2013 in baseball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ryo Miki in 2013

The following are the baseball events of the year 2013 throughout the world. They include Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and major events in baseball.

Major League Baseball

  • Regular Season Champions
League Eastern Division Champions Central Division Champions Western Division Champions Wild Card Qualifier 1 Wild Card Qualifier 2
American League Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers Oakland Athletics Cleveland Indians Tampa Bay Rays
National League Atlanta Braves St. Louis Cardinals Los Angeles Dodgers Pittsburgh Pirates Cincinnati Reds
  • Postseason
Wild Card Game
(ALWC, NLWC) 		Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS) 		League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS) 		World Series
1 Boston 3
4 Cleveland 0 5 Tampa Bay 1
5 Tampa Bay 1 American League1 Boston 4
3 Detroit 2
2 Oakland 2
3 Detroit 3
AL1 Boston 4
NL1 St. Louis 2
1 St. Louis 3
4 Pittsburgh 1 4 Pittsburgh 2
5 Cincinnati 0 National League1 St. Louis 4
3 LA Dodgers 2
2 Atlanta 1
3 LA Dodgers 3

Other Champions


Awards and honors

  • Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league): Joan McGrath, Arizona Fall League

Major League Baseball

BBWAA awards

Major League Baseball awards

Sporting News Awards

Players Choice Awards

Other awards

Silver Slugger Awards

American League National League
PlayerTeamPositionPlayerTeam
Chris DavisBaltimore OriolesFirst basemanPaul GoldschmidtArizona Diamondbacks
Robinson CanóNew York YankeesSecond basemanMatt CarpenterSt. Louis Cardinals
Miguel CabreraDetroit TigersThird basemanPedro AlvarezPittsburgh Pirates
J. J. HardyBaltimore OriolesShortstopIan DesmondWashington Nationals
Mike TroutLos Angeles AngelsOutfielderAndrew McCutchenPittsburgh Pirates
Torii HunterDetroit TigersOutfielderMichael CuddyerColorado Rockies
Adam JonesBaltimore OriolesOutfielderJay BruceCincinnati Reds
Joe MauerMinnesota TwinsCatcherYadier MolinaSt. Louis Cardinals
David OrtizBoston Red SoxDesignated hitter / PitcherZack GreinkeLos Angeles Dodgers

Gold Glove Awards

American League National League
PlayerTeamPositionPlayerTeam
Eric HosmerKansas City RoyalsFirst basemanPaul GoldschmidtArizona Diamondbacks
Dustin PedroiaBoston Red SoxSecond baseman    Brandon PhillipsCincinnati Reds
Manny MachadoBaltimore OriolesThird basemanNolan ArenadoColorado Rockies
J. J. HardyBaltimore OriolesShortstopAndrelton SimmonsAtlanta Braves
Alex GordonKansas City RoyalsLeft fielderCarlos GonzálezColorado Rockies
Adam JonesBaltimore OriolesCenter fielderCarlos GómezMilwaukee Brewers
Shane VictorinoBoston Red SoxRight fielderGerardo ParraArizona Diamondbacks
Salvador PérezKansas City RoyalsCatcherYadier MolinaSt. Louis Cardinals
R. A. DickeyToronto Blue JaysPitcherAdam WainwrightSt. Louis Cardinals

Minor League Baseball

Regular season events

January

February

  • February 7 – At Winter Baseball, Doug Clark hits a solo home run in the top of the 18th inning to lead Mexico's Yaquis de Obregón in beating Dominican Republic's Leones del Escogido, 4–3, to clinch the 2013 Caribbean Series final. The game lasts seven hours and 28 minutes, making it the longest game in Caribbean Series (55-year) history. The previous record of six hours, 13 minutes was set in the 2007 Opening Game, when Tony Batista of the Dominican Republic hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the 18th inning to give his team a 4–3 victory over Venezuela. Mexico's pitcher Luis Mendoza is named the Most Valuable Player of the event.[2]
  • February 18 – For the first time since salary arbitration began in 1974, none of the MLB players who file wind up arguing their cases. After peaking at 35 hearings in 1986, the number of salary arbitration cases argued had not reached double digits since 2001. The total of cases dropped to a record low of three in 2005, 2009 and 2011, and there were none at all in 2013. All 133 players who filed in January settled, gaining an average increase of 119 per cent, according to a study by The Associated Press.[3]

March

  • March 5 – Major League Baseball intends to expand the use of instant replay for the 2014 season and will be studying over the course of this year which calls to review and how to do it. League officials plan to visit Miami during the World Baseball Classic and various spring training sites to examine camera angles and other factors that will help them develop a plan.[4]
  • March 19 – At AT&T Park, the Dominican Republic blanks Puerto Rico, 3–0, to complete the most dominant championship run in the brief history of the World Baseball Classic. The Dominican team, managed by Tony Peña, caps an 8–0 unbeaten run to become the first undefeated champion team in the tournament. New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Canó earns MVP honors, after batting an average of .469 (15-for-32) with two home runs and six RBI, while Tampa Bay Rays closer Fernando Rodney finishes for his seventh[3] save to extend his own Classic record. The losing team would congratulate the winner on the field, a sportsmanlike and uncommon gesture in MLB playoff games.[5]
  • March 31 – In their American League debut, the Houston Astros defeat the Texas Rangers, 8–2, at Minute Maid Park. The victory is the 4,000th in the franchise's history, the first 51 years of which were played in the National League, the first three (1962–1964) as the Houston Colt .45's.[6]

