The 2013 Major League Baseball season started on March 31 with a Sunday night game between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros.Rangers vs. Astros to kick off the 2013 season in prime time Hardball Talk via NBC Sports, January 3, 2013 Opening Day for most clubs was a day later on April 1. The regular season ended on September 30, extended one day for a one-game playoff between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers to decide the second American League Wild Card winner.
The 2013 season was the first with the Houston Astros as a member of the American League (AL), playing in the West Division. This marked the first growth in the number of American League teams since the 1977 Major League Baseball expansion added the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. When the then-named Tampa Bay Devil Rays were added to the AL in 1998, the Milwaukee Brewers were reassigned to the National League (NL) the same year, keeping the AL at 14 teams. With the Astros' move to the AL, giving both leagues 15 teams, interleague play occurred throughout the entire season for the first time in MLB history.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game's 84th edition was held on July 16 at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, with the AL defeating the NL, 3–0. With the win, home field advantage at the World Series was awarded to the AL.
The season ended with the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series at Fenway Park for the first time since 1918, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in six games. The Red Sox's victory recovered the city of Boston six months after the marathon bombing. This marked the last time a team clinched the World Series on their home field until 2022, where the Houston Astros won their second championship at Minute Maid Park.
Standings
American League
National League
Postseason
Bracket
Rule changes Several minor rule changes took effect during the 2013 season. These changes were approved by MLB owners; unless otherwise noted, they will also need the approval of the players' union. When visiting the pitcher's mound, managers and coaches are allowed to bring interpreters for the benefit of pitchers not fluent in English. Teams are allowed to have seven uniformed coaches in the dugout, up from six last season. This change came about after many teams hired second hitting coaches. The pickoff move in which a right-handed pitcher fakes to third base and throws to first base would be considered a balk. This rule had been approved by MLB's senior committee for the 2012 season, but the union voted against it pending further discussion. This change can be implemented for 2013 without the union's approval, but an ESPN report indicated that the owners hoped that the players would agree to the change.
Managerial changes
Field managers TeamFormer managerInterim managerReason for leavingStory/AccomplishmentsPhiladelphia PhilliesCharlie ManuelRyne SandbergFired Manuel, who managed the Phillies to one of their most successful eras in recent memory, including five straight division championships, two pennants and the 2008 World Series Championship, was fired on August 16, and replaced for the remainder of the season by the Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg was named the manager after signing a three-year contract on September 22.
Off-season At the end of the 2012 season, the following teams made replacements to their managers. TeamFormer managerInterim managerReason for leavingNew managerStory/AccomplishmentsBoston Red SoxBobby ValentineFiredJohn FarrellValentine was dismissed from the Red Sox after one season on October 4, 2012. On October 21, the Red Sox officially announced Farrell as their new manager. Farrell was Boston's pitching coach from 2007 to 2010 and was manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2011 to 2012.Cleveland IndiansManny ActaSandy Alomar Jr.FiredTerry FranconaActa was fired September 27, 2012, after three seasons with a record of 216-266 (.448). The Indians struggled throughout the second half of the 2012 season falling from playoff contention in July to the worst record in the American League. On October 6, the Indians hired Francona, who managed the Boston Red Sox from 2004 to 2011, and won World Series championships with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.Colorado RockiesJim TracyResignedWalt WeissTracy resigned his post as manager after four seasons October 7, 2012. On November 7, 2012, the Rockies hired Walt Weiss as their new managerHouston AstrosBrad MillsTony DeFrancescoFiredBo PorterOn September 27, 2012, the Astros announced that the Washington Nationals third-base coach will become the manager of the Astros after the Nationals finish their postseason run.Miami MarlinsOzzie GuillénFiredMike RedmondOn October 23, 2012, the Marlins fired Guillén one season into a four-year $10 million contract. They finished with a 69–93 record. On November 1, 2012, the Marlins hired Mike Redmond as their new manager.Toronto Blue JaysJohn FarrellTraded to Red SoxJohn GibbonsOn October 21, 2012, the Blue Jays officially announced that they had released Farrell from his contract in the same agreement that sent David Carpenter to the Red Sox in exchange for Mike Avilés. On November 20, 2012, Gibbons was named Blue Jays next manager.
Scheduling changes The Houston Astros' move to the American League West created two 15-team leagues each separated into three five-team divisions. With an odd number of teams in each league, interleague games were played nearly every day during the season, the only exception being when not every team had a game. For this season, each team played 20 interleague games (up from 15–18 games in 2012) in eight series. Each team played one three-game series against four teams from one division in the other league, and two two-game series (one home, one away) against the remaining team in that division (for 2013 the match-ups are AL East vs. NL West, AL Central vs. NL East, and AL West vs. NL Central, meaning the changes of the Astros and the small increase in interleague play will not affect the yearly rotation, also the Astros played all their former NL Central rivals in 2013). The remaining four games were played against a team's "natural rival" in two back-to-back two-game series from May 27–30. Teams played in one city May 27 and 28, then traveled to the other city for games on May 29 and 30. It was the first season that every team has an interleague rivalry, according to the table below, with new rivalries for the season shown in italics.
