2001 In Baseball

Events

January-March

• January 16 - Outfielders Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in their first year on the ballot.

• February 8 - The Dominican Republic defeats Mexico, 5-3, to take its fourth Caribbean World Series title in five years.

• February 11 - Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, the home of the Pirates since 1970, is imploded before thousands of onlookers. The team will play in new PNC Park this season.

• February 20 - Atlanta Braves center fielder Andruw Jones wins a record $8.2 million contract in salary arbitration. The previous record of $7.25 million was set in 2000 by Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera.

• March 6 - Second baseman Bill Mazeroski and Negro League pitcher Hilton Smith are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Old-timers Committee.

• March 8 - The Baltimore Orioles announce that Albert Belle is "totally disabled and unable to perform as a major league baseball player" due to a severe case of degenerative arthritis of the right hip.

• March 23 - A panel of veteran baseball writers, historians and executives selected a roster of the Top 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players, as part of the clubs 100th Anniversary Celebration.

April-June

• April 4 - Hideo Nomo hurls a 3-0 no-hitter against the Orioles in his Boston debut. It is Nomo's second career no-hit no-run, making him the 4th pitcher in history to hurl one in both the National League and the American League. It is also the earliest no-hitter, by date, in history.

• April 14 - A major league record is set as 11 one-run games are played, breaking the mark of 10 set in 1967. With a 10 win over the Mets, Cincinnati set the modern day National League record with their 175th consecutive game without being shutout, breaking the mark of 174, set by the 1992-93 Philadelphia Phillies.

• May 5 - The Chicago Cubs defeat the Dodgers, 20-1. It was the 15th time since 1900 that Chicago have scored 20 runs in a game and the 11th time they've done it at Wrigley Field.

• May 12 - At Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, the Marlins' A.J. Burnett hurls a 3-0 no-hitter against the Padres. Burnette strikes out seven, but walks nine (the most in a no-hit no-run) and hits a batter. It is the 228th complete game no-hitter in major-league history.

• May 16 - Rickey Henderson leads off with a home run, extending his major-league record for leadoff home runs to 79. This more than twice the total for the #2 and #3 players on the list: Brady Anderson (44) and Bobby Bonds (35).

• June 12 - Dodgers outfielder Gary Sheffield became the first player in major league history to win three 1-0 games in a season with a home run, when he solos to beat the Atlanta Braves, 1-0. He also supplied the only scoring by homering in April 2, versus Milwaukee, and in May 7, against Florida.

July-September

• July 10 - The American League defeats the National League, 41, in the AllStar Game. Cal Ripken thrills the crowd by hitting a home run and being selected the MVP. Derek Jeter and Magglio Ordez also homered for the American League.

October-December

• October 4:
• Rickey Henderson hits a home run to become baseball's all-time career runs scored leader with 2,246.
• Tim Raines, Jr. plays center field and Tim Raines, Sr. plays left field in the Orioles' 5-4 loss to the Red Sox. They become the 2nd father-son duo to play in the same game, matching the feat turned by Ken Griffey, Sr. and Ken Griffey, Jr.

• October 5:
• Barry Bonds hits his 71st and 72nd home runs of the year to set a new major league single-season mark in the Giants' 11-10 loss to the Dodgers.
• The Orioles lose to the Red Sox, 7-5, as Cal Ripken becomes the 7th player in history to play in 3,000 career games.

• October 6 - Lenny Harris breaks Manny Mota's all-time mark for pinch hits with the 151st of his career as the Mets defeat the Expos, 4-0.

• October 7:
• Rickey Henderson gets the 3,000th hit of his career, as the Padres lose to the Rockies. The game is the final one of Tony Gwynn's career. Meanwhile, Larry Walker wins his third National League batting title in three years at .350. Walker and Rockies teammate Todd Helton (.336) become the first teammates to finish 1-2 since John Olerud (.363), Paul Molitor (.332) and Roberto Alomar (.326) were the top three for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.
• Albert Pujols ties Emmet "Snags" Heidrick (1899) for most hits by a Cardinal rookie when he makes his 194th.
• Barry Bonds extends his major-league record with his 73rd home run of the season. He will finish the year with a .863 slugging percentage to break Babe Ruth's all-time single-season record.
• In a day of records, The Cubs lose to the Pirates in their final game of the season, 4-3. They become the first team in major league history to not allow an opposing pitcher to throw a complete game against them all season. Sammy Sosa closes out 2001 with his 64th homer in his final at-bat of the game and sets a new franchise record with 98 extra base hits, one more than Hack Wilson (1930). Sosa also finishes with another franchise record of 425 total bases (the 7th best all-time total), two ahead of Wilson. His 160 RBI is the highest total in the National League since Chuck Klein posted 170 in 1930; Sosa's RBI total for the past four years also breaks Klein's four-year mark set in 1929-32. To finish out the record day, five Cubs pitchers combine for 12 strikeouts as the staff sets a major league record with 1,246 strikeouts. The Yankees did the same, setting an American League mark with 1,266 strikeouts.

• November 4 - The Arizona Diamondbacks win the first World Series of their four-year existence with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Yankees. Luis Gonzalez drives home the winning run while Randy Johnson gets the win in relief. Johnson and Curt Schilling share the 2001 World Series MVP award.

• November 11 - Mark McGwire announces his retirement. His 583 career home runs place him 5th on the all-time list.

• December 6 - Major League Baseball reportedly gives John Henry permission to sell the Florida Marlins to Montreal Expos owner, Jeffrey Loria. The Expos are expected to be either contracted or taken over by MLB.

• December 20 - The limited partners of the Red Sox vote unanimously to sell the team to a group led by Florida Marlins owner John Henry and former Padres owner Tom Werner. The $660 million price, plus an assumption of $40 in debt, would double the record price for a baseball team.

Awards

• Most Valuable Player
• Ichiro Suzuki (AL)
• Barry Bonds (NL)

• Cy Young
• Roger Clemens (AL)
• Randy Johnson (NL)

• Rookie of the Year
• Ichiro Suzuki (AL)
• Albert Pujols (NL)

• Manager of the Year
• Lou Piniella (AL)
• Larry Bowa (NL)

Deaths

January-April

• January 22 - Tommie Agee, 58, outfielder who played 12 seasons for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals, who is best remembered for his performance in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series, after two of the greatest catches in series history that helped the Mets to win the World Championship.

• January 28 - Curt Blefary, 57, outfielder who was named American League Rookie of the Year in 1965.

• February 16 - Bob Buhl, 72, 166 pitching victories with the Braves and Phillies.

• February 18 - Eddie Mathews, 69, a Hall of Fame third baseman who played his 17-year career for the Braves.

• February 20 - Bill Rigney, 83, first manager of the Giants after they moved from New York to San Francisco.

• March 20 - Luis Alvarado, 52, a nine-season career infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox.

• April 9 - Willie Stargell. 61, elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibilty, and a one of the most famous players in Pittsburgh Pirates history.

• April 21 - Hal White, 83, who had a successful career as a spot starter and relief pitcher, appearing in 12 seasons with the Detroit Tigers.

May-August

• May 19 - Joe Lovitto, 51, former outfielder for the Texas Rangers and New York Mets.

• June 2 - Gene Woodling, 78, who spent 17 seasons in the major leagues, and was part of five consecutive World Series titles with the Yankees.

• June 16 - Sam Jethroe, 83, one of the best Negro League players of all time, and the oldest winner of Rookie of the Year honors (32 age).

• July 17 - Chief Hogsett, 97, a former pitcher for the Tigers, St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators, from 1929 to 1944.

• August 10 - Lou Boudreau, 88, a Hall of Fame member, who had a successfully manager as a player-manager with the Cleveland Indians.

• August 24 - Hank Sauer, 82, a National League MVP and All-Star slugger who spent most of his 15-year career with the Chicago Cubs.

• August 29 - Dick Selma, 57, a former pitcher for the Mets, Cubs, Phillies and San Diego Padres, who set a Mets' record with a 13-strikeout game, and was was the winning pitcher in the Padres' first win of their inaugural season.

• August 31 - Crash Davis, 82, who had a brief major league career with the Philadelphia Athletics, but his name will forever be linked with Kevin Costner's character in Bull Durham.

September-December

• September 17 - Bubba Church, 77, a pitcher for the Phillies' famed Whiz Kids, who also pitched with the Reds and Cubs.

• October 5 - Woody Jensen, 94, an outfielder who played in nine seasons with the Pirates, and who set a record for leadoff hitters with 696 at-bats (1936).

• October 18 - Ferris Fain, 80, a four-consecutive All-Star and a two-time batting champion, who played with the Philadelphia Athletics, Detroit, Cleveland and White Sox.

• November 23 - Bo Belinsky, 64, an Angels pitcher who during his rookie season in 1962, threw the first major league no-hitter on the West Coast against the Orioles.

• November 29 - Marcelino Lpez, 58, who lost out on American League Rookie of the Year to the Oriole's Curt Blefary in 1965, and pitched with the Phillies, Orioles, Brewers and Indians.

• December 24 - Hank Soar, 87, a former football star with the New York Giants, and a Major League umpire who worked in three All-Star games and five World Series, including working first base when the Yankees' Don Larsen pitched a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers (1965).

• December 26 - Tom McBride, 87, who was a member of the Red Sox team that lost the 1946 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals.

See also

• Baseball
• Major League Baseball
• Minor league baseball
• 2001 in sports

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