2005 in baseball

Events

January-March

• January 3 - Wade Boggs, a five-time batting champion, and Ryne Sandberg, a nine-time Gold Glove Award winner at second base, were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Boggs received 474 votes, or 91.9 percent of the 516 ballots cast. Sandberg received 393 votes, six more that the needed number. Relief pitchers Bruce Sutter (66.7 percent) and Rich "Goose" Gossage (55.2) and outfielders Jim Rice (59.5) and Andre Dawson (52.3) were the only other players to be named on at least half of the ballots cast. Boggs and Sandberg will be enshrined during a ceremony July 31 at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
• January 11 - The Arizona Diamondbacks traded five-time Cy Young winner Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees in a three-team deal that includes the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shawn Green, Javier Vázquez and Dioner Navarro also moved in the transaction. Arizona received Vázquez, Navarro and Brad Halsey from the Yankees, and later sent Navarro and three minor leagues prospects to Los Angeles for Green.
• January 18 - The New York Mets signed Carlos Beltrán to play center field for the next seven years. The team will be paying him for the next 14. Beltran's deal contains $22 million in deferred salary that will be paid out in the seven years after the contract expires. He will be 41 by the time he receives all the money, which will be paid each July 1 starting in 2012 in yearly installments of $3,142,857 plus interest that will accrue at the rate of 1.7175 percent annually.
• January 21 - Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros agreed to an $18 million, one-year contract. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, agreed a deal that makes him the highest-paid pitcher for the fifth time, following deals with the Boston Red Sox in 1989 ($2.5 million) and 1991 ($5.38 million); with the Toronto Blue Jays before the 1997 season, and with the New York Yankees in 2000 ($15.45 million). The two contracts with the Red Sox and the one with the Yankees made him the sport's highest-paid player overall. Clemens also got the highest, one-year contract in baseball history, topping Greg Maddux's $14.75 million deal with the Atlanta Braves in 2003 and Pedro Martínez's $17.5 million in 2004, and tied Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds for the fourth-highest average salary in the major leagues, trailing only Alex Rodriguez ($25.2 million), Manny Ramirez ($20 million) and Derek Jeter ($18.9 million).
• January 26 - Carlos Delgado agreed with the Florida Marlins to a $52 million, four-year contract, which includes an option year making it potentially worth $64 million over five seasons. With the addition of the free agent first baseman, Florida becomes perhaps the team to beat in the NL East. The Marlins won the World Series in 1997 and 2003 but still are seeking their first division title. Delgado hit at least 30 home runs each of the past eight seasons, all with the Toronto Blue Jays. He joins a lineup that include All-Stars Miguel Cabrera, Luis Castillo, Mike Lowell, Paul Lo Duca and Alex González.
• January 31 - The Seattle Mariners signed relief pitcher Jeff Nelson to a minor league contract, his third stint with the club. The reliever previously pitched with the Mariners from 1992-1995 and again from 2001-2003. He is Seattle's all-time record holder for most games pitched with 383 and has a 23-20 record with the Mariners.
• February 2 - The trade that sent Sammy Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles from the Chicago Cubs was finalized after commissioner Bud Selig approved the deal and the slugger passed his physical. Chicago received second baseman Jerry Hairston, Jr. and two minor leaguers, then signed Jeromy Burnitz as a free agent to replace Sosa in right field.
• February 6 - At Mazatlan, Mexico, Francisco Campos turned in another brilliant outing and Mexican champion Águilas de Mazatlán (Mazatlan Eagles) held on in the final game, edging the Dominican Republic 4-3 to win the 56th Caribbean World Series. The title is just Mexico?s fifth since joining the competition in 1970, the second in the last four years, but its first since hosting the series. Campos allowed just three hits --two infield hits and a bunt single-- and a run over his first eight innings of work, striking out 11. Previouly, Campos handcuffed the Venezuelan champion Tigres de Aragua (Aragua Tigers) 4-0 in the series opener. He allowed just three hits over eight innings and struck out 10. Campos was voted the Series MVP.
• February 8 - Magglio Ordóñez, the last remaining premier free agent of the offseason, and the Detroit Tigers agreed to a $75 million, five-year contract, a deal with two option years that could raise the total to $105 million over seven seasons. The Tigers structured a contract for Ordóñez that gives the team some protection if he is hampered by injuries. He gets a $6 million signing bonus and a $6 million salary this year. His contract calls for a $15 million salary in 2006, $12 million in 2007, $15 million in 2008 and $18 million in 2009. Detroit has a $15 million option for 2010 with a $3 million buyout, and a $15 million option for 2011 with no buyout. In addition, Ordóñez's salary in each of the option years would become guaranteed if he has 135 starts or 540 plate appearances in the previous season, or 270 starts or 1,080 plate appearances in the previous two seasons. If his 2010 salary becomes guaranteed under this provision, it would be at $18 million. The 2011 salary would be $15 million.
• February 16 - Baseball union signed an agreement calling for international drug-testing rules during a 16-team World Cup tournament in the 2006 spring training. Each team will select a provisional roster of 60 players 45 days before the start of the tournament, and players will be covered by the drug-testing rules until the end of the competition. The deal, signed by the union, the commissioner?s office and the International Baseball Federation, states that IBAF rules will cover the frequency of testing before and during the tournament, the list of prohibited substances, the procedures for taking samples and the laboratories used. More substances are banned by the IBAF than in major league baseball.
• March 2:
• Thirty-two years after his death, Jackie Robinson received the Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda, the highest honor Congress can bestow. The medal was accepted by Rachel Robinson, his widow. Baseball was represented in a way by a former Texas Rangers executive, George W. Bush. Robinson joined Roberto Clemente, Joe Louis and Jesse Owens as the only athletes among about 300 Gold Medal recipients. Following the ceremony, the Boston Red Sox were honored at the White House, for winning the 2004 World Series.
• In the Washington Nationals first game since moving from Montreal, pitcher Tony Armas, Jr. tossed two hitless innings and José Guillén hit a two-run home run as the Nationals posted a 5-3 triumph over the Mets in the Grapefruit League opener for both teams. The Expos played their first regular-season game against the Mets in 1969 and their last game against the Mets on October 3, 2004. In the first regular-season game between these franchises, Tom Seaver started for the Mets at Shea Stadium and Coco Laboy powered the Expos to an 11-10 victory. In their last meeting, Tom Glavine started for the Mets at Shea and Todd Zeile homered to deal the Expos an 8-1 defeat. In the spring training opener at Space Coast Stadium, Glavine started again for the Mets against the Nationals.
• March 29 - First baseman Andrés Galarraga announced his retirement. A five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove in a 19-year career, Galarraga was a .288 hitter with 399 home runs and 1425 RBI in 2,257 games.

