Baseball – 2004

Baseball in 2004

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January

January 5On ABC’s ”Good Morning America.” Pete Rose admits that he bet on baseball games‚ though he claims he never bet on the Reds. Pete’s book‚ in which he admits the same‚ is out this week. He claims he told Bud Selig that he bet ”four or five times a week‚ but I never bet against my own team‚ and I never made any bets from the clubhouse.” When Selig asked why‚ Rose replied‚ ”I didn’t think I’d get caught.” Rose agreed to the lifetime ban in August 1989 and applied for reinstatement in 1997‚ but Selig hasn’t ruled on the request. In the book‚ Rose admits placing bets with Ronald Peters through Thomas Gioiosa and Paul Janszen-the three were the primary witnesses in the 1989 investigation by baseball lawyer John Dowd that led to the agreement in which Rose accepted a lifetime ban. Dowd concluded Rose bet on baseball from 1985-87 and detailed 412 baseball wagers between April 8-July 5‚ 1987‚ including 52 on Cincinnati to win.

The Royals announce the signing of slugger Juan Gonzalez to a one-year contract. The Indians acquire P Scott Stewart from the Expos. In return‚ they send IF Maicer Izturis and OF Ryan Church to Montreal.

The Rangers sign free agent IF Eric Young to a contract.
January 6Anaheim Angels reliever Derrick Turnbow becomes the first Major League Baseball-affiliated player to test positive for illegal use of performance enhancing drugs since professional players were included in international competition four years ago.

Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley are named to the Hall of Fame by the baseball writers.

The White Sox sign free agent 2B Roberto Alomar to a contract.

The Royals sign free agent OF Juan Gonzalez to a contract.

The Dodgers sign free agent OF Bubba Trammell to a contract.

The Mets sign free agent P Braden Looper to a 2 -year contract.

The Padres get 3B Jeff Cirillo‚ P Brian Sweeney‚ and cash from the Mariners in exchange for C Wiki Gonzalez‚ IF Dave Hansen‚ P Kevin Jarvis‚ and OF Vince Faison.

The Devil Rays sign free agent P Danys Baez to a 2 -year contract.
January 7The White Sox sign free agent P Cliff Politte to a contract.

The Blue Jays sign free agent SS Chris Gomez and P Terry Adams to contracts.
January 8The Indians sign free agent P Jose Jimenez to a contract.

The Tigers obtain IF Carlos Guillen from the Mariners in exchange for IFs Ramon Santiago and Juan Gonzalez.

The Mariners sign free agent SS Rich Aurilia to a contract.

The Devil Rays sign free agent 1B Robert Fick to a contract.
January 9The Cardinals sign free agent P Julian Tavarez to a two-year contract and free agent 2B Marlon Anderson to a one-year contract.

The Giants sign free agent P Brett Tomko to a contract.
January 10The Orioles sign free agent 1B Rafael Palmeiro to a contract.
January 11The owners of rooftop seats and beer gardens overlooking Wrigley Field “have agreed to pay the Chicago Cubs a $15 to $25 fee for each rooftop ticket sold” under a tentative deal that could earn the team $2M a season‚ according to Toomey & Spielman of the Chicago Sun Times who noted the deal has been agreed to by 11 of 13 rooftop owners. The 20-year deal “calls for the Cubs to drop a copyright infringement lawsuit against the rooftop owners” that was to go to trial on February 23. The team also agreed “to compensate rooftops whose sightlines would be blocked if bleachers are expanded in the next eight years.”
January 12The Angels sign free agent OF Vladimir Guerrero to a 5-year contract.

The Reds sign free agent OF John Vander Wal to a contract.

The Astros sign recently retired P Roger Clemens to a contract.

The Phillies sign free agent OF Doug Glanville to a contract.
January 13The Padres sign free agent OF Jay Payton to a 2 -year contract.

The Rangers sign free agent P Kenny Rogers to a 2-year contract.

After going 21-10 for the New York Yankees in 2003, Andy Pettitte is announced as the winner of the Warren Spahn Award‚ presented annually to the top left-handed pitcher in the majors. Pettitte will move to the Houston Astros as a free agent and win just 6 games in 2004‚ but notch his 10th straight winning season out of 10; Babe Ruth is the only other pitcher who has pitched at least 10 seasons without incurring a losing record in any of them.
January 14The Angels sign free agent IF Shane Halter to a contract.

The Orioles sign free agent P Sidney Ponson to a 3 -year contract.
January 16You can always use a Palmeiro The Astros sign free agent OF Orlando Palmeiro to a contract.
January 22The Devil Rays sign free agent P Damian Moss to a contract.

The Cubs sign free agent P Ryan Dempster to a contract.
January 23The White Sox sign all-time Japanese saves leader Shingo Takatsu to a contract.
January 26Seattle Mariners’ lefthander Jamie Moyer wins the Hutch Award which the baseball writers annually bestow on a player who demonstrates courage while overcoming personal and professional adversity. The honor derives its name from Fred Hutchinson, a popular former major league pitcher and the manager of the 1961 National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Hutchinson died after battling lung cancer on November 12, 1964.

The Mets acquire P Shawn Sedlacek from the Royals in exchange for pitcher Jaime Cerda.
January 28The Mets sign veteran free agent 3B Todd Zeile to a contract.
January 29Major league owners unanimously approve the sale of the Dodgers to Frank McCourt for $430 million. McCourt will own a 52 percent share of the team with Fox retaining a 48 percent non-controlling interest worth $205 million.

The Marlins sign free agent P Darren Oliver to a contract.

February

February 2The Tigers sign free agent C Ivan Rodriguez to a 4-yr. contract.

The Athletics sign free agent 1B Eric Karros to a contract.
February 3The Marlins sign free agent IF Wil Cordero to a contract.
February 5The Red Sox sign free agent DH Ellis Burks to a contract.

The Padres sign free agent P Antonio Osuna to a contract.
February 6The Dominican Republic clinches the Caribbean Series with a 4-3 win over Puerto Rico. Jose Offerman had 3 hits and scores 3 runs for the winners. It is the Dominican Republic 15th Series crown to lead all participant countries.

The Cubs reach a tentative deal with the city that will allow them to start adding additional night games‚ starting this year. The Cubs have been limited to 18 night games a year and that number would grow by 4 a year‚ up to 30 in 2006.

The Yankees acquire 3B Mike Lamb from the Rangers in exchange for minor league P Jose Garcia.
February 9The Mariners sign free agent P Ron Villone to a contract.
February 16In the most heralded move of the year the Yankees obtain AL MVP Alex Rodriguez from the Rangers in exchange for 2B Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named. Rodriguez goes to the Yankees three weeks after he and the Red Sox could not conclude a deal that would satisfy the players’ union.
February 18Free agent P Greg Maddux agrees to a 3-year deal to return to the Cubs.
February 19The Pirates sign free agent 1B Randall Simon to a contract.
February 23The Pirates sign free agent OF Raul Mondesi to a contract.

Former major league umpire Al Clark pleads guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud for his part in selling baseballs that he and a memorabilia dealer falsely claimed were used in historic games. The games included the ones when Cal Ripken Jr. tied and broke Lou Gehrig‘s record for the longest playing streak. In May he will be sentenced to four months in prison.
February 26The baseball interfered with by Cubs’ fan Steve Bartmen in Game 6 of last year’s NLCS is blown up in an attempt to exorcise the curse that has kept the Cubs from reaching the WS since 1945. The ball was bought by Grant DePorter at a December auction for $113‚824.

