1999 in baseball

Events

January-March

• January 5 - Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. It is the first time since 1936 that three players are elected simultaneously on their first try. Carlton Fisk finishes 4th in the voting, missing election by 43 votes.
• February 15 - The Cincinnati Reds announce that they are dropping their long-standing policy of no facial hair for players. The change is the result of a talk between Reds owner Marge Schott and newly-acquired outfielder Greg Vaughn.
• February 18:
• The U.S. Postal Service issues a Jackie Robinson stamp as part of their "Celebrate the Century" program. Robinson was selected to represent the 1940's, and is the second baseball player chosen. Babe Ruth, in May 1998, represented the 1920s.
• The Yankees end the trade rumors by acquiring Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitchers David Wells and Graeme Lloyd, and infielder Homer Bush.
• February 21 - Florida Marlins rookie third baseman Mike Lowell, acquired from the Yankees in February 1, undergoes surgery for testicular cancer after a small mass is found during a routine exam.
• March 2 - Orlando Cepeda, Frank Selee, Smokey Joe Williams and Nestor Chylak are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
• March 7 - In a historic agreement, it is announced that the Baltimore Orioles will travel to Cuba for a March 28 exhibition game against the Cuban national team in Havana. The Cuban team will travel to the US for a return contest at a future date. It is the first time in 40 years that Americans will play a professional game in Cuba.
• March 10 - Yankees manager Joe Torre is diagnosed with prostate cancer. While he is undergoing treatment, the team will be run by coach Don Zimmer.
• March 28 - The Orioles make the first visit to Cuba by major leaguers since 1959, and defeat a team of Cuban amateurs by a score of 3?2 in 11 innings. Pitcher José Contreras hurls eight innings of 2?hit, 10?K ball in relief for the Cubans, while catcher Charles Johnson hits a two?run home run and DH Harold Baines drives in the winning run for the Orioles. The two teams will play a rematch at Camden Yards in Baltimore on May 3.

April-June

• April 4 - In the first season opener ever played outside of the United States or Canada, the Rockies defeat the Padres, 8?2, before an overflow crowd of 27,104 in Monterrey, Mexico. Ootfielder Dante Bichette has four hits, including a home run, and four RBI for the winners. Local hero Vinny Castilla also has four hits for the Rockies, while Darryl Kile picks up the victory.
• April 19 - Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken, Jr. is placed on the disabled list for the first time in his 19?year career because of irritation in his lower back. Ripken's record consecutive game streak ended in September 1998 at 2,632 games played.
• April 20:
• Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott agrees to sell her controlling interest in the Reds to a group headed by Carl H. Lindner, ending her 14?year tenure. The group will pay a total of $67 million.
• The Nolan Ryan Museum opens in Alvin, Texas.
• April 23:
• The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12?5, as third baseman Fernando Tatis sets a major league record by hitting two grand slams in a single inning. His two homers came in St. Louis' 11?run 3rd inning. He also sets a record with eight RBI in the inning, while Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park becomes the first pitcher this century -- and only the second ever -- to surrender two grand slams in a single frame. Bill Phillips of the Pirates did so in 1890. Park became the 36th major-leaguer to serve up two slams to the same player in his career.
• The Brewers sink the Pirates, 9?1, as pitcher Steve Woodard hurls the complete game victory. The win ends Milwaukee's National League record streak of 113 games without a complete game.
• May 3:
• In a 12-11, 10-inning loss to the Oakland Athletics, Red Sox rookie Creighton Gubanich becomes only fourth player to hit a grand slam for his first major league hit.
• The Pirates defeat the Giants, 9-8, despite Jeff Kent gets five hits for the Giants, and hits for the cycle, just the second player to do so in Three Rivers Stadium. Joe Torre did it on June 27, 1973.
• May 9:
