1986 in baseball


Champions

Major League Baseball

Major league baseball final standings

Draft

Events

January

  • January 7
  • *The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians greet the new year with a four-pitcher trade. Minnesota receives left-hander Ramón Romero and right-hander Roy Smith from Cleveland in exchange for southpaw Bryan Oelkers and righty Ken Schrom, a former 15-game winner.
  • *The sluggish 1985–1986 free-agent signing period continues under "Collusion I", a tacit agreement among MLB owners, inspired by Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth, to control player salaries and player movement by shunning the pursuit of other clubs' free agents.
  • **Today, shortstop Dickie Thon agrees to return to the Houston Astros after being granted free-agency on November 12, 1985.
  • January 8
  • *Slugging first baseman Willie McCovey is the only player elected this year to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and becomes the 16th player elected in his first year of eligibility. Billy Williams falls four votes shy of the 319 needed for election.
  • *Multiple marquee free agents sign contracts to return to their 1985 clubs after they fail to receive contract offers from competing teams under "Collusion I". All had been granted the freedom to "test the market" last November 12.
  • **The most publicized free agent, outfielder Kirk Gibson, agrees to remain with the Detroit Tigers, signing a three-year deal worth $4 million total. Gibson, 28 and in the prime of his career, had been asking for a five-year, $8 million pact.
  • **Future Hall-of-Fame catcher Carlton Fisk re-signs with the Chicago White Sox after New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner reportedly rescinds his contract offer.
  • **Ace relief pitcher Donnie Moore returns to the California Angels for 1986; he had led the 1985 Halos in saves and games pitched and made the AL All-Star team.
  • **The Yankees retain three free agents—catcher Butch Wynegar and the Niekro brothers, pitchers Phil and Joe—from their September 1985 roster.
  • January 14 – Noteworthy signees from the January edition of the 1986 MLB Amateur Draft include Moisés Alou, Doug Brocail, Chris Hammond, Curt Schilling, Jeff Shaw, Jerome Walton and Mark Whiten.
  • January 16
  • *The New York Mets acquire infielder Tim Teufel and minor-league outfielder Pat Crosby from the Minnesota Twins for pitchers Joe Klink and Bill Latham and outfielder Billy Beane, the future Oakland Athletics general manager and subject of Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.
  • *The Twins make another deal, obtaining former touted Detroit Tigers infielder prospect Chris Pittaro and outfielder Alejandro Sánchez for catcher/outfielder Dave Engle.
  • January 20
  • *Designated hitter Dave Kingman re-signs with the Oakland Athletics after being unconditionally released by Oakland on December 20, 1985. In his 16th and final MLB season, Kingman, 37, will bash 35 home runs in 144 games in 1986.
  • *Tony Pérez, granted free agency from the Cincinnati Reds last November 12, agrees to return to his longtime team for 1986. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer will appear in 77 games, including 55 at first base, in his 23rd and last big-league campaign.
  • January 28
  • *Utilityman Juan Beníquez, 35, also one of the players granted free agency on November 12, changes teams, signing with the Baltimore Orioles after five productive seasons with the California Angels.
  • *Veteran catcher Darrell Porter, 33, signs with the Texas Rangers; he had been released outright by the St. Louis Cardinals last November 14.
  • *Dane Iorg, the Kansas City Royals' pinch hitter whose two-run single won Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, signs with the San Diego Padres. He had been granted free agency November 12.
  • January 31
  • *The Major League Baseball Players Association files a grievance with the independent arbitrator Thomas Roberts charging MLB owners with collusion and violating the current collective bargaining agreement by acting in concert to restrict free-agent player movement and salaries.
  • *The Boston Red Sox sign veteran southpaw reliever Joe Sambito, unconditionally released by the New York Mets on August 23, 1985. The former NL All-Star, 33, still battling back from his 1982 "Tommy John surgery", will become a key piece of Boston's bullpen in 1986.