March

March 2The Yankees sign free agent 1B Travis Lee to a contract.
March 10Senator John McCain tells ML baseball Commisssioner Bud Selig and union chief Donald Fehr they must come up with comprehensive steroid testing plan or Congress will act.
March 11A new college attendance record is set at newly built Petco Park as Tony Gwynn‘s Aztecs of San Diego State host Houston before 40‚106. SD’s Scott Shoemaker strikes out 14 in a 4-0 win.
March 20ML baseball announces the Devil Rays OF Josh Hamilton has been suspended for the 2004 season for violating baseball’s drug policy.
March 21Tattoos are taboo for Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Justin Miller. Baseball tells Miller he must wear long-sleeved shirts under his uniform when he pitches because the tattoos on his arm are a distraction to hitters. More than 50 percent of Miller’s body is covered by tattoos. “We had (umpire supervisor) Jim McKean come in the other day and said that someone had complained about Justin’s tattoos and some of them are colored‚” Toronto manager Carlos Tosca said. “All they have done is ask that he wear sleeves when he pitches.”
March 22The Cardinals acquire IF/OF Tony Womack from the Red Sox for P Matt Duff.
March 25The Cubs trade Ps Juan Cruz and Steve Smyth to the Braves for pitcher Andy Pratt and IF Richard Lewis.

The Astros get IF Mike Lamb from the Yankees for P Juan DeLeon.

The Expos and Diamondbacks exchange pitchers‚ with John Patterson going to Montreal and Randy Choate to Arizona.
March 26The Reds send P Chris Reitsma to the Braves for pitchers Jung Keun Bong and Bubba Nelson.
March 27The Mets send OF Timo Perez to the White Sox in exchange for P Matt Ginter.

The Tigers sign free agent P Ugueth Urbina to a contract‚ and after 3 innings of minor league work‚ will bring him up.
March 29The Indians send IF Ricky Gutierrez to the Mets for a player to be named.

Jayson for Jason. The Blue Jays traded OF Jayson Werth to the Dodgers for P Jason Frasor. The Cardinals traded OF Kerry Robinson to the Padres for OF Brian Hunter.
March 30The Yankees and Devil Rays open the 2004 season in Japan‚ with Tampa Bay pounding out an 8-3 victory behind the pitching of Victor Zambrano and the hitting of Tino Martinez. Martinez strokes 3 hits‚ including the 300th HR of his career.

The Dodgers get OF Jason Grabowski from the A’s in exchange for cash considerations.

The Cardinals and Padres exchange OFs‚ with Kerry Robinson going to SD and Brian Hunter going to St. Louis.
March 31The Blue Jays and Dodgers trade Jasons with the sending OF Jason Werth to the Dodgers for P Jason Frasor.

The Giants obtain pitchers Wayne Franklin and Leo Estrella from the Brewers for pitchers Carlo Vallanueva and Glenn Woolard.

The Astros traded 15-game winner Jeriome Robertson to the Indians for minor league OF Luke Scott and the rights for the Indians to keep minor league OF Willy Taveras. Taveras was taken in the Rule 5 draft and‚ since he isn’t going to the team‚ the Indians would have had to offer him back to the Astros for $25‚000. But‚ as part of the deal‚ the Indians get to keep him and send him to the minors‚ without the Astros taking him back.

April

April 1Indians CF Milton Bradley left the team and is reportedly on the trading block. In an exhibition game yesterday Bradley did not run out a pop fly that dropped for a single‚ and was promptly pulled. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer‚ even if he’s not traded by Opening Day‚ he won’t be with the Indians on Monday. They are right. On the 3rd he goes to the Dodgers for minor league blue chipper Franklin Gutierrez and a player to be named later.
April 2The Dodgers send P Steve Colyer and a player to be named to the Tigers for OF Cody Ross.
April 4The Marlins and Padres exchange pitchers‚ with Ben Howard going to Florida and Blaine Neal to SD.

The Expos acquire C Einar Diaz‚ P Justin Echols‚ and cash from the Rangers. Montreal sends C/IF Josh McKinley and P Chris Young to Texas.

The Mets trade OF Roger Cedeno to the Cardinals‚ getting C Chris Widger and IF Wilson Delgado in return.

The Mariners get IF Jolbert Cabrera from the Dodgers for pitchers Aaron Looper and Ryan Ketchner.

The Dodgers send OF Jason Romano to Tampa Bay in exchange for SS Antonio Perez.
April 5The Brewers defeat the Cardinals‚ 8-6‚ on Opening Day in St. Louis. President George Bush throws out the first ball‚ marking the first time a president performs the honor in St. Louis.

Behind the pitching of Kerry Wood‚ the Cubs beat the Reds‚ 7-4 in Cincinnati. Wood is the first Cub pitcher to win back-to-back openers since Claude Passeau in 1941-42.

Barry Bonds hits a 3-run homer off Roy Oswalt to tie the Astros 4-4‚ and J.T. Snow hits a sac fly in the 9th to win‚ 5-4. Bonds is 3-for-3 with 2 doubles to go with his 659th career homer. His 3 extra base hits puts him ahead of Lou Gehrig into 5th on the career extra base hits vs. league average list and‚ with 1 walk‚ he passes Ted Williams for 2nd on career walks vs. league average.

The A’s confirmed that 2B Mark Ellis has a torn labrum and will have to miss the entire 2004 season.
April 6The World Champion Florida Marlins open their 2004 season with a 4-3 win over the Montreal Expos. The game marks the first time that 2 WS MVPs oppose each other on Opening Day‚ with 2003 winner Josh Beckett going for Florida and 1997 winner Livan Hernandez on the mound for Montreal. Like Beckett, Hernandez was a member of the Marlins when he won his World Series MVP.

The Mets open their season with a 7-2 win over the Braves. SS Kazuo Matsui, making his American baseball debut, opens the game with a home run on the first pitch from Russ Russ Ortiz‚ becoming only the 20th player in baseball history to homer on the first major league pitch he sees. Matsui adds a pair of doubles and two walks in his debut.He is the 3rd player in Met history to homer in his first AB‚ joining Mike Fitzgerald and Benny Ayala.

The Giants down the Astros‚ 7-5‚ as rookie P David Aardsma gets the win in his first ML appearance. With his first pitch of the game, Aardsma also replaces Hank Aaron in the top spot in baseball’s all-time alphabetical listing.
April 7The Braves overcome a 6-0 deficit and pound out 19 hits on their way to an 18-10 win over the Mets. Atlanta takes the lead for good by scoring 11 runs in the 4th inning. Mike Piazza goes 5-for-5 for NY‚ including a pair of HRs. He becomes the first catcher in modern ML history to hit 3 HRs in the first 2 games of the season. Rookie Adam LaRoche‚ Johnny Estrada and Julio Franco combined for six hits and seven RBIs in the 4th inning. LaRoche is the first N.L. player to garner two hits in an inning in his big-league debut; the feat has been accomplished three times in the A.L.

The Astros defeat the Giants‚ 10-1‚ as Roger Clemens hurls 7 innings of 1-hit ball in his NL debut. The game marks the first time in history that a pitcher with at least 300 wins (Clemens) faces a hitter with 600 or more homers (Barry Bonds).

The Red Sox top the Orioles‚ 10-3‚ as OF Johnny Damon strokes 5 hits‚ including a double.

Montreal Expo pitcher Chad Bentz makes the Expos opening day roster despite having a deformed right hand. Bentz‚ like Jim Abbott before him‚ pitches with his left hand then switches his glove to his left hand to field. Bentz made his debut against the Florida Marlins on April 7. The southpaw attended Long Beach State on a baseball scholarship and was drafted by the Expos in the seventh round of the 2001 amateur draft.
April 8The Milwaukee Brewers down the St. Louis Cardinals‚ 11-5‚ as Scott Podsednik has four hits and Brady Clark knocks in four runs. Albert Pujols smacks a pair of homers for the Birds. Catcher Cody McKay makes his major league debut as a pinch-hitter for St. Louis‚ then goes to the mound and hurls 2 hitless innings‚ walking one. He is the 20th position player to pitch two innings or more in a major-league game since 1973. Jose Oquendo posted the longest pitching stint by a position player since 1973 going four innings against the Atlanta Braves on May 14‚ 1988. Dave Burba of the Brewers registers his first major-league save since June 8‚ 1991‚ a span of 4‚668 days.

The Padres tie the game in the 9th and score the winning run in the 10th to defeat the Giants‚ 4-3‚ in the first regular season game at new PETCO Park.
April 9High-lighted by Jeff Bagwell‘s grand slam‚ the Astros score 9 runs in the 6th inning on their way to a 13-7 win over the Brewers.

The Cubs Todd Hollandsworth hits a pinch homer in the 9th off John Smoltz to tie the game with the Braves. Tom Goodwin’s sac fly in the 15th is the game winner.

The Royals defeat the Indians‚ 3-1. They become the first team in modern ML history to start 4 different lefthanded pitchers in the first 4 games of the season.
April 11The Yankees defeat the White Sox‚ 5-4‚ as Mike Mussina records his 200th career victory.
April 12The Phillies open new Citizens Bank Park with a 4-1 loss to the Reds.

Travis Hafner hits a grand slam to power the Indians to a 6-3 win over the Twins.

Through today‚ there had been six pinch hit homers in the bigs in 2004 with all coming in the ninth inning.
April 13The Giants beat the Astros‚ 4-2‚ behind a pair of HRs by Marquis Grissom‚ and the 661st of Barry Bonds‘ ML career. The homer moves Bonds ahead of his godfather‚ Willie Mays‚ into third place on the all-time list.
April 14The Yankees defeat the Devil Rays‚ 5-1‚ as Kevin Brown wins the 200th game of his ML career. Together with Mike Mussina‚ they become the first teammates to reach the milestone in the same season‚ doing so in consecutive games.

The Rockies pound the Diamondbacks‚ 14-4‚ as rookie 2B Aaron Miles becomes the first player in Colorado history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.
April 15The Marlins defeat the Expos‚ 3-0‚ to become the first team since the 1995 Orioles to sweep a 3-game series with shutouts. Carl Pavano and 2 relievers do the whitewashing today to followup wins by Penny and Willis. It is the 4th consecutive time the Marlins have shut out Montreal. The Expos have scored just 10 runs in their first 9 games‚ which is the 2nd lowest figure ever‚ ahead of just the 1907 Brooklyn Superbas.
April 16The Indians defeat the Tigers‚ 10-3‚ behind Jody Gerut’s 5 hits. Gerut collects a single‚ 3 doubles‚ and a HR and drives home 3 runs.

Tony Womakc and Reggie Sanders hits homers off Denny Stark to lead off the game against the Rockies. Sanders hits another 3-run HR off Stark‚ who allows 11 runs in 2 + innings. St. Louis wins‚ 13-5.

On back-to-back pitches Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou homer to help the Cubs beat the Reds‚ 11-10. Sosa’s is his 512th as a Cub‚ tying Ernie Banks for the club record. Sammy will hit a pair of solo homers on the 18th to take the club lead. Dusty Baker is ejected today for arguing the umps call that the Cubs batted out of order. Kerry Wood will be ejected tomorrow for arguing calls and both he and Baker will be fined for inciting the crowd.
April 18The Pirates beat the Mets‚ 8-1‚ as P Kris Benson ties a ML record with 4 sacrifices. He becomes the 7th player to accomplish the feat‚ and only the 2nd since 1920.
April 19The Seattle Mariners became just the third team since 1974 to win a game on a balk in extra innings edging the A’s‚ 2-1. With runners on first and third and two out in the bottom of the 14th inning‚ Oakland A’s reliever Justin Duchscherer was called for a balk to score Quentin McCracken from third and give the Mariners a 2-1 win over the A’s. Duchscherer faked a throw to third then threw to first baseman Eric Karros in an attempt to pick off the runner there. However‚ home plate umpire Paul Emmel ruled that the reliever had stepped toward the plate rather than to first and‚ under rule 8.05c‚ had committed a balk. Seatttle starter Freddy Garcia pitches 7 scoreless innings but closer Eddie Guardero gives up a HR to Jermaine Dye in the 9th to tie it.

After Jeff D’Amico gives up 4 runs without recording an out‚ Jake Westbrook relieves and pitches 7 hitless innings against Detroit. Two relievers allow 3 runs apiece after Jake leaves‚ and the Tigers beat the Indians‚ 10-4. Westbrook is the first pitcher since 1969 to pitch 7 perfect innings in relief; the previous highs were the 6.2 perfect innings pitched by Casey Cox in 1969 and John Montague in 1977.
April 20The Padres down the Giants‚ 9-5. Barry Bonds homers in his 7th consecutive game for SF‚ leaving him just one shy of the ML mark shared by Dale Long‚ Don Mattingly‚ and Ken Griffey Jr.
April 21The Cubs score 8 runs in the 1st inning on their way to a 12-1 victory over the Pirates. Corey Patterson leads the way for Chicago with 5 hits‚ including a double.

The Marlins defeat the Phillies‚ 8-7‚ in 12 innings. Mike Lowell hits 3 HRs for Florida. He is the first Fish to hit 3 homers in a game.

The Brewers ride an 8-run 7th inning to a 10-6 win over the Diamondbacks and Randy Johnson.
April 22The Diamondbacks defeat the Brewers‚ 1-9‚ in 15 innings. Danny Bautista paces Arizona’s 20-hit attack with 5 safeties‚ including a double‚ 2 HRs‚ and 5 RBIs.
April 23The Tigers score 11 runs in the 6th inning on their way to a 17-3 thumping of the Indians.
April 25Little League Baseball grants its northern Virginia district jurisdiction over the planet Mars. The idea is the brainchild of district Administrator Michael Pobat‚ who wants a theme as northern Virginia prepares to host the annual state tournament this year. Believing the Martian theme might be a way to get kids excited about science and technology‚ he successfully petitioned Little League to annex the planet into the northern Virginia district.

The Cubs Matt Clement takes a no-hitter into the 7th against the Mets and strikes out a career-high 13 as the Cubs sweep the Mets with the 4-1 win.

Manny Ramirez hits a 2-run homer to provide all the scoring as the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees‚ 2-0. Pedro Martinez allows 4 hits in 7 innings for the win.

The Rangers defeat the Mariners‚ 14-6. Laynce Nix‚ Rod Barajas‚ and Adrian Gonzalez hit consecutive homers for Texas in the 6th inning‚ with Gonzalez’s being the 1st of his ML career. Kevin Mench scores 5 runs.
April 26In a 9-0 win over the Cubs Richie Sexson of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits the longest home run ever at the BOB in Phoenix. In fact‚ the ball hit Sexson’s own photo on the scoreboard and breaks a few lights‚ 503 feet from home plate. It’s the 200th HR of his career. Randy Johnson goes 7 innings allowing 2 hits and striking out 10.
April 27The Brewers edge the Reds‚ 9-8‚ as C Chad Moeller becomes the 5th Brewer in history to hit for the cycle. Moeller adds 4 RBIs as he breaks out of a 3-for-24 slump in grand fashion.

A day after being shut out by Randy Johnson‚ the Cubs fail to score against Brandon Webb‚ who throws 7 innings. The Diamondbacks beat the Cubs‚ 10-1. Danny Bautista extends his hitting streak to 19 games for the D’Backs. Steve Finley hits a homer and steals his 300th base.
April 28The Brewers defeat the Reds‚ 10-9‚ in 10 innings. In doing so‚ they post the biggest rally in team history‚ overcoming a 9-0 deficit.

