2007 in baseball

See also: 2007 Major League Baseball season

Calendar

August

• 31 - Any player unconditionally released between this date and Opening Day of next season may not be re-signed to a Major League contract by the releasing team until May 15 of the following season.
• 31 - Postseason eligibility lists established at midnight ET

September

• 1 - Active player limit expands from 25 to 40 players
• 7-16 - European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, to be held in Barcelona, Spain
• 30 - End of MLB regular season.
• 30 - End of Chinese Baseball League regular season.

October

• 1 - All players on optional assignment must be recalled
• 1 - Beginning today, players may be traded between major league clubs without any waivers in effect. Playoff teams may not make trades, however, until they finish play
• 2 - MLB postseason begins
• 12 - Chinese Baseball League playoff series begins
• 20 - Taiwan Series begins
• 24 - The 103rd edition of the World Series begins

November

• Baseball World Cup, to be held in Taichung and Taipei, Taiwan
• 1 - Scheduled date of potential Game 7 of the World Series
• 8-11 - Konami Cup Asia Series 2007 in Tokyo, Japan
• 20 - Day to file reserve lists for all minor league levels and major leagues
• Nov. 26-Dec. 1 - Asian Baseball Championships, which will double as the region's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, to be held in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

December

• 1 - Last day for teams to offer salary arbitration to ranked free agents in order to be eligible for compensation
• 3-6 - Winter meetings, Nashville, Tennessee
• 6 - Major League Rule 5 Draft
• 7 - Player deadline to accept salary arbitration
• 12 - Last date to tender contracts

Champions

• Amateur
  • College baseball
    • College World Series: Oregon State University def. University of North Carolina 2 games to 0
    • NCAA Division II: University of Tampa
    • NCAA Division III: Kean University
    • NAIA: Lewis-Clark State College
• International
  • Pan-Am Games: Cuba
  • Caribbean Series: Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic)
  • European Cup - Kinheim (Netherlands)
  • Claxton Shield (Australian Baseball Federation): Victoria Aces def. New South Wales Patriots
  • Cuban National Series: Santiago de Cuba def. Industriales, 4-2
  • Dominican Winter League: Águilas Cibaeñas
  • Mexican Pacific League: Naranjeros de Hermosillo
  • Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League: Gigantes de Carolina
  • Venezuelan Professional Baseball League: Tigres de Aragua

Awards and honors

• Baseball Hall of Fame honors
  • Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn are elected by the BBWAA in their first year of eligibility.
  • Rick Hummel, columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who covered the St. Louis Cardinals for three decades, will receive the J. G. Taylor Spink Award.
  • Denny Matthews, broadcaster for the Kansas City Royals since the team's 1969 formation, will receive the Ford C. Frick Award.

Events

January-March

• January 9 - As the result of questions regarding his involvement in the ongoing steroids investigations, Mark McGwire falls well short in his first effort to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, meanwhile, are elected easily.
• January 11 - The New York Daily News reports that Barry Bonds had tested positive for amphetamines at some point during the 2006 season and that Bonds had initially cited a supplement he had received from San Francisco Giants teammate Mark Sweeney as a possible reason for the positive test. Testing rules established in 2006 had required that first positive tests must remain confidential.
• February 4 - The Israel Baseball League announces the official teams of the inaugural season: Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, Modi'in Miracle, Netanya Tigers, Petach Tikva Pioneers, Ra'anana Express, Tel Aviv Lightning. Dropped from the league were the Haifa Stingrays and Jerusalem Lions.
• March 31 - The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Cleveland Indians 5-1 in the inaugural Civil Rights Game, held at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee.