• The Yankees defeat the Mariners, 6-1. Relief pitcher Mike Stanton makes his first major league start for the Yankees, ending his major league record streak of 552 consecutive relief appearances prior to his first start. The previous record of 443 was set by Giants pitcher Gary Lavelle.
• Florida St. junior second baseman Marshall McDougall hits 7-for-7, with an NCAA record six consecutive home runs and 16 RBI, as the Seminoles defeat Maryland, 26-2. McDougall opens the game with a single. His mark breaks the home run record set by Henry Rochelle of Campbell, who hit five homers in a game in 1985. The RBI mark was held by Jim LaFountain of Louisville who drove in 14 against Western Kentucky in 1976.
• May 10 - The Red Sox defeat the Mariners, 12-4, as shortstop Nomar Garciaparra leads the way with three home runs, including two grand slams. Garciaparra drives home 10 of Boston's runs as he clouts a bases loaded homer in the 1st inning, a 2-run shot in the 3rd, and another grand slam in the 8th. Nomar is the first Bosox since Jim Tabor, in 1939, to hit two slams in a game, and just the 9th in major league history. Robin Ventura last did it, in 1995.
• May 17 - Tampa Bay outgun the Rangers, 13-3, as first baseman Fred McGriff extends his major league record by hitting a home run in his 35th big league stadium?The Ballpark in Arlington.
• May 19 - In a record-setting outing, the Reds beat the Rockies, 24-12, stroking 28 hits in the process. The 36 runs sets a Coors Field record. Jeffrey Hammonds hits three home runs for Cincinnati, as seven players in the Reds lineup get three or more hits apiece. Teammate Sean Casey hits a pair of 3-run homers to drive in six runs and reaches base in all seven plate appearances, tying a 20th century record. The 36 runs scored in the contest is the 3rd-highest total in the major leagues since the turn of the 20th century, while the 81 total bases sets a new major league standard. Mike Cameron ties a major league mark with eight plate appearances in a nine-inning game. With 28 hits, the Reds tie a mark originally set on May 13, 1902 and tie the National League record with seven players with 3 or more hits (Pirates , June 12, 1928, and Reds, August 3, 1989). The Rockies also became the first team to score 12 or more runs in a game and lose by 12or more runs in the same game since the Giants beat the Reds, 25-13 in 1901. Larry Walker extends his hitting streak to 20 games and raises his average to .431.
• May 20 - The Mets sweep the Brewers in a double header, winning the first game, 11-10, and the second, 10-1. Robin Ventura hits a grand slam in each contest, becoming the first player in major league history to do so in both ends of a double header. Ventura also becomes the first player to hit a pair of grand slams on the same day on two separate occasions.
• June 25:
• St. Louis defeats Arizona, 1-0, as rookie pitcher José Jiménez hurls the first no-hitter of the season. The Cardinals score the lone run on a broken bat single with two outs in the ninth inning. Jiménez posted eight strikeouts in the contest, while losing pitcher Randy Johnson strike outs 14, including the 2500th of his career. Jiménez walks two and hits a batter in becoming the first rookie to toss a no-hitter since Wilson Alvarez in 1991.
• In Baltimore's 9?8 loss to the Yankees, Orioles' Jesse Orosco makes his 1,051st relief appearance to break Kent Tekulve's major league record.
• June 28 - Hack Wilson ups his runs batted in total for the 1930 season to 191. 69 years after the season, an RBI is added by the commissioner's office, which also gives Babe Ruth six additional walks, raising his career-record total to 2,062. "There is no doubt that Hack Wilson's RBI total should be 191," commissioner Bud Selig said. "I am sensitive to the historical significance that accompanies the correction of such a prestigious record, especially after so many years have passed, but it is important to get it right." The missing RBI came from the second game of a doubleheader between Wilson's Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds on July 28, 1930 where Charlie Grimm was credited with two RBI in the game and Wilson with none. Ruth's walks total is now 2,062. Ted Williams is second, trailing by 43, and Rickey Henderson is third, 134 behind Ruth.

