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Español2007 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON
The '2007 Major League Baseball season' is the 107th since the American and National Leagues combined to form Major League Baseball. It began on April 1st with a rematch of the 2006 NLCS; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6-1.
A special exhibition game known as the "Civil Rights Game" was played on March 31 in Memphis, Tennessee between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians to celebrate the history of civil rights in the United States. The 2007 season commemorates the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's entry into the game, breaking the color barrier.
Regular season standings
American League
AL East
AL Central
AL West
AL Wild Card
National League
NL East
NL Central
NL West
NL Wild Card
Stats
''Through games on September 8''
American League
Batting leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Magglio Ordóñez (DET) | .354 |
| HR | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 51 |
| RBI | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 138 |
| R | Alex Rodriguez (NYY) | 130 |
| H | Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) | 204 |
| SB | Carl Crawford (TB) | 49 |
Pitching leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Josh Beckett (BOS) Chien-Ming Wang (NYY) C.C. Sabathia (CLE) | 17 |
| L | José Contreras (CHW) | 16 |
| ERA | Dan Haren (OAK) | 3.03 |
| SO | Erik Bedard (BAL) | 221 |
| IP | C. C. Sabathia (CLE) | 220 |
| SV | Joe Borowski (CLE) | 40 |
National League
Batting leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Chase Utley (PHI) | .339 |
| HR | Prince Fielder (MIL) | 43 |
| RBI | Ryan Howard (PHI) | 113 |
| R | Jimmy Rollins (PHI) | 122 |
| H | Matt Holliday (COL) | 185 |
| SB | Jose Reyes (NYM) | 74 |
Pitching leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Jake Peavy (SD) | 16 |
| L | Kip Wells (STL) | 16 |
| ERA | Jake Peavy (SD) | 2.43 |
| SO | Jake Peavy (SD) | 210 |
| IP | Brandon Webb (ARI) | 210 |
| SV | Jose Valverde (ARI) | 43 |
Accomplishments
Barry Bonds surpasses Hank Aaron
Barry Bonds, left fielder for the San Francisco Giants, surpassed Hank Aaron as the all-time home run leader in Major League Baseball history with his 756th career home run off Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals in the fifth inning of their game August 7th at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. The 3-2 pitch with one out and nobody on base was hit at 8:51 PM US PDT and according to hittrackeronline.com was estimated to have gone 422 feet. However, the Nationals came back and won the game, 8-6. Through September 5, Bonds has hit 762 home runs.
Other career milestones
★ John Smoltz, right-handed pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, earned his 200th win on May 24 against the New York Mets at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia.
★ Roy Halladay, right-handed pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, earned his 100th win on May 31 against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
★ Trevor Hoffman, a closer for the San Diego Padres, became the first pitcher in Major League history to earn his 500th career save on June 6 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at PETCO Park in San Diego, California.
★ Mark Buehrle, right-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, earned his 100th win on June 10 against the Houston Astros at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois.
★ Sammy Sosa, a right fielder for the Texas Rangers, hit his 600th career home run on June 20 against the Chicago Cubs at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas. Sosa became the fifth player in Major League history to hit 600 career home runs and the second to hit his 600th career home run against his former team; in 2002, Barry Bonds hit his 600th home run against his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.
★ Ryan Howard, a first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, hit his 100th career home run on June 27 against the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He accomplished this in his 325th career game, becoming the fastest player in Major League Baseball history to reach this milestone, passing Ralph Kiner, who hit his 100th home run in his 385th game.
★ Frank Thomas, the Toronto Blue Jays' designated hitter, hit his 500th career home run on June 28 against the Minnesota Twins at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota against Carlos Silva in the first inning. The Metrodome was also the site of his first home run as a member of the Chicago White Sox.
★ Craig Biggio, second baseman for the Houston Astros, got his 3,000th career hit on June 28 against the Colorado Rockies at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Biggio was 5-for-6 in the game and was thrown out at second on his 3000th hit. Biggio became the 27th member of the 3000 hit club, and is one of only nine players to get all 3,000 hits with one team. Biggio announced later in the season that he would retire following the completion of the season.
★ Roger Clemens, pitcher for the New York Yankees, earned his 350th career win on July 2 against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York. Clemens became the eighth pitcher to reach that mark.
★ Alex Rodriguez, a third baseman for the New York Yankees, hit his 500th career home run on August 4 against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. At 32 years, 8 days of age, he became the youngest player to reach the 500-homer mark.
★ Left-handed pitcher Tom Glavine of the New York Mets, earned his 300th career win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 5th. Glavine became the fifth left handed pitcher to win 300 games, the first since Steve Carlton in 1983, and the 23rd pitcher to win 300.
★ Greg Maddux of the San Diego Padres became the first pitcher in history to record at least 10 wins in 20 consecutive seasons in the Padres' 14-3 defeat of the Phillies on August 24. The game also marked Maddux's 700th career start.
★ Right-handed pitcher Pedro Martínez of the New York Mets became the 15th pitcher in history to record his 3,000th career strikeout when he dismissed his opposing pitcher, Aaron Harang, in the second inning of the Mets' 10-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on September 3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The game was the first MLB appearance of Martínez after rotator cuff surgery immediately after the end of the 2006 season.
Team milestones
★ The Chicago Cubs of the National League recorded their 10,000th win against the Atlanta Braves on June 3, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. They became the second team to reach this mark; the New York/San Francisco Giants were the first. However, this tally includes 77 wins gained during Chicago's years in the National Association (1871, 1874, and 1875). These wins are not considered official by Major League Baseball. As of September 1, the Cubs have 9,969 "official" wins.
★ The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League, recorded their 10,000th loss, a 10-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 15, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They became the first team in the four major sports leagues (MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA) to accomplish this. However, Major League Baseball's season, by number of games, is almost twice as long as the NHL and NBA seasons and ten times longer than the NFL season.
★ The Texas Rangers of the American League scored 30 runs in a 30-3 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on August 22, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The Rangers set both a new American League and the modern Major League (post-1900) record for runs scored in a game, and became the first team since the Chicago Colts scored 36 runs against the Louisville Colonels in 1897 to score at least 30 runs in a game. The previous record was 29, first set by the Boston Red Sox in 1950 at Fenway Park against the Orioles' predecessors, the St. Louis Browns, and equaled at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri in 1955 by the Chicago White Sox against the Kansas City Athletics, who had moved from Philadelphia the year before. The Rangers won the nightcap, 9-7 and extended the newly-set record for most runs in a doubleheader in the American League to 39.
Other accomplishments
No-hitters
So far, three no-hitters have been pitched during the 2007 regular season. This is the most in a single season since the three pitched in 2001. All three no-hitters in 2007 so far have been in the American League, which is the most in a single league since the record-tying 1991 season when the two leagues combined for seven no-hitters (4 AL, 3 NL).
★ Mark Buehrle pitched a no-hitter on April 18 against the Texas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.[1] The only baserunner Buehrle allowed was Sammy Sosa who reached on a walk, but was picked off first base. Buehrle struck out eight batters, only throwing 106 pitches. It was the White Sox' first no-hitter since Wilson Alvarez threw one against the Baltimore Orioles on August 11, 1991 and the first Major League no-hitter since Florida Marlins pitcher Aníbal Sánchez threw one against the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 6, 2006 and the first home no-hitter for the White Sox since Joe Horlen accomplished the feat September 10, 1967 against the Detroit Tigers at the old Comiskey Park across the street from U.S. Cellular Field.
