2000 Major League Baseball season

The 2000 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series,^[1] known as the Subway Series because fans could take the Subway to and from every game of the Series.^[2] An all-time record 5,693 home runs were hit during the regular season in 2000.^[1] Ten teams hit at least 200 home runs each.^[3]

Major league baseball final standings

The season's eventual National League Central Division champions St. Louis Cardinals playing host to the Chicago Cubs during a September 2000 game at Busch Memorial Stadium.

• The asterisk (*) denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league.
• † Oakland won the American League West Division by a half game over Seattle, playing one less game than the Mariners. The Athletics were not required to play their 162nd game. Even if Oakland had lost this game, their win against Seattle in the season series would have given them the division title.^[5]

Playoffs

• World Series Champion - New York Yankees^[1]
• Postseason - October 3 to October 26^[6]

Click on any series score to link to that series' page.
Higher seed has home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series.
The American League Champion has home field advantage in the World Series as a result of the pre-2003 "alternating years" rule.

• Postseason MVPs
  • World Series MVP - Derek Jeter^[7]
  • ALCS MVP - David Justice^[8]
  • NLCS MVP - Mike Hampton^[9]
• All-Star Game, July 11 at Turner Field - American League, 6-3;^[10] Derek Jeter, MVP^[4]
  • Home Run Derby, July 10 - Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs^[11]

MLB statistical leaders

Managers

American League

National League

Awards and honors

• Most Valuable Player
  • Jason Giambi, Oakland Athletics, 1B (AL)^[47]
  • Jeff Kent, San Francisco Giants, 2B (NL)^[48]
• Cy Young Award
  • Pedro Martínez, Boston Red Sox (AL)^[47]
  • Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (NL)^[48]
• Rookie of the Year
  • Kazuhiro Sasaki, Seattle Mariners, P (AL)^[47]
  • Rafael Furcal, Atlanta Braves, SS (NL)^[48]
• Manager of the Year Award
  • Jerry Manuel, Chicago White Sox (AL)^[47]
  • Dusty Baker, San Francisco Giants (NL)^[48]

Events

January–March

• January 6 - Major league officials order Atlanta Braves reliever John Rocker is to undergo psychological testing following derogatory remarks he made in an interview with Sports Illustrated magazine.^[49] Commissioner Bud Selig says he will listen to what the doctors say before deciding what punishment—if any—will be handed down to the pitcher.^[50]

• January 11 - The baseball writers elect catcher Carlton Fisk and first baseman Tony Pérez to the Hall of Fame. Fisk is chosen in his 2nd year on the ballot, while Pérez is picked on his 9th try.^[51]

• January 31 - Braves reliever John Rocker is suspended from baseball until May 1 by Commissioner Bud Selig for his racial and ethnic remarks in an article published in Sports Illustrated last month. He's also fined $20,000 and ordered to undergo sensitivity training.^[52]

• February 10 - The Seattle Mariners accommodate center fielder Ken Griffey, Jr., trading him to his hometown Cincinnati Reds in exchange for four players.^[53] Cincinnati resisted giving up infielder Pokey Reese.^[54]

• February 29 - Manager Sparky Anderson, 19th-century star Bid McPhee, and Negro League player Norman "Turkey" Stearnes are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.^[55]

• March 1 - Independent arbitrator Shyam Das cuts Braves pitcher John Rocker's suspension from 28 days to 14 days. Rocker, who is allowed to report to spring training with the team, also has his fine cut.^[56]

• March 29 - The Chicago Cubs open the major league season in the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, by defeating the New York Mets 5-3, in the first big league game ever played outside of North America.^[57] Jon Lieber gets the victory and Mike Hampton takes the loss. Shane Andrews hits the first home run of the new millennium. Mark Grace and Mike Piazza also homer.^[58]

April–May

• April 3 - Andrés Galarraga hits a home run in his first game back after missing the entire 1999 season following cancer surgery. Atlanta defeat the Colorado Rockies 2-0.^[59]