April-June

• April 2
  • Bruce Froemming works behind home plate for the opener between the Athletics and Mariners, tying Bill Klem's major league record of 37 seasons as an umpire.
  • The Tribune Company, after agreeing to a buyout of $8.2 billion by real estate magnate Sam Zell, announces that the Chicago Cubs will be subsequently sold following the 2007 season.
• April 10-12 - The Cleveland Indians, displaced by a freak spring snowstorm, play a series against the Los Angeles Angels in Milwaukee.
• April 15 - To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first major league game, dozens of players wear his league-wide retired number, 42. The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of six teams whose entire roster wears number 42 for their games.
• April 18 - Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitches a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers, becoming the team's first pitcher since Wilson Alvarez in 1991, and the 16th in franchise history, to throw a no-hitter [1].
• April 22 - Chase Wright of the New York Yankees gives up four consecutive home runs in the third inning against the Boston Red Sox, joining Paul Foytack to become only the second player to accomplish this dubious feat. Manny Ramírez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek hit the home runs. J.D. Drew was involved in both of these feats.
• April 23 - Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees hits two home runs, his 13th and 14th of the season, in a 10-8 loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, surpassing the American League record and tying the Major League record for most home runs hit in the month of April.
• April 29
  • Manny Ramírez becomes the fifth player to hit at least 50 career home runs against the New York Yankees, in a 7-4 Red Sox victory.
  • Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies performs the 13th unassisted triple play in MLB history, catching a Chipper Jones line drive, tagging second base to force Kelly Johnson out off the bag, then tagging out Edgar Renteria in the 7th inning of an 11-inning 9-7 Rockies victory over the Atlanta Braves.
  • The Sunday night game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs is postponed due to the death of Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock early that morning.
• May 6 - Roger Clemens announces to the crowd at Yankee Stadium that he has signed a contract to play for the New York Yankees for the remainder of the season.
• May 13
  • Fred Lewis of the San Francisco Giants hits for the cycle at Coors Field in a 15-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies. He led the game off with a double in the 1st, then hit a three-run home run—the first of his career—in the 4th, an RBI triple in the 5th, and capped the cycle off with a single in the 7th.
  • Miguel Tejada plays in his 1,118th consecutive game, passing Billy Williams for 5th place all time. However, the Boston Red Sox come back from a 5-0 deficit in the ninth inning en route to a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
• May 21 - In the Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York, the Baltimore Orioles defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-7 with five home runs, including two by minor league catcher Brian Bock.
• May 30 - Paul Lo Duca gets his 1,000th career hit against off of Barry Zito during the 7th inning of the Met's game versus the Giants.
• June 4 - Mark Ellis hits for the cycle at McAfee Coliseum as his Oakland Athletics defeat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4 in 11 innings. He hit a triple in the 2nd inning, a solo home run in the 4th and a double in the 6th. Although a fielder's choice in the 8th with the A's holding the lead seemingly ended his run for the cycle, a rally by the Red Sox in the 9th pushed extra innings, allowing Ellis to get the single he needed in the 10th inning.
• June 6 - In the San Diego Padres' 5-2 win over the Dodgers, closer Trevor Hoffman becomes the first pitcher to record 500 career saves.
• June 7 - Curt Schilling carries a no-hitter into the bottom of the 9th with two outs before surrendering a single to Shannon Stewart as the Red Sox defeat the A's 1-0. Schilling becomes the first pitcher to give up a no-hitter with two out in the 9th since Mike Mussina blew a perfect game in 2001.
• June 12 - Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers pitches a 4-0 no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers. It is the third no-hitter in regular interleague play, the first at Comerica Park, and the first for the Tigers since 1984.
• June 16 - The Cubs and Padres each collect only two hits as Russell Branyan's home run in the ninth inning gives San Diego a 1-0 win. The Cubs' Carlos Zambrano takes a no-hitter into the eighth, while Padres starter Chris Young allows no hits before being ejected in the fourth following a brawl.
• June 18 - In the longest game in College World Series history (5 hours 40 minutes), UC Irvine eliminates Cal State Fullerton with a 5-4 win in 13 innings.
• June 20 - Sammy Sosa becomes the fifth major leaguer to hit 600 home runs when he connects against Jason Marquis in the Rangers' 7-3 win over the Cubs. It is his first home run against his former club, giving him at least one against every major league team.
• June 24 - Modi'in Miracle win the first ever regular-season game in the Israel Baseball League, beating the Petach Tikva Pioneers, 9-1, at Yarkon Sports Complex in Petach Tikva.
• June 28
  • Frank Thomas becomes the 21st player in major league history to record 500 home runs with a first-inning homer against the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome.
  • Craig Biggio becomes the 27th player in major league history to record 3000 hits with a seventh-inning single – his third hit of the game – against the Colorado Rockies at Minute Maid Park. He is the 14th player to record 3000 hits with his initial team.
• June 29
  • Aubrey Huff of the Baltimore Orioles hits for the cycle at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in a 9-7 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Huff becomes the third Orioles player to do so, joining Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken, Jr., and the first Oriole to hit for the cycle at home in Baltimore. In addition, the triple is his 1000th hit and the double is his 200th double.
  • Barry Bonds hits his 750th home run off of Livan Hernandez in the 8th inning at AT&T Park as his San Francisco Giants lose 6-4 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Before his historic at-bat, he is hugged in right field by a drunken fan in the top of the 8th, and he assists the fan off the field without incident.

