Calendar
Major League Baseball
Champions
Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions
League Eastern Division Champions Central Division Champions Western Division Champions Wild Card Qualifier American League Tampa Bay Rays Chicago White Sox Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Boston Red Sox National League Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Cubs Los Angeles Dodgers Milwaukee Brewers World Series Champions – Philadelphia Phillies American League Champions – Tampa Bay Rays National League Champions – Philadelphia Phillies Postseason – October 1 to October 29
Higher seed had home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series. The American League champion has home field advantage during the World Series as a result of the AL victory in the All-Star Game.
Other champions Minor League Baseball Triple-A Championship: Sacramento River Cats (Athletics) International League: Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees (Yankees) Pacific Coast League: Sacramento River Cats (Athletics) Mexican League: Diablos Rojos del México AA Eastern League: Trenton Thunder (Yankees) Southern League: Mississippi Braves (Braves) Texas League: Arkansas Travelers (Angels) A California League: Stockton Ports (Athletics) Carolina League: Potomac Nationals (Nationals) Florida State League: Daytona Cubs (Cubs) Midwest League: Burlington Bees (Royals) South Atlantic League: Augusta GreenJackets (Giants) New York–Penn League: Batavia Muckdogs (Cardinals) Northwest League: Spokane Indians (Rangers) Rookie Appalachian League: Elizabethton Twins (Twins) Gulf Coast League: Gulf Coast Phillies (Phillies) Pioneer League: Great Falls Voyagers (White Sox) Arizona League: Arizona League Giants (Giants) Independent baseball leagues Alaska Baseball League: Anchorage Glacier Pilots American Association: Sioux Falls Canaries Atlantic League: Somerset Patriots Canadian-American Association: Sussex Skyhawks Frontier League: Windy City ThunderBolts Golden Baseball League: Orange County Flyers Northern League: Kansas City T-Bones United League Baseball: Amarillo Dillas Amateur College College World Series: Fresno State NCAA Division II: Mount Olive College NCAA Division III: Trinity College NAIA: Lewis-Clark State College Youth Big League World Series: Taylors, South Carolina Junior League World Series: Waipi`o, Hawaii Little League World Series: Willemstad, Curaçao Senior League World Series: Upper Deerfield, New Jersey International National teams Summer Olympics at Beijing, China: South Korea (gold); Cuba (silver); United States (bronze) World Junior Baseball Championship: South Korea International club team competitions Caribbean Series: Tigres del Licey, Dominican Republic European Cup: Kinheim, Netherlands Asia Series: Saitama Seibu Lions, Japan Domestic leagues Australia – Claxton Shield: Perth Heat China Baseball League: Tianjin Lions Cuban National Series: Santiago de Cuba Dominican League: Águilas Cibaeñas France – Division Elite: Rouen Baseball 76 Holland Series: Amsterdam Pirates Italy – Serie A1: San Marino Japan Series: Saitama Seibu Lions Central League: Yomiuri Giants (Climax Series Champion – Yomiuri Giants) Pacific League: Saitama Seibu Lions (Climax Series Champion – Saitama Seibu Lions) Eastern League (Minor): Tokyo Yakult Swallows Western League (Minor): Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Korean Series: SK Wyverns Mexican Pacific League: Yaquis de Obregón Taiwan Series: Uni-President Lions Venezuelan League: Tigres de Aragua
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame honors Rich "Goose" Gossage is elected by the BBWAA in his ninth year of eligibility. Executives Barney Dreyfuss, Bowie Kuhn and Walter O'Malley and managers Billy Southworth and Dick Williams are also inducted following their election by the Veterans Committee. Larry Whiteside, sportswriter for The Boston Globe from 1973 until 2004, receives the J. G. Taylor Spink Award. Dave Niehaus, broadcaster for the Seattle Mariners since 1977, receives the Ford C. Frick Award. MVP Awards American League – Dustin Pedroia (BOS) National League – Albert Pujols (STL) Cy Young Awards American League – Cliff Lee (CLE) National League – Tim Lincecum (SF) Rookie of the Year Awards American League Evan Longoria (TB) National League Geovany Soto (CHC) Manager of the Year Awards American League – Joe Maddon (TB) National League – Lou Piniella (CHC) Silver Slugger AwardsAmerican LeagueDH: Aubrey Huff (BAL)C: Joe Mauer (MIN)1B: Justin Morneau (MIN)2B: Dustin Pedroia (BOS)3B: Alex Rodriguez (NYY)SS: Derek Jeter (NYY)OF: Josh Hamilton (TEX)OF: Carlos Quentin (CWS)OF: Grady Sizemore (CLE) National LeagueP: Carlos Zambrano (CHC)C: Brian McCann (ATL)1B: Albert Pujols (STL)2B: Chase Utley (PHI)3B: David Wright (NYM)SS: Hanley Ramírez (FLA)OF: Ryan Braun (MIL)OF: Matt Holliday (COL)OF: Ryan Ludwick (STL) Gold Glove AwardsAmerican LeagueP: Mike Mussina (NYY)C: Joe Mauer (MIN)1B: Carlos Peña (TB)2B: Dustin Pedroia (BOS)3B: Adrián Beltré (SEA)SS: Michael Young (TEX)OF: Torii Hunter (LAA)OF: Grady Sizemore (CLE)OF: Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) National LeagueP: Greg Maddux (SD/LAD)C: Yadier Molina (STL)1B: Adrián González (SD)2B: Brandon Phillips (CIN)3B: David Wright (NYM)SS: Jimmy Rollins (PHI)OF: Carlos Beltrán (NYM)OF: Nate McLouth (PIT)OF: Shane Victorino (PHI)
Others Hank Aaron Award – Kevin Youkilis (AL, BOS) / Aramis Ramírez (NL, CHC) Hutch Award – Jon Lester (BOS) Players Choice Award – Albert Pujols (STL) Roberto Clemente Award – Albert Pujols (STL) Tony Conigliaro Award – Rocco Baldelli (TB) TSN Awards MLB Player of the Year – Albert Pujols (STL) Pitcher of the Year – Cliff Lee (AL, CLE) / Tim Lincecum (NL, SF) Reliever of the Year – Francisco Rodríguez (AL, LAA) / Brad Lidge (NL, PHI) Rookie of the Year – Evan Longoria (AL, TB) / Geovany Soto (NL, CHC) Comeback Player of the Year – Cliff Lee (AL, CLE) / Fernando Tatís (NL, NYM) Manager of the Year – Joe Maddon (AL, TB) / Fredi González (NL, FLA) Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league): Carol Gehr, Hagerstown Suns, South Atlantic League
Events
January January 6 – Roger Clemens appears on CBS's 60 Minutes, denying that he ever uses performance-enhancing drugs. January 8 – Closer Rich "Goose" Gossage and his former manager with the San Diego Padres, Dick Williams, are elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. January 14 - The St. Louis Cardinals acquire Troy Glaus from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Scott Rolen. January 29 – The Minnesota Twins agree to deal Johan Santana to the New York Mets for outfielder Carlos Gómez and pitchers Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey.
