The 2007 Major League Baseball season began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1. The regular season concluded with seven teams entering the postseason who had failed to reach the 2006 playoffs including all National League teams, with only the New York Yankees returning; a dramatic one-game playoff between the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres; and the largest September collapse for a leading team in baseball history, with the Mets squandering a 7-game lead with 17 to play, losing on the final day of the regular season, and the Philadelphia Phillies capturing the National League East for the first time since 1993. The season ended on October 28, with the Boston Red Sox sweeping the World Series over the Rockies, four games to zero.
A special exhibition game known as the "Civil Rights Game" was played on March 31 in AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee, between the Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians to celebrate the history of civil rights in the United States. The 2007 season commemorates the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's entry into the game, breaking the color barrier.
For the fourth consecutive season, MLB regular season attendance increased by comparison with the previous year. In 2007, an all-time attendance record of 79,502,524 (32,785 per game) was set.
Rule change The 2007 season saw the following rule change: Any game that was relocated to another city, saw the original home team still bat in the bottom of the inning, even if the relocated city was the original away team.
Standings
American League
National League
The Colorado Rockies defeated the San Diego Padres in a one-game playoff to earn the NL Wild Card.
Postseason
Bracket
Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.
League leaders American League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Magglio Ordóñez (DET) .363 OPS Alex Rodriguez (NYY) 1.067 HR Alex Rodriguez (NYY) 54 RBI Alex Rodriguez (NYY) 156 R Alex Rodriguez (NYY) 143 H Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) 238 SB Carl Crawford (TB)Brian Roberts (BAL) 50
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Josh Beckett (BOS) 20 L Daniel Cabrera (BAL) 18 ERA John Lackey (LAA) 3.01 K Scott Kazmir (TB) 239 IP CC Sabathia (CLE) 241 SV Joe Borowski (CLE) 45 WHIP Johan Santana (MIN) 1.073
National League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Matt Holliday (COL) .340 OPS Chipper Jones (ATL) 1.029 HR Prince Fielder (MIL) 50 RBI Matt Holliday (COL) 137 R Jimmy Rollins (PHI) 139 H Matt Holliday (COL) 216 SB José Reyes (NYM) 78
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Jake Peavy (SD) 19 L Kip Wells (STL) 17 ERA Jake Peavy (SD) 2.54 K Jake Peavy (SD) 240 IP Brandon Webb (AZ) 236.1 SV José Valverde (AZ) 47 WHIP Jake Peavy (SD) 1.061
Accomplishments Barry Bonds surpasses Hank Aaron Barry Bonds, left fielder for the San Francisco Giants, surpassed Hank Aaron as the all-time home run leader in Major League Baseball history with his 756th career home run off Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals in the fifth inning of their game August 7 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. The 3–2 pitch with one out and nobody on base was hit at 8:51 PM US PDT and according to hittrackeronline.com was estimated to have gone 422 feet. However, the Nationals came back and won the game, 8–6. Through his final home game (and last game of the season), on September 26, Bonds has hit 762 home runs.
The baseball that was hit for the record was caught by Mets fan Matt Murphy, who put the ball up for auction online. The winning bidder was fashion designer Marc Ecko, who purchased the baseball for $752,467 (US) and let fans decide what to do with it in an internet poll. Options included donating the ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame as-is, donating it marked with an asterisk (reflecting the widely held belief that Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs to break the record), or sending the baseball into space. The vote decided that an asterisk would be added, and the ball donated to Cooperstown. In an interview that aired on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann on November 1 and 2, Bonds stated to interviewer Jim Gray that if the ball were to be put on display with the asterisk, he would boycott his own Hall of Fame induction if he were elected.