July-September

• July 2 - Roger Clemens becomes the eighth major league pitcher to win 350 games, in the Yankees' 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.
• July 9 - Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels wins the 2007 Home Run Derby in San Francisco. Despite the highly publicized presence of McCovey Cove beyond the right field fence, not a single home run touches the water.
• July 10 - The American League beats the National League 5-4 in the 2007 All-Star Game in San Francisco; Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners is named MVP after hitting the first-ever inside-the-park home run in All-Star history.
• July 15 - The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-2, making the Phillies the first team in professional sports history to lose 10,000 games.
• July 20 - Cuba defeats the United States 3-1 to win its 10th consecutive gold medal at the Pan-Am Games.
• July 22 - Mike Coolbaugh of the Texas League Tulsa Drillers is killed when he is struck in the head by a line drive foul ball while coaching first base.
• August 4
  • Alex Rodriguez becomes the 22nd player to hit 500 career home runs in the Yankees' 16-8 victory over the Royals, and at age 32 becomes the youngest player to reach the milestone.
  • Barry Bonds ties Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs with a second-inning shot off San Diego's Clay Hensley.
• August 5 - Tom Glavine becomes the 23rd pitcher, and just the fifth lefthander, to earn 300 career wins as the New York Mets defeat the Chicago Cubs 8-3 at Wrigley Field.
• August 7 - Barry Bonds surpasses Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs with a fifth-inning shot off Washington's Mike Bacsik.
• August 8- Miguel Tejada records his 1,000th run batted in.
• August 9
  • Roger Clemens is suspended for the fourth time in his career for hitting Toronto's Alex Rios with a pitch after both teams were warned.
  • Rick Ankiel, formerly a pitcher with infamous control problems, returns to the major leagues as an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, hitting a 3-run home run in his fourth at-bat.
• August 14- Bobby Cox, manager of the Atlanta Braves is ejected by umpire Ted Barrett at the end of the fifth-inning after arguing a called third strike against Chipper Jones at Turner Field. The ejection is Cox' 132nd of his career, breaking a record he had shared with John McGraw.
• August 17- Brandon Webb tosses his third straight shutout to achieve 42 innings of scoreless baseball. The record is 59, by Orel Hershiser.
• August 19 - Johan Santana picks up his 13th win of the year behind a career-best 17 strikeouts in eight innings, helping the Twins wrap up their three-game series at home with the Rangers. Sammy Sosa notches the only two Rangers hits.
• August 22 - In the first game of a doubleheader, the Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 30-3, setting a new record for runs scored by a single team in a game in the modern (post-1900) era, and the American League all-time record. The Rangers' 30 runs were the most in a game since the Chicago Colts beat the Louisville Colonels 36-7 on June 29, 1897. With a 9-7 victory in the second game, the Rangers also set the record for most runs scored by a single team in a doubleheader, with 39.
• August 31 - Scott Baker of the Twins takes a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Royals, but walks the first batter and eventually settles for a 5-0 one-hitter.
• September 1 - Rookie pitcher Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox no-hits the Baltimore Orioles.

