2000 Major League Baseball season
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- This article is about the 2000 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 2000 in baseball.
The 2000 Major League Baseball season was the year of the long ball; an all-time record 5,693 home runs were hit during the regular season. The season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series. Known as the Subway Series because fans could take the Subway to and from every game of the Series.
Major League Baseball final standings
- The asterisk denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league.
Playoffs
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 in the World Series as a result of the pre-2003 "alternating years" rule.
MLB Statistical Leaders
Awards and honors
Events
January-March
- January 6 - Major league officials order Atlanta Braves reliever John Rocker is to undergo psychological testing following derogatory remarks he made in an interview with Sports Illustrated magazine. Commissioner Bud Selig says he will listen to what the doctors say before deciding what punishment—if any—will be handed down to the pitcher.
- January 31 - Braves reliever John Rocker is suspended from baseball until May 1 by Commissioner Bud Selig for his racial and ethnic remarks in an article published in Sports Illustrated last month. He's also fined an undisclosed amount and ordered to undergo sensitivity training.
- March 1 - Independent arbitrator Shyam Das cuts Braves pitcher John Rocker's suspension from 28 days to 14 days. Rocker, who is allowed to report to spring training with the team, also has his fine cut.
April-May
- April 4 - Expos closer Ugueth Urbina strikes out the Dodgers in the top of the ninth inning on nine pitches, tying a major league record.
- April 7 - A total of 57 home runs are hit in the 15 games played, for a new major league record. The previous mark of 55 was set in 17 games on August 13, 1999. There were 36 homers hit in the AL, smashing the previous mark for a single league.
- April 9 - The Minnesota Twins defeat the Kansas City Royals 13–7. In the process, they become the first teams in major league history to each hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the same game. Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy hit consecutive homers for Minnesota in the 6th inning, followed by three in a row by Carlos Beltrán, Jermaine Dye and Mike Sweeney of Kansas City an inning later.
- April 10 - Colorado beats Cincinnati 7–5, despite Ken Griffey, Jr.'s 400th career home run. At age of 30, Griffey is the youngest player in major league history to reach that milestone.
- April 11 - The Dodgers edge the San Francisco Giants 6–5 in the first game played at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco. Shortstop Kevin Elster leads the Dodger attack with three home runs.
- April 11 - The Detroit Tigers sink the Seattle Mariners 5–2 in the first game played at Comerica Park in Detroit.
- April 15 - The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Twins 6–4, as Cal Ripken, Jr. gets the 3,000th hit of his illustrious career. Ripken goes 3-for-5 in becoming the 24th player to reach the milestone, and the 7th to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.
- April 16 - Cleveland Indians starter Chuck Finley, who was already the only pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning twice, does it for the third time as the left-hander strikes out Tom Evans, Royce Clayton, Chad Curtis (who takes first on a passed ball) and Rafael Palmeiro in the third inning. Finley beats the Texas Rangers 2–1 with the help of back-to-back ninth-inning home runs from Manny Ramírez and Jim Thome.
- April 21 - The Anaheim Angels down the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9–6. Mo Vaughn and Tim Salmon hit back-to-back home runs for Anaheim in the fourth inning, then repeat the feat in the ninth. Troy Glaus also homers in those same two innings, marking the first time in major league history that three players homer in the same inning twice in the same game. The three players with two home runs in the game ties another major league record.
- April 23 - In the New York Yankees' 10–7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada each hit home runs from both sides of the plate, marking the first time in major league history that a pair of teammates accomplish the feat in the same game.
- April 29 - The Giants finally win, beating the Expos 2–1 for their 1st victory at Pacific Bell Park. They are the 1st team to lose six straight game to begin play in a newly constructed home park.
- April 30 - The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 4–3, as Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds hit home runs. St. Louis finishes the month with 55 homers, a new record for April. It also ties the National League mark for homers in any month. Major league batters also set a record for most home runs in a month by hitting 931 in April; the total is 140 more than the number hit in 1999.
- May 10 - Rickey Henderson becomes the 21st major leaguer to garner 10,000 at bats in his career. Henderson finishes the night with 10,002 at bats and trails only Cal Ripken, Jr. among active players.