    February

  • February 3 – The San Francisco Giants sign right-hander Mike LaCoss, released outright by the Kansas City Royals last November 6. LaCoss, 29, will spend six years with the Giants, win 47 games, and save six others.
  • February 5 – Outfielder Jim Dwyer, granted free agency from the Baltimore Orioles last November 12, agrees to return for a sixth season as an Oriole.
  • February 6 – The New York Yankees sign former California Angels reliever Al Holland, like Dwyer a member of the "Class of 1985" who were granted free agency last November 12.
  • February 8 – The Cleveland Indians add free-agent Dickie Noles to their pitching staff. Noles, 29, had been released outright by the Texas Rangers last December 20.
  • February 13
  • *The New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox make a seven-player trade in which the Yankees re-acquire catcher Ron Hassey and outfielder Matt Winters, a former first-round amateur draft choice, in exchange for pitcher Neil Allen and catcher Scott Bradley. Three minor leaguers complete the transaction.
  • *The Atlanta Braves sign right-hander David Palmer, granted free agency from the Montreal Expos last November 12.
  • February 18
  • *The Texas Rangers re-sign veteran minor-league relief pitcher Dale Mohorcic, granted six-year free agency October 15, 1985. As a 30-year-old rookie, Mohorcic will appear in 58 games for the Rangers in 1986 and pitch effectively, posting seven saves.
  • *The Detroit Tigers sign corner infielder and pinch hitter Harry Spilman, granted free agency from the Houston Astros last November 12.
  • February 24 – On opening day of spring training, Dick Williams, the manager who led the 1984 San Diego Padres to the first National League pennant in their 17-year history, quits his job after a winter of squabbles with Padres' president Ballard Smith and general manager Jack McKeon. Williams, 56, a future member of the Hall of Fame, compiled a 337–311 record in four seasons with San Diego. He will be replaced on February 26 by Steve Boros, who skippered the Oakland Athletics between Opening Day 1983 and May 24, 1984.
  • February 27 – A natural-gas explosion rips through the Milwaukee Brewers' clubhouse at their new Chandler, Arizona, spring training facility, burning three Brewer coaches, Tony Muser, Larry Haney and Herm Starrette. Muser suffers the most severe burns and will miss the entire 1986 season while he recovers.
  • February 28
  • * Commissioner Peter Ueberroth announces the suspension of 11 players who had testified during or been implicated in the Pittsburgh drug trials of 1985. Seven—Joaquín Andújar, Dale Berra, Enos Cabell, Keith Hernandez, Jeffrey Leonard, Dave Parker and Lonnie Smith—are suspended for one year, and four for 60 days. However, Ueberroth also rules that the 11 players can avoid suspension by contributing ten percent of their 1986 salaries to anti-drug programs or facilities and up to 200 hours of community service in the next two years, and by participating in baseball-sanctioned anti-drug-use campaigns. All 11 will play "Organized Baseball" in 1986; Parker and Hernandez will make the NL All-Star team, with Hernandez also earning a World Series ring.
  • *The Atlanta Braves sign outfielder Omar Moreno as a free agent; he had been unconditionally released by the Kansas City Royals last November 15.

    March

  • March 5 – The Braves acquire nine-time All-Star catcher and future Hall of Famer Ted Simmons, 36, from the Milwaukee Brewers for catcher Rick Cerone and two minor leaguers, pitcher Dave Clay and infielder Flavio Alfaro.
  • March 10 – Ernie Lombardi, the National League MVP in 1938, and Bobby Doerr, a nine-time American League All-Star, are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.
  • March 13 – At spring training, the father-and-son team of Hal and Brian McRae appears together in an exhibition game for the Kansas City Royals. Brian, a first-round pick in the 1985 June amateur draft, will be optioned to the minor leagues before the start of this season and won't make his MLB debut until 1990. In, Brian will play for his father, when Hal takes over as Royals' manager.
  • March 28
  • *In a rare trade between rivals, the Boston Red Sox send designated hitter Mike Easler to the New York Yankees in exchange for DH Don Baylor.
  • *The Yankees also release future Hall-of-Fame hurler Phil Niekro; the knuckleball artist, who will turn 47 in four days, went 32–20 in two seasons and 65 games for the Bombers. He'll sign with the Cleveland Indians on April 3 and win 11 games for them in 1986.
  • March 30 – The Oakland Athletics acquire 11-year veteran starting pitcher Moose Haas from the Milwaukee Brewers for four players: catcher Charlie O'Brien, third baseman Steve Kiefer, and minor-league hurlers Mike Fulmer and Pete Kendrick.