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 Minnesota Twins Oakland Athletics Anaheim Angels National League Atlanta Braves St. Louis Cardinals Arizona Diamondbacks San Francisco Giants World Series Champion – Anaheim Angels Postseason – October 1 to October 27
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 during World Series as a result of the pre-2003 "alternating years" rule. Postseason MVPs World Series MVP – Troy Glaus ALCS MVP – Adam Kennedy NLCS MVP – Benito Santiago All-Star Game, July 9 at Miller Park – Tie game, 7–7 (11 inn.); no MVP selected Home Run Derby, July 8 – Jason Giambi, New York Yankees
Other champions Caribbean World Series: Tomateros de Culiacán (Mexico) College World Series: Texas Cuban National Series: Holguín over Sancti Spíritus (4–3) European Cup (baseball): Neptunus (Netherlands) over HCAW Bussum (Netherlands) Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Seibu Lions (4–0) Korean Series: Samsung Lions over LG Twins (4–2) Big League World Series: San Juan, Puerto Rico Junior League World Series: Cartersville, Georgia Little League World Series: Valley Sports American, Louisville, Kentucky Senior League World Series: Willemstad, Curaçao Taiwan Series: Brother Elephants over Chinatrust Whales Intercontinental Cup: Cuba
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Ozzie Smith Most Valuable Player Miguel Tejada, Oakland Athletics, SS (AL) Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, OF (NL) Cy Young Award Barry Zito, Oakland Athletics (AL) Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (NL) Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske, Toronto Blue Jays, 3B (AL) Jason Jennings, Colorado Rockies, P (NL) Manager of the Year Award Mike Scioscia, Anaheim Angels (AL) Tony La Russa, St. Louis Cardinals (NL) Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league): Brenda Yoder, Greenville Braves, Southern League
MLB statistical leaders American League National League Type Name Stat Name Stat AVG Manny Ramírez BOS .349 Barry Bonds SF .370 HR Alex Rodriguez TEX 57 Sammy Sosa CHC 49 RBI Alex Rodriguez TEX 142 Lance Berkman HOU 128 Wins Barry Zito OAK 23 Randy Johnson AZ 24 ERA Pedro Martínez BOS 2.26 Randy Johnson AZ 2.32 Ks Pedro Martínez BOS 239 Randy Johnson AZ 334
Major league baseball final standings
American League Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East 1st New York Yankees 103 58 .640 -- 2nd Boston Red Sox 93 69 .574 10.5 3rd Toronto Blue Jays 78 84 .481 25.5 4th Baltimore Orioles 67 95 .414 36.5 5th Tampa Bay Devil Rays 55 106 .342 48.0 Central 1st Minnesota Twins 94 67 .584 -- 2nd Chicago White Sox 81 81 .500 13.5 3rd Cleveland Indians 74 88 .457 20.5 4th Kansas City Royals 62 100 .383 32.5 5th Detroit Tigers 55 106 .342 39.0 West 1st Oakland Athletics 103 59 .636 -- 2nd Anaheim Angels * 99 63 .611 4.0 3rd Seattle Mariners 93 69 .574 10.0 4th Texas Rangers 72 90 .444 31.0
National League Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East 1st Atlanta Braves 101 59 .631 -- 2nd Montreal Expos 83 79 .512 19.0 3rd Philadelphia Phillies 80 81 .497 21.5 4th Florida Marlins 79 83 .488 23.0 5th New York Mets 75 86 .466 26.5 Central 1st St. Louis Cardinals 97 65 .599 -- 2nd Houston Astros 84 78 .519 13.0 3rd Cincinnati Reds 78 84 .481 19.0 4th Pittsburgh Pirates 72 89 .447 24.5 5th Chicago Cubs 67 95 .414 30.0 6th Milwaukee Brewers 56 106 .346 41.0 West 1st Arizona Diamondbacks 98 64 .605 -- 2nd San Francisco Giants * 95 66 .590 2.5 3rd Los Angeles Dodgers 92 70 .568 6.0 4th Colorado Rockies 73 89 .451 25.0 5th San Diego Padres 66 96 .407 32.0
The asterisk denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league.
Events
January January 8 – Ozzie Smith is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Smith, named on 91.7 percent of the ballots, became the 37th player in baseball history in being elected to be elected to the hall in his first year on the ballot.
February February 11 – Major League Baseball owners approve the sales of the Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos clubs. Marlins owner, John Henry, is selling the team to Jeffrey Loria for $158.5 million, while Loria is selling the Expos to Baseball Expos LP, a limited partnership owned by the other 29 MLB teams, for $120 million. February 12 – New York Mets assistant general manager Omar Minaya is named general manager of the Montreal Expos, Minaya, a native from the Dominican Republic, becomes the first Hispanic by accepting the GM position in Major League Baseball history. Hall of Fame player-manager Frank Robinson is also announced as the manager of the Expos, which will be run by MLB during the 2002 season. February 27 – The sale of the Boston Red Sox to a group headed by John Henry becomes official.
March March 1 – The Boston Red Sox dismissed general manager Dan Duquette and replaced him with Mike Port on an interim basis. March 5 – The Boston Red Sox dismissed manager Joe Kerrigan and replaced him with Mike Cubbage on an interim basis. March 11 – The Boston Red Sox hire Grady Little as their new manager. March 19 – The YES Network is officially launched, going on air at noon on this day. The first live event to be broadcast on the network that day was a spring training game between the Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds. March 22 – The Chicago Cubs send Ryan Jorgensen, Julián Tavárez, Dontrelle Willis and minor leaguer José Cueto to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Antonio Alfonseca and Matt Clement.