April

• April 3 - In his first outing for the New York Yankees, Randy Johnson allowed a run and five hits in six innings as the Yankees opened the 2005 MLB season with a 9-2 triumph over the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox.
• April 4 - Opening Day Highlights:
• Baltimore Orioles' Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro became the first pair of teammates to have at least 500 career home runs apiece. Sosa went into the season with 574 career HR and Palmeiro 551. Their combined total of 1,125 is the most-ever by teammates. In 1934, Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth finished the season with the Yankees with a combined 1,056 home runs. The Orioles became the first team in major league history to have had five members of the 500-home run club to play for them at some point in their career. Sosa and Palmeiro join Frank Robinson, Eddie Murray and Reggie Jackson on that list.
• Detroit Tigers DH Dmitri Young hit three home runs to lead his team to an 11-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals. In the process, Young became the third player in major league history to hit three homers on Opening Day, joining George Bell (Blue Jays, 1988) and Tuffy Rhodes (Cubs, 1994). Overall, Young hit 4-for-4 with four runs scored and five RBI.
• Mark Buehrle yielded two hits in eight shutout innings and Shingo Takatsu worked a perfect ninth inning as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians 1-0 in a game that took only an hour and 51 minutes to complete. Indians' pitcher Jake Westbrook allowed only one run and four hits in going the distance, but that wasn't good enough to win. The game's only run came in the seventh inning on an error by Cleveland shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
• The Cincinnati Reds rallied from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the New York Mets 7-6, after a two-run, game-tying home run from Adam Dunn (his second of the game) and a solo blast to win it by Joe Randa. The Mets wasted the effort of signed free agents pitcher Pedro Martínez (6 innings, 12 strikeouts) and the hitting of outfielder Carlos Beltrán (3-for-5 with a homer and 3 RBI) to take a 6-4 lead after seven innings. But Mets closer Braden Looper couldn't close the door in the ninth, giving up the back-to-back homers and taking the loss. In the game, Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. appeared second in the lineup. That's a atypical change for the left-handed hitter, who has batted third most of his career. Just like 2003 season, Mets infielder Kazuo Matsui homered in his first at bat of the year. Matsui, who came to the Mets last year from Japan, had a historic debut when he hit the first pitch he ever saw in the majors over the fence.
• Center fielder Brad Wilkerson had the honor of being the first batter for the Washington Nationals and he promptly responded with the first hit in the new franchise history. Nevertheless, Kenny Lofton hit a three-run homer and Jon Lieber pitched 5 2/3 effective innings, leading the home team Phillies to an 8-4 victory over the new Nationals in Philadelphia.
• April 6 - Brad Wilkerson of the Washington Nationals hit for the cycle in the Nationals' first win since moving to Washington D.C., 7-3 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He became the twentieth player to hit for the cycle twice. One day after, Wilkerson continued his torrid hitting going 4-for-5, as the Nationals completed its first series by winning two of three against the Phillies.
• April 14 - On a historic night at RFK Stadium, Liván Hernández and Vinny Castilla were up to the task. Hernández carried a one-hitter into the ninth inning and Castilla fell a single shy of the cycle as the Washington Nationals posted a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first major league game in Washington D.C. in more than 33 years. After beginning their first season in the nation's capital with a nine-game road trip, the Nationals opened the first game at RFK Stadium since the departure of the Washington Senators with former pitcher Joe Grzenda handing a ball to president George W. Bush, who threw the ceremonial first pitch. Grzenda tossed the final pitch in Senators history against the New York Yankees on September 30, 1971.
• April 15 - Sammy Sosa hit his first home run at Camden Yards, giving him homers in 42 different ballparks. Currently seventh on the all-time list with 576 home runs, Sosa and Miguel Tejada had three RBI apiece as the Orioles defeated the Yankees 10-1.
• April 16 - Manny Ramírez knocked in all six Sox runs with a grand slam and a two-run shot, and Matt Clement won in his Fenway Park debut to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It was Ramirez's 18th career grand slam, most among active players. The homer tied him for third on the all-time grand slam list with Willie McCovey and Robin Ventura, behind only Eddie Murray (19) and Lou Gehrig (23). It was Ramirez's 40th career multi-homer game (38 two-homer games, two three-homer games).
• April 26 - At Yankee Stadium, Alex Rodriguez slugged his way to the best performance of his career, hitting three home runs for the third time and drove in a career-high 10 runs as the Yankees won 12-4 over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Rodriguez came within one RBI of matching the American League-record held by Hall of Famer and former Yankee Tony Lazzeri.
• April 27 - Mark Grudzielanek became the first St. Louis Cardinals player to hit for the cycle in nine seasons, and pitcher Chris Carpenter equaled his career best with 12 strikeouts, as St. Louis beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3. Grudzielanek is only the third Cardinals player to hit for the cycle at 40-year-old Busch Stadium, which is being demolished after this season. The others were Ray Lankford on September 15, 1991, against the Mets and Lou Brock on May 27, 1975, against the Padres.