★ Justin Verlander, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, pitched a no-hitter in an interleague game on June 12 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan.[2] The reigning Rookie of the Year walked four batters and struck out a career high 12 while throwing only 120 pitches. The no-hitter was the first since Jack Morris turned the trick against the Chicago White Sox on April 7, 1984, and came a day after the four-year anniversary of the last interleague no-hitter; on June 11, 2003, the Houston Astros threw a combined no-hitter at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees. Verlander's no-hitter was the first thrown by a Tiger at home since Virgil Trucks accomplished the feat at Briggs Stadium on May 15, 1952 against the Washington Nationals.
★ Clay Buchholz, a rookie pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, pitched a no-hitter on September 1 against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts during his second career Major League appearance.[3] It was the 17th no-hitter in Boston Red Sox history, and the first Boston rookie to throw one. He became only the second player to throw one in his second career game. On the day the rosters expanded, Buchholz was recalled from Triple-A to start the game because Tim Wakefield was scratched due to a bad back. Buchholz improved to 2-0 for his career.
Fielding
★ Troy Tulowitzki, a shortstop for the Colorado Rockies, turned an unassisted triple play on April 29 against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.[4] The play occurred during the 7th inning of a 9-7 victory. Tulowitzki became the 13th player in Major League Baseball history to accomplish this feat.
★ Plácido Polanco, a second baseman for the Detroit Tigers, set a new Major League record by playing in his 144th consecutive errorless game on August 13, in a 7-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Polanco appeared to have his streak snapped at 148 games when he was charged with an error in the first inning of the August 24 game vs. the New York Yankees. However, the next day, after conferring with the umpiring crew, the official scorer determined the error was instead charged to first baseman Marcus Thames. This extended the streak to 149 games. Polanco also broke the record for consecutive chances without an error by a second baseman July 31. He passed Luis Castillo's mark of 647.
Hitting
★ On April 22, Boston Red Sox players Manny Ramírez (left fielder), J.D. Drew (right fielder), Mike Lowell (third baseman) and Jason Varitek (catcher) hit four consecutive home runs in a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. This marked the fifth time in Major League history that this feat was accomplished.
★ Chone Figgins, a third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels, went 6-for-6 on June 18 against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, California.[5] Figgins drove in the game-winning run on a triple in the 9th inning to win the game 10-9. He became the second player in team history to go 6-for-6; then-California Angels outfielder Garret Anderson accomplished this feat on September 27, 1996. Figgins also became the first player in Major League history to go 6-for-6 with a walk-off hit in a regulation nine-inning game.
★ Ichiro Suzuki, the center fielder for the Seattle Mariners, hit the first Inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history on July 10 for the American League against the National League at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Even though the game doesn't count towards a player's career statistics, it was Ichiro's first career inside-the-park home run.
★ Willie Harris, a left fielder for the Atlanta Braves, went 6-for-6 on July 21 at Turner Field as the Braves routed the St. Louis Cardinals, 14-6.[6] He hit 6 RBIs and 2 triples during the night, both career-highs. Harris became the seventh player in franchise-history to go 6-6 and the fourth player in Major League history since 1950 to 6-6 with 6 RBIs.
★ Garret Anderson, a left fielder for the Los Angeles Angels, set a franchise record and became the first player since April 2005 to hit 10 RBIs in a game on August 21 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, leading the Angels to an 18-9 victory over the New York Yankees.[7] Anderson broke the Angels' franchise record for RBIs in a game, previously set by his teammate, Vladimir Guerrero, who had 9 RBIs on June 2, 2004 against the Boston Red Sox. Anderson also became the first player since Alex Rodriguez to hit 10 RBIs in a game, doing so on April 26, 2005, ironically in a game against the Angels at Yankee Stadium. The 10 RBIs also was a career-high, eclipsing his previous mark of 7 which he set on September 5, 2002 in an Angels' 10-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Other accomplishments
★ Bobby Cox, manager of the Atlanta Braves was ejected from his 132nd game on August 14 against the San Francisco Giants, surpassing John McGraw of the New York Giants for the all time record.