Other career milestones Ben Broussard of the Seattle Mariners became the fourth player in Major League history to hit three career grand slams as a pinch-hitter on April 21 in a 7–6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. John Smoltz, right-handed pitcher for the Atlanta Braves earned his 200th win on May 24, defeating the New York Mets and longtime teammate Tom Glavine at Turner Field in Atlanta. Roy Halladay, right-handed pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, earned his 100th win on May 31 against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Trevor Hoffman, a closer for the San Diego Padres, became the first pitcher in Major League history to earn his 500th career save on June 6 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park in San Diego, California. Mark Buehrle, left-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, earned his 100th win on June 10 against the Houston Astros at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. Sammy Sosa, right fielder for the Texas Rangers, hit his 600th career home run on June 20 against the Chicago Cubs at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas. Sosa became the fifth player in Major League history to hit 600 career home runs and the second to hit his 600th career home run against his former team; in 2002, Barry Bonds hit his 600th home run against his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ryan Howard, first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, hit his 100th career home run on June 27 against the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. He accomplished this in his 325th career game, becoming the fastest player in Major League Baseball history to reach this milestone. Howard also set a dubious record September 27, when he struck out against the Braves' John Smoltz, whiffing for the 196th time in a season. He ended the season with 199 strikeouts, a new record. Frank Thomas, the Toronto Blue Jays' designated hitter, hit his 500th career home run on June 28 against the Minnesota Twins at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, against Carlos Silva in the first inning. He is the 21st player to reach this milestone. The Metrodome was also the site of his first home run as a member of the Chicago White Sox. Craig Biggio, second baseman for the Houston Astros, got his 3,000th career hit on June 28 against the Colorado Rockies at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Biggio was 5-for-6 in the game and was thrown out at second on his 3000th hit. Biggio became the 27th member of the 3,000 hit club, and is one of only nine players to get all 3,000 hits with one team. Biggio announced later in the season that he would retire following the completion of the season, finishing his career with 3,060 hits. Roger Clemens, pitcher for the New York Yankees, earned his 350th career win on July 2 against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York. Clemens became the eighth pitcher to reach that mark. Alex Rodriguez, third baseman for the New York Yankees, hit his 500th career home run on August 4 against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. He is the 22nd player to reach this milestone. At 32 years, 8 days of age, he became the youngest player to reach the 500-homer mark. Left-handed pitcher Tom Glavine of the New York Mets, earned his 300th career win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 5 in front of a nationwide audience on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Glavine became the fifth left-handed pitcher to win 300 games, the first since Steve Carlton in 1983, and the 23rd pitcher to win 300. Greg Maddux of the San Diego Padres became the first pitcher in history to record at least 10 wins in 20 consecutive seasons in the Padres' 14–3 defeat of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 24. The game also marked Maddux's 700th career start. Right-handed pitcher Pedro Martínez of the New York Mets became the 15th pitcher in history to record his 3,000th career strikeout when he dismissed his opposing pitcher, Aaron Harang, in the second inning of the Mets' 10–4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on September 3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The game was the first MLB appearance of Martínez after rotator cuff surgery immediately after the end of the 2006 season. Todd Jones, the Detroit Tigers' right-handed closer, earned his 300th career save September 16 against the Minnesota Twins. Chicago White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome hit a two-run walk-off home run on September 16 for his 500th career home run at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, leading the White Sox to a 9–7 win over the Los Angeles Angels, making the 2007 season the first in which three players hit their 500th homer. He is the 23rd player to reach this milestone. It was also the first time in MLB history that a player reached the 500-homer mark with a walk-off homer. Kenny Rogers, Detroit Tigers left-handed pitcher, recorded his 91st career pickoff against Jason Michaels of the Cleveland Indians on September 17. This tied him with Mark Langston for most all-time. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees southpaw, recorded his 200th career win against the Baltimore Orioles on September 19. C.C. Sabathia, a left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians won his 100th game and struck out his 1000th batter for the Tribe, becoming the youngest pitcher to do so since Greg Maddux.
Team milestones The Chicago Cubs of the National League recorded their 10,000th win in all major leagues against the Atlanta Braves on June 3, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. They became the second team to reach this mark after the New York/San Francisco Giants were the first. However, this tally includes 77 wins gained during Chicago's years in the National Association (1871, 1874 and 1875). These wins are not considered official by Major League Baseball. Through 2007, the Cubs have 9,985 official wins. The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League, recorded their 10,000th loss, a 10–2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 15, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They became the first team in the four major sports leagues (MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA) to accomplish this. However, Major League Baseball's season, by number of games, is almost twice as long as the NHL and NBA seasons and ten times longer than the NFL season. Also, the Phillies have existed since 1883, more than 30 years longer than any of the other major North American leagues (NHL: 1917, NFL: 1920, NBA: 1946). The Texas Rangers of the American League scored 30 runs in a 30–3 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on August 22, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The Rangers set both a new American League and the modern Major League (post-1900) record for runs scored in a game, and became the first team since the Chicago Colts scored 36 runs against the Louisville Colonels in 1897 to score at least 30 runs in a game. The previous record was 29, first set by the Boston Red Sox in 1950 at Fenway Park against the Orioles' predecessors, the St. Louis Browns, and equaled at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1955 by the Chicago White Sox against the Kansas City Athletics, who had moved from Philadelphia the year before. The Rangers won the nightcap, 9–7 and extended the newly-set record for most runs in a doubleheader in the American League to 39.