May

• May 2 - Major League Baseball announced the Awards of the Month for April in each league:
• American League
• Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts was named Player of the Month, after hit .379 (36-for-95) with eight home runs, 26 RBI, 21 runs, three doubles, three triples, 10 stolen bases and 69 total bases.
• Chicago White Sox right-hander Jon Garland captured Pitcher of the Month, after winning four games, including one shutout, while posting a 1.80 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched.
• Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Gustavo Chacín was named Rookie of the Month after going 4-1 in five starts with 18 strikeouts and a 2.41 ERA over 32.2 innings.
• National League
• Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee was voted Player of the Month, after led the league with a .419 batting average and 28 RBI.
• Florida Marlins left-hander Dontrelle Willis, who was 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA, was selected Pitcher of the Month.
• Colorado Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes, who hit .410 with four home runs and 14 RBI, won Rookie of the Month. He also became the third player in MLB history to hit .400 or better in March/April, behind the New York Mets' Willie Randolph in 1980 and Montreal Expos' Andrés Galarraga in 1986.
• May 6:
• During a 6-5 win over the Cardinals, San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman became just the third pitcher in major league history to reach the 400-save plateau, joining Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (424). Hoffman has converted 400 of 450 save chances in his career.
• Mike Piazza delivered two home runs and drove in three runs as the Mets won 7-4 triumph over the Brewers. Piazza's second homer was his 383rd, giving him sole possession of 48th place on the career list. His first shot had moved him into a tie for 49th with Frank Howard and Jim Rice.
• May 7 - Julio Franco hit 3-for-4 including his first home run of the season as the Atlanta Braves beat Houston 4-1. Franco, who turns 47 on August 23, became the second-oldest player in major league history to homer at 46 years, 257 days. Jack Quinn, a pitcher, was 46 years, 357 days when he hit one for the Philadelphia Athletics on June 27, 1930.
• May 8 - At Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 6-3, as pitcher Jeremi González won for the first time since August 19, 2003. He was 0-11 in his previous 15 starts. González pitched 5 2/3 strong innings as a fill-in for injured Boston aces Curt Schilling and David Wells. After pitch a no-hitter during five innings, he allowed two earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.
• May 10 - Tony Peña, who managed the Kansas City Royals for two-plus seasons, resigned after a loss at Toronto.
• May 15 - At Safeco Field, Boston's Manny Ramírez hit his 400th career home run, a three-run shot in the fifth inning off Seattle starter Gil Meche. Ramírez is the 39th player in major league history to reach 400 homers, and just the fifth to reach the mark in a Red Sox uniform. The others were Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Andre Dawson. He also is the 13th player to reach the mark before his 33rd birthday and just the fourth since Harmon Killebrew in 1969, and the fifth-fastest to 400 in number of at-bats, behind Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth, Killebrew and Jim Thome. The Mariners overcame Ramírez's milestone to beat the Red Sox 5-4.
• May 21:
• The San Francisco Giants hold a celebration in honor of Baseball Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. A 9-foot bronze statue of Marichal was dedicated on the plaza outside of the ballpark, joining similar larger than life-size sculptures of Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. Leonel Fernández, the President of the Dominican Republic, was in attendance. In the game which followed the ceremonies, the Giants wore uniforms with the word "Gigantes" on the front (the Spanish word for "Giants"), the first time in the club?s 123-year history it has worn such treads. The uniforms were to be auctioned off afterward. Many of Marichal?s former teammates were in attendance, including Mays, McCovey, Felipe Alou, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry.
• At Arlington, David Dellucci hit two of the Texas Rangers' team-high, eight-homerun game, in an 18-3 rout of the Houston Astros. Rod Barajas, Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock and Laynce Nix connected homers to highlight a club-record, four-homer second inning, and Richard Hidalgo and Kevin Mench also homered to help the Rangers top their previous best of seven, accomplished in 1986 and 2003. Texas had 25 three-homer innings before breaking the mark. The major league record for homeruns in an inning is five, accomplished by three teams in the National League and by the Minnesota Twins in the American League. The Twins were the last to equal the mark, on June 9, 1966, against Kansas City. The eight homers were the most by a team in interleague play, and the Rangers tied the AL mark for homers in an inning with two outs. Boston had four against Detroit on July 18, 1998.The Astros set a club record for the most homers allowed. They had given up six in a game four previous times.
• May 23 - At Cooperstown, NY, minor leaguer Derek Nicholson hit a two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the annual Hall of Fame game. Nicholson, who plays for the Class A Lakeland Tigers of the Florida State League, sent a 1-0 pitch from reliever Barry Hertzler of the Class A Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League over the fence in left-center field. In the traditional home-run contest staged before the game, David Ortiz of the Red Sox hit a record-breaking eight in his 10 official swings. He hit his last one, a drive that barely cleared the wall in right field, with a broken bat.
• May 25 - The St. Louis Cardinals beat Pirates 2-1 in 12 innings, as manager Tony La Russa won his 823d game with the Cardinals, passing Whitey Herzog for second place on the franchise list. La Russa is 218 victories behind franchise leader Red Schoendienst.
• May 28:
• During a ceremony at Great American Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds retired uniform No. 10 of former manager Sparky Anderson. Now Anderson's number joins to those of Johnny Bench (5), Joe Morgan (8), Tony Pérez (24), Frank Robinson (20) and the late Fred Hutchinson (1) and Ted Kluszewski (18) that have been retired by the team. Jackie Robinson's No. 42 hangs with those numbers on the facade of the press box at Cincinnati ballpark. Anderson, 71, compiled an 863-586 record in nine seasons as the Reds manager. He is the winningest manager in club history, winning four pennants and the World Series in 1975 and 1976.
• The Chicago Cubs send LaTroy Hawkins to the San Francisco Giants, in exchange for Jerome Williams, and David Aardsma.
• Derrek Lee hit two home runs for the second straight game and the fourth time this season, leading the Cubs to a 5-1 victory over Colorado at Wrigley Field.
• May 30:
• The Chicago White Sox extended manager Ozzie Guillén's contract, making the move while the team had the best record in the majors (33-17). Chicago picked up the 2006 option on Guillén's contract, added two more years and included an option for the 2009 season.
• The 42-year-old Jamie Moyer pitched six solid innings for his 131st win with the Seattle Mariners, passing Randy Johnson to become the club's career leader as the Mariners beat the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3. Over 20 major league seasons, he's 197-147.
• May 31 - The Kansas City Royals hired Buddy Bell as their manager, three weeks after Tony Peña resigned. Bell, the bench coach for the Cleveland Indians, has previously managed the Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies.