April

May

  • May 2:
    • Major League Baseball announces that Atlanta Braves outfielder Justin Upton and Baltimore Orioles outfielder Chris Davis are named players of the month for April in the National League and American League, respectively.[14] In his first season in Atlanta, Upton batted a .299 average with 12 home runs and 19 RBI while leading the Braves to a 17–9 April record. Davis is in his third season with the Orioles, but has finally tapped into his potential. Through the first month of the season, he hit .348 with nine home runs and 28 RBI while posting an OPS of 1.141.
    • Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox is named the American League Pitcher of the Month. In his five starts, Buchholz registered a perfect 5–0 record with a 1.19 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 13 walks over 37+2⁄3 innings of work, to help the Red Sox match a club record with 18 wins in April, a month mark also achieved in 1998 and 2003. This is Buchholz's second 'pitcher of the month' award. He previously won the honor in August 2010.[15] Meanwhile, his counterpart Matt Harvey of the New York Mets is voted the Pitcher of the Month in the National League. Harvey went 4–0 in six starts, while his 1.56 ERA ranked third and his 46 strikeouts tied for fourth in the league. Harvey also becomes the first pitcher in the modern era to win his first four starts while allowing 10-or-fewer hits in that span.[16]
    • Justin Grimm of the Texas Rangers is named the American League Rookie of the Month for April. Grimm posted a 2–0 record and a 1.59 ERA, striking out 15 batters while walking four in 17.0 innings over three starts. Grimm was tied for first among AL rookie pitchers in wins, finishing fourth overall in innings pitched, and limiting his opponents to a .239 average.[17] In the National League, Atlanta Braves catcher Evan Gattis earns Rookie of the Month honors for the month of April. In 21 games, Gattis led all major league rookies with six home runs, 16 RBI, a .566 slugging percentage and 43 total bases, while hitting .250 (19-for-76). The 26-year-old, who was selected by the Braves in the 23rd round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, ranked third among qualifying NL rookies in hitting, was tied for second with nine runs scored and finished fourth in hits. He also led all rookies with a club-high five game-winning RBI in his first month in the majors.[18]
  • May 7 – Toronto Blue Jays pitcher J. A. Happ is struck in the head by a batted ball hit by Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Desmond Jennings. Happ suffers a head contusion and a left ear laceration. He leaves the field on a stretcher.[19]
  • May 10:
    • Shelby Miller is perfect after allowing a leadoff single by Eric Young, Jr., retiring 27 in a row for his first career complete game, in a St. Louis Cardinals 3–0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.[20]
    • Jon Lester hurls a one-hit, complete game shutout, to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5–0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Almost perfect, Lester retires the first 17 batters he faces before giving up a double to Maicer Izturis in the bottom of the sixth inning. After that, he retires the last Toronto 10 batters in succession. Besides, it is the 9,000th regular season victory in Red Sox history.[21]
    • Alex Cobb of the Tampa Bay Rays strikes out 13 in 4+2⁄3 innings against the San Diego Padres, recording 12 of the 14 outs by strikeouts, four of them in the third inning, when a wild pitch on strike three allows Will Venable to reach base. The other outs are recorded on grounders to shortstop in the first and third base in the fourth. The Rays won, 6–3, but Cobb does not get a decision. Nevertheless, Cobb becomes the first pitcher in major league history to strike out 13 while failing to complete five innings.[22]
  • May 11 – St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright retires the first 13 batters faced in his start against the Colorado Rockies. Combined with the 27 straight outs hurled by Shelby Miller in his perfect game the previous day, the Cardinals tied a Major League Baseball record for most consecutive outs by one team against another at 40, set by the Texas Rangers on May 3–4, 1996. A one-out walk to Todd Helton in the 5th inning ends the perfect streak, though Wainwright keeps the no-hitter going until the 7th and ends up with a 3–0, two-hit shutout.[citation needed]
  • May 12 – Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox is not perfect against the Los Angeles Angels, but he is about as close as possible. Sale gives up just one hit to Mike Trout in the top of the seventh inning in a dominant 3–0 win. He walks no one, strikes out seven, and faces just one more batter than the minimum.[23]
  • May 13 – Justin Masterson pitches a four-hitter for his second shutout this season, leading the Cleveland Indians over the New York Yankees, 1–0. Masterson (6–2) also had a shutout against the Chicago White Sox on April 12,[24] becoming the first Cleveland pitcher to record two complete-game shutouts in the same season since Bud Black and Greg Swindell did it in 1989.[25]
  • May 14 – The Philadelphia Phillies have signed 17-year-old German outfielder Julsan Kamara to a seven-year minor league contract, according to Philipp Wuerfel of Mister Baseball.com.[26] Considered one of Germany's best prospects, Kamara attended the MLB European Academy in Tyrrhenia, Italy. He is a member of the German Junior National Team, and competed in last winter's International Power Showcase at Marlins Park in Miami.[27]
  • May 18 – Gerardo Parra of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits a home run off the first pitch of the game from Tom Koehler, which holds up as the only run in the D-backs' 1–0 win against the Miami Marlins. It is the first MLB game in which a first-pitch homer was the only score since September 2, 1963, when Pete Rose's first-pitch shot gave the Cincinnati Reds a 1–0 win over the New York Mets.[28]
  • May 19:
  • May 21 – Mike Trout hits for the cycle and drives in five runs, scores two times and steals a base, in the Los Angeles Angels' 12–0 rout of the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium. At 21 years, 288 days of age, Trout becomes the sixth-youngest player in MLB history to hit for a cycle, being surpassed only by Mel Ott (20-75 in 1929), Cliff Heathcote (20-140 in 1918), Arky Vaughan (21-107 in 1933), César Cedeño (21-159 in 1972) and Mike Tiernan (21-21 in 1888).[31]
  • May 24 – At Comerica Park, Aníbal Sánchez of the Detroit Tigers has his bid for a second career no-hitter broken up in the ninth as the Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer singles with one out. The hit is the only one Sánchez allows as the Tigers defeat the Twins 6–0. Sánchez, who no-hit the Arizona Diamondbacks while pitching for the Florida Marlins in 2006, was bidding to become the sixth pitcher to throw no-hitters in both leagues, joining Cy Young, Jim Bunning, Nolan Ryan, Hideo Nomo and Randy Johnson. Mauer, who also broke up no-hit bids in the ninth inning in 2008 and 2010, becomes only the second player, after Horace Clarke, to break up three no-hitters in the ninth inning; all three bids Clarke broke up were during a one-month span in 1970.[32]
  • May 30:
    • The New York Mets sweep the New York Yankees for the first time in Subway Series history by completing a 3–1 victory at Yankee Stadium. Dillon Gee strikes out a career-high 12 and limits the Yankees to four hits over 7+1⁄3 innings, while Marlon Byrd blasts a two-run, second-deck home run. The Mets outscore their crosstown rivals in the sweep, 16–7, with the first two games played at Citi Field. Since the start of interleague play in 1997, the only Subway Series sweep had been performed by the Yankees, when they went 6–0 in 2003.[33]
    • Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox steals a team-record five bases in a 9–2 victory against the host Philadelphia Phillies. However, none of the steals leads to any runs. The five stolen bases are the most for a major league player since Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford stole six bases against the Red Sox on May 3, 2009.[34]