February February 1 – Chuck Knoblauch speaks to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. February 2 – The deal between the Mets and Twins for Johan Santana is finalized. February 4 – New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte meets for nearly three hours in a closed-door interview in Washington, D.C., with lawyers from a congressional committee investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. After the Mitchell Report's release in December, Pettitte confirms Brian McNamee's testimony that the hurler used human growth hormone twice during the season while recuperating from injury. February 13 – Roger Clemens testifies under oath at a Congressional hearing that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs.
March March 15 – The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres play to a 3–3 tie in the first major league game ever played in China. The game is played at Wukesong Stadium in Beijing, site of the baseball competition for the 2008 Olympics. The teams meet again the next day, with the Padres winning 6–3. March 17 – The Dodgers depart their Dodgertown complex in Vero Beach, Florida, after 60 years of use. Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda manages the team in its final week's games, as regular manager Joe Torre is with the portion of the club that travels to China. March 18 – The New York Yankees play an exhibition at Virginia Tech's English Field to commemorate the April 2007 campus shootings. March 19 – The first ever night game is played at McKechnie Field, which was the last stadium used by a major league team, at any time of the year, to lack lights. The stadium had that distinction since 1988, when the first night game is played at Wrigley Field. The New York Yankees defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 12–9, in the debut. March 25 – Opening Day takes place on the earliest date in history, with the Boston Red Sox defeating the Oakland Athletics 6–5 in 10 innings in Tokyo, Japan. March 29: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of their move to Los Angeles, the Dodgers play an exhibition against the Red Sox at their first Los Angeles home, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, losing 7–4 before an announced crowd of 115,300. In the second annual Civil Rights Game, the New York Mets defeat the Chicago White Sox, 3–2, at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee. March 30 – In the first-ever game played at Nationals Park, on Opening Night, President George W. Bush throws out the first pitch and Ryan Zimmerman hits a walk-off home run to give the Washington Nationals a 3–2 win over the Atlanta Braves. March 31: A statue of Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks is unveiled outside Wrigley Field. Japanese sensation Kosuke Fukudome makes his major league debut with the Cubs, hitting a double on his first pitch. He later ties the game with a three-run homer in the 9th inning. The independent South Coast League suspends its operations after only one season of play.
April April 2 – With his 194th consecutive game without an error, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis surpasses Steve Garvey's major league record (set from 1983 to 1985) for an errorless streak at first base; the streak began on July 5, . He is given the first base bag from the game against the Athletics. April 4 – The Florida State League's Fort Myers Miracle team wears Lee County Sheriff's Office caps in a game against the Sarasota Reds in honor of fallen Lieutenant Mark Niedermeyer. On March 21, Lieutenant Niedermeyer, a 14-year LCSO veteran, collapsed and died on the field during LCS's annual charity arena football game against Lee County firefighters. Following the game (won 6–3 by the Miracle), the team autographed the hats, and they were auctioned off. The auction raised $2,500, with all proceeds raised from the hat auction going directly to Lieutenant Niedermeyer's family. April 8: Chase Utley of the Phillies ties a major league record by being hit by pitches three times in a 5–2 win over the Mets. Plácido Polanco's record streaks of 186 games and 911 chances at second base without an error come to an end with a throwing error in the third inning of the Tigers' 5–0 loss to the Red Sox; his last error was on July 1, . April 9 – Iván Rodríguez becomes the first catcher in major league history to collect 2,500 hits, reaching the milestone with a single in the eighth inning of the Tigers' 7–2 win over the Red Sox. April 11 – The Florida Marlins set a team record by hitting six home runs in their 10–6 win over the Astros. April 12 – The home run ball which Barry Bonds had hit for his record 762nd home run is auctioned for $376,612 to an anonymous bidder. April 13 – Joe Crede and Paul Konerko both hit grand slams as the White Sox beat the Tigers 11–0. April 15 – José López becomes the 12th player in major league history to collect three sacrifice flies in one game, in the Mariners' 11–6 win over the Royals. April 17: