Wikipedia:
2005 in baseball
- See also: 2005 Major League Baseball season
The following are the baseball events of the year 2005 throughout the world.
Headline Event of the Year
- Another longtime drought and feared curse are lifted as the Chicago White Sox under Manager of the Year Ozzie Guillén win their first World Series in 88 years.
Champions
Major League Baseball
- Regular Season Champions
| League | Eastern Division Champion | Central Division Champion | Western Division Champion | Wild Card Qualifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American League | New York Yankees | Chicago White Sox | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Boston Red Sox |
| National League | Atlanta Braves | St. Louis Cardinals | San Diego Padres | Houston Astros |
- World Series Champion - Chicago White Sox
- Postseason - October 4 to October 26
| Division Series TV: ESPN/FOX |
League Championship Series TV: FOX |
World Series TV: FOX |
|||||||||||
| 1 | Chicago White Sox | 3 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Boston Red Sox | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Chicago White Sox | 4 | |||||||||||
| American League | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 1 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | New York Yankees | 2 | |||||||||||
| AL1 | Chicago White Sox | 4 | |||||||||||
| NL4 | Houston Astros | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1 | St. Louis Cardinals | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | San Diego Padres | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1 | St. Louis Cardinals | 2 | |||||||||||
| National League | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Houston Astros | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta Braves | 1 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Houston Astros | 3 | |||||||||||
Click on any series score to link to that series' page.
Higher seed has home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series.
American League has home field advantage during World Series as a result of American League victory in 2005 All-Star Game.
National League is seeded 1-3/2-4 as a result of NL regular season champion (St. Louis Cardinals) and NL wild card (Houston
Astros) coming from the same division.
- Postseason MVPs
- World Series MVP - Jermaine Dye
- ALCS MVP - Paul Konerko
- NLCS MVP - Roy Oswalt
- All-Star Game, July 12 at Comerica Park - American League, 7-5; Miguel Tejada, MVP
International
Professional
- Asia Series — Chiba Lotte Marines (Japan) over Samsung Lions (Korea)
- Caribbean World Series — Venados de Mazatlán (Mexico)
- China Baseball League — Beijing Tigers over Tianjin Lions
- Chinese Professional Baseball League (Taiwan) — Sinon Bulls over Macoto Cobras
- European Cup — Grosseto (Italy) over HCAW Bussum (Netherlands)
- Holland Series — DOOR Neptunus over HCAW Bussum
- Italy Serie A1 — Italeri Bologna over Leader T&A San Marino
- Japan Series — Chiba Lotte Marines over Hanshin Tigers
- Korean Baseball Organization — Samsung Lions over Doosan Bears
Minor leagues
- AAA
- AA
- High-A
- Low-A
- Low-A Short Season
- Rookie
- Independent
Amateur
- College World Series
- Cuban National Series — Santiago de Cuba over Havana Province
- Little League World Series — West Oahu, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Awards and honors
- Baseball Hall of Fame inductions
- Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg are selected by the BBWAA.
- Jerry Coleman wins the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters.
- Peter Gammons receives the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for sportswriters.
- Major League Baseball awards
- Note: The Comeback Player of the Year Award was voted on for the first time by fans.