June

July

August

  • August 2 – Jarred Cosart of the Houston Astros holds the Minnesota Twins to one run and five hits over seven innings, but he did not factor into the decision in Astros' 4–3 loss in 13 innings. Cosart, who almost pitched a no-hitter in his debut on July 12, becomes the first pitcher since Cincinnati Reds' Wayne Simpson in 1970 to give up one earned run or fewer and throw at least six innings in each of his first four career appearances.[73]
  • August 5:
    • Adrián Beltré of the Texas Rangers and Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals are named Player of the Month in the American League and National League respectively. Beltré earns his third such honor with the Rangers and fourth overall, while batting a .369 average with four doubles, nine home runs, 19 RBIs and 13 runs scored over 26 games, which includes 69 total bases and his seventh career walk-off homer. Werth amassed ten multi-hit games over the course of the month, ending with a second-best .367 average, 56 total bases, 17 runs scored and a .622 slugging percentage (fourth). It is the first career Player of the Month Award for Werth and the first ever for the Nationals. Vladimir Guerrero was that franchise's last player to receive the honor while with the Montreal Expos in 2003.[74]
    • Chris Archer of the Tampa Bay Rays and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers earn Pitcher of the Month honors in their respective leagues. Archer also becomes the sixth player to win the Pitcher and Rookie of the Month awards since the latter was introduced in 2001, after posting a perfect 4–0 record with a 0.73 ERA, two shutouts, seven walks and 22 strikeouts in 37 innings of work. Kershaw went 4–1 in six starts and leads the National League with a 1.34 ERA, allowing only seven earned runs in 47 innings, also a league lead. He notched 43 strikeouts for the month and issued just two walks, tying for first in wins while holding opposing hitters to a .161 batting average. The NL Rookie of the Month award is presented to José Fernández of the Miami Marlins, who posted a 3–1 record and a 2.06 ERA through five starts. The highest point of his stellar month was his July 28 outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates and his fellow prospect Gerrit Cole, by surrendering two runs on five hits in eight innings and striking out 13 batters without any walks. Fernández joins Gary Nolan (15 strikeouts, 1967), Dwight Gooden (two 16-strikeout games, 1984) and Kerry Wood (20 strikeouts, 1998) as the only pitchers younger than 21 to strike out 13 batters or more without a walk in a single game. Fernández also turned in a perfect inning of relief in the All-Star Game on July 16, when he retired current MLB home run leader Chris Davis and former American League Most Valuable Player Award winners Dustin Pedroia and Miguel Cabrera.[74]
    • Major League Baseball suspends Alex Rodriguez through the end of the 2014 season and bans 12 others for 50 games—including All-Stars Nelson Cruz, Everth Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta—for their connection the Biogenesis baseball scandal.[75]
  • August 7 – The MLB Players Association files a formal appeal of the 211-game suspension that Major League Baseball levied against Alex Rodriguez for his relationship with the Biogenesis of America clinic. The suspension was to begin on August 8 and last through the 2014 season, but Rodriguez will be allowed to play until the grievance has been heard by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, which is not expected until at least November.[76]
  • August 8 – Max Scherzer becomes the first Detroit Tigers pitcher ever to go 17–1 in his first 18 decisions while the Tigers complete their first four-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians in 25 years. No major league pitcher has been 17–1 through 18 starts since New York Yankees' Roger Clemens in 2001. Just two other big league pitchers, Pittsburgh Pirates' Roy Face in 1959 and Brooklyn Dodgers' Don Newcombe in 1955, have done it since New York Giants' Rube Marquard's historic 19–0 start in 1912.[77]
  • August 9 – Oakland Athletics outfielder Josh Reddick puts an end to his 0-for-20 slump in a powerful way, hitting three home runs in a 13–6 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.[78]
  • August 10 – Josh Reddick of the Oakland Athletics belts two home runs in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, to become the first big leaguer since 2004 and just the 23rd ever to hit five home runs over two consecutive games with multiple homers in each contest, a feat which has been accomplished only 25 times since the 1916 season.[78]
  • August 13 – Brad Miller hits two home runs as the Seattle Mariners top the Tampa Bay Rays, 5–4, at Tropicana Field. Ben Zobrist matches Miller with a pair of homers for the Rays, as they both homer to lead off the first inning and then go deep again in the fifth.[79] It was just the third time in Major League Baseball history that leadoff hitters for both clubs homer in their first at-bat and then hit another later in the game. Joe Morgan did it for the Houston Astros on July 8, 1965, while Felipe Alou of the Milwaukee Brewers also clubbed a pair of homers from the top spot in the order in the same contest at County Stadium.[80] The other came on June 5, 1994, when Chuck Knoblauch of the Minnesota Twins and Tony Phillips of the Detroit Tigers accomplished the double feat at Tiger Stadium.[81]
  • August 16 – Charlie Manuel, the winningest manager in Philadelphia Phillies history, is dismissed just four days from earning his 1,000th career managerial victory. The Phillies' third-base coach Ryne Sandberg is named interim manager. Manuel ends his nine-year tenure as Phillies manager with a 1,416–780 record, five straight National League East titles from 2007 to 2011 and two National League pennants, while guiding his team to the 2008 World Series title, the second in franchise history. Nevertheless, he becomes the first victim of a disappointing season for the Phillies, in which injuries and widespread underperformance lead the team to a 53–67 record at the time of his dismissal. Previously, Manuel spent three years as manager with the Cleveland Indians, leading them to the AL Central title in 2001, compiling a 220–190 record as Indians manager.[82][83]
  • August 17 – Miguel Tejada is suspended for 105 games after testing positive for an amphetamine which was in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The suspension is the third-longest non-lifetime suspension handed out by Major League Baseball, after the 211-game ban handed to Alex Rodriguez on August 5 of this season and a 119-game ban handed to Steve Howe in 1992.[84]
  • August 18 – Ryne Sandberg earns his first win as a major league manager, when the Philadelphia Phillies benefit from two ninth-inning errors by shortstop Hanley Ramírez to beat the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, 3–2, snapping the Dodgers' 10-game winning streak.[85]
  • August 21 – Ichiro Suzuki collects his 4,000th hit in a career split between the Major Leagues and Japan. In the New York Yankees' 4–2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, Suzuki lines a first-inning single off the Jays' R. A. Dickey, the ball eluding third baseman Brett Lawrie. Suzuki also breaks a tie with Lou Gehrig with this, his 2,722nd Major League hit in his 13th season. Previously, Suzuki amassed 1,278 hits in nine seasons in Japan's Pacific League.[86]
  • August 24 – In the seventh annual Civil Rights Game, the Chicago White Sox defeat the Texas Rangers, 3–2, at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.