- May 11 - At Wrigley Field, the Milwaukee Brewers defeat the Chicago Cubs 14–8 in the longest 9-inning game in National League history—4 hours and 22 minutes. For the Brewers, Mark Loretta goes 5-for-5 to offset Glenallen Hill's second-inning home run, which lands on the roof of a building on Waveland Avenue, beyond the left field seats.
- May 18 - Mark McGwire hit three home runs and seven RBI in a St. Louis 7–2 victory over the Phillies. The homers move McGwire past Mickey Mantle into 8th place on the all-time list with 539.
- May 19 - The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Cardinals 13–1, as catcher Jason Kendall hits for the cycle, becoming the first Pirate ever to do so at Three Rivers Stadium.
- May 23 - Baltimore defeats Seattle 4–2. The Mariners' Rickey Henderson draws his 2,000th career walk in the 9th inning, making him the 3rd player to reach that level, behind Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.
- May 29 - Second baseman Randy Velarde of the Oakland Athletics turns an unassisted triple play, just the 11th in major league history, on a line drive by the New York Yankees' Shane Spencer. With runners on first and second running with the pitch, Velarde tags Jorge Posada as he nears second base, then touches the bag to retire Tino Martinez. In 1995, while with the Yankees, Velarde turned an unassisted triple play against the Los Angeles Dodgers in spring training following the strike.
June-July
- June 2 - The Montréal Expos announce they will wear Maurice Richard's uniform number 9 on their jerseys for the rest of the season to honor the Montreal Canadiens great who died last week. It is believed to be the first time a major league team has honored an athlete from another sport in this way.
- June 26 - The Diamondbacks defeat the Astros 6-1. Arizona rookie first baseman Alex Cabrera hits a two-run pinch-hit home run in his first major league at bat.
- July 6 - St. Louis rookie catcher Keith McDonald hits a home run in his second at bat, becoming only the second player in major league history to hit home runs in each of his first two big league at bats. Bob Nieman, in 1951, is the other.
- July 8 - In a New York match, the Yankees whip the Mets by identical 4-2 scores in both ends of an unusual day-night doubleheader. With the first game played at Shea Stadium and the nightcap at Yankee Stadium, it is the first time since 1903 that two teams played two games in different stadiums on the same day. Dwight Gooden wins the first game with a six inning effort in his first start since returning to the Yankees. Roger Clemens wins the nightcap and precipitate a near-brawl when he drills Mike Piazza in the helmet with an inside fastball. Piazza suffers a concussion.
- July 15 - A 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card is auctioned for a record $1.1 million on eBay. Other high-priced items in the auction include a baseball autographed by the entire 1919 "Chicago Black Sox" team, including Shoeless Joe Jackson as well as the umpires who worked the final game of the 1919 World Series, sells for $93,666, including a 15% buyer's premium. A ball signed by the 1919 Reds goes for $11,208, while a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth sells for $76,020. A contract from Shoeless Joe Jackson's sale of his Chicago pool hall to teammate Lefty Williams sells for $36,098. The contract, dated October 6, 1921, is for just $1.
- July 20 - In a Houston 6-2 win over Cincinnati, Reds pinch-hitter Mike Bell strikes out in his major league debut, making history by becoming part of the first third-generation family to play for the same major league team. His grandfather Gus Bell and father Buddy Bell also played for the Reds.
August
- August 19 - The Yankees beat the Angels 9-1, hitting a major league record-tying three sacrifice flies in the 3rd inning.
- August 21 - Potomac's Esix Snead breaks Lenny Dykstra's Carolina League record of 105 stolen bases by swiping his 106th. Snead has a batting average of .242 and a .338 on base percentage. It's the 10th time in the last 20 years that a minor-leaguer has stolen 100 or more bases in a season. According to Howe Sports data, the eight players who stole 100 or more bases in the minors were:
- Vince Coleman (Macon, South Atlantic, 1983—145)
- Donell Nixon (Bakersfield, California, 1983—144)
- Jeff Stone (Spartanburg, South Atlantic, 1983—123)
- Alan Wiggins (Lodi, California, 1980—120)
- Marcus Lawton (Columbia, South Atlantic, 1985—111)
- Esix Snead (Potomac, Carolina, 2000—106)
- Lenny Dykstra (Lynchburg, Carolina, 1983—105)
- Donell Nixon (Chattanooga, Southern, 1984—102)
- Vince Coleman (Louisville, American Association, 1983— 101)
- Albert Hall (Durham, Carolina, 1980—100)
- August 22 - The Dodgers defeat the Expos 14-6, as Eric Karros becomes the first Dodger player to hit two home runs in a single inning (6th).
