Events 1998 in baseball

1 events

1.1 january–march
1.2 april–may
1.3 june–july
1.4 august–september
1.5 october–december

events
january–march

january 5 – don sutton, 324-game winner, elected baseball hall of fame on fifth try. sutton, missed election 9 votes in 1997, named on 81.6% of ballots.
february 2 – new york yankees general manager bob watson announces resignation. replaced 30-year-old brian cashman.
march 3 – larry doby, lee macphail, george davis , bullet joe rogan elected hall of fame veterans committee.
march 31 – tampa bay devil rays lose detroit tigers 11–6, in first game ever. pitcher wilson Álvarez takes loss tampa while third baseman wade boggs hit first home run in team history , drives in 3 runs.
march 31 – arizona diamondbacks drop 9–2 decision colorado rockies in first game ever. andy benes tagged loss, , rookies travis lee, gets 3 hits, , karim garcía hit home runs. vinny castilla drives in 5 runs colorado.
march 31 – new york mets beat rival philadelphia phillies 1-0 in longest scoreless opening day game in national league , longest 1 in mlb since 1926 (when washington senators beat philadelphia athletics 1-0 in 15 innings) when backup catcher alberto castillo delivered full-count, two-out, pinch-hit single right bases loaded off philadelphia closer ricky bottalico.
march 31 – milwaukee brewers, in national league debut, fall 2-1 @ turner field in atlanta team preceded them in milwaukee, atlanta braves, braves winning in walk-off fashion following errant throw second base catcher mike matheny allowed gerald williams score third base. bob wickman took loss in relief. brewers had played 29 years in american league, debuting in 1969 seattle pilots before moving milwaukee in 1970 , becoming brewers.

april–may

april 1 – expansion tampa bay devil rays win first game in franchise history, beating tigers 11–8. fred mcgriff has 4 rbi on 3 hits.
april 2 – hitting home run in colorado s 6–4 win on arizona @ bank 1 ballpark, rockies outfielder ellis burks sets major league record having homered in 33 different stadiums.
april 2 – milwaukee brewers win first time national league team 8-6 win on atlanta braves in 11 innings @ turner field in atlanta. jeromy burnitz homers twice, including tie-breaking grand slam off atlanta reliever brian edmondson in 11th inning. mike myers picked win in relief.
april 5 – arizona diamondbacks win first game in franchise history 3–2, on san francisco giants. andy benes gets win 1-5 diamondbacks.
april 7 – in first national league game in milwaukee since september 22, 1965, brewers defeat montreal expos 6-4 @ county stadium. starter scott karl gets win, doug jones gets save, , jeromy burnitz , josé valentín both contribute home runs.
april 10 – los angeles dodgers mike piazza becomes fifth nl player in history hit grand slams in consecutive games homering in 7–2 win on houston astros. piazza homered bags full, while driving in 6 runs, in prior night s 7–2 win on arizona. hit on april 24 tie major-league record slams in month.
april 11 – boston red sox pitcher pedro martínez hurled two-hit complete game shutout in debut @ fenway park, guiding boston red sox 5–0 victory on visiting seattle mariners. martínez stroke out 12 batters , walked two, while jim leyritz led red sox offense three-run home run in third inning off jamie moyer. during game, dominican republic flags showed in ballpark while chants of pe-dro!, pe-dro! heard loud , clear in stands. besides, fans mounted k placards mark pedro s strikeouts. afterwards, in largely latino jamaica plain section of boston started watching red son , going games.
april 13 – seattle mariners ken griffey, jr. slugs 2 home runs in 6–5 loss cleveland indians. in doing so, becomes second–youngest player in big league history reach 300 homers career, @ 28 years , 143 days. jimmie foxx, @ 27 years 328 days, younger.
may 3 – seattle mariners dan wilson becomes seventh catcher in major league history hit inside-the-park grand slam, seattle defeats detroit 10–6. s first mariners , first in al since mike greenwell did on september 1, 1990.
may 6 – in 1 of finest pitching efforts ever, chicago cubs rookie right-hander kerry wood fans 20 houston astros in 2–0, one-hit victory tie major league mark strikeouts in 9-inning game. 20-year-old ties record held roger clemens, performed feat twice. eclipses bill gullickson s single-game rookie record of 18 strikeouts in 1980. houston baserunners come infield single ricky gutiérrez in 3rd inning , hit batter. wood becomes second pitcher in baseball history record single-game strikeout total equal age (in 1936, 17-year-old bob feller struck out 17 batters). wood strikes out first 5 batters of game, , 7 in row between 7th , 9th innings, tying jamie moyer s cubs record consecutive strikeouts.
may 11 – in 4-2 win on arizona, kerry wood strikes out 13 diamondbacks in 7 innings. doing so, wood sets major league record 33 strikeouts on 2 consecutive games.
may 13 – atlanta braves set nl record homering in 25th straight game, 10–2 win on st. louis cardinals. ties major league mark held 1941 yankees , 1994 tigers. streak stopped cardinals next day.
may 15 – in 1 of biggest trades in recent years, dodgers send all-star catcher mike piazza , third baseman todd zeile florida marlins in exchange outfielders gary sheffield , jim eisenreich, catcher charles johnson, third baseman bobby bonilla, , pitcher manuel barrios. on may 22, mets acquire piazza marlins in exchange outfielder preston wilson, pitcher ed yarnall , minor league player.
may 17 – yankees pitcher david wells hurls 15th perfect game in modern major league history 4–0 win on minnesota twins. wells fans 11 batters in masterpiece. bernie williams strokes 3 hits new york, including home run.
may 18 – oakland athletics mike blowers hits cycle , drives home 4 runs in s 14–0 win on white sox. blowers becomes 2nd player in franchise history accomplish feat.
may 19 – cardinals mark mcgwire hits 3 home runs in game 2nd time season, leading st. louis 10–8 victory on philadelphia phillies. 12th player in history have pair of 3–hr games in same season. mcgwire drives in 6 of cardinal runs reaches 20 home run mark faster other player in history.
may 20 – triple-a indianapolis indians perform feat possibly never before duplicated in professional baseball. in 5th inning of game against pawtucket red sox, indianapolis players hit homer cycle . pete rose, jr. opens inning solo home run, jason williams connects 3–run shot, glenn murray slugs grand slam, , guillermo garcia finishes scoring 2–run blast. indians win game 11–4.
may 25 – cleveland s david bell becomes third player in major league history play against team managed father. bell s 2–run double brings home go–ahead run in indians 7–4 win on buddy bell s detroit tigers. bump wills , moisés alou other players appear in games against fathers (maury wills , felipe alou, respectively).
may 28 – arizona leading giants, 8–6, in bottom of 9th bases loaded, manager buck showalter orders reliever gregg olson intentionally walk barry bonds bring home giants 7th run. 4th bases–loaded intentional walk in major league history, , first since bill swish nicholson on july 23, 1944.