Media

The Bronx Is Burning

Deaths

January-March

• January 1 - Ernie Koy, 97, left fielder for four NL teams from 1938-1942 who homered in his first at bat, with the Dodgers
• January 4 - Bob Milliken, 80, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953 and 1954
• January 16 - Betty Trezza, 81, shortstop for the Racine Belles of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
• January 19 - Bill Lefebvre, 91, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators between 1938 and 1944
• January 20 - Vern Ruhle, 55, pitcher for the Tigers and Astros who had notable starts for Houston in the 1980, 1981 playoffs; later a pitching coach for four NL teams
• January 23 - Dick Joyce, 63, pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965
• January 25 - Jack Lang, 85, sportswriter for New York area newspapers from 1946 to 1989, and longtime BBWAA official who was responsible for notifying Hall of Famers of their election from 1966 to 1988
• January 27 - Bing Devine, 90, general manager who built the Cardinals' pennant winners of 1964, '67 and '68; later president of the Mets
• January 29 - Art Fowler, 84, pitcher from 1954 to 1964, mainly with the Redlegs and Angels, who became pitching coach for five teams under manager Billy Martin
• January 30 - Max Lanier, 91, All-Star pitcher who won 101 games for the Cardinals, led NL in ERA in 1943 and won final game of the 1944 World Series; father of infielder-manager Hal
• February 1 - Ray Berres, 99, catcher for four NL teams from 1934 to 1945, later a White Sox pitching coach for nearly two decades
• February 4 - Steve Barber, 68, All-Star pitcher for the Orioles who in 1963 became the first 20-game winner in modern Baltimore history
• February 4 - Jim Pisoni, 77, outfielder, the last player to debut in a St Louis Browns uniform, who also played for the Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves and New York Yankees
• February 6 - Lew Burdette, 80, All-Star pitcher for the Braves who was MVP of the 1957 World Series, led NL with 21 wins in 1959
• February 9 - Hank Bauer, 84, All-Star right fielder for the Yankees on seven World Series champions; managed Orioles to 1966 World Series title
• February 15 - Buddy Hancken, 92, catcher for the 1940 Philadelphia Athletics; later a minor league manager, scout, coach and executive
• February 20 - Bob Malloy, 88, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Browns between 1943 and 1949
• February 20 - Casey Wise, 74, infielder for the Chicago Cubs (1957), Milwaukee Braves (1958-1959) and Detroit Tigers (1960)
• February 21 - Sherman Jones, 72, pitcher for three NL teams from 1960-1962; later a Kansas legislator for twelve years
• March 2 - Clem Labine, 80, All-Star relief pitcher for the Dodgers who helped the team win its first World Series in 1955, held NL record for career saves from 1958 to 1962
• March 3 - Gene Oliver, 71, catcher and first baseman for five teams in the 1960s who hit 21 home runs for the 1965 Milwaukee Braves
• March 7 - Emil Mailho, 97, outfielder for the 1936 Philadelphia Athletics
• March 8 - John Vukovich, 59, third baseman for three teams, mainly the Phillies, from 1970 to 1981; later a Phillies coach for 17 seasons
• March 10 - Art Lopatka, 87, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1940s
• March 12 - Norm Larker, 76, All-Star first baseman, and a member of the original Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Colt .45s teams
• March 15 - Bowie Kuhn, 80, commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1984 who oversaw strong increases in attendance, the arrival of free agency and the sport's first labor strikes
• March 15 - Marty Martínez, 65, utility infielder for six teams from 1962 to 1972; became a coach and scout for the Mariners
• March 22 - Don Dennis, 65, relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965-1966 who was named St. Louis rookie of the year in 1965
• March 22 - Willard Schmidt, 78, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952-1957) and Cincinnati Reds (1958-1959)
• March 23 - Ed Bailey, 75, 5-time All-Star catcher for the Reds and Giants who batted .300 with 28 home runs for the 1956 Reds