The Cubs down the Diamondbacks‚ 4-3‚ despite 3 solo HRs by Steve Finley. It is the 4th three-HR game of his career.
April 29The Cardinals beat the Phillies‚ 5-4‚ in 13 innings. The win makes St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa only the 2nd manager in history (along with Sparky Anderson) to win 700 games with 2 different teams.

The Giants lose to the Marlins‚ 4-3‚ despite Barry Bonds‘ 668th career home run. The blast gives the slugger and his late father‚ Bobby‚ a total of 1‚000 career round-trippers.

May

May 1The Giants defeat the Marlins‚ 6-3. Barry Bonds is walked intentionally 4 times‚ the most in a 9-inning game since the stat became official in 1955.

The Yankees rout the Royals‚ 12-4‚ as Ruben Sierra hits 2 HRs and drives in 7 runs.

The Blue Jays pound out 18 hits in defeating the White Sox‚ 10-6. Frank Catalanotto strokes an AL-record-tying 6 hits for Toronto‚ including a double.
May 2The Atlanta Braves end a 5-7 road trip by making an Atlanta-record tying seven errors in a 13-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies. The Braves become the 17th team since 1974 to make seven miscues in a contest. The last team to record more than seven was the 1974 Kansas City Royals who had eight in a game against the Oakland A’s. Braves third baseman Mark DeRosa leads the parade with four errors while Marcus Giles made two and Jesse Garcia‚ one. DeRosa’s total is one short of the N.L. record held by another Brave Dave Brain‚ who’s 5 E’s came in an 11-error game by the Boston Braves on June 11‚ 1906.

In Japan‚ American Tuffy Rhodes hit his 300th career homer‚ connecting in the bottom of the eighth inning at the Tokyo Dome‚ where his Yomiuri Giants lost to the Hiroshima Carp‚ 4-3. Rhodes‚ who joined the Giants in the offseason after eight seasons with the Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Pacific League‚ has the most home runs of any foreign player in Japanese baseball history. Rhodes‚ who tied Japan’s single-season home run record of 55 in 2001‚ played for the Boston Red Sox‚ Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs before coming to Japan.
May 5The Mets defeat the Giants‚ 8-2‚ as Mike Piazza becomes baseball’s all-time HR leader among catchers with number 352. It is the 363rd homer of his career all told.

The Astros down the Pirates‚ 6-2‚ behind Roger Clemens. Clemens strikes out 9 batters to move ahead of Steve Carlton into 2nd place on the all-time list behind Nolan Ryan.
May 6The Cubs pound the Diamondbacks‚ 11-3. Derek Lee gets 5 of Chicago’s 15 hits‚ including a HR‚ and drives in 5 runs.
May 7The Cubs beat Colorado‚ 11-0‚ behind the pitching of Carlos Zambrano. The cubs score 6 in the 2nd inning knocking out Shawn Estes in his shortest stint of the year.
May 8The Rangers edge the Tigers‚ 16-15‚ in 10 innings. Detroit scores 8 runs in the top half of the 5th inning to take a 14-4 lead. Texas bounces back with 10 runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score. The 18 runs are the most ever scored in the 5th inning of a ML game. Alfonso Soriano gets an AL-record-tying 6 hits for the Rangers‚ including a double.
May 10The Mets pound out 17 hits‚ including 5 by Ty Wigginton‚ but still fall to the Diamondbacks‚ 12-8. Luis Gonzalez clouts 3 homers for Arizona.
May 12The Dodgers shut out the Cubs‚ 4-0‚ behind Wilson Alvarez. The final 2 runs come on a 7th-inning HR by Joey Cora after Cora fouls off 14 consecutive pitches.

The Mets Kaz Matsui hits a leadoff home run off Randy Johnson for the only score of the game as the Mets beat Arizona‚ 1-0.
May 13Dodger pitcher Jose Lima‚ lead singer of Bando Mambo‚ sings the National Anthem and God Bless America before the Dodgers-Cubs game‚ He also pitches 5 2/3 scoreless innings‚ of relief his longest ML relief outing. This comes after the Cubs score 6 runs against starter Hideo Nomo in the 2nd inning and roll to a 7-3 win. Carlos Zambrano strikes out 11 in 8 IP. Lima is believed to be the first player to sing the National Anthem since the Cubs Dwight Smith on July 21‚ 1989.

Andruw Jones has a 3-run HR in the 1st and Adam LaRoche has 4 doubles in the Braves‚ 11-6‚ win over the Brewers. Alfonseca (5-0)‚ with 1 2/3 innings of relief is the winner.

Frank Catalanatto has 3 doubles and 4 RBIs and Orlando Hudscon scores 5 runs as Toronto beats visiting Boston‚ 12-6.
May 16The Brewers knock off the Braves‚ 4-1‚ as Ben Sheets sets a franchise record with 18 strikeouts. Sheets’ previous high was 10.

In San Diego‚ Sammy Sosa has two violent sneezes that will put him on the DL for a month with a strained back.
May 18Randy Johnson hurls the 17th perfect game in ML history as he defeats the Braves by a score of 2-0. Johnson becomes the oldest pitcher to ever hurl a perfecto‚ and just the 5th hurler in history to toss a no-hitter in both the National and American leagues.

Jeremy Burnitz and Matt Holliday hit back to back homers twice‚ connecting in the 2nd and 7th‚ to lead the Rockies to an 8-3 win over the Reds.

The Giants down the Cubs‚ 1-0‚ behind the 1-hit pitching of Jason Schmidt. Michael Barrett‘s 2-out infield single in the 5th inning is Chicago’s only safety. Schmidt throws 144 pitches in his complete game win‚ the highest pitch total in a game over the past two seasons. Besides Schmidt‚ Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs and Mark Redman‚ then of the Florida Marlins‚ are the only pitchers over the last two years to surpass the 140-pitch mark.
May 20Los Angeles Dodger farmhand Chuck Tiffany of the Single-A Columbus Catfish has 2 wins this season‚ both no-hitters. The South Atlantic League lefty notched his first victory on May 3 when he combined with reliever Marcos Carvajal to no-hit the Greensboro Bats. Today Tiffany twirls a 7-inning perfect game against the Bats for his second win.
May 23The Mets down the Rockies‚ 4-0‚ as Tom Glavine hurls a 1-hitter. Glavine loses his no-hitter with 2 outs in the 8th inning as Kit Pellow doubles. Kaz Matsui leads off the game with a HR for NY‚ the 5th time he has done so this year to tie Chili Davis for the most leadoff homers for an NL rookie. He hit one yesterday.

Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks defeat the Marlins‚ 4-3. Johnson sets down the first 6 Florida batters he faces‚ giving him a streak of 39 in a row over 3 starts‚ 2 shy of Jim Barr‘s ML record.
May 25Illinois high school pitcher Joe Labek strikes out 40 batters‚ a new high school record‚ but loses 2-1 in 24 innings. Labek‚ pitching for Ridgewood‚ came on in relief in the 4th inning of a game against Evergreen Park on May 17. The scoreless game was suspended after 12 innings and resumed today. Both teams score in the 18th and Evergreen Park scores in the 24th on a double‚ walk and bloop single. Labek strikes out 3 in the 24th to break the old record of 37‚ set in 1971 by Asher‚ Oklahoma pitcher Billy Brimm in a 17-inning game.
May 26The Pirates defeat the Cardinals‚ 11-8‚ as OF Daryle Ward becomes the 20th player in the team’s history to hit for the cycle. Ward and his father‚ Gary‚ become the first father-son team to perform the feat.