Possible milestones
Individual
Information on players approaching career milestones is maintained during the regular season at the Major League Baseball website.[1]
Batting
★ The following players have a chance at reaching significant milestones in 2007:
★
★ Ken Griffey, Jr. (592) is 8 home runs away from his 600th career home run.
★
★ The following players have a chance of hitting their 500th career home run in 2007:
★
★
★ Jim Thome (495)
★
★
★ Manny Ramírez (490)
★
★ Ramírez also needs four grand slams to pass Lou Gehrig for the all-time lead with 23.
''Statistics up to date through September 3, 2007.''
All-Star Game
Main articles: 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
On July 10, 2007, at AT&T Park, the American League defeated the National League by a score of 5-4. The victory was the tenth consecutive (excluding the 2002 tie) for the AL, and their eleven-game unbeaten streak matches only the NL's streak from 1972 to 1982 in All-Star history.
Ceremonial games
Jackie Robinson
On April 15, Major League Baseball celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the debut of Jackie Robinson at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, breaking the color barrier. Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., who had worn Robinson's number 42 in 1997 as a member of the Seattle Mariners, asked Robinson's widow, Rachel, and commissioner Bud Selig for permission to wear it again in honor of him. He was granted permission, and Selig later said that any player who wanted to wear number 42 on his jersey could. The jersey was worn without the players' name on the back, as was the case when Robinson played with the Brooklyn Dodgers. All jerseys that were worn were auctioned off with all the proceeds donated to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, an organization which awards scholarships to African-American high school graduates to further themselves in colleges academically.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Milwaukee Brewers elected to have the entire team wear number 42 in his honor. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, and Houston Astros were scheduled to share that honor, but their games were postponed due to rain. The Phillies and Astros honored Robinson on April 23 when they made up their postponed game as originally planned, while the Pirates waited until April 27th to honor Robinson by wearing #42 as a team against the Reds.
Larry Doby
On August 10, the Cleveland Indians paid tribute to Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Every player on the Indians wore number 14, the number Doby wore during his career with the Indians.
Farewells
The Washington Nationals will tenatively close out baseball in Robert F. Kennedy Stadium on September 23 when they are scheduled to play the Philadelphia Phillies. Plans are for a new ballpark to be opened in April of 2008.
Uniforms and commemorative patches
Uniforms
★ The Arizona Diamondbacks change from purple, copper and turquoise to a modern Sedona Red, sand and black sceme, complete with re-colored primary and alternate logos, along with new scripts and sleeve insignia.
★ The Chicago Cubs have restored player names to the back of their home jerseys and removed their blue alternate jersey.
★ The Cincinnati Reds changed from pinstriped vests to traditional sleeve jerseys at home with scarlet soutache trim de-emphasizing black trim and a new early 20th-Century lettering and numbering font as well as the return of "Mr. Redleg", the 1950's sleeve patch/mascot supplanting the modern "Mr. Red".
★ The Los Angeles Angels added a red alternate jersey.
★ The Los Angeles Dodgers have restored player names to the back of their jerseys and removed the white trim from their road uniforms.
★ The Pittsburgh Pirates added a red alternate jersey to be worn on Friday nights, paying tribute to the city's "Redd Up" cleanup campaign. The lone exception was the April 27th game against Cincinnati when the team wore #42 in tribute to Jackie Robinson as stated above.
Commemorative patches
★ The Atlanta Braves wore a patch remembering the lives of Johnny Sain and Lew Burdette, two players who were traded for each other in a deal in 1951 between the then-Boston Braves and the New York Yankees. The patch read their initials ("JS" on the left, "LB" on the right) between the number they shared, "33".
★ The Boston Red Sox wore their green St. Patrick's Day uniform on April 20 against the Yankees in tribute to Boston Celtics longtime coach and president Red Auerbach.
★ The Florida Marlins wore a patch celebrating the 10th anniversary of their 1997 World Series championship.
★ The Milwaukee Brewers, who since 1998 have played in the National League, wore a patch celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 1982 American League championship. The patch, however, was only worn on their Friday night retro uniforms.