September

  • September 3 – The Pittsburgh Pirates, aided by Andrew McCutchen's 100th career home run and Travis Snider's ninth-inning pinch-hit home run, end their North American sports league record of 20 consecutive losing seasons by defeating the Milwaukee Brewers, 4–3, at Miller Park. The victory is the Pirates' 81st of the season and assures them of their first non-losing season since 1992, when they won the National League East title.[87]
  • September 4:
    • Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Martín Prado of the Arizona Diamondbacks are named Player of the Month in the American League and National League respectively. Cabrera, the reigning AL MVP and 2012 Triple Crown winner, earns his fourth career monthly award and second of the current season. He posted a .356 batting average with a .430 on-base percentage for the month and a .733 slugging percentage, which included 11 home runs, five doubles and 31 RBI. Cabrera's month was highlighted by a four-game stretch of multiple-hit games from August 9–12, including a .538 average while hitting a double, three homers, five RBI and four runs in three games against the New York Yankees.[88] Prado, acquired by Arizona prior the season, led the National League with 30 RBI and 43 hits, while his .375 average was the fourth-best mark in the league and his 65 total bases were the second-highest number in the circuit. He also tied for fifth in runs (19), while his slugging percentage (.565) and on-base percentage (.425) both ranked him ninth.[89]
    • Iván Nova of the New York Yankees and Zack Greinke of the Los Angeles Dodgers earn Pitcher of the Month honors in their respective leagues. Nova finished the month with a perfect 4–0 record and a 2.08 ERA, including one complete-game three-hit shutout. He also collected 12 walks and 31 strikeouts in 43+1⁄3 innings over six starts to claim his first career monthly award.[90] Greinke, who previously won an AL Pitcher of the Month Award in April 2009 as a member the Kansas City Royals, went 5–0 with 30 strikeouts and eight walks over 36+2⁄3 innings of work, posting a 1.23 ERA in the process. For the second consecutive month, a Dodgers pitcher takes home NL Pitcher of the Month honors. Clayton Kershaw claimed the Award for July.[91]
    • Martín Pérez of the Texas Rangers is voted American League Rookie of the Month for August. The 22-year left-handed pitcher won all five of his starts in the month, while collecting a 3.06 ERA with 26 strikeouts and 11 walks in 35+1⁄3 innings pitched, to become the only Texas rookie ever to win five consecutive starts and the first pitcher overall to do so since Ryan Dempster won five straight from August 20–September 12 of 2012. Pérez also led AL rookies in wins, ending second in innings and fourth in strikeouts.[92] José Fernández of the Miami Marlins is named Rookie of the Month in the National League, to become the first rookie pitcher to receive the Award in back-to-back months since Josh Johnson in May and June 2006. Fernández went 3–1 in six starts, allowing six earned runs in 39 innings for a 1.15 ERA – the second lowest among qualifying rookie pitchers (Alex Wood, 0.90) and the third lowest in the league overall (Clayton Kershaw, 1.01) in August. Fernández also held opposing hitters to a paltry .158 batting average, the lowest mark among qualifying Major League pitchers. He also struck out 49 batters in 39 innings, allowing 11 walks, while breaking his own franchise rookie record with 14 strikeouts against the Cleveland Indians on August 2. He previously set the franchise mark with 13 strikeouts in his final July start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[93]
  • September 6 – In defeating his former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3–0 at AT&T Park, Yusmeiro Petit of the San Francisco Giants has a bid for a perfect game broken up with two out in the ninth and a two-strike count. After retiring the first 26 batters, Petit, who strikes out seven, gets to a 2–2 count on Eric Chavez and narrowly misses throwing the next pitch for the third strike. One pitch later, Chavez lines a ball to right field that falls in for a hit despite Hunter Pence's attempt to make a diving catch (ironically, Pence, who scores all three Giant runs including an eight-inning home run, had made a diving catch to preserve Tim Lincecum's no-hitter on July 13). The hit is the only baserunner Petit allows; he retires the next batter, A. J. Pollock, for the final out. With teammate Matt Cain having pitched his perfect game a year earlier, the Giants would have joined the New York Yankees as the only teams to record perfect games in back-to-back seasons, David Wells having pitched his in 1998 and David Cone pitching his in 1999. It is also the first time that two perfect game bids were broken up with two out in the ninth in the same season, Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers having his bid broken up on April 2.[94]
  • September 8 – The International Olympic Committee votes to reinstate wrestling as an Olympic Sport for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The vote bypasses a joint bid by baseball and softball.
  • September 9 – In defeating the Texas Rangers 1–0, the Pittsburgh Pirates clinch their first winning season since 1992.
  • September 11 – The defending World Champion San Francisco Giants are eliminated from postseason contention, thus the 2000 New York Yankees remain baseball's last repeat World Champions.
  • September 13 – In the Baltimore Orioles' 5–3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, Chris Davis hits his 50th home run of the season, tying the single-season franchise record set by Brady Anderson in 1996. With 40 doubles, Davis also becomes the third player in Major League history with 50 home runs and 40 doubles in the same season, joining Babe Ruth in 1921 and Albert Belle in 1995.[95]
  • September 14 – Vladimir Guerrero formally announces his retirement after failing to secure a contract this season. A nine-time All Star, the Dominican slugger spent 16 major league seasons as an outfielder and designated hitter from 1996 to 2011, playing for the Montreal Expos, Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles, while winning the 2004 American MVP Award and eight Silver Slugger trophies. Guerrero posted a .318 career average with 449 home runs and 1,496 RBIs in 2147 games, which included 2,590 hits, 1,328 runs scored, 181 stolen bases, and 4,506 total bases.[96]
  • September 15 – Wladimir Balentien of the Yakult Swallows breaks Sadaharu Oh's 49-year Nippon Professional Baseball record for most home runs in a season, hitting his 56th and 57th home runs in a 9–0 victory over the Hanshin Tigers. Oh had held the previous record of 55 in 1964 while playing for the Yomiuri Giants.[97]