April-June

• April 1 - Herb Carneal, 83, broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins since their second season in 1962; previously called games for the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies and the Baltimore Orioles
• April 1 - Lou Limmer, 82, first baseman who hit the last home run for the Philadelphia Athletics and had the last hit in their final game in Philadelphia
• April 6 - Ed Bahr, 87, Canadian pitcher for the 1946 and 1947 Pirates
• April 10 - Dick Kryhoski, 82, first baseman for four AL teams from 1949 to 1955 including the final season of the St. Louis Browns
• April 23 - David Halberstam, 73, Pulitzer-winning author and historian who wrote three non-fiction books on baseball: Summer of '49, October, 1964 and The Teammates
• April 27 - Ralph McLeod, 90, outfielder for the 1938 Boston Bees
• April 28 - Archie Wilson, 83, 1951 International League MVP, who later played for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox
• April 29 - Milt Bocek, 94, outfielder for the 1933 and 1934 White Sox who hit .364 in his first month in the majors
• April 29 - Josh Hancock, 29, relief pitcher for the Red Sox, Phillies, Reds and Cardinals since 2002
• May 13 - Gomer Hodge, 63, infielder for the 1971 Indians who later coached in the minors and managed in the Mexican Pacific League
• May 17 - Bill Wight, 85, pitcher for eight teams between 1946 and 1958 who won 15 games for the 1949 White Sox
• June 4 - Clete Boyer, 70, third baseman for five consecutive Yankees pennant winners from 1960-1964 who won 1969 Gold Glove with the Braves
• June 24 - Rod Beck, 38, All-Star relief pitcher who was the NL runnerup in saves four times, including 48 for the 1993 Giants and 51 for the 1998 Cubs

July-September

• July 11 - Shag Crawford, 90, umpire for 3082 National League games between 1956 and 1975 who also worked in three World Series, two NL Championship Series, and three All-Star Games
• July 16 - Carl McNabb, 90, played briefly for the Detroit Tigers in 1945
• July 18 - Orlando McFarlane, 69, catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers and California Angels between 1962 and 1968
• July 19 - Jim Mangan, 77, catcher for the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates
• July 22 - Rolland Stiles, 100, pitcher for the 1930-31, 1933 St. Louis Browns; pitched to Babe Ruth, and was the oldest living former MLB player
• July 22 - Mike Coolbaugh, 35, third baseman with the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals in 2001-2002, later a minor league coach
• July 29 - Bill Robinson, 64, outfielder for four teams from 1966 to 1983 who batted .304 with 104 RBI for the 1977 Pirates; was left fielder on 1979 World Series champions, later a hitting coach with several teams
• August 1 - Pete Naktenis, 93, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Cincinnati Reds between 1936 and 1939
• August 4 - Frank Mancuso, 89, catcher for the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators in the 1940s, who later served for 30 years (1963-93) on the Houston City Council
• August 7 - Hank Morgenweck, 78, American League umpire from 1972 to 1975 who also worked the plate in Game 1 of the 1970 NLCS as a strike replacement
• August 14 - Phil Rizzuto, 89, Hall of Fame shortstop for the Yankees from 1941 to 1956 who played on ten pennant winners and seven World Series champions; named MVP in 1950, and later announced Yankees games for four decades
• August 20 - Wild Bill Hagy, 68, fan noted for leading cheers at Baltimore Orioles games in the 1970s and 1980s
• August 26 - Chuck Comiskey, 81, vice president of the White Sox in the 1950s, and the last member of the Comiskey family to be involved in the club's operation

See also

• 2007 Major League Baseball season
• 2007 Chinese Professional Baseball League season