2003 In Baseball

Events

January-June

• April 4 - Sammy Sosa hits his 500th career home run off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Scott Sullivan in the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park, becoming only the 18th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 or more home runs, as well as the first Hispanic to do so.

• May 5 - Matt Stairs' home run off Houston Astros pitcher Wade Miller was estimated at 461 feet, making it the longest home run in the history of Minute Maid Park.

• May 11 - Rafael Palmeiro hit his 500th career home run off Cleveland Indians pitcher David Elder, becoming only the 19th player in major leagues history to hit 500 or more home runs.

• June 11 - Houston set a major league record for combined pitchers in a no-hitter with six, against the Yankees. The pitchers were Roy Oswalt, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner.

• June 13 - Yankees' pitcher Roger Clemens becomes the 21st pitcher in MLB history to win 300 games and only the 3rd pitcher to record 4,000 career strikeouts as he defeats the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2.

July-December

• July 15 - At U.S. Cellular Field, the American League won the All-Star Game, beating the National League, 7-6. Hank Blalock connected for a two-run, pinch-hit home run off ric Gagn in the eighth inning to lead the rally. Garret Anderson was named the MVP. He came just one triple shy of hitting for the cycle after going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Brendan Donnelly was the winning pitcher, while Keith Foulke got the save.

• 2003 World Series: The Florida Marlins win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees.

Awards

• Most Valuable Player
• Alex Rodriguez (AL)
• Barry Bonds (NL)

• Cy Young
• Roy Halladay (AL)
• ric Gagn (NL)

• Rookie of the Year
• Angel Berroa (AL)
• Dontrelle Willis (NL)

• Manager of the Year
• Tony Pea (AL)
• Jack McKeon (NL)

Books

• , written by Michael Lewis, is an examination of the present-day Oakland Athletics as run by their general manager Billy Beane, and how the application of sabermetric principles has allowed the A's to be competitive despite having one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.

Deaths

January-March

• January 9 - Don Landrum, 69, Major League Baseball outfielder who played with for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.

• February 12 - Haywood Sullivan, 72, former major league player, manager, general manager and owner.

• February 17 - Steve Bechler, 23, a pitching prospect with the Baltimore Orioles.

• March 14 - Al Gionfriddo, 81, a former Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder who robbed Joe DiMaggio of a home run in Game 6 the 1947 World Series, preserving a Dodgers 8-6 victory over the New York Yankees.

• March 19 - Joe Buzas, 84, who spent more than 60 years in baseball as a player for the New York Yankees, managing in minor leagues, and who at the time of his death, had operated 82 minor league franchises in his 47 years as a owner.

April-June

• April 19 - Chris Zachary, 59, a former major league pitcher who played with the Houston Colt .45s & Astros, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates.

• May 6 - Art Houtteman, 75, who in a 12-season major leagues career pitched for the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles.

• June 1 - Johnny Hopp, 86, an All-Star outfielder who played in five World Series in his 14-year career.

• June 18 - Larry Doby, 79, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and the first black player in the American League.

July-September

• July 27 - Bob Hope, 100, made a name in comedy and the movies, but he also had a connection to baseball as a part-owner of the Cleveland Indians, and performing in 1993 his signature song Thanks for the Memories, as the Indians ended 60 years of games at Municipal Stadium.

• August 7 - Mickey McDermott, 74, a major league pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Athletics, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals.

• August 21 - Ken Coleman, 78, a one-time voice for the Boston Red Sox for 20 years.

• August 23 - Bobby Bonds, 57, a former major league outfielder and the father of Barry Bonds, who compiled 332 home runs and 461 stolen bases in a 14-year career with the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.

• August 30 - Claude Passeau, 94, a former major league pitcher who posted a 162-150 record with a 3.32 ERA in a 13-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, and who playing for the Cubs, pitched a one-hit shutout in Game 3 of the 1945 World Series against the Detroit Tigers.

• September 25 - George Plimpton, 76, an author who prior to the second 1960 All-Star Game pitched against the National League (he retired Willie Mays), later wrote a book about the experience, Out of My League, and in 1985 wrote a fictitious story for Sports Illustrated on Sidd Finch; a baseball pitching prospect with a 168 mph fastball.

October-December

• October 10 - Johnny Klippstein, 75, who pitched in the major leagues for 18 years and posted a 101-118 record as a starter and reliever for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Redlegs & Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers.

• October 12 - Joan B. Kroc, 75, the widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, who inherited the San Diego Padres when her husband died in 1984, and sold the team in 1990.

• November 5 - Dernell Stenson, 25, a promising young outfielder who played with the Cincinnati Reds, was found dead in Chandler, Arizona had been shot and apparently run over.

• November 6 - Spider Jorgensen, 84, a five-year career outfielder who debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on the same day that teammate Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier (April 15, 1947).

• November 15 - Earl Battey, 68, a four-time All-Star and twice Gold Glove winner, who major league lasted 13 seasons as a catcher for the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins.

• November 18 - Ken Brett, 55, the brother of Hall of Famer George Brett and the youngest pitcher in World Series history.

• November 24 - Warren Spahn, 82, the Hall of Fame pitcher who won more games than any other left-hander in major league history (363).

• December 27 - Ivan Caldern, 42, an All-Star outfielder who played in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos, was shot to death in his homeland, Puerto Rico.

See also

• Baseball
• Major League Baseball
• Minor league baseball
• 2003 in sports

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