AL East NL East AL Central NL Central AL West NL West Red Sox Phillies White Sox Cubs Mariners Padres Yankees Mets Indians Reds Angels Dodgers Blue Jays Braves Tigers Pirates Athletics Giants Rays Marlins Twins Brewers Rangers Diamondbacks Orioles Nationals Royals Cardinals Astros Rockies
The remaining 142 games will be played within the league. Each team will play its four division rivals 19 times (up from 15–18 in 2012) for a total of 76 games. Each team will play either 6 or 7 games against the ten teams in the two other divisions in its league, for a total of 66 games. In 2012, these season series ranged anywhere from five to ten games, creating large disparities between teams' strengths of schedule.
Aside from the natural rivalries, teams from the same division will play the same opponents for roughly the same number of games. The only variation occurs in interleague match-ups (either 3 or 4 games) and same-league interdivision match-ups (either 6 or 7 games).
League leaders American League
+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Miguel Cabrera (DET) .348 OPS Miguel Cabrera (DET) 1.078 HR Chris Davis (BAL) 53 RBI Chris Davis (BAL) 138 R Mike Trout (LAA) 109 H Adrián Beltré (TEX) 199 SB Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS) 52
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Max Scherzer (DET) 21 L Lucas Harrell (HOU) 17 ERA Aníbal Sánchez (DET) 2.57 K Yu Darvish (TEX) 277 IP James Shields (KC) 228.2 SV Jim Johnson (BAL) 50 WHIP Max Scherzer (DET) 0.970
National League
+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Michael Cuddyer (COL) .331 OPS Paul Goldschmidt (AZ) .952 HR Pedro Álvarez (PIT)Paul Goldschmidt (AZ) 36 RBI Paul Goldschmidt (AZ) 125 R Matt Carpenter (STL) 126 H Matt Carpenter (STL) 199 SB Eric Young Jr. (COL/) 46
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Adam Wainwright (STL)Jordan Zimmermann (WSH) 19 L Edwin Jackson (CHC) 18 ERA Clayton Kershaw (LAD) 1.83 K Clayton Kershaw (LAD) 232 IP Adam Wainwright (STL) 241.2 SV Craig Kimbrel (ATL) 50 WHIP Clayton Kershaw (LAD) 0.915
Milestones
Batters Bryce Harper (WSH): Became the youngest player in Major League history to hit two home runs in the first game of the season by hitting his home runs off of the Miami Marlins' Ricky Nolasco. With his double in the second inning on September 15 against the Philadelphia Phillies, Harper got his 100th career extra-base hit. He becomes the fifth player in Major League history to have at least 100 extra-base hits through his age-20 season, joining Mel Ott (142), Phil Cavarretta (108), Tony Conigliaro (105) and Alex Rodriguez (104). With his home run in the first inning on September 19 against the Miami Marlins, Harper became the second player in Major League history to have two 20-homer seasons before turning 21 years old, joining former Boston Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro (1964–1965). Todd Frazier/Zack Cozart (CIN): Each player hit two home runs in the Reds' win on April 5 against the Washington Nationals to become the first starting shortstop and third baseman to have a multiple-homer game in franchise history. Chris Davis (BAL): Became just the fourth player in Major League history to start the season off with four homers in as many games. With his 20th double on June 5 against the Houston Astros, Davis, in the Orioles 58th game of the season, became the fastest player in Major League history to reach 20 homers and 20 doubles in a season. He broke the record of 60 games held by Mel Ott in 1929 and Iván Rodríguez in 2000. With his 28th home run of the season on June 25 against the Cleveland Indians, Davis broke the team record for most home runs by the end of June. Brady Anderson set the mark in 1996. With his 30th home run of the season on June 29 against the New York Yankees, Davis became the eighth player in Major League history to have 30 homers before the end of June. Became the second player in Major League history to have at least 30 home runs and 90 RBIs before the All-Star Break with his four RBI performance on July 14. Davis had 37 home runs and 93 RBIs at the break. His 37th home run on July 14 against the Toronto Blue Jays tied him with Reggie Jackson for the most by an American League player before the All-Star break. With his double on September 11 against the New York Yankees, Davis became the first player in Orioles' franchise history to hit 40 home runs and 40 doubles in a season. Set the franchise record with his 51st home run against the Boston Red Sox on September 17. He broke the team record that was set in 1996 by Brady Anderson. He finished the season with 53 home runs. Albert Pujols (LAA): Recorded his 1000th career extra-base hit with a double in the fifth inning against the Oakland Athletics on April 10. He became the 36th player to reach this mark and with the fifth fewest at-bats. Chris Davis (BAL)/John Buck (PIT)/(NYM): With 19 RBI, Buck and Davis have tied a Major League record for most RBIs in a team's first ten games of a season, established by Lou Gehrig for the 1927 Yankees and tied by Manny Ramirez for the Indians in 1999. Aaron Hicks (MIN): With his 20 strikeouts in his first ten games of his career, Hicks tied a Major League record for most strikeouts by a rookie through his first ten career games. He tied the record that was set in 2012 by Brett Jackson. B.J. Upton/Justin Upton (ATL):