In a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants homers and reaches 100 walks breaking his own major-league record for earliest to 100 in a season. In tomorrow’s 5-4 win over Arizona‚ Barry will get 3 more walks‚ all intentional. In 2002‚ Bonds cracked the century mark on June 29‚ the earliest ever‚ and finished the season with a major-league record 198 bases on balls shattering his own mark of 178 set the year before.

The Marlins shut out the Reds‚ 3-0‚ as Tommy Phelps‚ Matt Perisho‚ and Armando Benitez combine on a 1-hitter.

The Mariners beat the Indians‚ 7-3‚ as Edgar Martinez becomes the all-time HR leader among DHs with the 236th of his career. He had previously been tied with Harold Baines.
May 27The Tigers down the Royals‚ 17-7‚ tying a team record in the process by stroking 27 hits. Carlos Pena goes 6-for-6 in the contest‚ with 5 RBIs. Pena powers two homers‚ a double and three singles in the game while batting eighth. The first baseman’s six-hit effort made him just the 18th major-leaguer to register both a six-hit and a three-homer game during his career. Pena also became the first player in over 100 years to register six hits in a game while batting eighth. Wilbert “Uncle Robbie” Robinson was the last before Pena when he rapped out six hits in a game from the eight hole in 1892. Shawn Green was the last player to garner six hits and three dingers in the same game when he registered six knocks and four long balls in 2002.
May 28The Yankees defeat the Devil Rays‚ 7-5‚ as Mariano Rivera records the 300th save of his ML career. He is the 17th pitcher to reach the mark.

Casey Blake of Cleveland hits a game-ending homer off Jim Mecir of Oakland in the 9th inning as the Tribe wins 1-0.

Rob Mackowiak of the Pittsburgh Pirates has a day to remember. In the morning‚ his wife gives birth to his first son. Later that day‚ his walk-off grand slam in the 9th inning offsets an eight-inning grand slam by Michael Barrett and gives the Pirates a 9-5 win over the Chicago Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader. In the second game‚ Mackowiak hits a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 9th to tie the score. Pittsburgh goes on to win the game in the 10th‚ 5-4‚ on Craig Wilson’s homer. It is just the 3rd time in history that a doubleheader has ended with two walkoff homers: the other times were July 25‚ 1967 and May 12‚ 1962.
May 31A Roman Catholic nun from southeastern Indiana wins $10‚000 in a contest during a Cincinnati Reds game with Florida‚ with the Reds winning‚ 9-7. Sister Susanna Helms wins the money after her name was on the Reds radio broadcast to win the $10‚000 if the Reds hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning. Barry Larkin and Sean Casey‚ with his second of the game‚ connect. Sean Casey has a pair of homers and Ken Griffey‚ Jr. adds a three-run homer in the 7th.

June

June 1The Cardinals drub the Pirates‚ 8-1‚ as Albert Pujols goes 5-for-5‚ including a pair of doubles and a HR.

Scott Podsednik hits a leadoff HR for the Brewers and starter Doug Davis pitches 6 shutout innings as Milwaukee beats Los Angeles‚ 4-1. Podsednik will hit another leadoff HR tomorrow.
June 2Vladimir Guerrero strokes 2 HRs and drives in a team-record 9 runs in the Angels’ 10-7 win over the Red Sox. Five of the RBI come off Pedro Martinez‚ who takes the loss for Boston‚ but does record the 2‚500th strikeout of his ML career in the process. He is the 26th pitcher to reach the mark. David Eckstein gets 5 hits and scores 4 runs for the Angels as their top 3 hitters (Guerrero‚ 4-for-4‚ Phillips‚ 3-for-4) go 12-for-13.
June 3Atlanta’s Julio Franco becomes the oldest player in ML history to hit a grand slam as he connects in the 1st inning of the Braves’ 8-4 win over the Phillies.

Cards catcher Yadier Molina‚ 21‚ is 2-for-4 in his ML debut. He joins catching brothers Bengie and Jose‚ the first trio of brothers to play at the same time since the Cruz brothers‚ in 1977.
June 4Mark Prior makes his season debut for the Cubs‚ but the Cubs loses 2-1‚ to the Pirates‚ Prior goes 6 shutout innings. The Cubs hit the million mark in attendance‚ their quickest in history.
June 5Ken Griffey‚ Jr. hits his 496 career HR and Adam Dunn hits 2‚ including a 3-run shot in the 10th‚ as the Reds beat the visiting Montreal Expos.

Todd Helton and Royce Clayton hit 2-run homers to pace the Rockies to an 11-2 win over the Giants. Barry Bonds is walked 3 times‚ twice intentionally‚ and hits a double. Yesterday‚ Jeff Fassero ignored manager Clint Hurdle‘s instructions and pitched to Bonds‚ who hit his 15th homer.
June 6In 50 rounds in baseball’s 2004 amateur draft a total of 1‚498 players are taken; 559 right-handed pitchers‚ 234 left-handed pitchers‚ 331 infielders‚ 248 outfielders and 126 catchers. The 30 big-league clubs drafted 996 college players‚ 494 high-schoolers and eight players affiliated with neither a high school nor a college. California leads the way among the 50 states providing 270 draftees while Florida was second with 172. The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins selected the most players choosing 54 each. The Padres‚ picking first‚ take into account signability and select prep SS Matt Bush. Detroit takes Justin Verlander with the 2nd pick and Milwaukee chooses Mark Rogers with #5. A day after Rice loses to Texas A&M; in the College WS‚ three of its pitchers are chosen in the top 10: the Mets pick Phillip Humber at #3‚ Tampa Bay takes 6’9″ Jeff Niemann‚ who was 17-0 as a sophomore‚ at #4‚ and Baltimore uses their #9 pick to take Wade Townsend. None of the three will sign this year‚ and Humber will sign January 11‚ 2005‚ a day before a change in the federal tax law makes signing bonuses subject to Medicaire and Social Security taxes. Townsend will return to Rice‚ though he will not play baseball. Several brothers of major leaguers go on the first round: Jared Weaver‚ brother of Jeff‚ goes to the Angels with #12‚ and highly rated SS Stephen Drew‚ brother of JD‚ goes to the D’backs at #15. The Cubs top pick‚ P Grant Johnson‚ won’t sign till August‚ miss the fall season to go back to Notre Dame‚ and miss the spring 2005 with an injury. He’ll finally debut in low class A in June 2005.
June 8The Astros defeat the Mariners‚ 1-0‚ as Roger Clemens becomes the oldest pitcher to begin a season 9-0. It is the 319th win of his big league career.

The Brewers shut out the Angels‚ 1-0‚ in 17 innings on Scott Posednik’s 2-out double. Ben Sheets retires the first 20 batters he faces before losing his perfect game in the 7th inning on Vladimir Guerrero’s single. It is the only hit Sheets surrenders in 9 innings of work. The Brewers tie a ML record by striking out 26 times in the contest. Geoff Jenkins fans 6 times‚ also tying a record.
June 10The Cubs down the Cardinals‚ 12-3‚ scoring 10 runs in the 4th inning. Chicago ties a team record with 11 hits in the frame‚ 9 of them straight.
June 11The Yankees lose to the Padres‚ 10-2‚ to end NY’s 13-game interleague winning streak‚ the longest such streak since the advent of interleague play.
June 12The Giants knock off the Orioles‚ 9-6. Barry Bonds hits the 675th HR of his career for SF‚ and Rafael Palmeiro hits his 537th for Baltimore. It is only the 3rd time in history that two players with 500 homers connect in the same game. Willie Mays and Ernie Banks did so in 1970‚ and Mays and Hank Aaron the following year.
June 13The Cubs outlast the Angels in 15 innings by a score of 6-5. Derrek Lee gets a career-high 5 hits for Chicago‚ including a HR and 2 RBIs.