-
- Gold Glove Awards:
- AL: Kenny Rogers (P), Jason Varitek (C), Mark Teixeira (1B), Orlando Hudson (2B), Eric Chavez (3B), Derek Jeter (SS), Ichiro Suzuki (OF), Torii Hunter (OF), Vernon Wells (OF)
- NL: Greg Maddux (P), Mike Matheny (C), Derrek Lee (1B), Luis Castillo (2B), Mike Lowell (3B), Omar Vizquel (SS), Jim Edmonds (OF), Andruw Jones (OF), Bobby Abreu (OF)
- Player of the Month – April: Brian Roberts (AL), Derrek
Lee (NL); May:
Alex Rodriguez (AL), Bobby Abreu (NL); June: Travis Hafner (AL), Andruw Jones (NL); July: Jason Giambi (AL), Adam Dunn (NL); August:Alex Rodriguez (AL), Andruw Jones (NL); September: David Ortiz (AL), Randy Winn (NL) - Pitcher of the Month – April: Jon Garland (AL), Dontrelle Willis (NL); May: Kenny Rogers (AL), Trevor Hoffman (NL); June: Mark Buehrle (AL), Chad Cordero (NL); July: Barry Zito (AL), Andy Pettitte (NL); August: Bartolo Colón (AL), Noah Lowry (NL); September: José Contreras (AL), Andy Pettitte (NL)
- Rookie of the Month – April: Gustavo Chacín (AL), Clint Barmes (NL); May: Damon Hollins (AL), Ryan Church (NL); June: Joe Blanton (AL), Garrett Atkins (NL); July: Gustavo Chacín (AL), Zach Duke (NL); August: Joe Blanton (AL), Zach Duke (NL); September: Robinson Canó (AL), Ryan Howard (NL)
- Gold Glove Awards:
Events
January-March
- January 3 - Wade Boggs, a five-time batting champion, and Ryne Sandberg, a nine-time Gold Glove winner at second base, are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Boggs receives 474 votes, or 91.9 percent of the 516 ballots cast. Sandberg receives 393 votes, six more that the needed number. Relief pitchers Bruce Sutter (66.7 percent) and Rich "Goose" Gossage (55.2), and outfielders Jim Rice (59.5) and Andre Dawson (52.3), are the only other players to be named on at least half of the ballots cast.
- January 21 - Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros agree to an $18 million, one-year contract. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, agrees to a deal that makes him the highest-paid pitcher for the fifth time, following deals with the Boston Red Sox in 1989 ($2.5 million) and 1991 ($5.38 million); with the Toronto Blue Jays before the 1997 season, and with the New York Yankees in 2000 ($15.45 million).
- February 2 - The trade that sent Sammy Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles from the Chicago Cubs is finalized after commissioner Bud Selig approves the deal and the slugger passes his physical. Chicago receives second baseman Jerry Hairston, Jr. and two minor leaguers, then signs Jeromy Burnitz as a free agent to replace Sosa in right field.
- February 6 - At Mazatlan, Mexico, Francisco Campos turns in another brilliant outing, and Mexican champion Venados de Mazatlán (Mazatlan Deers) holds on in the final game, edging the Dominican Republic 4-3 to win the 56th Caribbean World Series. The title is just Mexico's fifth since joining the competition in 1970, the second in the last four years, but its first since hosting the series. Campos allows just three hits - two infield hits and a bunt single - and a run over his first eight innings of work, striking out 11. Previously, Campos handcuffed the Venezuelan champion Tigres de Aragua (Aragua Tigers) 4-0 in the series opener. He allowed just three hits over eight innings and struck out 10. Campos os voted the Series MVP.
- February 16 - The players' union signs an agreement calling for international drug-testing rules during a 16-team World Cup tournament (eventually called the World Baseball Classic) during 2006 spring training. Each team will select a provisional roster of 60 players, 45 days before the start of the tournament, and players will be covered by the drug-testing rules until the end of the competition. The deal, signed by the union, the commissioner's office and the International Baseball Federation, states that IBAF rules will cover the frequency of testing before and during the tournament, the list of prohibited substances, the procedures for taking samples and the laboratories used. More substances are banned by the IBAF than by the major leagues.
- March 2:
- Thirty-two years after his death, Jackie Robinson receives the Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda, the highest honor Congress can bestow. The medal is accepted by Rachel Robinson, his widow. Baseball is represented in a way by former Texas Rangers executive George W. Bush. Robinson joins Roberto Clemente, Joe Louis and Jesse Owens as the only athletes among about 300 Gold Medal recipients. Following the ceremony, the Boston Red Sox are honored at the White House for winning the 2004 World Series.