• April 3 - The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Montréal Expos 10-4, behind Eric Karros' grand slam. Right fielder Vladimir Guerrero hits a pair of home runs for Montreal^[60] as a new major league record for Opening Day is set with five players having multiple home run games.^{[citation needed]}

• April 4 - Expos closer Ugueth Urbina strikes out the Dodgers in the top of the ninth inning on nine pitches, tying a major league record.^[61]

• April 7 - A total of 57 home runs are hit in the 15 games played, for a new major league record. The previous mark of 55 was set in 17 games on August 13, 1999. There were 36 homers hit in the AL, eclipsing the previous mark for a single league.^[62]

• April 7 - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays open their home schedule playing home games at Tropicana Field on the new FieldTurf artificial surface, the first professional baseball venue to use that material.^[63] They lose to the Cleveland Indians, 14-5.^[64]

• April 9 - The Minnesota Twins defeat the Kansas City Royals 13–7.^[65] In the process, they become the first teams in major league history to each hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the same game.^[66] Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones, and Matt LeCroy hit consecutive homers for Minnesota in the 6th inning, followed by three in a row by Carlos Beltrán, Jermaine Dye, and Mike Sweeney of Kansas City an inning later.^[65]

• April 10 - Colorado beats Cincinnati 7–5, despite Ken Griffey, Jr.'s 400th career home run. At age of 30, Griffey is the youngest player in major league history to reach that milestone.^[67]

• April 11 - The Los Angeles Dodgers edge the San Francisco Giants 6–5^[68] in the first game played at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco.^[68] Shortstop Kevin Elster leads the Dodger attack with three home runs.^[68]

• April 11 - The Detroit Tigers sink the Seattle Mariners 5–2 in the first game played at Comerica Park in Detroit.^[69]

• April 15 - The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Twins 6–4, as Cal Ripken, Jr. gets the 3,000th hit of his career. Ripken goes 3-for-5 in becoming the 24th player to reach the milestone, and the 7th to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.^[70]

• April 16 - Cleveland Indians starter Chuck Finley, who was already the only pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning twice, does it for the third time,^[71] striking out Tom Evans, Royce Clayton, Chad Curtis (who takes first on a passed ball) and Rafael Palmeiro in the third inning. Finley beats the Texas Rangers 2–1 with the help of back-to-back ninth-inning home runs from Manny Ramírez and Jim Thome.^[72]

• April 21 - The Anaheim Angels down the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9–6. Mo Vaughn and Tim Salmon hit back-to-back home runs for Anaheim in the fourth inning, then do so again in the ninth. Troy Glaus also homers in both the fourth and the ninth. This the first time in major league history that three players homer in the same inning on two occasions in the same game. The Angels' three players with two home runs each in one game ties a major league record.^[73]

• April 23 - In the New York Yankees' 10–7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays,^[74] Yankees Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada each hit home runs from both sides of the plate, marking the first time in major league history that a pair of teammates accomplish the feat in the same game.^[75]

• April 29 - The San Francisco Giants defeat the Montreal Expos 2–1 for their first victory at Pacific Bell Park.^[76] They are the first team to lose six straight games to begin play in a newly constructed home venue.^[77]

• April 30 - The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 4–3, as Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds hit home runs.^[78] St. Louis finishes the month with 55 homers, a new record for April.^{[citation needed]} It also ties the National League mark for homers in any month.^{[citation needed]} Major league batters also set a record for most home runs in a month by hitting 931 in April;^[79] the total is 140 more than the number hit in 1999.^{[citation needed]}

• May 10 - Rickey Henderson becomes the 21st major league player to amass 10,000 career at-bats. Henderson finishes the night with 10,002 at-bats and trails only Cal Ripken, Jr. among active players.^[80]