  • September 19:
    • The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the host Arizona Diamondbacks, 7–6, to capture the National League West Division title, while becoming the first team to claim a playoff berth in 2013. The Dodgers were in last place in the West through most of May and all of June, trailing by as many as 9+1⁄2 games, after their 30–42 start. Since then, the Dodgers posted a Major League-best 58–23 and extended their margin over second-place Arizona by 10+1⁄2 games. This will be the first appearance for the Dodgers in the postseason since 2009, when they lost the National League Championship Series to the Philadelphia Phillies, four games to one. They have not been to the World Series since winning it all in 1988.[98]
    • Boston Red Sox closer Koji Uehara ends his streak of 37 consecutive batters retired, as well as his 30+1⁄3-inning scoreless streak, when he allows a Danny Valencia leadoff triple and Matt Wieters to hit a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Alexi Casilla, in the Baltimore Orioles' victory over the Red Sox, 3–2, at Fenway Park. In the top of the sixth, Chris Davis launches his 51st home run of the season off Boston starter Ryan Dempster, a towering shot to center field that ties the game at 2. 51 sets an Orioles season record, surpassing Brady Anderson, who clubbed 50 homers in 1996.[99]
  • September 20:
  • September 21 – A. J. Burnett of the Pittsburgh Pirates strikes out a season-high 12 in a 4–2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the first right-handed pitcher in the 126-year history of the franchise to top 200 strikeouts in a season, when he fans Joey Votto in the sixth inning. The previous franchise record for a righty had been set by Mark Baldwin, who had 197 strikeouts in the 1891 season. In the modern era, Kris Benson recorded 184 in 2000, Bob Friend 183 in 1960, and Bert Blyleven 182 in 1978. Burnett also became the first Pittsburgh pitcher to post 200 whiffs since left-handed Óliver Pérez did it in 2004.[102]
  • September 22
  • September 23:
    • The Pittsburgh Pirates clinch their first playoff berth since 1992 when they beat the Chicago Cubs, 2–1, while the Washington Nationals are eliminated by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cincinnati Reds also clinch at least a wild card berth when they defeat the New York Mets 3–2 in 10 innings. The Pirates and Reds, both with a 90–67 record, now trail St. Louis by two games in the National League Central division with five games to go. As a result, the three clubs qualify for the playoffs and will at least be wild card game participants.[108]
    • Alex Ríos of the Texas Rangers hits for the cycle in four at-bats in a 12–0 victory over the Houston Astros at Rangers Ballpark. Rios etches his name in the Texas record books by completing his first career cycle and becomes just the seventh player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. It's also the fourth cycle recorded in club history on four at-bats.[109]
  • September 24 – Against the Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium, rookie Michael Wacha of the St. Louis Cardinals has a no-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth. Ryan Zimmerman chops a ground ball that bounces over Wacha's glove to shortstop Pete Kozma, who bare-hands it but throws wide to first, pulling Matt Adams off the base. Trevor Rosenthal relieves Wacha after the hit and retires Jayson Werth on a ground ball for the final out in a 2–0 Cardinal victory. The last two Cardinal no-hitters have been pitched by rookies: Bud Smith in 2001 and José Jiménez in 1999. The no-hitter would have been the first in St. Louis since the second of Cardinal Bob Forsch's two no-hitters at Busch Memorial Stadium almost a full 30 years earlier, on September 26, 1983. With Yu Darvish and Yusmeiro Petit having perfect game bids broken up on April 2 and September 6 respectively, this is the first season in which three no-hit bids were broken up with two out in the ninth since 1990. It is also the first month since September 1988 in which two no-hitters were broken up with two out in the ninth, Toronto Blue Jay Dave Stieb having the bids broken up in consecutive starts, on the 24th and 30th.[110][111]
  • September 25:
    • The Detroit Tigers clinch their third consecutive American League Central Division with a 1–0 victory over the host Minnesota Twins. Max Scherzer scatters two hits and strikes out 10 batters over seven scoreless innings to improve his major league-best record to 21–3, while Torii Hunter drives in the winning run with a single in the first inning.[112] With this victory, Jim Leyland earns his 700th win as manager of the Tigers, becoming the third manager in Detroit history to reach at least 700 wins, joining Hall of Famers Sparky Anderson and Hugh Jennings.[113]
    • The New York Yankees fail to claim one of the ten playoff berths when they are mathematically eliminated before the final of an 8–3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are trailing 7–3 in the eighth inning when they drop out of playoff contention as the Cleveland Indians complete a 7–2 victory against the Chicago White Sox. Despite having the highest opening-day payroll at $230 million, the Yankees are hindered by age, an assortment of injuries and subpar performances, failing to make the postseason for the first time since 2008 and for only the second time in 19 years.[114]
    • Will Middlebrooks powers the attack with seven RBI and two home runs, including a grand slam, as the Boston Red Sox crush the Colorado Rockies, 15–5, in the final game of Colorado Rockies' first baseman Todd Helton at Coors Field. The seven RBI are a career high for Middlebrooks, while the slam is his second this season and third of his career. Helton, who announced his retirement two weeks before, is the longest-tenured and arguably greatest player in Colorado history. He goes 2 for 3, including one homer, a double and three RBI. At the time of his retirement, he leads the Rockies in several statistical categories after playing for them during 17 seasons.[115]
  • September 27:
    • The government of Cuba announces that it is lifting many of the restrictions placed on the ability of its athletes, including its baseball players, to sign contracts with teams abroad. Cuban baseball players will be allowed to sign with clubs in foreign countries as long as they also fulfill commitments to play domestically. While this represents a significant change in policy, it is unlikely to immediately impact player availability to Major League Baseball.[116]