june–july

june 6 – hall of fame second baseman joe morgan has uniform number 8 retired cincinnati reds in ceremony @ cinergy field.
june 7 – @ camden yards, hall of famer eddie murray has uniform number 33 retired baltimore orioles.
june 10 – colorado s dante bichette becomes first rockies player ever hit cycle , first player ever hit cycle in interleague game in team s 9–8, 10–inning victory on rangers.
june 10 – ny yankee tim raines steals 800th base of career in ny s 6–2 win on montreal expos, former team. fifth player in history reach milestone.
june 15 – sammy sosa hits 3 home runs helping chicago cubs beat milwaukee brewers 6-5.
june 20 – cleveland indians retire bob feller s uniform number 19 prior team s 5–3 loss yankees.
june 29 – uniquely, no major league games scheduled today: 30 teams off.
june 30 – chicago cubs sammy sosa hits 33rd home run of season in game against arizona diamondbacks. sosa s 20th home run in month of june new mlb record home runs in 1 month.
july 5 – roger clemens of toronto blue jays records 3000th career strikeout.
july 7 – american league defeats national league 13–8, in 69th all–star game @ coors field in denver, colorado. baltimore s roberto alomar named game s mvp, going 3–for–4 home run, 1 rbi, 1 stolen base , 2 runs scored.
july 9 – bud selig elected 9th commissioner of baseball vote of club owners.
july 17 – rafael palmeiro hits 300th career home run, helping baltimore orioles beat anaheim angels 4-1.
july 26 – trevor hoffman s bid set major league record 42 straight saves ended when san diego closer gave home run moisés alou on first delivery in ninth inning, tying game. padres wound beating houston 5-4 in 10th.