June

• June 1 - The Houston Astros defeats the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1, as pitcher Roy Oswalt took the major league lead for victories against a team without a defeat, improving to 14-0 against visiting Cincinnati. Oswalt was tied for the lead in victories against one team without a loss with Pedro Martínez, who has a 13-0 record against Seattle. Randy Johnson is 12-0 against the Cubs.
• June 2 - Major League Baseball announced the Awards of the Month for May in each league:
• American League
• New York Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez was honored as the Player of the Month, after hit a .349 batting average with eight home runa and 22 RBI while leading the AL with a .513 on-base percentage.
• Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers captured Pitcher of the Month, after going 6-0 with a shutout and a miniscule 0.98 ERA over 46 solid innings.
• Tampa Bay Devil Rays OF Damon Hollins was named Rookie of the Month, after hitting safely in 10 of his first 11 games. Hollins led all major-league rookies with six homers, 15 RBI, 19 runs scored and 48 total bases in the month while also posting a .325 average, which topped all AL first-year players.
• National League
• Philadelphia Phillies OF Bobby Abreu was named Player of the Month, after hit .396 and 11 home runs. Abreu also led the NL in slugging average (.792), on-base percentage (.535), walks (30) and was tied for the league lead with 30 RBI. He also became the first player in major league history to hit nine home runs in a 10-game stretch.
• San Diego Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman was awarded as Pitcher of the Month by leading the NL with 12 saves. He was a perfect 12-for-12 in save opportunities and sported a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings.
• Washington Nationals OF Ryan Church, who hit .377, finished second in slugging average (.508), and collected 23 hits and 11 RBI, garnered Rookie of the Month honors.
• June 2 - The New York Yankees were swept by the worst team in baseball, falling 5-2 to the Kansas City Royals for their first five-game losing streak in more than two years. It's been a ball so far for Buddy Bell, the new Royals skipper who is unbeaten after sweeping three games from the visiting Yankees. Kansas City pitchers allowed just six runs in the series. It's the third time in their storied history the Yankees had been swept in three games by the team with the worst record in the majors. The other times were in 2000 by the Detroit Tigers and 1937 by the Philadelphia Athletics and in both those seasons, New York won the American League pennant. Kansas City completed its first three-game sweep at home of the Yankees in 15 years. The Royals had gone 78 series without sweeping anyone, the longest drought in the majors since the Phillies went 79 series without a sweep from 1996-97. Despite their three-game sweep, the Royals' record of 16-37 is still the worst in the majors.
• June 4:
• Chan Ho Park earned his 100th major league win, Michael Young got four hits and the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 14-9 to hand the Royals their first loss under new manager Buddy Bell. Park also became the first South Korean pitcher to win 100 games in the majors.
• Garret Anderson's go-ahead, three-run homer capped a four-run seventh inning, and the Los Angeles Angels past the host Boston Red Sox 13-6. Anderson's homer gave him a club-record 990 RBI, breaking the old mark of 989 set by Tim Salmon.
• D.J. Houlton earned his first major league victory in his first start, J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent hit consecutive home runs for the second time in three games, and the Dodgers beat the Brewers 2-1.
• Rafael Palmeiro and Melvin Mora each hit grand slams, and the Orioles rallied for a 14-7 victory over Detroit. For Palmeiro, it was the 559th homer of his career.
• Hall of Famer Eddie Murray was fired as hitting coach of the Cleveland Indians, whose sputtering offense has been a major disappointment.
• The contract sending Babe Ruth from Red Sox to Yankees is for sale. This is all that remains of the Curse of the Bambino: five neatly typed pages, two bold signatures, and the scars from 86 years of torment.
• June 5 - For the first time since 1933, a team called Washington is in first place late in the season. Ryan Church helped lift the Washington Nationals into first place in the NL East Division with a three-run home run, as the Nationals completed a three-game sweep of the visitors Florida Marlins with a 6-3 triumph.The victory, coupled with Atlanta?s loss to Pittsburgh, put Washington in first place. The Nationals have come from behind for 21 of their 31 victories, including each of its last eight. 75 years ago, the Washington Senators team that won the American League pennant topped the standings this time of year or later.
• June 6 - Colorado Rockies rookie sensation Clint Barmes is expected to miss at least three months after breaking his left collarbone in a fall while carrying groceries up the stairs in his apartment building. Barmes, a shortstop leading National League rookies in most offensive categories, went surgery Tuesday 7. He hit around .400 and led the major leagues in batting average for about the first six weeks of the season. After a mild slump, he was still leading NL rookies in hitting (.329), runs (40), hits (74), doubles (16), home runs (8) and RBI (34) heading into Monday's game.He was definite rookie-of-the-year material, but now those hopes are gone due to what he called "the craziest thing that's happened to me, by far."
• June 7 - Justin Upton, a slugging high school shortstop from Virginia, was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 baseball draft Tuesday.Upton and his brother B.J., the second pick in 2002 by Tampa Bay, are the highest-drafted siblings. The younger Upton was generally considered the best all-around athlete in this year's draft. A 17-year-old, Upton was mainly a shortstop, but also played third base and the outfield. The Virginia player of the year batted .519 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in just 54 plate appearances. "I think it's a combination of his athletic ability ? throwing, fielding, hitting ? in terms of what he does on the field and what would seem to be a real maturity," Joe Garagiola said. "That's really unusual in a player that age."
• June 8:
• Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis became the major leagues' first 10-game winner in Florida's 5-4 win over Seattle. Carlos Delgado homered and provided all runs Marlins need.
• Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez became the youngest member of the 400-home run club when he hit a solo shot in the eighth inning of New York's 12-3 win over host Milwaukee. The home run was the second of the game for the 29-year-old, who became the 40th player in major league history to reach 400 homers; two more than Dale Murphy, one of his boyhood heroes, and one more than Al Kaline and Andrés Galarraga.
• Minnesota ace Johan Santana improved to 15-0 over his last 17 road starts, when he pitched a 8-0 four-hitter, nine-strikeout, shutout against Arizona.
• June 9 - SF Giants' Omar Vizquel played in his 2,179th game as a shortstop, passing Dave Concepción for sole possession of sixth place on the career list. Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio holds the record of 2,581.
• June 10:
• Future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux made the Boston Red Sox's first appearance at Wrigley Field a sour one. Maddux allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings and homered for the first time in six years as the Chicago Cubs captured their 11th win in their last 14 games with a 14-6 victory over the Red Sox. Facing the Cubs for the first time since the 1918 World Series. Boston did not play at Wrigley Field before because of the decision that year to host the postseason games in Chicago at Comiskey Park because of its greater seating capacity.
• The 1919 contract that shipped Babe Ruth from Boston to New York sold at auction for a staggering $996,000, delighting its new owner, Pete Siegel, a die-hard Yankees fan, and a hunger-relief group designated to receive a financial windfall from the sale. The price was nearly double the presale estimate for the December 26, 1919, contract, signed by owners Harry Frazee of the Red Sox and Jacob Ruppert of Yankees, and nearly 10 times the $100,000 cost of purchasing Ruth.
• June 12 - Acquired in a trade two days before, Junior Spivey hit a two-run home run as the Washington Nationals tied a franchise record with their 10th consecutive win - a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Before relocating to the nation's capital this season, the Nationals were known as the Montreal Expos, who won 10 straight games three previous times in 1979, 1980 and 1997. The Nationals have won 13 of their last 14 games overall, with eight of the wins coming by one run, and completed a 12-1 homestand. Tony Armas, Jr. pitched five scoreless innings, allowing five hits, and is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his last three starts.
• June 14:
• The Boston Red Sox honored their Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk and the 12th-inning home run that won Game 6 of the 1975 World Series by naming the left field foul pole where it landed the "Fisk Pole". In a pregame ceremony from the Monster Seats, Fisk was cheered by the Fenway Park crowd while the shot was replayed to the strains of Handel?s Hallelujah Chorus. The Red Sox scheduled the ceremony to coincide with an interleague series against the Cincinnati Reds, who made their first trip back to Fenway Park since the '75 Series. Thirty years later, the video of Fisk trying to wave the ball fair remains one of the game's enduring images. Game 6 is often called the best game in major leagues history. Fenway's right field foul pole, which is just 302 feet from the plate, has long been unofficially named the Pesky Pole, for light-hitting former Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky, who had a tendency to curve fly balls around it for homers. On the field, Fisk threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his former battery-mate Luis Tiant.
• MLB Commissioner Bud Selig favors reversing use of the designated hitter for interleague games next season. Under Selig's proposal, which will be considered during the offseason, the DH would be used in National League parks instead of in American League stadiums.
• June 15 - Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners collected his 1,000th career hit, becoming just the third player since 1900 to reach the plateau in fewer than 700 games.
• June 16:
• Atlanta Braves veteran first baseman Julio Franco (46) had his first two-steal game since 1994 and teammate pitcher John Smoltz (38) had his first two-hit game since 1999.
• The Colorado Rockies became the seventh team since 1900 to go 4-26 in its first 30 road games, joining the Washington Senators (1904), Philladelphia Athletics (1916), Philadelphia Phillies (1928), Chicago Cubs (1981), Minnesota Twins (1982) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005).
• The Pittsburgh Pirates are the only major league team with at least an extra-base hit in every game this season.
• With a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City became the first major league team to have three-game sweeps of the Dodgers and Yankees in one regular season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. According to Elias, the Angels and Mariners also swept the Yankees and Dodgers in one season since interleague play began in 1997, but both were not three-game sweeps. Kansas City is 11-4 since Buddy Bell took over as manager May 31.
• June 17:
• Orioles? Miguel Tejada played in his 822d consecutive game, tying Gus Suhr, who played for the Pirates and Phillies in the 1930s, for ninth place on the all-time list.
• Former Red Sox Brian Daubach started at first base for the Mets, drawing three walks and scoring two runs one day after being called up from Triple-A Norfolk. Daubach was drafted by the Mets in the 17th round in 1990, but this was his first big league game for the club.
• June 18 - Veteran Julio Franco hit a pair of home runs and Andruw Jones and Johnny Estrada also homered as the Atlanta Braves beat the host Cincinnati Reds 6-1.
• June 19 - Rafael Palmeiro hit his 560th career home run to give Baltimore a sixth-inning lead, and the Orioles shook off manager Lee Mazzilli's first career ejection to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2 Sunday.
• June 24:
• At Yankee Stadium, the New York Mets set a National League record by hitting three sacrifice flies in one inning, an oddity accomplished three times by American League teams. Ramón Castro, José Reyes and Mike Cameron all hit SF in the second inning, and Reyes added his second SF of the game in the ninth, as the Mets defeated the Yankees 6-4.
• Dodgers closer Eric Gagné had season-ending elbow surgery and it went better than expected. Gagné did not need a ligament replaced and could return by spring training. Originally expected to be out 12-to-14 months, Gagné now faces about six months recovery time, and may start throwing a baseball even earlier.
• June 27:
• Julio Franco hit his eighth career grand slam, as the Atlanta Braves past the Florida Marlins. The 46-year-old Atlanta first baseman has shown in June that he clearly can still play the game. In his last seven appearances, Franco is hitting .458 with four home runs and 11 RBI, and is making plenty of entries on those oldest-to-do-whatever lists. Earlier this month, he became the oldest player in major league history to have a two-homer game, the oldest in the last 96 years to steal a base and, on Monday, extended his own mark for being the oldest to hit a grand slam.
• Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro got two more hits in a 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees, moving him past Sam Rice into sole possession of 26th place on the all-time list. Palmeiro is 11 hits shy of becoming the fourth player in major league history with 3,000 hits and 500 homers.