    • The hapless Houston Astros set a franchise record reaching 109 losses this season. After their 3–2 loss to the New York Yankees, they set another franchise record for futility, losing their 13th consecutive game. The Astros have not won a game since a 9–7 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on September 13. Two of these losses were in extra innings, and one came in a rain-shortened seven-inning game.[117]
  • September 28:
    • The Pittsburgh Pirates belt six home runs to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8–3 at Great American Ball Park, and clinch home-field advantage in the wild-card playoff game. Neil Walker hits two of the Pirates homers, while Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Marlon Byrd and prospect Andrew Lambo each hit one. It is the first time the Pirates have six homers in a game since August 22, 2007, at Coors Field. Pittsburgh will host the Reds in the Pirates' first playoff appearance in 21 years. Pittsburgh posted a 50–31 record at PNC Park, the third-best home record in the National League, and want to make that long-awaited playoff return on their home turf.[118]
    • The St. Louis Cardinals clinch their first National League Central Division title in four seasons with a 7–0 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs. With this victory, the Cardinals are assured of home-field advantage when the NL Division Series starts.[119]
    • Andy Pettitte closes out his 18-season career with a one more vintage performance, pitching his first complete game in more than seven years to lead the New York Yankees to a 2–1 win over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The left-handed Pettitte, 41, allows one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out five, to outduel Astros rookie starter Paul Clemens, who was making only his fifth start and carries a shutout into the sixth inning before a cut on his right hand becomes an issue. A three-time All-Star and a member of five Yankees World Champion teams, Pettitte posted a 256–153 career record and a 3.86 ERA in 3,316 innings of work, ending his career without a losing season.[120]
  • September 29:
  • September 30:
    • Josh Donaldson of the Oakland Athletics and Hunter Pence of the San Francisco Giants are named Player of the Month in the American League and National League respectively. The third baseman earns his first such honor after batting .337 with eight doubles, five home runs and 16 RBI in 25 games to help the Athletics win the AL West Division title. Donaldson had 11 multi-hit efforts, while his 17 extra-base hits ranked him seventh in the AL, ending the season with 56 multi-hit games, the third-most in Oakland history behind Mark Kotsay (57 in 2004) and Miguel Tejada (57 in 2002).[124] In 27 games, Pence batted .293 with a .393 on-base percentage and an MLB-leading .667 slugging percentage, also leading MLB with 32 RBI while tying for the lead with 11 home runs. Pence, who started all 162 games this season, became the first Giants player to do so since Alvin Dark in 1954, when the season was 154 games long. The right fielder finished the season in his NL-leading 171st consecutive game overall, hitting a walk-off single to give San Francisco a 7–6 victory against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park. After that, Pence was rewarded with a five-year, $90 million contract by the Giants.[125]
    • Ubaldo Jiménez of the Cleveland Indians and Kris Medlen of the Atlanta Braves earn Pitcher of the Month honors in their respective leagues. Jiménez, who wins his third distinction, posted a perfect 4–0 mark with a 1.09 ERA in six starts, striking out 51 and walking only seven in 41+1⁄3 innings of work. He finished first among AL hurlers in innings and strikeouts, second in ERA and ranks fourth in the league with 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, while opposing batters hit only .230 against him. On the final day of the regular season, the Dominican pitcher tossed 6+2⁄3 shutout innings with a season-best 13 strikeouts against the Minnesota Twins to ensure the Indians a spot in the AL Wild Card Game.[126] Medlen, who previously claimed the honor in August and September 2012, went 4–0 in five starts to tie for the NL lead in wins and posted a league-best 1.00 ERA over 36 innings. He also tied for first with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Zack Greinke with a 0.92 WHIP and ranked sixth limiting opponents to a .197 batting average, while striking out 33 against eight walks. Medlen finished the season with a 3.11 ERA and set career highs in innings (197), wins (15) and strikeouts (157), while helping the Braves finish off their first NL East title since 2005 and claim home-field advantage in the NL Division Series against the Dodgers.[127]
    • Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays is voted American League Rookie of the Month. In September, Myers hit a slash line (BA/OBP/SLG) of .317/.360/.558, including 13 doubles and four home runs in 27 games to help the Rays advance to the AL Wild Card tiebreaker against the Texas Rangers. The 22-year-old outfielder finished first among AL rookies in hits (33), runs (18), doubles, extra-base hits (17) and total bases (58), while tying for first in homers (13). He also ranked second in RBI (53), average (.293), OBP (.354) and SLG (.478). He put together an eight-game hitting streak from September 11–18, during which he batted .387 with five doubles, two homers and seven RBI, and notched his second career multi-homer game.[128] The National League Rookie of the Month award is presented to Gerrit Cole, whose strong finish helps the Pittsburgh Pirates into their first playoff berth since the 1992 season. The 23-year-old pitcher goes 4–0 in five September starts to tie for the league lead in wins, and also leads qualifying rookie pitchers with a 1.69 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 32 innings, while issuing only 10 walks and finishing second with a .212 opponents' batting average. Cole finishes his rookie season with a 10–7 record, 100 strikeouts, and a 3.22 ERA in 117+1⁄3 innings of work.[129]
    • David Price pitches a seven-hit complete game and Evan Longoria contributes with three hits and two RBI, including one home run and a double, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5–2 win over the Texas Rangers, in the American League tiebreaker game at Rangers Ballpark. With the victory, Tampa Bay secures the second wild card spot and will visit the Cleveland Indians in order to meet the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series.[130]

October

  • October 1 – The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Johnny Cueto and the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park, 6–2, advancing to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. Marlon Byrd, acquired by Pittsburgh in late August from the New York Mets, hits a home run in his first postseason at-bat of his 12-year career to put his team ahead, 1–0, in the second inning. Russell Martin homers twice and Francisco Liriano scatters four hits in seven innings, while Andrew McCutchen has two hits and reaches base four times.[131]
  • October 2 – Alex Cobb pitches 6+2⁄3 scoreless innings in his first career postseason start, and the Tampa Bay Rays move on to the American League Division Series after beating the Cleveland Indians, 4–0, at Progressive Field. Over the course of four days, Tampa Bay had to win three consecutive games on the road at Toronto, Texas and Cleveland in order to avoid playoff elimination. Delmon Young hits his ninth postseason home run and Desmond Jennings adds a two-run RBI double, while three relievers combine for 2+1⁄3 innings to complete the second postseason shutout in Tampa Bay franchise history. The Rays' other shutout was in Game 1 of the 2011 American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers.[132]
  • October 7 – The Los Angeles Dodgers take a 4–3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, and are propelled into the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2009.[133]
  • October 8 – The Boston Red Sox defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 3–1 in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, to advance to the American League Championship Series for the first time in five years.[134]
  • October 9 – The St. Louis Cardinals overcome the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 5 of the National League Division Series, 6–1, and head back to the National League Championship Series for the third straight year.[135]
  • October 10 – The Detroit Tigers take charge of the Oakland Athletics in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, 3–0, advancing to the American League Championship Series for the third consecutive season.[136]
  • October 13 – Down 5–1 late in the game, David Ortiz hits a game-tying grand slam and the game results in a walk-off win for the Boston Red Sox to tie the ALCS 1–1.[137]
  • October 18 – The St. Louis Cardinals score four times in the third and add five more runs in a disastrous fifth inning, en route to a 9–0 annihilation of the Los Angeles Dodgers and their ace Clayton Kershaw in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. The Cardinals, who fell one win shy a year ago, advance to the World Series for the second time in three years and the fourth time in the past decade. Michael Wacha (22), in his 12th big league start, beats Kershaw for the second time this series, allowing just two hits in seven scoreless innings and winning Most Valuable Player honors. Setup man Carlos Martínez (22) pitches a 1-2-3 eighth inning, while closer Trevor Rosenthal (23) retires the side in order in the ninth. All three Cardinals pitchers are rookies.[138]
  • October 19 – The Boston Red Sox take a definitive 5–2 lead over the Detroit Tigers in the bottom of the seventh inning on a Shane Victorino grand slam, to win Game 6 of the American League Championship Series and advance to the World Series for the third time in the last 10 years. Koji Uehara, who inherits the closer job after the team's first two choices were injured, delivers the last three outs and is named Most Valuable Player after posting three saves and a win in the series.[139]
  • October 29 – Cuban defector José Abreu agrees to a six-year, $68 million contract to play for the Chicago White Sox. It is the largest deal ever handed out by an international free agent in Major League history, besting the six-year, $60 million contract the Texas Rangers gave Yu Darvish on January 20, 2012.[140]
  • World Series
  • October 30 – The Boston Red Sox defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 6–1 at Fenway Park and win their eighth World Series title and third in the last 10 seasons, to become the first team to win three world championship titles in the 21st century. Red Sox icon David Ortiz earns MVP honors. Ortiz becomes the first player since Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer in the 1983 World Series to win three World Series rings with the same team and to have never played for the Yankees in his career. The last time Boston clinched the World Series at Fenway Park was in 1918, a 2–1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 6. The Red Sox also joined the 1991 Minnesota Twins as the only teams to win a World Series following a last-place finish in the previous season.[141]