The Astros down the Brewers‚ 5-4. Houston’s Brad Liege ties a ML record by striking out 4 batters in the 7th inning.

Seattle beats Montreal‚ 8-1‚ as Pat Borders of the Mariners notches a stolen base. He went 3‚661 days between stolen bases‚ last stealing one on June 5‚ 1994.

The Giants defeat the Orioles‚ 7-3‚ as Barry Bonds hits the 676th HR of his career. The blast makes the Giants the first franchise in baseball history to have three players hit 500 homers with the club. Willie Mays had 646 and Mel Ott hit 511.
June 14The Phillies beat the Reds‚ 10-7‚ a rain-shortened 8 inning game. Philadelphia 1B Jim Thome becomes the 37th player in ML history to reach the 400 HR plateau with a 1st inning blast off Jose Acevedo.
June 16Florida’s Carl Pavano allows just 3 hits and walks no one as the Marlins trip the White Sox‚ 4-0. Mike Lowell’s 16th HR is all the scoring Pavano needs. Carlos Lee of the Sox has his 28-game hit streak stopped‚ but the outfielder does break the team record shared by Luke Appling and Albert Belle.
June 17The Marlins obtain relief P Billy Koch and cash from the White Sox in exchange for IF Wilson Valdez.

The Mets get OF Richard Hidalgo and cash from the Astros‚ sending pitchers David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths to Houston.
June 18This is getting boring. For the third game in a row the Kansas City Royals win‚ 10-4‚ beating the Phillies. The defeated the Braves by the same score in their previous two games. Matt Stairs has 2 homers and a double and Angel Berroa is a homer short of the cycle. Former 1st-round pick Chris George (1-0) goes 6+ innings for the win. Elias Sports Bureau says that the Royals are the first team to win three straight games by the same score while scoring at least 10 runs in each.
June 20The Reds beat the Cardinals‚ 6-0‚ as Ken Griffey Jr. hits the 500th HR of his ML career. Griffey is the 20th player to reach the plateau.

The Giants down the Red Sox‚ 4-0‚ as Jason Schmidt hurls his second one-hitter of the season. Kevin Youkilis’ double leading off the 6th inning is Boston’s only safety.
June 22The White Sox defeat the Indians‚ 11-9. Chicago reliever Shingo Takatsu surrenders a single to Ron Belliard to end his streak of having retired 29 consecutive batters since May 26.
June 23The Tampa Bay Devil Rays (33-35) winning streak of 12 straight games ends in extra innings as the Toronto Blue Jays win 2-1 in 10 innings. The 12 consecutive wins are a club record eclipsing the previous D’Ray high-water mark of six straight.

Pitcher Luis Ramirez sets a new pro record by striking out 12 consecutive batters in a game for Class A Aberdeen (Md.).
June 24A day after their win streak ends the Devil Rays slam the Blue Jays‚ 19-13‚ setting teams records for runs (19) and hits (24) in the process. Julio Lugo goes 5-7 to set a club record for hits. Aubrey Huff has 2 singles in the 6th and Jose Cruz‚ Jr and Carl Crawford homer in the frame.

The Rangers down the Mariners‚ 9-7‚ in 18 innings as Alfonso Soriano hits a 2-run walkoff HR to win it.

In a 9-3 loss to the Giants‚ Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca swipes home on the front end of a double steal with Juan Encarnacion. Brett Tomko‚ the eventual winner is on the mound. Lo Duca is the first Dodger since pitcher Darren Dreifort in 2001 to steal home. Hideo Nomo allows 7 runs in 5+ innings to take the loss.

The Royals send soon-to-be free agent Carlos Beltran to the Astros in a three-team deal. KC receives minor league 3B Mark Teahen and P Mike Wood from the Athletics and C John Buck from Houston. The Athletics get P Octavio Dotel from the Astros.
June 25The Rockies defeat the Indians‚ 10-8‚ in 10 innings on Larry Walker’s 3rd HR of the game.

The Devil Rays shut out the Marlins‚ 2-0‚ behind Dewon Brazelton. Brazelton loses a no-hit bid on Mike Lowell’s double with 2 outs in the 8th inning. The win brings TB’s record to 35-35‚ enabling them to join the 1899 Louisville Colonels as the only teams in ML history to reach .500 after being 18 games below at any point during the season.

Major league baseball and its players ban the use of androstenedione‚ the steroid-like substance made famous by Mark McGwire when he hit 70 HRs in 1998.

The Angels collect 22 hits‚ including 4 homers‚ in trouncing the Dodgers‚ 13-0. 2B Adam Kennedy has 4 hits including a HR. For only the fifth time since 1974‚ the Dodgers use a position player to pitch as Jim Tracy calls on Robin Ventura. Ventura‚ the 5th pitcher used‚ faces just four batters while pitching a scoreless ninth with three fly outs and one hit.
June 27Cal State Fullerton wins the College WS title with a 3-2 win over Texas.

After Danny Bautista of Arizona hits a 3-run homer in the 8th to tie Detroit, Carlos Pena answers with a walkoff grand slam off Mike Koplove in the bottom of the 9th. Detroit wins, 9-5.
June 28The Phils down the Expos‚ 14-6‚ as 3B David Bell hits for the cycle. Bell doubles in the 2nd inning‚ homers in the 4th‚ singles in the 6th‚ and triples in the 7th. His grandfather‚ Gus‚ also hit for the cycle for Pittsburgh in 1951.

The Brewers shut out the Angels‚ 1-0‚ in 17 innings on Scott Posednik’s 2-out double. Ben Sheets retires the first 20 batters he faces before losing his perfect game in the 7th inning on Vladimir Guerrero’s single. It is the only hit Sheets surrenders in 9 innings of work. The Brewers tie a ML record by striking out 26 times in the contest. Geoff Jenkins fans 6 times‚ also tying a record.

July

July 2The Pirates take two games from the Brewers‚ winning by scores of 8-1 and 13-2. OF Jason Bay drives home 8 runs in the 2nd game‚ the 2nd time he has done so in less than a year. He has only 48 career RBIs.

The Baltimore Orioles beat Philadelphia 7-6 in 16 innings. The Orioles pitching staff registers 19 Philly strikeouts and issues 18 walks.

The Diamondbacks fire manager Bob Brenly. Al Pedrique takes over as manager on an interim basis.
July 4The Athletics down the Giants‚ 9-6. Barry Bonds draws 2 walks from Oakland pitchers to become baseball’s all-time leader with 2‚191.

Don’t mess with Texas. The Rangers rout Andy Pettitte (4-2) and beat the Astros‚ 18-3‚ as Joaquin Benoit goes 6 innings for the win. Texas has a pair of grand slams‚ one by Blaylock and a 9th inning slam by Mark Teixiera. Kevin Mench has 4 hits including a pair of homers‚ while Soriano has a homer off Pettitte.

The Rockies bounce back from a club record-tying 8-run deficit to edge the Tigers‚ 10-8.
July 5The Dodgers defeat the Diamondbacks‚ 6-5 in 10 innings‚ but P Eric Gagne’s streak of 84 consecutive saves finally ends. Gagne gives up 2 runs in the 9th inning as Arizona ties the score at 5-5.
July 6The White Sox re-signed P Freddy Garcia to a 3 year‚ $27 million contract extension. A possible key to the agreement is the fact that Sox manager Guillan is a second cousin to Garcia’s fiance.
July 7The Dodgers down the Diamondbacks‚ 11-0‚ as Kazuhisa Ishii hurls a 1-hitter.