• May 11 - At Wrigley Field, the Milwaukee Brewers defeat the Chicago Cubs 14–8 in the longest 9-inning game in National League history—4 hours and 22 minutes.^[81] For the Brewers, Mark Loretta goes 5-for-5^[82] to offset Glenallen Hill's second-inning home run, which lands on the roof of a building on Waveland Avenue, beyond the left field seats.^[83]

• May 18 - Mark McGwire hits three home runs and has seven RBI in a 7–2 victory for the St. Louis Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies. With the home runs, McGwire moves past former New York Yankee Mickey Mantle into 8th all-time on the career home run list with 539.^[84]

• May 19 - The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Cardinals 13–1, as catcher Jason Kendall hits for the cycle, becoming the first Pirate ever to do so at Three Rivers Stadium.^[85]

• May 23 - The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Seattle Mariners 4–2. Rickey Henderson of the Mariners draws his 2,000th career walk in the 9th inning of the game, becoming the third player to achieve that mark, along with Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.^[86]

• May 29 - Second baseman Randy Velarde of the Oakland Athletics turns an unassisted triple play, just the 11th in major league history, on a line drive by the New York Yankees' Shane Spencer. With runners on first and second running with the pitch, Velarde catches Spencer's line drive, tags Jorge Posada as he nears second base, then tags Tino Martinez out before he can return to second base.^[87] In 1995, while with the Yankees, Velarde turned an unassisted triple play against the Los Angeles Dodgers in spring training following the strike.^[88]

June–July

• June 1 - Japanese right-hander Tomokazu Ohka, a pitcher with the Pawtucket Red Sox, becomes the first pitcher in nearly 50 years to throw a nine-inning perfect game in the International League. Ohka retired all 27 batters he faced in a 2-0 triumph over the Charlotte Knights.^[89] The 24-year-old Ohka needs just 76 pitches^[90] to toss the first nine-inning perfect game in the IL since Dick Marlowe did it for Buffalo in 1952.^[91]

• June 2 - With the Detroit Tigers visiting Wrigley Field for the first time since the 1945 World Series,^{[92][93][94][95][96][97]} Chicago Cubs reliever Rick Aguilera pitches a perfect ninth inning for his 300th save in a 2-0 Chicago victory.^[98]

• June 2 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays first baseman Fred McGriff becomes the 31st player to hit 400 career home runs when he hits a two-run home run against Glendon Rusch in a 5-3 loss to the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.^[99]

• June 2 - The Montréal Expos announce they will wear Maurice Richard's uniform number 9 on their jerseys for the rest of the season to honor the Montreal Canadiens great who died last week. It is believed to be the first time a major league team has honored an athlete from another sport in this way.^[100][101]

• June 21 - Oakland defeats the Orioles 10-3, as Eric Chavez becomes the first Athletics player to hit for the cycle at home since the team moved to Oakland in 1968.^{[102][103][104]}

• June 26 - The Diamondbacks defeat the Astros 6-1.^[105] Arizona rookie first baseman Alex Cabrera hits a two-run pinch-hit home run in his first major league at bat.^[106]

• June 30 - Trailing 8-1 to the Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets score 10 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning, capped off by Mike Piazza's 3-run home run off reliever Terry Mulholland. There had been 4 walks in the inning, and 9 of the 10 runs scored were with 2 outs in the inning.^[107]

• July 1 - On Canada's 133rd birthday,^[108] the Florida Marlins' Ryan Dempster and the Montreal Expos' Mike Johnson face each other in a rare matchup of Canadian starters. Dempster's Marlins win the game 6-5.^[109] Johnson is from Edmonton, Alberta,^[110] while Dempster hails from Sechelt, British Columbia.^[111] It is the first matchup of Canadian-born starters since September 1999, when Dempster took on Éric Gagné of the Dodgers.^[112]

• July 5 - Arizona outfielder Luis Gonzalez becomes the first Arizona Diamondback to hit for the cycle,^[113] helping his team to defeat the Astros 12-9.^[109] It is the first time the feat is accomplished in new Enron Field,^[114] and Gonzalez is just the 9th player in baseball history to both hit for the cycle and have a 30+ game hitting streak in a career.^[115]