November

  • November 3 – The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles clinch their first Japan Series championship title in their nine-year history, blanking the defending champion Yomiuri Giants, 3–0, in a decisive Game 7. The Giants are the oldest and most successful team in Japanese baseball with 22 championships, and the Eagles win the title in their first trip to the championship series, providing a dramatic lift to an area still recovering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.[142]
  • November 13 – Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers are named Cy Young Award winners of the American and National League respectively. Scherzer, Major League Baseball's only 20-game winner at 21–3, receives 28 of 30 first-place votes. Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers finishes second, the highest finish by a Japanese-born pitcher; the previous high had been fourth, by Hideo Nomo (National League) in 1995 and 1996 and Daisuke Matsuzaka (American League) in 2008. Kershaw, who also won the National League Cy Young Award in 2011 and finished second to R. A. Dickey in 2012, receives 29 of 30 first place votes, with Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals receiving the final first-place vote.[143]
  • November 14 – Major League Baseball takes the first vote in a two-step process, unanimously approving funding for expanded instant replay in the 2014 MLB season. They plan to approve the new rules when they meet on January 16 in Paradise Valley, Arizona, after agreements with the unions for umpires and players. The instant replay was first used by the NFL in 1986, the NHL in 1991, the NBA in 2002 and Wimbledon in 2006. Even the Little League World Series put replay in place for 2008. MLB allowed it starting August 2008 but in a limited manner, only to determine whether potential home runs were fair or cleared fences.[144]

December

  • December 4 – Joe Garagiola is named as the 2014 recipient of the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, presented every three years by the Hall of Fame "for extraordinary efforts to enhance baseball's positive impact on society". He will receive the award on July 26, 2014, at the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation, the day before induction ceremonies. Garagiola, a former player and broadcaster who received the Hall's Ford C. Frick Award in 1991, was specifically cited for his role as a founder of two organizations—the Baseball Assistance Team, a charity which aids needy members of the professional baseball community, and the National Spit Tobacco Education Program, which advocates against the use of smokeless tobacco.[145]
  • December 9 – Managers Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox are elected to the Hall of Fame, and will be inducted on July 27, 2014. The three managers, who won a combined 7,558 wins and eight World Series, are all unanimously selected by the 16 voters on the Expansion Era Committee. Torre won 2,326 games and four World Series (1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000) with the New York Yankees; La Russa won 2,728 games and three World Series, in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics and in 2006 and 2011 with the St. Louis Cardinals; Cox won 2,504 games and led the Atlanta Braves to 14 consecutive division titles and the 1995 World Series title.[146]
  • December 10 – Roger Angell, senior editor for The New Yorker, is announced as the 2014 recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, awarded by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing." He will also receive his award at the Awards Presentation. Angell, who has written on the sport for more than 50 years, has published multiple best-selling books that included many of his New Yorker pieces. He is also the first recipient of the Spink Award to have never been a BBWAA member.[147]
  • December 11 – Eric Nadel, radio announcer for the Texas Rangers since 1979. is named as the 2014 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented by the Hall of Fame for broadcasting excellence. He will also receive his award at the Awards Presentation.[148]
  • December 15 – Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine determine that Ryan Freel, at the time of his death, had stage two chronic traumatic encephalopathy; a progressive degenerative disease better known as CTE. Freel was found dead at his Jacksonville, Florida home as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on December 22, 2012. He is reported as the first Major League Baseball player diagnosed with CTE.
  • December 16 – Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball announce major changes to the posting system under which NPB teams can offer players currently under contract and not yet eligible for free agency to MLB teams. The most significant changes are:[149]
    • Instead of posting fees set by a blind bidding process among MLB teams, fees will be set by NPB teams, with a cap of US$20 million.
    • Once posted, a player can negotiate with any MLB team willing to pay the fee during a 30-day window. Previously, a player could only negotiate with the team that submitted the highest posting fee. As in the previous scheme, the fee is paid only if an MLB team ultimately signs the player.
  • December 22 – Alex Cabrera of the Tiburones de La Guaira blasted a historic home run in the Venezuelan League, breaking the league's 33-year-old record for the most home runs in a season set by Leones del Caracas' catcher Bo Díaz. Cabrera hit his 21st homer of the season in his 57th game, a grand slam off pitcher Daryl Thompson, in a 4–3 victory over the Caribes de Anzoátegui. With four games left on La Guaira's regular-season schedule, Cabrera is on pace to become the first Triple Crown winner in the 67-year history of the league. At this point, he is leading the circuit in homers with a .396 batting average and 58 RBI.[150]

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