February 4 - The 12 members of the board of directors of the Hall of Fame vote unanimously to bar Pete Rose from the ballot. He will become eligible again only if the commissioner reinstates him by December 2005.
September 4 - Removing an "asterisk" which was never universally recognized, the Statistical Accuracy Committee decides to put Roger Maris' 61 home run season of 1961 ahead of Babe Ruth's 60 mark of 1927. Regarding the expunging of the asterisk, historian Bill Deane later points out, "It was an easy job: the asterisk never existed. Maris' record was, from 1962 until 1991, listed separately from Ruth's and was never actually defined by 'some distinctive mark.'" The eight-man panel also re-defines a no-hit game as one which ends after nine or more innings with one team failing to get a hit, thereby removing 50 games from the list that had previously been considered hitless, including the 1959 performance of Harvey Haddix's 12 perfect innings against the Braves and Jim Maloney's 1965 1-0 loss to the Mets in 11 innings. Another casualty is Ernie Shore's 27 straight outs in 1917, a game in which he relieved Ruth with a runner on and no outs in the first inning. It is now a combined no-hitter.
October 3 - Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk hits two home runs, including a grand slam, to lead the White Sox to a 13-12 victory over the Minnesota Twins. In doing so, just nine months shy of his 44th birthday, Fisk becomes the oldest 20th-century player to collect a two-HR game. His 7th-inning grand slam off Steve Bedrosian also makes him the oldest major leaguer ever to hit a bases-loaded homer. Cap Anson, at 45, hit two home runs on this date in 1897, and is the oldest major league player to hit a pair.
October 27 - The Minnesota Twins become the World Series Champions with a 1-0 victory behind Jack Morris' masterful 10-inning shutout. Gene Larkin's single off Atlanta Braves reliever Alejandro Peña scores Dan Gladden with the game's only run. The game is the first Game Seven to go into extra innings since the 1924 World Series between the Washington Senators and New York Giants. Morris is named the Series MVP for the Twins, who win all four games at home while losing all three in Atlanta. Four of the seven games are decided on the final pitch, while five are decided by a single run, and three in extra innings. All are Series records.
Movies[]
Talent for the Game
Deaths[]
January 3 - Luke Appling, 83, Hall of Fame shortstop who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox, setting career record for most games at his position while batting .310 lifetime and winning two AL batting titles; famous for his ability to foul off pitches, he retired with the 7th-most walks in history; his two years of World War II service deprived him of a chance to reach 3000 hits
January 4 - Bill Byrd, 83, 7-time All-Star pitcher for the Negro Leagues' Baltimore Elite Giants, among the last to throw the spitball
January 6 - Bobby Estalella, 79, Cuban outfielder for three AL teams who drew a three-year suspension for trying to jump to the Mexican League
January 6 - Alan Wiggins, 32, second baseman for the Padres and Orioles who batted .341 in the 1984 postseason
January 25 - Hoot Evers, 69, All-Star outfielder for the Tigers who led AL in triples in 1950
January 27 - Dale Long, 64, All-Star first baseman who hit home runs in a record eight consecutive games for the 1956 Pirates
March 1 - Ken Smith, 89, sportswriter who covered the New York Giants from 1925 until the team moved to San Francisco in 1958; later served as director of the Hall of Fame from 1963 to 1979
March 7 - Cool Papa Bell, 87, Hall of Fame center fielder of the Negro Leagues, prominently with the St. Louis Stars, who was legendary for his speed on the bases
April 11 - Walker Cooper, 76, 9-time All-Star catcher for six NL teams who batted .300 five times; MVP runnerup for 1943 Cardinals
April 20 - Bucky Walters, 82, 6-time All-Star pitcher whose 198 victories included three 20-win seasons for the Cincinnati Reds; the NL's 1939 MVP, he led league in ERA twice and had two wins in 1940 World Series
May 20 - Pete Runnels, 63, All-Star infielder for the Senators and Red Sox who won two AL batting titles with Boston
June 15 - Happy Chandler, 92, Hall of Fame executive who left the U.S. Senate to serve as baseball commissioner from 1945 to 1951, and presided over the integration of the major leagues
August 9 - Hank Majeski, 74, third baseman who set an AL record at his position with a .989 fielding percentage for the 1947 Athletics
September 15 - Smoky Burgess, 64, 6-time All-Star catcher for five teams who held the record for career pinch hits (145) until 1979
October 7 - Leo Durocher, 86, manager who led the Brooklyn Dodgers to their first pennant in 21 years in 1941, and drove the New York Giants to two pennants and an unexpected 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series; retired with 2008 victories, second most in NL history; previously an All-Star shortstop and captain of the Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang". Durocher was posthumously selected for the Hall of Fame in 1994.
October 25 - George Brunet, 56, pitcher for nine teams who led AL in losses twice with the Angels and had over 3000 strikeouts in the minor leagues
November 11 - Heinz Becker, 75, German-born first baseman who was a key reserve on the last Cubs team to win a pennant (1945)
December 12 - Ken Keltner, 75, 7-time All-Star third baseman for the Cleveland Indians best known for his plays which ended Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941