• July 6 - St. Louis rookie catcher Keith McDonald hits a home run in his second at bat, becoming only the second player in major league history to hit home runs in each of his first two big league at bats.^[116] Bob Nieman, in 1951, is the other.^[117]

• July 6 - Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser announces his retirement.^[118]

• July 6 - The American Sportscasters Association names Dodgers legend Vin Scully as the No. 1 sportscaster of the 20th century. Howard Cosell finishes second, followed by Mel Allen and Red Barber.^[119]

• July 8 - In a New York matchup, the Yankees defeat the Mets by identical 4-2 scores in both ends of an unusual day-night doubleheader. With the first game played at Shea Stadium and the nightcap at Yankee Stadium, it is the first time since 1903 that two teams played two games in different stadiums on the same day. Dwight Gooden wins the first game with a six inning effort in his first start since returning to the Yankees. Roger Clemens wins the nightcap.^[120] During the second game, Clemens hit Mike Piazza in the helmet with an inside fastball, causing Piazza to suffer a concussion.^[121]

• July 11 - The American League wins its fourth consecutive All-Star Game, beating the National League 6-3. Derek Jeter of the Yankees and Chipper Jones of the Braves each go 3-for-3 in the contest. Jeter takes MVP honors, while James Baldwin of the White Sox is the winning pitcher.^[10]

• July 15 - A 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card is auctioned for a record $1.1 million on eBay.^[122] Other high-priced items in the auction include a baseball autographed by the entire 1919 "Chicago Black Sox" team, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, which sold for $93,666.^[123] Also, a baseball autographed by the 1919 Cincinnati Reds sells for $11,208,^[124] and a Babe Ruth signed baseball is auctioned for $76,020.^[125] A contract from Shoeless Joe Jackson's sale of his Chicago pool hall to teammate Lefty Williams sells for $36,098.^[126] The contract, dated October 6, 1921,^[127] is for just $1.^[128]

• July 20 - In Houston's 6-2 win over Cincinnati, Reds pinch-hitter Mike Bell strikes out in his major league debut, making history by becoming part of the first third-generation family to play for the same major league team. His grandfather Gus Bell and father Buddy Bell also played for the Reds.^{[129][130][131]}

August

• August 4 - The Blue Jays obtain outfielder Dave Martinez from the Rangers. Martinez becomes the 9th major leaguer to play for four teams in a season. He began the year with Tampa Bay and also played with the Cubs, in addition to Texas and Toronto. The last to do so was Dave Kingman (1977). Before him, according to historian Scott Flatow, the four-in-one players were Frank Huelsman (1904), Willis Hudlin (1940), Paul Lehner (1951), Ted Gray, (1955), Wes Covington (1961) and Mike Kilkenny (1972).

• August 8 - Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees hit back-to-back home runs on back-to-back pitches from Oakland closer Jason Isringhausen. Bernie Williams jumped on the first pitch and sent it over the right field fence to tie the game, then David Justice sent the very next offering from Isringhausen over the center field wall to give the Yankees the win.

• August 19 - The Yankees beat the Angels 9-1, hitting a major league record-tying three sacrifice flies in the 3rd inning.

• August 19 - In the Houston Astros' 10-8 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, Jeff Bagwell has two home runs and five RBI. Bagwell becomes the first Houston player to reach 300 homers in his career.

• August 21 - Potomac's Esix Snead breaks Lenny Dykstra's Carolina League record of 105 stolen bases by swiping his 106th. Snead has a batting average of .242 and a .338 on base percentage. It's the 10th time in the last 20 years that a minor-leaguer has stolen 100 or more bases in a season. According to Howe Sports data, the eight players who stole 100 or more bases in the minors were:
  • Vince Coleman (Macon, South Atlantic, 1983—145)
  • Donell Nixon (Bakersfield, California, 1983—144)
  • Jeff Stone (Spartanburg, South Atlantic, 1983—123)
  • Alan Wiggins (Lodi, California, 1980—120)
  • Marcus Lawton (Columbia, South Atlantic, 1985—111)
  • Esix Snead (Potomac, Carolina, 2000—106)
  • Lenny Dykstra (Lynchburg, Carolina, 1983—105)
  • Donell Nixon (Chattanooga, Southern, 1984—102)
  • Vince Coleman (Louisville, American Association, 1983— 101)
  • Albert Hall (Durham, Carolina, 1980—100)

• August 22 - The Dodgers defeat the Expos 14-6, as Eric Karros becomes the first Dodger player to hit two home runs in a single inning (6th).

• August 27 - The Anaheim Angels edge the Cleveland Indians 10-9, as outfielder Tim Salmon hits his 30th home run of the year in the 5th inning. Anaheim become the first team in AL history to have four players (Troy Glaus, Mo Vaughn, Garret Anderson, Salmon) reach the 30-homer mark in a single season. The Toronto Blue Jays are close with two hitters over 30 and two at 28. It's been done seven times in the NL.

September

• September 1 - For the second time in the season, pitcher Ryan Rupe of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays gives up a grand slam to Oakland Athletics outfielder Jermaine Dye. The other slam was on April 26.

• September 3 - Kenny Lofton of the Cleveland Indians ties a major league record by scoring in his 18th straight game in the first inning of the Cleveland Indians' 12-11, 13-inning victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Red Rolfe set the record in 1939 for the New York Yankees.

• September 4 - At Fenway Park, Carl Everett of the Boston Red Sox becomes only the sixth major-league switch-hitter to drive in 100 runs in both leagues when he knocks in his 100th RBI of the year. Boston wins over the Seattle Mariners, 5-1. Everett drove in 108 runs for the Houston Astros in 1999. The other five 100-100 switch-hitters were Ted Simmons, Ken Singleton, Eddie Murray, Bobby Bonilla and J.T. Snow. Before the game, the Red Sox honor Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk. Fisk, who played his first nine seasons with Boston, joins Bobby Doerr (1), Joe Cronin (4), Carl Yastrzemski (8) and Ted Williams (9) in having his number (27) be retired at Fenway.

• September 6 - Scott Sheldon of the Texas Rangers becomes just the third player in major league history to play all nine positions in one game when he does it in a 13-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Sheldon joins Bert Campaneris (September 8, 1965) and César Tovar (September 22, 1968) as true utility players.

• September 6 - After reaching an agreement with Morgan, Lewis and Bockis LLP, Major League Baseball can now use the URL http://www.mlb.com. The law firm registered the domain name in 1994 and refused to release it, making it necessary for the sport to use http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com.

• September 10 - Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks becomes the 12th pitcher to reach the 3,000-strikeout plateau, fanning a season-high 14 in seven innings as the Diamondbacks lose to the Florida Marlins 4–3 in 12 innings. Johnson's 3,000 strikeout victim is Mike Lowell, who fans to end the 4th inning. In the first inning, Johnson also records his 300th strikeout for the third consecutive season and the fourth time overall. Nolan Ryan is the only other pitcher to accomplish the feat, and is the only pitcher who has reached 300 strikeouts more times with six (1972-74, 1976-77 and 1989).

• September 12 - The Diamondbacks edge the Dodgers 5-4, despite Dave Hansen's major league record-breaking seventh pinch-hit home run of the season. Hansen's blast, off Curt Schilling, breaks the mark set in 1932 by Brooklyn's Johnny Frederick.

• September 15 - Rickey Henderson scores his first two at bats to pace the Seattle Mariners to a 10–2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Henderson moves into second place on the all-time list of runs (2,175), one ahead of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.

• September 16 - The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Chicago Cubs 7–6, despite Sammy Sosa's 50th home run of the season. Sosa becomes the second player to hit 50 or more in three consecutive years, joining Mark McGwire.