July-September

• July 5 - The Cardinals defeat the Diamondbacks, 1-0, as José Jiménez hurls a 2-hitter to defeat Randy Johnson. Jiménez no-hit the Diamondbacks in his last appearance against them (June 25). Johnson loses his 3rd game in a row, during which Arizona has not scored a run and only made three hits. He strikeouts 12 Cardinals to tie Dwight Gooden's National League mark of 43 strikeouts over three starts. He also reaches 200 strikeouts for the year and ends St. Louis rookie Joe McEwing's 25-game hitting streak, the 5th longest ever for a rookie.
• July 6 - The White Sox lose to the Royals, 8-7. Chicago outfielder Chris Singleton hits for the cycle, becoming the first rookie to do so since Oddibe McDowell in 1985 and just the 16th since 1900
• July 9 - The uniform Lou Gehrig wore when he made his famous "luckiest man on earth" speech on July 4, 1939 is sold for $451,541 at auction. Leland's spokesman Marty Appel says the flannel pinstripe uniform worn by the Hall of Fame first baseman was purchased by a South Florida man who did not want his name made public. The winning bid was made over the phone. Yesterday, Carlton Fisk's home run ball that won Game Six of the 1975 World Series for the Boston Red Sox was sold for $113,273.
• July 13 - The American League defeats the National League, 4-1, to win the All-Star Game at Fenway Park in Boston. Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez is named the game's MVP as he strikes out the first four hitters to bat against him, and five of the six he faces in his two innings of work. The game begins 15 minutes late as Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams rides out in a cart for the first-pitch ceremony. Players from both teams surround the former Red Sox star in a spontaneous display of homage.
• July 25 - George Brett, Robin Yount, Nolan Ryan and Orlando Cepeda, are inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
• August 5 - San Diego defeat the Cardinals, 10-3, despite a pair of home runs by Mark McGwire, including the 500th of his career. McGwire becomes the first player in history to hit his 400th and 500th homers in successive seasons.
• August 7 - Just one day after Tony Gwynn reaches the historic milestone, Devil Rays' Wade Boggs also gets the 3000th hit of his career (a home run) in Tampa Bay's 15-10 loss to Cleveland.
• August 9 - A total of five grand slams are hit on the day, marking the first time it has happened in 129 years of major league baseball. The bases loaded pokes are hit by Fernando Tatis ( St. Louis, against the Philadelphia), José Vidro (Montreal, against San Diego), Mike Lowell (Florida, against San Francisco), Bernie Williams (Yankees, against Oakland) and Jay Buhner (Seattle, against the White Sox).
• August 17 - Sic transit gloria. St. Louis send José Jiménez to AAA Memphis less than two months after his no-hitter against Arizona. He joins Bobo Holloman as the only pitcher to go to the minors in the same year he pitched a no-hitter.
• August 30 - The Mets roll over the Astros, 17-1, as Edgardo Alfonzo goes 6-for-6, a club record, with a double, three home runs, five RBI and six runs scored. The six runs scored ties the modern major league mark. Alfonzo is the only the 5th player ever to hit three home runs while going 6-for-6.
• September 4 - In a 22-3 blowout over Philadelphia, the Cincinnati Reds tie a National League record by hitting nine home runs in the contest: two 2 by Eddie Taubensee, and one apiece by Aaron Boone, Dmitri Young, Jeffrey Hammonds, Greg Vaughn, Pokey Reese, Brian Johnson and Mark Lewis.
• September 7 - Two native Canadian pitchers oppose each other as starters for the first time in 26 years. Florida Marlin pitcher Ryan Dempster from British Columbia faces off against Los Angeles Dodgers Eric Gagné who hails from Quebec. The two roomed together while competing on Canada's national baseball team. The battle is a draw with neither pitcher getting the decision, but the Marlins win, 2?1.
• September 10 - The Red Sox trip the Yankees, 3-1, as Pedro Martinez hurls an impressive one-hitter for his 21st victory of the year. Martinez strikes out 17 batters, the most Yankees ever fanned in a single game. DH Chili Davis' 2nd inning home run is NY's only safety. Chuck Knoblauch leading off the game gave the Yankees their only other baserunner he was caught stealing, so Martinez faces just one over the minimum.
• September 11 - The Twins defeat the Angels, 7-0, as left-handed Eric Milton hurls the third no-hitter of the season.
• September 14 - Kansas City lose a doubleheader to the Angels, 8-6 in the opener and 6-5 in the nightcap. In the second game, KC outfielder Mark Quinn makes a memorable major league debut. After making out in his f-rst at bat, Quinn doubles in his next trip to the plate, then hits home runs in his last two times up. He becomes just the third player in history to hit two home runs in his first big league game. Bob Nieman (1951) and Bert Campaneris (1964) are the only others to accomplish the feat.
• September 18 - The Brewers beat the Cubs, 7-4, as Sammy Sosa hits his 60th home run of the year. He becomes the first major leaguer to hit 60 homers in two seasons.
• September 21 - The Red Sox defeat the Blue Jays, 3-0, as Pedro Martinez fans 12 for his 22nd win. He joins Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to strike out at least 300 in both leagues, and breaks Roger Clemens club mark of 291 strikeouts.
• September 26 - The Cardinals lose to the Reds, 7-5, despite Mark McGwire's 60th home run of the season. McGwire joins Sammy Sosa as the only players in history to reach the 60 homer mark twice. He will end the season with 147 runs batted in on 145 hits, the only player in major league history (with 100 hits in a season) to have more RBI than hits. Jay Buhner, in 1995, came closest with 121 RBI and 123 hits.
• September 30 - The Dodgers defeat the Giants, 9-4, in the final game ever played at Candlestick Park.

October-December

• October 2 - In a 3?2 Yankees victory over Tampa Bay, Bernie Williams draws his 100th walk of the season. He is the first player since Stan Musial (1948 and 1953) to reach 200 hits, 100 runs, 100 RBI and 100 walks in a season. Williams finishes with 202, 116, 115 and 100, respectively.
• October 3 - The Cardinals defeat the Cubs, 9-5, as both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa homer in their last game of the season. McGwire takes Steve Trachsel deep in the first inning and finishes with 65 home runs, with Sosa next in line with 63, homering in the third. McGwire's home run is his 522nd moving him past Ted Williams and Willie McCovey for 10th place on the All-time list. He finishes with 147 RBI on 145 hits, the first major league player ever to have more RBI than hits. Jay Buhner, in 1995, came closest with 121 RBI on 123 hits.
• October 27 - The Yankees defeat the Braves, 4-1, to win their 25th World Series. Roger Clemens gets the win, hurling 4-hit ball before leaving the game in the 8th inning. Mariano Rivera gets the save, his second of the Series. Jim Leyritz hits a solo home run in the 8th inning to finish the NY scoring. Rivera wins the Series MVP award.
• November 1:
• The Cubs hire Atlanta Braves coach Don Baylor as their new manager.
• The Indians hire hitting coach Charlie Manuel as their new manager.
• November 17 - The Angels hire Mike Scioscia as their new manager.
• December 5 - Major league baseball and ESPN agreed to settle their lawsuit by signing a new 6-year, $800 million deal. The suit involved ESPN's decision to give NFL football games priority over late-season Sunday night baseball games on its main channel.