The Blue Jays defeat the Mariners‚ 12-4‚ as Josh Phelps homers twice and drives home 7 runs.
July 8The Blue Jays edge the Mariners‚ 10-8. Edgar Martinez drives in 2 runs for the losers to become the career RBI leader among designated hitters with 979.

The Diamondbacks beat the Giants‚ 8-4. Alex Cintron homers from both sides of the plate for Arizona.
July 11The Rangers edge the Red Sox‚ 6-5‚ as Eric Young goes 5-for-5.

The Expos down the Pirates‚ 2-1‚ as Scott Downs becomes the 1st left-handed starting pitcher to win for Montreal in 500 games. The last to do so was Matt Blank on June 21‚ 2001.
July 13The AL downs the NL‚ 9-4‚ in the annual All-Star Game. The AL scores a record 6 runs in the 1st inning off Roger Clemens‚ including HRs by MVP Alfonso Soriano and Manny Ramirez.

Houston fires Jimy Williams as manager and replaces him with former Astro Phil Garner.
July 15Class A Lancaster (Calif.) JetHawks P Mike Schultz ties a pro baseball record by fanning 5 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes batters in the 7th inning of a game won by the Quakes by a score of 19-4. Two of his victims reach base on 3rd-strike wild pitches.
July 16The Phillies defeat the Mets‚ 5-1. Bobby Abreu becomes just the 4th player in ML history to record at least 20 HRs and 20 steals in 6 consecutive seasons. Willie Mays‚ Bobby Bonds‚ and Barry Bonds are the others.

Mike Maroth hurls a one-hitter as the Tigers down the Yankees‚ 8-0. Gary Sheffield‘s 4th-inning double is the only hit for New York.

Against the Expos‚ Jacque Jones homers in the 9th to tie the score at 4-4 and then the Twins win it in the 11th on a leadoff HR into the LF stands by Luis Rivas. Expo manager Frank Robinson is ejected for protesting that the hit was foul: replays show Robby correct. This is Robinson’s 3rd ejection as a manager of the Expos and he and Don Zimmer‚ Leo Durocher and Casey Stengel are the only major leaguers ejected from games in six decades.

The Indians trounce the Mariners‚ 18-6. Victor Martinez goes 5-for-5‚ with 3 HRs and 7 RBI for the Tribe. Cleveland hits 8 homers all told: only two teams have hit more in a game.
July 17The Padres defeat the Astros‚ 7-4. Lance Berkman‚ who wears uniform number 17‚ hit his 17th HR of the season (on July 17). His last homer came a month ago on June 17.
July 18The White Sox acquire OF Carl Everett from the Expos for P Jon Rauch and minor league P Gary Majewski.
July 19The Twins defeat the Tigers‚ 3-1‚ as Terry Mulholland becomes the 3rd active pitcher to post a victory against all 30 ML teams. Al Leiter and Kevin Brown are the only others to accomplish the feat.

The Orioles obtain OF Karim Garcia from the Mets for P Mike DeJean.

The Padres get SS Rich Aurilia from the Mariners in exchange for a player to be named or cash.

Portland (PCL) Beavers’ Tagg Bozied hits a game-ending and season-ending grand slam against Tacoma‚ greeting his teammates at home with a jump on the plate. In doing so‚ he ruptures the patellar tendon in his right knee and has to leave the field in an ambulance.
July 20The Cardinals pound the Cubs‚ 11-8‚ as Albert Pujols goes 5-for-5 with 3 HRs‚ a 2B‚ and 5 RBIs.

The Indians trounce the Angels‚ 14-5‚ as Travis Hafner slugs 3 HRs for the Tribe. The 3 homers give him 5 in 2 games‚ tying a major league record.

The A’s defeat the Blue Jays‚ 1-0‚ in 14 innings. In just his 3rd ML start‚ Toronto P David Bush takes a no-hitter into the 8th inning before surrendering a safety.
July 22The Yankees win‚ 1-0‚ over the Blue Jays when Ruben Sierra hits a game-ending HR in the 9th inning. Mariano Rivera is the winner with an inning pitched.

The Astros obtain P Darren Oliver from the Marlins in exchange for a player to be named or cash.
July 25Pitcher Dennis Eckersley‚ IF Paul Molitor‚ writer Murray Chass‚ and broadcaster Lon Simmons are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Mariners defeat the Angels‚ 6-2. P Kevin Gregg ties a post-1900 ML regular-season record for the Angels by throwing 4 wild pitches in the 8th inning.
July 26The Diamondbacks beat Hosuton 4-1 behind Brandon Webb‚ snapping their losing streak at 14 games. the D’Backs had a losing streak of 11 games in June‚ making them the first team since the 1962 Mets to fashion two losing streaks of that length in the same year.

The Brewers get IF-OF Russell Branyan from the Indians for future considerations.
July 27Was it something I said? The Twins defeat the White Sox‚ 7-3 and Minnesota’s Corey Koskie ties a ML record by being hit by pitches 3 times in the game.
July 29Al Leiter gets good run support and tosses 6 innings as the Mets beat Montreal‚ 10-1. Eric Valet hits for the cycle‚ Mike Cameron bangs 2 homers and Richard Hidalo hits one.
July 30The Cubs down the Phillies‚ 10-7‚ as Aramis Ramirez hits 3 HRs.

In a swap criticized by New York media‚ the Mets acquire pitchers Victor Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunado from the Devil Rays in exchange for highly touted pitchers Scott Kazmir and Jose Diaz. It is Zambrano poster day for the Devil Rays. The Mets also obtain pitcher Kris Benson and IF Jeff Keppinger from the Pirates for IF Ty Wigginton‚ P Matt Peterson‚ and IF Jose Bautista‚ whom they acquired from KC for C Justin Huber. While Bautista did not get into a game for the Mets‚ the Pirates will be the 4th team he suits up for this year.

The Reds get P Josh Hancock and IF Anderson Machado from the Phillies for P Todd Jones and OF Brad Correll.

The Marlins acquire C Paul LoDuca‚ OF Juan Encarnacion‚ and P Guillermo Mota from the Dodgers in exchange for pitchers Brad Penny and Bill Murphy and 1B Hee Seop Choi.

The Phillies send OF Ricky Ledee and P Alfredo Simon to the Giants for P Felix Rodriguez.

The Padres obtain IF Dave Hansen from Seattle for P Jon Huber.
July 31The Angels edge the Mariners‚ 9-8‚ in 11 innings. Seattle OF Ichiro Suzuki hits a game-tying HR in the 9th to give him 50 hits for the month. He becomes the 1st player since Joe Medwick in 1936 to have two 50-hit months in the same season. He is also the 1st player since Pete Rose to have three 50-hit months in his career.

As part of a 4-team trade‚ the Red Sox send SS Nomar Garciaparra‚ P Matt Murton‚ and cash to the Cubs. They acquire 1B Doug Mientkewicz and SS Orlando Cabrera from Montreal. P Justin Jones goes from Chicago to the Twins. The Cubs also send infielders Alex Gonzalez and Brendan Harris and P Francis Beltran to the Expos.

The Red Sox obtain speedster Dave Roberts from the Dodgers.

The White Sox send P Esteban Loaiza‚ a 20-game winner last season‚ to the Yankees for P Jose Contreras.

The Diamondbacks send OF Steve Finley and C Brent Mayne to the Dodgers for C Koyle Hill‚ P Bill Murphy‚ and OF Reggie Abercrombie.

The Braves obtain P Tom Martin and cash from the Dodgers for P Matt Merricks.

The Royals send P Rudy Seanez to the Marlins for OF Abraham Nunez.