• September 19 - In the Cincinnati Reds' 7–3 loss to the San Francisco Giants, Ken Griffey, Jr. pinch-hits his 400th home run. He is the first major leaguer to reach the mark as a pinch-hitter.

• September 22 - José Lima of the Houston Astros sets an NL single-season record by allowing his 47th home run in the Astros' 12-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. The major league record for home runs allowed in a season is 50, set by the Minnesota Twins' Bert Blyleven in 1986.

• September 26 - Longtime broadcast partner NBC declines to renew its rights. NBC had televised baseball since 1947, with the exception of 1990-93, and had been the exclusive home of the World Series for 26 years.
• September 27 - In an Oakland 9–7 victory over the Angels, Anaheim's Darin Erstad hits a home run in the 2nd inning for his 99th RBI of the year from the leadoff spot to set a new record. Nomar Garciaparra drove home 98 in 1997 for the previous mark.

• Season Note - First time in MLB history that no team finished with a winning percentage below .400 and above .600

October–December

• October 8 - Bobby Jones of the New York Mets one-hits the San Francisco Giants in Game Four of the NLDS to advance the Mets to the NLCS.
• October 26 - The New York Yankees defeat the New York Mets 4–2, to win their 26th World Series, 4-games to 1. Luis Sojo hits a single in the top of the 9th inning and drives home the winning run for his team. Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter homer for the Yankees, and Jeter is named the Series MVP.
• November 18 - The Mariners sign Japanese star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to a three-year contract.
• December 11 - The Rangers sign free agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez to a record $252 million, 10-year contract. It is the richest contract in the history of professional sports.

Deaths

• January 1 - Larry Bearnarth, 58, relief pitcher for the Mets from 1963–66; later the Expos' pitching coach
• January 4 - John Milner, 50, first baseman and left fielder for the Mets and Pirates who hit 20 home runs twice, had 10 career grand slams
• January 11 - Bob Lemon, 79, Hall of Fame pitcher who won 207 games including a no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians, posting seven 20-win seasons; won final game of 1948 World Series, and managed Yankees to 1978 championship
• January 16 - By Saam, 85, broadcaster for the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies from 1938 to 1975
• March 7 - Jack Sanford, 70, All-Star pitcher who was the 1957 NL Rookie of the Year; was 24–7 for 1962 Giants
• June 2 - Ellis Clary, 83, infielder for the Senators and Browns; later a scout for 32 years
• June 5 - Don Liddle, 75, pitcher for the New York Giants during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series when teammate Willie Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch
• June 21 - Bud Stewart, 84, outfielder who was the AL runnerup in triples with the 1948 Senators
• June 23 - Bob Tillman, 63, catcher for the Red Sox and Braves who caught two no-hitters and had three home runs in a 1969 game
• September 3 - Clyde Sukeforth, 98, catcher for the Reds and Dodgers who later scouted Jackie Robinson, and also signed Don Newcombe and Roberto Clemente
• September 17 - Chico Salmon, 59, infielder for the Indians and Orioles who had a crucial pinch hit in the 1970 World Series
• September 23 - Aurelio Rodríguez, 52, third baseman, primarily for the Tigers, who won a Gold Glove and retired with the sixth most games at his position
• October 22 - Hank Wyse. 82, All-Star pitcher who helped the Cubs to clinch the 1945 National League title after going 22-10 with a 2.68 ERA and the last Cubs pitcher to appear in a Series game
• October 28 - Andújar Cedeño, 31, shortstop for the Astros and Padres who hit for the cycle in a 1992 game
• November 25 - Hugh Alexander, 83, outfielder who played seven games for 1937 Indians; became a scout for 61 years after losing his left hand in an accident
• December 10 - Willard Nixon, 72, pitcher who won 69 games for the Red Sox
• December 19- Lou Polli, 99, Italian relief pitcher for the 1932 Browns and 1944 Giants

References