august–september

august 4 – carlos delgado of toronto blue jays hits 3 home runs.
august 9 – dennis martínez of atlanta braves defeats san francisco giants 7–5, 244th career victory, set record wins latin american pitcher. juan marichal held old mark. chipper jones backs martínez pitching 4 hits , 4 rbis.
august 10 – @ qualcomm stadium, wendelstedts become first father , son duo umpire in same major league game. harry, umpiring in final major league season, serves home plate umpire while son hunter, working in first vacation substitute, serves second base umpire in florida marlins 3-2 victory on san diego padres.
august 13 – harold baines of baltimore orioles becomes all–time leader in rbi designated hitter when drives in 824th in 7–4 win on indians. hal mcrae previous record–holder.
august 14 – baltimore catcher chris hoiles becomes ninth player — , first catcher — hit 2 grand slams in single game, doing in 15–3 win on cleveland indians.
august 23 – barry bonds hits 400th career home run.
august 25 – toronto blue jays roger clemens strikes out 18 in 3–0 victory on kansas city royals. becomes first pitcher ever record 3 games of 18 or more strikeouts. clemens allows 3 hits , not walk batter.
august 31 – oakland s rickey henderson scores 2,000th run of career in athletics 15–6 loss cleveland. joins ty cobb, hank aaron, babe ruth, pete rose , willie mays players reach milestone.
september 1 – mark mcgwire hits 56th , 57th home runs of season, breaking hack wilson s national league record of 56 in 1930.
september 4 – new york yankees win 100th game of season, defeating chicago white sox 11–6, reaching mark 5 days faster 1906 chicago cubs , 1954 cleveland indians.
september 5 – mark mcgwire becomes third player in major league history reach 60 home runs, st. louis cardinals beat cincinnati reds 7-0. mcgwire joins babe ruth , roger maris 60 home runs in single season.
september 6 – atlanta s andruw jones hits 50th career home run in 4–0 win on new york mets. becomes 3rd–youngest player in history reach level; mel ott , tony conigliaro did @ younger age.
september 7 – ken griffey, jr. hits fiftieth home run of season, becoming third player (babe ruth , mark mcgwire) hit 50 or more home runs in consecutive seasons.
september 8 – mark mcgwire breaks roger maris 37-year-old home run record, lining historic no. 62 on wall in left field 2 outs in fourth inning. mcgwire s solo shot off chicago cubs steve trachsel—among shortest hit year—sets off wild celebration @ busch stadium. cubs sammy sosa, hit 58th home run earlier in game, on field congratulate mcgwire, creating iconic image of 1998 home run race. in sixth inning of same game, cardinals j. d. drew makes major league debut pinch-hitting pitcher kent mercker.
september 11 – florida marlins lose atlanta braves 8–2, become first world series champion in history lose 100 games next season.
september 15 – ken griffey, jr. hits homer #52 , drives in 1,000th run of career in mariners 12–7 win on twins. becomes fourth-youngest player in history reach milestone, after mel ott, jimmie foxx , lou gehrig. day later, griffey collect 20th stolen base of season become third player in major league history record @ least 50 homers , 20 steals in same season; willie mays , brady anderson others.
september 16 – mike piazza hits 200th career home run helping new york mets beat houston astros 4-3.
september 17 – denny neagle puts atlanta braves pitching staff baseball record books limits arizona diamondbacks 4 hits in 6 innings 1-0 win. neagle improves 15-11, making braves first major league team 5 15-game winners since 1930 washington senators. neagle joins tom glavine, greg maddux, john smoltz , kevin millwood.
september 19 – alex rodriguez of seattle mariners hits 40th home run of season , becomes third player (josé canseco , barry bonds) join 40–40 club.
september 20 – cal ripken, jr. of baltimore orioles takes himself out of lineup prior game new york yankees end major league record consecutive game streak @ 2,632. orioles lose historic game score of 5–4. ryan minor, ripken s replacement @ 3b, gets 1 hit in 4 @ bats.
september 21 – jason kendall of pittsburgh pirates steals 26th base of season set new nl record catchers. previous mark set john stearns in 1978.
september 23 – @ milwaukee county stadium, sammy sosa hits 64th , 65th home runs chicago cubs jump out 7-0 lead against milwaukee brewers. however, brewers erase deficit scoring 8 runs in last 3 innings, last 3 coming when brant brown drops geoff jenkins fly ball 2 out in ninth inning; error allows mark loretta, jeff cirillo , jeromy burnitz score. cubs stay tied san francisco giants wildcard lead when have led 1 game 3 games left. ironically, error comes 90 years day of merkle s boner , led cubs winning national league pennant , ultimately, last world series title until 2016.
september 24 – boston red sox pitcher tom gordon records 42nd consecutive save of year new major league mark boston defeats baltimore orioles 9–6. rod beck , trevor hoffman shared old mark.
september 25 – hours after sammy sosa hits league-leading 66th home run, pulling ahead of mark mcgwire first time season, mcgwire hits 66th in game against montreal expos.
september 26 – dennis eckersley gets standing ovation fenway park crowd appears in 1,071st game, breaking hoyt wilhelm s record appearances pitcher.
september 26 – st. louis cardinals mark mcgwire hits 67th , 68th home runs against montreal expos, pulling 2 ahead of chicago cubs sammy sosa, goes 2-for-4 fails homer against houston astros.
september 27 – cincinnati reds defeat pittsburgh pirates, 4–1. cincinnati uses pair of brothers in infield: bret boone (2b) , brother aaron (3b); barry larkin (ss) , brother stephen (1b).
september 27 – in st. louis cardinals final game of season, mark mcgwire hits 2 home runs against montreal expos second straight night, establishing new mlb record 70 home runs in season. sammy sosa fails hit home run in cubs 4-3 loss houston astros, leaving him @ 66 homers. however, cubs loss forces one-game playoff san francisco giants national league wild card, giving sosa 1 final chance reach mcgwire.
september 27 – in san diego padres final regular season game, left fielder greg vaughn hits 50th home run of season, career high , san diego padres record home runs in season. marks first time in major league history 4 players – vaughn (50), griffey (56), sosa (66) , mcgwire (70) – hit @ least 50 home runs in same season. during game, trevor hoffman records 53rd save of season, tying national league record set cubs randy myers in 1993.
september 27 – new york yankees win seventh-straight game, defeating tampa bay devil rays 8-3. yankees finish season american league record 114 wins.
september 27 – in recording first-ever major league win, 2-1 decision on detroit tigers @ skydome, roy halladay of toronto blue jays, week removed major league debut, has have been second no-hitter in blue jay history broken bobby higginson home run 2 out in ninth, hit allow. no-hitter have been third pitched on final day of regular season, joining combination of vida blue, glenn abbott, paul lindblad , rollie fingers in 1975 , mike witt s perfect game in 1984. home run ball caught, ironically, dave stieb—himself three-time victim of no-hitter being broken 2 out in ninth (his last 2 starts of 1988 season , perfect game bid in 1989) before pitching blue jays no-hitter date, in 1990.
september 28 – in one-game playoff, chicago cubs defeat san francisco giants 5-3 secure final playoff spot in national league. third game in row, cubs sammy sosa gets 2 hits, no home runs, leaving him @ 66 home runs season; 4 fewer mark mcgwire, pulled ahead of sosa 5 home runs in final 3 games.