★ The Minnesota Twins wore a black armband during their first home stand and a patch in memory of Herb Carneal, their radio play-by-play announcer from 1962 until 2006, who died on April 1, 2007 for their first home stand. They then switched to a red circular patch featuring an old-style microphone and the name "Herb."
★ The New York Yankees wore a black armband in memory of Cory Lidle, who was killed in a plane crash in Manhattan on October 11, 2006. They added the retired #10 above the armband in memory of longtime player and announcer Phil Rizzuto, who died on August 14.
★ The Philadelphia Phillies wore a black patch with "VUK" written in white in memory of longtime team player, coach and scout John Vukovich, who died during Spring Training.
★ The San Francisco Giants wore two patches for the 2007 season:
★
★ An alternate version of the 2007 All Star Game logo;
★
★ Following the death of former player Rod Beck, they added a black square with "BECK 47" in white lettering.
★ The Seattle Mariners wore a patch celebrating their 30th anniversary featuring their two home stadiums they have played in, the Kingdome and Safeco Field, against the background of Mount Rainier and the Space Needle.
★ The St. Louis Cardinals wore two patches for the 2007 season:
★
★ They wore a patch celebrating their 2006 World Series victory over the Detroit Tigers on their home uniforms;
★
★ Following the death of pitcher Josh Hancock, they added a black "32" patch on their jerseys in his memory.
★ The Tampa Bay Devil Rays wore a patch celebrating the franchise's 10th season of existence.
★ The Toronto Blue Jays wore a patch in black with a white "SP" starting on August 20 in remembrance of Sam Pollock, a legendary NHL general manager most notably with the Montréal Canadiens who died on August 15. Pollack had served as the Jays' Chairman and CEO from 1995 to 2000.
Josh Hancock
Main articles: Josh Hancock#Death, Josh Hancock
Josh Hancock, a relief pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals, died on April 29 in a car accident outside St. Louis, Missouri. The 29-year-old pitcher was killed on impact when the SUV he was driving crashed into a towing vehicle on Interstate 64. This marks the second time in five years that a Cardinals pitcher lost his life before a game, the other being Darryl Kile, who died suddenly in 2002. The team postponed their game scheduled for later that day against the Chicago Cubs to pay respect to Hancock.
A police report revealed that Hancock was intoxicated at the time of his fatal accident with a blood-alcohol level of 0.157, nearly double the legal limit in Missouri. Police also found 8.55 grams of marijuana along with a glass smoking pipe in his vehicle. In addition, Hancock was talking on a portable cellular telephone when the accident occurred and not wearing a seatbelt. An accident reconstruction team determined that Hancock was driving 68 mph in a 55 mph zone.
[8]
Managers
American League
| Team | Manager | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | Dave Trembley | Sam Perlozzo was fired during the season. Trembley signed an extension through the 2008 season. |
| Boston Red Sox | Terry Francona | |
| Chicago White Sox | Ozzie Guillen | |
| Cleveland Indians | Eric Wedge | |
| Detroit Tigers | Jim Leyland | |
| Kansas City Royals | Buddy Bell | Announced resignation effective at end of 2007 season |
| Los Angeles Angels | Mike Scioscia | |
| Minnesota Twins | Ron Gardenhire | |
| New York Yankees | Joe Torre | |
| Oakland Athletics | Bob Geren | |
| Seattle Mariners | John McLaren | Mike Hargrove resigned during the season |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Joe Maddon | |
| Texas Rangers | Ron Washington | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | John Gibbons |
National League
See also
★ 2007 in baseball
References
1. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA200704180.shtml
2. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200706120.shtml
3. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200709010.shtml
4. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/COL/COL200704290.shtml
5. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALA/ALA200706180.shtml
6. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL200707210.shtml
7. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALA/ALA200708210.shtml
8. "Police: Cardinals' Hancock Was Drunk at Time of Fatal Accident"
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