September
- September 4 - At Fenway Park, Carl Everett of the Boston Red Sox becomes only the sixth major-league switch-hitter to drive in 100 runs in both leagues when he knocks in his 100th RBI of the year. Boston wins over the Seattle Mariners, 5-1. Everett drove in 108 runs for the Houston Astros in 1999. The other five 100-100 switch-hitters were Ted Simmons, Ken Singleton, Eddie Murray, Bobby Bonilla and J.T. Snow. Before the game, the Red Sox honor Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk. Fisk, who played his first nine seasons with Boston, joins Bobby Doerr (1), Joe Cronin (4), Carl Yastrzemski (8) and Ted Williams (9) in having his number (27) be retired at Fenway.
- September 10 - Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks becomes the 12th pitcher to reach the 3,000-strikeout plateau, fanning a season-high 14 in seven innings as the Diamondbacks lose to the Florida Marlins 4–3 in 12 innings. Johnson's 3,000 strikeout victim is Mike Lowell, who fans to end the 4th inning. In the first inning, Johnson also records his 300th strikeout for the third consecutive season and the fourth time overall. Nolan Ryan is the only other pitcher to accomplish the feat, and is the only pitcher who has reached 300 strikeouts more times with six (1972-74, 1976-77 and 1989).
- September 26 - Longtime broadcast partner NBC declines to renew its rights. NBC had televised baseball since 1947, with the exception of 1990-93, and had been the exclusive home of the World Series for 27 years.
- September 27 - In an Oakland 9–7 victory over the Angels, Anaheim's Darin Erstad hits a home run in the 2nd inning for his 99th RBI of the year from the leadoff spot to set a new record. Nomar Garciaparra drove home 98 in 1997 for the previous mark.
October-December
Deaths
- January 1 - Larry Bearnarth, 58, relief pitcher for the Mets from 1963–66; later the Expos' pitching coach
- January 4 - John Milner, 50, first baseman and left fielder for the Mets and Pirates who hit 20 home runs twice, had 10 career grand slams
- January 11 - Bob Lemon, 79, Hall of Fame pitcher who won 207 games including a no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians, posting seven 20-win seasons; won final game of 1948 World Series, and managed Yankees to 1978 championship
- January 16 - By Saam, 85, broadcaster for the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies from 1938 to 1975
- March 7 - Jack Sanford, 70, All-Star pitcher who was the 1957 NL Rookie of the Year; was 24–7 for 1962 Giants
- June 2 - Ellis Clary, 83, infielder for the Senators and Browns; later a scout for 32 years
- June 5 - Don Liddle, 75, pitcher for the New York Giants during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series when teammate Willie Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch
- June 21 - Bud Stewart, 84, outfielder who was the AL runnerup in triples with the 1948 Senators
- June 23 - Bob Tillman, 63, catcher for the Red Sox and Braves who caught two no-hitters and had three home runs in a 1969 game
- September 3 - Clyde Sukeforth, 98, catcher for the Reds and Dodgers who later scouted Jackie Robinson, and also signed Don Newcombe and Roberto Clemente
- September 17 - Chico Salmon, 59, infielder for the Indians and Orioles who had a crucial pinch hit in the 1970 World Series
- September 23 - Aurelio Rodríguez, 52, third baseman, primarily for the Tigers, who won a Gold Glove and retired with the sixth most games at his position
- October 22 - Hank Wyse. 82, All-Star pitcher who helped the Cubs to clinch the 1945 National League title after going 22-10 with a 2.68 ERA and the last Cubs pitcher to appear in a Series game
- October 28 - Andújar Cedeño, 31, shortstop for the Astros and Padres who hit for the cycle in a 1992 game
- November 25 - Hugh Alexander, 83, outfielder who played seven games for 1937 Indians; became a scout for 61 years after losing his left hand in an accident
- December 10 - Willard Nixon, 72, pitcher who won 69 games for the Red Sox
- December 19- Lou Polli, 99, Italian relief pitcher for the 1932 Browns and 1944 Giants
External links
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