october–december

world series: new york yankees win 4 games 0 on san diego padres. series mvp scott brosius, yankees third baseman. yankees end season major league record 125 combined regular season , postseason wins.
tom glavine of atlanta braves wins second national league cy young award in extremely close vote on 2 san diego padres pitchers: trevor hoffman , kevin brown. glavine, receives 11 first-place votes hoffman s 13 (brown receives remaining 8), becomes first national league pitcher since league instituted four-vote system in 1970 win award despite receiving fewer first-place votes player. glavine tallied 99 points (hoffman – 88, brown – 76), 5 points being awarded each first place vote, 3 each second-place vote, 2 third, , 1 fourth. oddity fact hoffman, brown, , rod beck (who did not receive single point in cy young award voting) finished higher glavine in mvp voting, despite glavine s braves finishing best record in national league.
november 9 – revealed hall of fame pitcher jim catfish hunter suffering amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, progressive, fatal neurological condition better known lou gehrig s disease. hunter die 10 months later @ age of 53.
november 30 – arizona diamondbacks sign free agent randy johnson 4-year contract worth approximately $50 million.
december 12 – dodgers set salary bar higher signing free agent kevin brown 7-year, $105 million contract, largest in majors.




^ lashnits, tom (2006). pedro martínez. chelsea house publications. isbn 978-0-7910-8840-1
^ boston red sox 5, seattle mariners 0. game played on saturday, april 11, 1998 (d) @ fenway park. retrosheet box score.
^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1998.shtml#nlmvp
^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/johnsra05.shtml