April April 2 – In beating the San Diego Padres, 9–0, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the first defending World Champions to open the season with back-to-back shutouts since the 1918-19 Boston Red Sox; the Sox shutouts were thrown by Carl Mays and Sad Sam Jones. Besides, the last team to start the year with consecutive shutouts was the 1994 San Francisco Giants. Curt Schilling is the winning pitcher against the Padres, following Randy Johnson's 2–0 two–hitter a day before. April 3 The San Francisco Giants defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12–0, as Barry Bonds hits a pair of home runs for the second day in a row. Bonds becomes the second player in MLB history to begin a season with consecutive two-homer games. Previously, Eddie Mathews also hit a pair of homers in each of the Milwaukee Braves first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates to start the 1958 season. At Oakland Coliseum, the Oakland Athletics lose to the Texas Rangers, 9–6, as the Rangers score three runs in the 8th inning. The loss snaps the A's string of 20 straight wins at home stretching back to August 24. Oakland moved past the 1974–75 Cincinnati Reds for most consecutive home wins over two seasons, as the Reds mark was 17. April 5 – The San Francisco Giants defeat the San Diego Padres 3–1, in 10 innings, on Barry Bonds' fifth home run of the year. In doing so, Bonds ties the mark for most home runs in the first four games of the season, set by Lou Brock in 1967. April 7 – The Arizona Diamondbacks defeats the Milwaukee Brewers, 2–0, as Curt Schilling strikes out 17 batters in hurling a one–hitter. Raúl Casanova's 2nd–inning single is the only Milwaukee hit. April 11 – The Baltimore Orioles pound the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 15–6, scoring a franchise–high 12 runs in the 6th inning. They also collect a club–high 11 hits in 16 at-bats. April 14 – Baltimore Orioles infielder Mike Bordick begins a streak which leads to a Major League record for the most errorless games and total chances by a shortstop. April 16 – The Detroit Tigers win for the first time this season, defeating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9–3. The Tigers had lost their first 11 games for the fifth-worst start by a major league team. April 21 Rafael Furcal hits three triples to tie the modern major league record, as the Atlanta Braves defeat the Florida Marlins 4–2. The last player to accomplish the feat was Lance Johnson of the Chicago White Sox in . The Arizona Diamondbacks trounce the Colorado Rockies, 7–1, as Randy Johnson strikes out 17 batters in becoming the first pitcher this year to win five games. It is the sixth time that Johnson has fanned 17 or more batters in a game. Making his first start in almost seven years, the Cincinnati Reds' José Rijo allows one unearned run in five innings as the Reds defeat the Cubs, 5–3. It is Rijo's first win since July 13, . April 27 – Boston Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe hurls the first no-hitter at Fenway Park since the 1965 season, when Dave Morehead no-hit the Cleveland Indians 2–0 before only 1,247 fans at the ballpark. Lowe shutout the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10–0. It was also the first career complete game for Lowe, who began last season as the Red Sox closer. In his first start this year, Lowe hurled seven hitless innings against the Baltimore Orioles. April 29 – Former major league outfielder Darryl Strawberry is sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating the terms of his probation six times. April 30 – Al Leiter of the New York Mets earns a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, to become the first pitcher in Major League history to record wins over all 30 franchises that have existed since 1901.
May May 2 – The Seattle Mariners rout the Chicago White Sox, 15–4, as outfielder Mike Cameron becomes the thirteenth player in Major League history to slug four home runs in a single game, all solo shots. In doing so, he becomes the first American League player in 43 years to accomplish the feat. Cameron is also hit by a pitch and flies out to deep right field in a bid for a 5th homer. Cameron and second baseman Bret Boone also become the first teammates in history to hit back–to–back home runs twice in the same inning, performing the feat in Seattle's 10–run 1st inning. The Mariners also tie a team record with seven homers in the game. James Baldwin is the easy winner, with seven innings pitched. There had only been 39 previous occasions of a player hitting two home runs in an inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Eric Karros was last to do it, on August 22, 2000, for the Dodgers. Mark McGwire was the previous AL player to do it, on September 22, 1996, for Oakland. May 4 – Barry Bonds hits his 400th home run as a Giant, leading his team to a 3–0 win over Cincinnati. Bonds is the first player to hit 400 homers for one team and 100 with another. May 10 – The Anaheim Angels crush the White Sox 19–0. The Angels join the 1923 Indians, 1939 Yankees and 1950 Red Sox as the only teams to beat two opponents by 19 or more runs in the same season. Earlier this year, the Angels beat the Indians 21–2. The Anaheim victory over Chicago is just the 11th since 1901 in which a team scored 19 or more runs while shutting out its opponent, and the first such shutout in the AL since 1955 when Cleveland beat Boston 19–0. May 17 – With the New York Yankees trailing the Minnesota Twins by three runs in the bottom of the 14th inning, Jason Giambi hits a walk-off grand slam to give the Yankees a 13–12 victory. May 18 – During a rehab start with the triple A Pawtucket Red Sox, Manny Ramirez loses his $15,000 diamond earring while sliding into third base. About half his teammates on their hands and knees, along with the Syracuse grounds crew, are unable to recover it despite combing the third base area after the game. May 23