April
- April 3 - In his first outing for the New York Yankees, Randy Johnson allows a run and five hits in six innings as the Yankees open the 2005 major league season with a 9-2 triumph over the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox.
- April 4 - Opening Day highlights:
- Baltimore Orioles Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro become the first pair of teammates to have at least 500 career home runs apiece. Sosa went into the season with 574 career HR and Palmeiro 551.
- Mark Buehrle yields two hits in eight shutout innings and Shingo Takatsu works a perfect ninth inning as the Chicago White Sox defeat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 in a game that takes only an hour and 51 minutes to complete. Indians pitcher Jake Westbrook allows only one run and four hits in going the distance, but it isn't good enough to win. The game's only run comes in the seventh inning on an error by Cleveland shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
- Center fielder Brad Wilkerson has the honor of being the first batter for the Washington Nationals, and he promptly responds with the first hit in Nationals history. Nevertheless, Kenny Lofton hits a three-run homer and Jon Lieber pitches 5 2/3 effective innings, leading the home team Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-4 victory over the Nationals.
- April 6 - Brad Wilkerson of the Washington Nationals hits for the cycle in the Nationals' first win since moving to Washington D.C., 7-3 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He becomes the twentieth player to hit for the cycle twice. One day later, Wilkerson continues his torrid hitting going 4-for-5, as the Nationals complete their first series by winning two of three against the Phillies.
- April 14 - On a historic night at RFK Stadium, Liván Hernández and Vinny Castilla are up to the task. Hernández carries a one-hitter into the ninth inning and Castilla falls a single shy of the cycle as the Washington Nationals post a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first major league game in Washington D.C. in over 33 years. After beginning their first season in the nation's capital with a nine-game road trip, the Nationals open the first game at RFK Stadium since the departure of the Washington Senators with former pitcher Joe Grzenda handing a ball to president George W. Bush, who throws the ceremonial first pitch. Grzenda tossed the final pitch in Senators history against the New York Yankees on September 30, 1971.
- April 15 - Sammy Sosa hits his first home run at Camden Yards, giving him homers in 42 different ballparks. Currently seventh on the all-time list with 576 home runs, Sosa and Miguel Tejada have three RBI apiece as the Orioles defeat the Yankees 10-1.
- April 16 - Manny Ramírez knocks in all six Sox runs with a grand slam and a two-run shot, and Matt Clement wins in his Fenway Park debut to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It is Ramirez's 18th career grand slam, most among active players. The homer ties him for third on the all-time grand slam list with Willie McCovey and Robin Ventura, behind only Eddie Murray (19) and Lou Gehrig (23). It is Ramirez's 40th career multi-homer game (38 two-homer games, two three-homer games).
- April 26 - At Yankee Stadium,
Alex Rodriguez slugs his way to the best performance of his career, hitting three home runs for the third time and driving in a career-high 10 runs as the Yankees win 12-4 over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Rodríguez comes within one RBI of matching the American League record held by Hall of Famer and former Yankee Tony Lazzeri. - April 27 - Mark Grudzielanek becomes the first St. Louis Cardinals player to hit for the cycle in nine seasons, and pitcher Chris Carpenter equals his career best with 12 strikeouts, as St. Louis beats the Milwaukee Brewers 6–3. Grudzielanek is only the third Cardinals player to hit for the cycle at 40-year-old Busch Stadium, which was demolished after the season. The others were Ray Lankford on September 15, 1991 against the New York Mets, and Lou Brock on May 27, 1975 against the San Diego Padres.
May
- May 6:
- During a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman becomes just the third pitcher in major league history to reach the 400-save plateau, joining Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (424). Hoffman has converted 400 of 450 save chances in his career.
- May 7 - Julio Franco hits 3-for-4 including his first home run of the season as the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros 4-1. Franco, who turns 47 on August 23, becomes the second-oldest player in major league history to homer at 46 years, 257 days. Jack Quinn, a pitcher, was 46 years, 357 days when he hit one for the Philadelphia Athletics on June 27, 1930.
- May 8 - At Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 6-3, as pitcher Jeremi González wins for the first time since August 19, 2003. He was 0-11 in his previous 15 starts. González pitches 5 2/3 strong innings as a fill-in for injured Boston aces Curt Schilling and David Wells. After pitching a no-hitter through five innings, he allows two earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.
- May 15 - At Safeco Field, Boston's Manny Ramírez hits his 400th career home run, a three-run shot in the fifth inning off Seattle starter Gil Meche. Ramírez is the 39th player in major league history to reach 400 homers, and just the fifth to reach the mark in a Red Sox uniform. The others were Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Andre Dawson. He also is the 13th player to reach the mark before his 33rd birthday and just the fourth since Harmon Killebrew in 1969, and the fifth-fastest to 400 in number of at-bats, behind Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth, Killebrew and Jim Thome. The Mariners overcome Ramírez's milestone to beat the Red Sox 5-4.
- May 21:
- The San Francisco Giants hold a celebration in honor of Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. A 9-foot bronze statue of Marichal is dedicated on the plaza outside of the ballpark, joining similar larger than life-size sculptures of Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. Leonel Fernández, the President of the Dominican Republic, is in attendance. In the game which follows the ceremonies, the Giants wear uniforms with the word "Gigantes" on the front (the Spanish word for "Giants"), the first time in the club's 123-year history it has worn such threads. The uniforms are to be auctioned off afterward. Many of Marichal's former teammates are in attendance, including Mays, McCovey, Felipe Alou, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry.
- At Arlington, David Dellucci hits two of the Texas Rangers' team-record eight home runs in an 18-3 rout of the Houston Astros. Rod Barajas, Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock and Laynce Nix connect homers to highlight a club record four-homer second inning, and Richard Hidalgo and Kevin Mench also homer to help the Rangers top their previous best of seven, accomplished in 1986 and 2003.
- May 23 - At Cooperstown, NY, minor leaguer Derek Nicholson hits a two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the annual Hall of Fame game. Nicholson, who plays for the Class A Lakeland Tigers of the Florida State League, sends a 1-0 pitch from reliever Barry Hertzler of the Class A Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League over the fence in left-center field. In the traditional home-run contest staged before the game, David Ortiz of the Red Sox hits a record-breaking eight in his 10 official swings. He hits his last one, a drive that barely cleared the wall in right field, with a broken bat.
- May 25 - The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2–1 in 12 innings, as manager Tony La Russa wins his 823d game with the Cardinals, passing Whitey Herzog for second place on the franchise list. La Russa is 218 victories behind franchise leader Red Schoendienst.
- May 28:
- During a ceremony at Great American Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds retire uniform No. 10 of former manager Sparky Anderson. Now Anderson's number joins those of Johnny Bench (5), Joe Morgan (8), Tony Pérez (24), Frank Robinson (20), Fred Hutchinson (1) and Ted Kluszewski (18) that have been retired by the team.
- Derrek Lee hits two home runs for the second straight game and the fourth time this season, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field.
- May 30:
- The Chicago White Sox extend manager Ozzie Guillén's contract, making the move while the team has the best record in the majors (33-17). Chicago picks up the 2006 option on Guillén's contract, adds two more years and includes an option for the 2009 season.
- 42-year-old Jamie Moyer pitches six solid innings for his 131st win with the Seattle Mariners, passing Randy Johnson to become the club's career leader as the Mariners beat the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3. Over 20 major league seasons, he's 197-147.
June
- June 1 - The Houston Astros defeat the Cincinnati Reds 4-1, as pitcher Roy Oswalt takes the major league lead for victories against a team without a defeat, improving to 14-0 against visiting Cincinnati. Oswalt was tied for the lead in victories against one team without a loss with Pedro Martínez, who has a 13-0 record against the Seattle Mariners. Randy Johnson is 12-0 against the Chicago Cubs.