July

• July 5 - Major League Baseball announced the Awards of the Month for June in each league:
• American League
• Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians (DH) - Player of the Month
• Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox - Pitcher of the Month
• Joe Blanton, Oakland Athletics (P) - Rookie of the Month
• National League
• Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves (CF) - Player of the Month
• Chad Cordero, Washington Nationals - Pitcher of the Month
• Garrett Atkins, Colorado Rockies (3B) - Rookie of the Month
• July 5 - At Arlington, Tim Wakefield took the mound for his 300th major league start and Manny Ramírez hit his third grand slam this season, and 20th of his career, as the Boston Red Sox defeat the Texas Rangers 7-4. Johnny Damon, whose leadoff single extended his career-best hitting streak to 21 games, matched the longest in the majors this season (by Darin Erstad). The 20 grand slams by Ramírez trail only Lou Gehrig's 23 in major league history.
• July 6 - Florida Marlins pitchers were perfect for more than nine innings, and they set a team record with 22 strikeouts. Juan Encarnación's single in the 12th inning gave Florida a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, but it was the Marlins pitchers who stole the show. Starter A.J. Burnett matched his career-high and the team record with 14 strikeouts in six innings and, after J.J. Hardy's RBI single with two outs in the third, Florida pitchers retired the final 28 Milwaukee hitters. Burnett threw 125 pitches in six innings, allowing four runs and four hits while walking five; Jim Mecir pitched the seventh but didn't have a strikeout; Guillermo Mota struck out two in the eighth and two in the ninth; Todd Jones struck out one in the 10th and two in the 11th, and Valerio de los Santos, the game winner, struck out one in the 12th.
• July 11 - At Comerica Park ?a field normally considered a "pitcher's park"?, Bobby Abreu won the Home Run Derby. He set records with 24 home runs in a single round and 41 overall, topping Miguel Tejada's previous marks of 15 and 27, set a year earlier. Abreu's longest homer was measured at 517'.
• July 12 - The American League rolled to a 7-5 victory over the National League in the 76th All-Star Game played at Comerica Park. Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada was named the Game's MVP. Tejada started the AL offense with a home run in the second inning and drove in another run in the third. Texas Mark Teixeira and Seattle Ichiro Suzuki also drove in two runs each for the AL.
• July 14 - The San Francisco Giants defeat their archrivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3, for their 10,000th victory in the franchise's history.
• July 15 - Rafael Palmeiro's RBI double off Joel Piñeiro of the Seattle Mariners was his 3,000th career hit. Palmeiro, who also has 566 home runs, joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray, as the only players with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Palmeiro also tied Robin Yount for 13th on the career list with 583 doubles, as the Baltimore Orioles beat Seattle 6-3.
• July 23 - The San Francisco Giants retired the number 36 in honor of Gaylord Perry.
• July 24 - At SF, A.J. Burnett homered and pitched into the eighth inning for his second straight victory, and Miguel Cabrera belted a home run for the third game in a row to lead the Florida Marlins past the San Francisco Giants 4-1. With 70-year-old Felipe Alou and the 74-year-old Jack McKeon in the dugouts, it marked the first time in North American professional sports history that opposing teams both had managers or coaches 70 or older.
• July 25:
• The Oakland Athletics defeated the Cleveland Indians, 13-4, as Dan Johnson of Oakland was the designated hitter and batted ninth, and so did Indians DH Jason Dubois? the first time in major league history both teams' DH were in the last spot in the batting order.
• At home, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox, 4-3, on Aubrey Huff?s two-out double in the 10th inning. The Red Sox set a major league record to start a season by not playing extra-innings until their 99th game.
• July 31:
• The Baseball Hall of Fame inducts their two newest members ? Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs ? in Cooperstown, New York. The Hall also honors Jerry Coleman, recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting, and Peter Gammons, recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for baseball writing.
• The deadline for non-waiver trades passes, relatively quietly, with only 4 deals made that day.
• Jason Giambi hits the 300th home run of his career. [1]

August

• August 1 - Rafael Palmeiro is suspended for 10 days due to testing positive banned substance abuse. [1]
• August 2 - Ryan Franklin is suspended 10 days for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. [1]
• August 3 - Major League Baseball announced the Awards of the Month for July in each league:
• American League
• Jason Giambi, New York Yankees (DH) - Player of the Month
• Barry Zito, Oakland Athletics - Pitcher of the Month
• Gustavo Chacín, Toronto Blue Jays (SP) - Rookie of the Month (he also captured the honor in April)
• National League
• Adam Dunn, Cincinnati Reds (LF) - Player of the Month
• Andy Pettitte, Houston Astros - Pitcher of the Month
• Zach Duke, Pittsburgh Pirates (SP) - Rookie of the Month
• August 3 - Manny Ramírez of the Boston Red Sox became the seventh player in major league history to reach 30 home runs and 100 RBI in at least eight straight seasons. The others are Jimmie Foxx, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Albert Belle, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa. Ramírez and Foxx are the only players in Red Sox history with five consecutive 30-homer seasons.
• August 6 - Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals became the first major league player to hit 30 home runs in each of his first five seasons. No. 30 came in the first inning against John Smoltz, and it helped the Cardinals to an 11-3 victory over the visitors Atlanta Braves.
• August 7 - In just the fourth meeting of pitchers with the same last name since 2000, Víctor Zambrano of the New York Mets outdueled Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs in front of 40,321 fans at Shea Stadium, pitching the Mets to a 6-1 win and a sweep of the three-game series. Both Zambranos entered with 42 career wins, the second time in major league history that opposing starters with the same last name came in with matching victory totals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The other was on June 15, 1944, when Red Barrett of the Boston Braves and Dick Barrett of the Philadelphia Phillies each had 19 career wins. Like the Barretts, Víctor and Carlos obviously share a double feat, but the similarities don't end there. The Zambranos were born in Venezuela, both throw with their right arm, and both wear No. 38. Beside this, it was the fourth time in modern major league history that starting pitchers with a last name beginning with Z faced each other, according to ESPN. Víctor and Carlos Zambrano have both faced Barry Zito of the Oakland Athletics.
• August 7 - Zach Duke became only the second rookie in Pittsburgh Pirates history to win his first five decisions as a starter, as the Pirates past the Dodgers, 9-4. The 22-year-old is the first Pittsburgh rookie since Whitey Glazner in 1921 to start 5-0. No Pirates rookie has been 6-0. Duke is 5-0 with 35 strikeouts and a 1.52 ERA in 46.2 innings pitched. His 0.87 ERA in July was the lowest among all major league pitchers.
• August 8 - In a doubleheader with the Florida Marlins, the Colorado Rockies started two pitchers with the same surname. This was the first such doubleheader since June 22, 1974, in which Gaylord Perry and his brother Jim Perry, both of the Cleveland Indians, accomplished that feat against the Boston Red Sox. Sun-Woo Kim started the first game, and Byung-Hyun Kim started the second game. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=250808227 The Rockies won both games of their doubleheader.
• August 11 - New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera converts his 31st consecutive save, the last in the longest such streak of his career.
• August 20
• 2005 Little League World Series: Kalen Pimentel of Vista, California, representing the West team, strikes out 18 batters in a six-inning game to lead his team over Owensboro, Kentucky, representing the Great Lakes, 7-2.
• The Kansas City Royals ended major league baseball's losing streak in 17 years, defeating the Oakland Athletics, 2-1, to snap a club-record 19-game skid. The Royals' mark was the longest since the Baltimore Orioles lost an American League-record 21 in a row at the start of the 1988 season.The major league mark since 1900 is 23 straight losses, set by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961.
• August 28 - Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees collected his 1500th hit and drove in the 1000th RBI of his major league career in a 10-3 Yankee win over the Kansas City Royals. [1]
• August 31 - Called up from Double-A Carolina, Jeremy Hermida of the Florida Marlins made a name for himself by becoming the second player in ML history to belt a grand slam in his first at-bat. But it was too late to rally the Marlins, who lost 10-5 to the Cardinals at Dolphins Stadium. Pinch-hitting in the seventh inning, Hermida hit his grand slam off Al Reyes on a 1-1 pitch. The Marlins' No. 1 draft pick in 2002, Hermida is a left-handed-hitting outfielder who was a rising star at Double-A before being brought up. The only other player to accomplish the feat was Bill Duggleby of the Philadelphia Phillies on April 21, 1898. Duggleby was the winning pitcher that day.

