the 1947 Baltimore Elite Giants), independent leagues and, in 1951 and 1952, "organized" minor league baseball.
• November 30 – Wally Berger, 83, All-Star center fielder for the Boston Braves who had four 100-RBI seasons and batted .300 lifetime; led NL in homers and RBI in 1935; his 38 homers as a 1930 rookie (tied by Frank Robinson in 1956) stood as an MLB record until 1987.

December

• December 12 – Joe Reichler, 73, sportswriter and author who wrote for the Associated Press for 20 years and served as an assistant to the commissioner after 1966; editor of the Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia since its first edition in 1969.
• December 16:
  • Joe Hatten, 72, pitcher who posted a 65–49 record with a 3.87 ERA for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs from 1946 through 1952.
  • Bob Kahle, 73, pinch-hitter for the 1938 Boston Braves.
  • Leonard Lindsay, 79, first baseman who appeared for three Negro leagues clubs over four seasons between 1935 and 1947.
• December 21 – Willie Kamm, 88, third baseman for the Chicago White Sox (1923–1931) and Cleveland Indians (1931–1935) who led AL in fielding average eight times and in putouts seven times; batted .308 in 1928 and led league in walks in 1925.
• December 29:
  • John Happenny, 87, backup infielder who hit .221 in 32 games for the 1923 Chicago White Sox.
  • Earl Mossor, 63, pitcher who appeared in three games with the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers.
• December 31 – Wes Flowers, 75, relief pitcher who posted a 2–2 record with a 5.40 ERA for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940 and 1944, and later served in the Navy during World War II.