- June 2 - The New York Yankees are swept by the worst team in baseball, falling 5-2 to the Kansas City Royals for their first five-game losing streak in more than two years. It's been a ball so far for Buddy Bell, the new Royals skipper who is unbeaten after sweeping three games from the visiting Yankees. Kansas City pitchers allow just six runs in the series. It's the third time in their storied history the Yankees have been swept in three games by the team with the worst record in the majors. The other times were in 2000 by the Detroit Tigers and 1937 by the Philadelphia Athletics; in both those seasons, New York won the American League pennant. Kansas City completes its first three-game sweep at home of the Yankees in 15 years. The Royals had gone 78 series without sweeping anyone, the longest drought in the majors since the Philadelphia Phillies went 79 series without a sweep from 1996-97. Despite their three-game sweep, the Royals' record of 16-37 is still the worst in the majors.
- June 4:
- Chan Ho Park earns his 100th major league win, Michael Young gets four hits and the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 14-9 to hand the Royals their first loss under new manager Buddy Bell. Park also becomes the first South Korean pitcher to win 100 games in the majors.
- Garret Anderson's go-ahead, three-run homer caps a four-run seventh inning, and the Los Angeles Angels pass the host Boston Red Sox 13-6. Anderson's homer gives him a club-record 990 RBI, breaking the old mark of 989 set by Tim Salmon.
- The contract sending Babe Ruth from Red Sox to the New York Yankees is for sale. This is all that remains of the Curse of the Bambino: five neatly typed pages, two bold signatures, and the scars from 86 years of torment.
- June 5 - For the first time since 1933, a team called Washington is in first place late in the season. Ryan Church helps lift the Washington Nationals into first place in the NL East Division with a three-run home run, as the Nationals complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Florida Marlins with a 6-3 triumph. The victory, coupled with Atlanta's loss to Pittsburgh, puts Washington in first place. The Nationals have come from behind for 21 of their 31 victories, including each of its last eight. 75 years ago, the Washington Senators team that won the American League pennant topped the standings this time of year or later.
- June 7 - Justin Upton, a slugging high school shortstop from Virginia, is taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 baseball draft. He and his brother B.J., the second pick in 2002 by Tampa Bay, are the highest-drafted siblings.
- June 8:
- Yankee third baseman
Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest member of the 400-home run club when he hits a solo shot in the eighth inning of New York's 12-3 win over host Milwaukee. The home run is the second of the game for the 29-year-old, who becomes the 40th player in major league history to reach 400 homers, with two more than Dale Murphy and one more than Al Kaline and Andrés Galarraga. - Minnesota ace Johan Santana improves to 15-0 over his last 17 road starts, when he pitches an 8-0 four-hit, nine-strikeout shutout against Arizona.
- Yankee third baseman
- June 9 - The SF Giants' Omar Vizquel plays in his 2,179th game as a shortstop, passing Dave Concepción for sole possession of sixth place on the career list. Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio holds the record of 2,581.
- June 10:
- The 1919 contract that shipped Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees sells at auction for a staggering $996,000, delighting its new owner, Pete Siegel, a die-hard Yankees fan, and a hunger-relief group designated to receive a financial windfall from the sale. The price is nearly double the presale estimate for the December 26, 1919, contract, signed by owners Harry Frazee of the Red Sox and Jacob Ruppert of Yankees, and nearly 10 times the $100,000 cost of purchasing Ruth.
- June 12 - Acquired in a trade two days before, Junior Spivey hits a two-run home run as the Washington Nationals tie a franchise record with their 10th consecutive win - a 3–2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Before relocating to the nation's capital this season, the Nationals were known as the Montreal Expos, who won 10 straight games three previous times in 1979, 1980 and 1997. The Nationals have won 13 of their last 14 games overall, with eight of the wins coming by one run, and complete a 12-1 homestand. Tony Armas, Jr. pitches five scoreless innings, allowing five hits, and is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his last three starts.
- June 14: