2008 in baseball


Calendar

Major League Baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

  • Regular Season Champions
LeagueEastern Division ChampionsCentral Division ChampionsWestern Division ChampionsWild Card Qualifier
American LeagueTampa Bay RaysChicago White SoxLos Angeles Angels of AnaheimBoston Red Sox
National LeaguePhiladelphia PhilliesChicago CubsLos Angeles DodgersMilwaukee Brewers

American League
DH: Aubrey Huff
C: Joe Mauer
1B: Justin Morneau
2B: Dustin Pedroia
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Derek Jeter
OF: Josh Hamilton
OF: Carlos Quentin
OF: Grady Sizemore
National League
P: Carlos Zambrano
C: Brian McCann
1B: Albert Pujols
2B: Chase Utley
3B: David Wright
SS: Hanley Ramírez
OF: Ryan Braun
OF: Matt Holliday
OF: Ryan Ludwick
American League
P: Mike Mussina
C: Joe Mauer
1B: Carlos Peña
2B: Dustin Pedroia
3B: Adrián Beltré
SS: Michael Young
OF: Torii Hunter
OF: Grady Sizemore
OF: Ichiro Suzuki
National League
P: Greg Maddux
C: Yadier Molina
1B: Adrián González
2B: Brandon Phillips
3B: David Wright
SS: Jimmy Rollins
OF: Carlos Beltrán
OF: Nate McLouth
OF: Shane Victorino

Others

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 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, 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:
  • * At Petco Park, the Colorado Rockies defeat the San Diego Padres 2–1 in 22 innings, in a game that lasts 6 hours and 16 minutes and ends at 1:21 a.m. after Troy Tulowitzki's RBI double with two out in the top of the inning drives in an unearned run. Inning-wise, the game is the longest in the majors since another 22-inning contest on August 21,, the longest in the history of both teams and the longest in Petco Park's 5-year history.
  • * Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann hit consecutive home runs in the fifth inning of the Braves' 8–0 win over the Marlins.
  • April 21 – Chase Utley ties a Phillies record by homering in his fifth consecutive game.
  • April 22 – John Smoltz becomes the 16th major league pitcher to record 3,000 strikeouts, retiring Nationals pitcher John Lannan in the third inning at Turner Field, but Lannan earns the victory as Washington wins 6–0.
  • April 23 – The Chicago Cubs become the second major league franchise to record 10,000 victories, with a 7–6 win over the Rockies in 10 innings.
  • April 24 – A David Ortiz Red Sox jersey which is exhumed from the construction site of New Yankee Stadium eleven days earlier after a foiled jinx attempt is auctioned for $175,100, with the proceeds going to a Red Sox-affiliated charity.
  • April 25 - The Kansas City Royals released pitcher Hideo Nomo. Nomo would never pitch in the major leagues again.