September

• September 3 - In a 7-0 Yankee win over the Oakland Athletics, starting pitcher Aaron Small of the New York Yankees recorded his first career major league complete game shutout. [1]
• September 6:
• Texas Rangers slugger Mark Teixeira became the fifth player in major league history to hit 100 home runs in his first three ML seasons. Teixeira joined Joe DiMaggio, Ralph Kiner, Eddie Mathews and Albert Pujols on the list.
• Major League Baseball announced the Awards of the Month for August in each league:
• American League
• Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (3B) - Player of the Month *
• Bartolo Colón, LA Angels of Anaheim - Pitcher of the Month
• Joe Blanton, Oakland Athletics (SP) - Rookie of the Month *
• National League
• Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves (CF) - Player of the Month *
• Noah Lowry, San Francisco Giants - Pitcher of the Month http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/07/SPG2DEHVP71.DTL
• Zach Duke, Pittsburgh Pirates (SP) - Rookie of the Month *

* Selected for the second time in the season

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• September 7:
• Dontrelle Willis earned his 20th win of the year, as the Florida Marlins buried the Washington Nationals, 12-1, at RFK Stadium. He also delivered at the plate, going 2-for-4, including a double, with one RBI and two runs. Willis is the first Marlin to win 20 games in a season, and the first African American to do it since Oakland's Dave Stewart in 1990. Only 13 African Americans have posted 20-win campaigns in ML history.
• Hideki Matsui hit his 400th professional home run, in the fourth inning of Yankees' 5-4 win over Tampa Bay. Matsui hit 332 homers for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League from 1993-2002, and 68 since joining the Yankees in 2003.
• September 9:
• In his third major league start, rookie Matt Cain of the SF Giants pitched a two-hitter complete game while striking out eight, as the visitors Chicago Cubs lose, 2?1. A 20-year-old right-hander, Cain beat another promising young pitcher, Jerome Williams, his former minor league teammate.
• Pitcher Woody Williams held the Los Angeles Dodgers hitless through five innings and Ramón Hernández belted a three-run home run in the fourth inning, giving the San Diego Padres a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles. Today was the 40th anniversary of the only perfect game by a Dodgers pitcher in franchise history. Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax retired all 27 Chicago Cubs on Sept. 9, 1965, and Lou Johnson had the only hit and run in a 1-0 victory at Dodger Stadium. The Padres have never had a no-hitter.
• September 12 - David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox hit his second game-winning home run in seven days, to beat the host Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th inning, 6-5. That homer, Ortiz's second of the night and 40th of the season, allowed him to join Carl Yastrzemski as the only players in the 105-year history of the Red Sox to hit 40 home runs in consecutive seasons. Yaz did it in 1969 and 1970. Ortiz also enjoyed his eighth multihomer game of the season, two shy of tying a Sox record set by Jimmie Foxx in 1938.
• September 14:
• Andruw Jones hit his 50th home run, becoming the first major leaguer to reach that mark since 2002, in Atlanta's 12-4 loss to Philadelphia. It was Jones' 300th career homer and the 28-year-old became the 12th player in major league history to reach that milestone before his 30th birthday.
• David Ortiz continued campaigning for MVP honors, hitting yet another game-winning home run, a two-run shot in the eighth inning, as Boston beat Toronto, 5-3, in the finale of a three-game set at the Rogers Centre. Ortiz has hit three game-deciding home runs in the last nine days ? September 6 against the Angels in the bottom of the ninth inning, September 12 against Toronto in the 11th, and today in the eighth. All three came with the game tied. Ortiz's 42d homer established a career high, eclipsing his 2004 total by one. It was also his 38th homer this year hit out of the DH position, surpassing Edgar Martinez's single-season record of 37 in 2000 with Seattle.
• Ramón Martínez of the Phillies hit his first homerun of the season; a grand slam against Atlanta.
• September 15:
• The St. Louis Cardinals became the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season, running away with the NL Central title division for a second straight season ?their fourth title in the last six years. Jeff Suppan allowed six hits over eight-plus innings and the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 6?1, in a game called with two outs in the bottom of the ninth after a 58-minute rain delay. The Cardinals moved into first place on April 16 and never left.
• Staten Island, the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, won their third New York-Penn League pennant by sweeping the Auburn Doubledays in the championship series. [1]
• September 16 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his first home run of the season and the 704th of his career. Bonds homered off Dodgers starter Brad Penny in his 11th at-bat after missing most of the year recovering from three operations on his right knee since January 31. Bonds is third on the career HR list, trailing only Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755). His first RBI of the season moved him into a ninth-place tie with Carl Yastrzemski with 1,844.
• September 17 - In a game against the Florida Marlins at Dolphins Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies, trailing 2-0 going into the ninth inning, took advantage of four Marlin errors in the ninth to score 10 runs in the ninth inning. The Phillies went on to win the game, 10-2. A blown save during the game snapped Marlins closer Todd Jones's streak of 27 consecutive saves.
• September 18 - The Texas Rangers set a major league record for home runs at home when David Dellucci, Alfonso Soriano and Rod Barajas connected against the Seattle Mariners in an 8-6 victory. Barajas' homer in the fourth inning gave Texas 150 homers at Ameriquest Field, one more than Colorado hit at Coors Field in 1996. Mark Teixeira added two more home runs later in the game to bring Texas' overall home run total to 252, which leads the majors. The Rangers are only 13 homers shy of breaking the major league record of 264 set by Seattle in 1997. Barajas' homer gave the Rangers seven players with at least 20 homers, tying the major league record set by Baltimore in 1996 and matched by Toronto in 2000.
• September 19 - Ian Snell pitched eight strong innings, earning his first major league win, and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros, 7-0, in the opener of a four-game set at PNC Park. Snell (1-2), who was making just his fourth start of the season, allowed just three hits, struck out five and walked three, while retiring the final nine batters he faced before José Mesa came on to complete the four-hit shutout. Clemens (12-8, 1.89) has now pitched in every active ball park.
• September 21 - Rafael Furcal of the Atlanta Braves set a team record with his 187th career stolen base, breaking the mark he shared with Otis Nixon. Hank Aaron holds the franchise record for stolen bases with 240, most of them while the Braves were in Milwaukee.
• September 22 - Pitcher Dontrelle Willis batted seventh in the Marlins' lineup. No other pitcher had batted seventh since the Montreal Expos' Steve Renko batted seventh against the San Diego Padres on August 26, 1973. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050922&content_id=1220090&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla
• September 27:
• The Atlanta Braves clinched their 14th straight division title thanks to Philadelphia's loss to the Mets. Atlanta began their record-setting streak in 1991, when they were in the NL West.
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won the AL West title for the second consecutive season with a 4-3 win over Oakland. Anaheim led the division or shared the lead for all but five days after the All-Star break.
• Jimmy Rollins set a Philadelphia Phillies record by extending his hitting streak to 32 games with a single in the seventh inning of a 3-2 loss to the New York Mets. Rollins broke Ed Delahanty's record of 31 in a row set in 1899. Rollins' streak is the longest in the majors since Florida's Luis Castillo hit in 35 straight in 2002.
• Catcher Ramón Hernández hit a go-ahead grand slam and drove in a career-high seven runs to lead San Diego past San Francisco 9?6.
• September 29:
• The Chicago White Sox clinched their first division title since 2000 with a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. Chicago has 96 victories, the best record in the American League and is just the 10th team in the history of baseball to be in first place on every day of the season.

October

• October 1 - The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park by a score of 8?4 to clinch their eighth consecutive American League East title. Yankees captain Derek Jeter got his 200th hit of the season and his teammate Alex Rodriguez broke a franchise season-record for most home runs by a right hander batter with his 48th blast.
• October 2:
• Both wild-card berths were clinched on the final day of the regular season. The Boston Red Sox clinched its third straight wild card after the Chicago White Sox defeated Cleveland, 3?1, while the Houston Astros earned its second straight berth with a 6-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Boston won 10?1 over the Yankees, entering a tie for the first place in the American League East Division. The Yankees won their season series with the Astros ten games to eight, giving New York the division title and Boston the wild card. The last three World Series champions were wild card entries.
• Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies extended his hitting streak to 36 games, the ninth longest in major league history, with a fourth-inning single in the regular-season finale against Washington. The streak is the longest since 1987, when Paul Molitor hit safely in 39 consecutive games. The old Phillies franchise record of 31 was set by Ed Delahanty in 1899.
• Marlins manager Marlins Jack McKeon told his team before a 7?6, 10-inning victory over Atlanta, that he would not be back as manager in 2006. McKeon led Florida to the 2003 World Series title and a winning record in each of his three seasons as manager of the club. He began his managerial career in the minors 50 years ago and became the 52nd manager to earn 1,000 major-league wins on September 3.
• Leaders. Atlanta's Andruw Jones won his first National League home run crown with a major league-best 51, three more than Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, who won his fourth American League HR title in five seasons. Jones became the first player to reach 50 homers since Rodriguez and Jim Thome in 2002. Rodriguez gave the Yankees its first home run champion since Reggie Jackson was co-leader in 1980. ... Houston's Roger Clemens led the major leagues in ERA for the first time since 1990 after posting a 1.87 mark. ... Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs and Michael Young of the Texas Rangers won their first batting titles with .335 and .331 respectively. ... Boston's David Ortiz (148) and St. Louis' Albert Pujols (128) led in RBI.
• October 3:
• Jim Tracy stepped down as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers a day after finishing his first losing season with the team.
• Manager Alan Trammell was fired by the Detroit Tigers after three seasons in which he failed to turn around a franchise without a winning record since 1993.
• Hitting coach Don Baylor and pitching coach Bryan Price decided to leave the Seattle Mariners.
• Don Zimmer plans to return in 2006 for his 58th year in pro baseball as a senior adviser for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is completing his second season with Tampa Bay and has a contract that runs through next year.
• The Houston Astros announced a contract extension for Craig Biggio through 2006, which will be his 19th season - all in Houston.
• October 4:
• The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 8-5 to take the first game of their National League Divison Series. Reggie Sanders set a NLDS record with six RBI, including the third grand slam in Cardinals postseason history in the 5th inning.
• The Chicago White Sox rout the Boston Red Sox 14?2 to take the first game of their American League Divison Series series. The White Sox had an ALDS record-setting five home runs.
• Mike Mussina pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning, and rookie Robinson Cano lined a three-run double in the first as the New York Yankees defeated Bartolo Colón and the Los Angeles Angels, 4?2, in Game 1 of their AL division series.
• October 5:
• Tadahito Iguchi hit a go-ahead, three-run home run after a deflating error by second baseman Tony Graffanino, and the Chicago White Sox rallied for a 5?4 victory to take a 2-0 lead against the defending World Series champions in their American League|AL playoff series.
• Morgan Ensberg had five RBI and Craig Biggio was in the middle of just about every rally, leading the Houston Astros past the Atlanta Braves, 10?5, in Game 1 of their NL playoff series. Andy Pettitte overcame two home runs to join Atlanta's John Smoltz as the winningest pitcher in ML postseason history.
• With strong pitching and sparkling defense, Los Angeles defeated New York, 5?3, to even their series at one game apiece.
• Oakland Athletics manager Ken Macha will not return the next season after failed contract talks.
• The Houston Astros announced a contract extension for Craig Biggio through 2006, which will be his 19th major league season ? all in Houston.
• October 6:
• Mark Mulder pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning and the Cardinals once again built an early lead, beating the San Diego Padres, 6?2, for a 2-0 edge in their best-of-five NL series.
• In his first postseason at-bat, Brian McCann hit a three-run homer off seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, sending John Smoltz and the Braves to a 7?1 victory over the Houston Astros, tying their best-of-five NL playoff series at one game apiece. Another of the 18 rookies to play for the Braves this season, McCann was less than three months old when Clemens made his major league debut for the Boston Red Sox in 1984. Smoltz broke a one-day tie with Houston's Andy Pettitte to reclaim the title of major leagues' winningest postseason pitcher, improving to 7-0 in the division series and 15-4 overall.
• October 7:
• The Chicago White Sox swept the Boston Red Sox with a 5?3 Game 3 victory at Fenway Park producing the first postseason series victory for the South Siders since 1917. It was the second postseason series win for any Chicago baseball team in the same time frame.
• The Los Angeles Angels beat the New York Yankees 11?7 to take a 2-1 lead in their American League Division Series.
• The Minnesota Twins announced that DH Matt LeCroy, P Joe Mays and coach Al Newman will not return in 2006.
• Colorado Rockies outfielder Dustan Mohr opted for free agency after refusing an assignment to Triple-A Colorado Springs.