August

August 1In Nomar Garciaparra‘s first appearance in a Cubs uniform‚ he has an RBI single and makes several fine fielding plays in the Cubs 6-3 win over the Phils.
August 4The Cardinals defeat the Expos‚ 5-4. St. Louis C Mike Matheny commits a throwing error to end his ML-record streak of 252 consecutive errorless games.
August 6The Cardinals obtain OF Larry Walker from the Rockies in a trade for P Jason Burch and 2 players to be named.

The Red Sox acquire P Mike Myers from the Mariners for a player to be named or cash.

The Blue Jays send DH-1B Josh Phelps to the Indians in exchange for 1B Eric Crozier.
August 7At SBC Park‚ Greg Maddux leads the Cubs to an 8-4 victory over the Giants for the 300th win of his career. He becomes the 22nd hurler to reach the magic number.

The Angels beat the Royals 7-5 as Troy Percival becomes the 6th pitcher in history with 9 straight seasons of 20 or more saves.

The Mariners defeat the Devil Rays‚ 6-2. Seattle manager Bob Melvin is ejected before the game begins for arguing with crew chief Joe West about a controversial interference call in Friday night’s game.
August 8The Blue Jays lose their 5th straight game‚ 8-2‚ to the Yankees. Shortly after the game‚ Toronto fires Carlos Tosca as its manager and replaces him on an interim basis with coach John Gibbons.

The Red Sox defeat the Tigers‚ 11-9‚ despite 7 Detroit home runs. Tim Wakefield records the win for Boston despite tying a ML record by allowing 6 of the homers. Wakefield is the 6th modern pitcher to yield 6 round-trippers‚ but the first since Philadelphia’s George Caster did so 64 years ago against the Red Sox. The last pitcher to give up 6 homers and still win the game was Brooklyn’s Hollis Thurston in 1932.

The Athletics beat the Twins‚ 6-5‚ in 18 innings. It is the 2nd-longest game in the 23-year history of the Metrodome.

The Cardinals defeat the Mets‚ 6-2‚ as Edgar Renteria gets 5 hits for St. Louis.
August 10The White Sox down the Royals‚ 9-3‚ as Willie Harris goes 5-for-5.

The Pirates defeat the Giants‚ 8-7‚ but Barry Bonds sets a ML record by reaching 30 HRs for the 13th straight season.

The Dodgers beat the host Reds‚ 5-2‚ in spite of a mammoth HR by Adam Dunn. Believed to be one of the longest homers in ML history‚ it is measured at 535 feet. The ball carries over the batter’s eye beyond the centerfield fence‚ bounces on Mehring Way 20 feet beyond the stadium‚ and lands on a piece of driftwood in the Ohio River. Since the river is actually claimed by Kentucky‚ the homer is probably the first in ML history to carry into another state.
August 12The Phillies drub the Rockies‚ 15-4‚ as Randy Wolf becomes the 1st pitcher to homer twice in a game since Robert Person on June 2‚ 2002.

The Indians trounce the Blue Jays‚ 6-2. Ben Broussard hits his 2nd pinch grand slam of the season for Cleveland and becomes only the 4th player in ML history to ever do so.

It is all Pedro as the Red Sox down Tampa Bay‚ 6-0. Martinez (13-4) goes the distance with 10 strikeouts and no walks as he allows 6 hits. The Sox might’ve had more except for TB centerfielder Rocco Baldelli‚ who throws out two consecutive runners (Millar and Varitek) at home in the 5th. Baldelli threw out a runner against the Sox last week as well.
August 13The Giants rout the Phillies by a score of 16-6. JT Snow hits 3 HRs for SF‚ drives in 4 runs‚ and scores 5 himself. Barry Bonds is walked 3 times‚ twice intentionally. The 2 intentional walks give him a ML record 86 on the season‚ helping the Giants break their 2-year-old ML record of intentional walks in a season with 104.

The Royals hit a ML-record tying 2 grand slams in a 10-3 romp over Oakland. Rookies Abraham Nunez and John Buck both connect with the bags full for KC. Nunez’s salami breaks up Mark Mulder‘s 1-0 shutout in the 6th and is the first grand slam allowed by Mulder.

Starting pitcher Jon Rauch of the Expos homers off Houston’s Roger Clemens (Shawn Estes is the only other pitcher to do so) but leaves with a bad back and a 4-0 lead. The Astros tie it up and then score a run in the 12th on a homer by Morgan Ensberg. Alex Gonzalez matches that in the bottom of the frame and Terrmel Sledge drives in the winner with a single as the Expos win‚ 6-5.
August 17The Rangers crush the Indians‚ 16-4‚ as Mark Texeira becomes the 2nd player in Texas history to hit for the cycle. Texeira drives in 7 runs with a 2-run double in the 3rd‚ a 3-run HR in the 4th‚ a 2-run triple in the 5th‚ and a leadoff single in the 7th. Oddibe McDowell is the only other Ranger to accomplish the feat‚ doing so on July 23‚ 1985.

The Mariners crush the Royals‚ 16-3‚ as Raul Ibanez strokes a career-high 5 hits and scores 4 runs. Ichiro Suzuki has 4 hits and 5 RBIs and hits a leadoff HR for the 2nd straight game. Bret Boone chips in with a pair of homers.

Jason Jennings goes 7 innings and is credited with the win in the Rockies 6-4 victory over the visiting Mets. Matt Holliday has a homer and scores 3 runs. New York loses recently acquired pitcher Victor Zambrano for the season when he runs off the mound after walking a batter in the 3rd. They will lose him exactly the same way in May 2006.

The Devil Rays down the Angels‚ 8-3‚ as Tampa Bay SS BJ Upton becomes the 1st teenager in more than 6 years to homer in a ML game. The last to do so was Aramis Ramirez on June 16‚ 1998.
August 19After Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek hits a game-tying three-run homer in the 8th, off JJ Putz, Bret Boone answers with a walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the 9th as Seattle wins 8–4. Boone has 6 RBIs for the day.
August 20Randy Johnson fans 14 as the Diamondbacks lose to the Reds‚ 2-0. It is the 200th time in his career that he fans 10 or more in a game.

ML baseball owners vote to extend Bud Selig’s term as commissioner three more years‚ through 2009.
August 21The Dodgers down the Braves‚ 7-4. LA P Jeff Weaver ties a ML record in the first inning when he hits 3 consecutive batters with pitches.

The Mets down the Giants‚ 11-9‚ scoring two unearned runsin the 12th for the victory. The two combine to tie the NL record for double plays in an extra inning game with 10 (SF-6). Cliff Floyd has a 3-run HR for the Mets while Barry Bonds is 4-for-4 with two doubles‚ a triple‚ and two walks.
August 25The Angels crush the Royals‚ 21-6‚ as Jeff DaVanon became the first Angels player in 13 years to hit for the cycle. The last to do so was Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.

Cuba defeats Australia‚ 6-2‚ to take the gold medal in baseball at the Athens Olympics.
August 26The Mariners fall to the Royals‚ 7-3‚ despite Ichiro Suzuki‘s 200th hit of the season. With the HR‚ Suzuki becomes the 1st player to reach 200 hits in each of his 1st 4 ML seasons.
August 27The Astros jump on Cubs starter Kerry Wood‚ who lasts 4+ innings‚ and continue against Kyle Farnsworth. The Astros Roy Oswalt wins 15-7‚ surviving a confrontation with Cubs C Michael Barrett when he steps in the batter’s box; he plunked Barrett five days ago and he and Wood were ejected. Kent Mercker later hits Oswalt. Carlos Beltran hits 2 homers‚ and has now homered in each of his last 5 games. He also steals two bases‚ matching Howard Johnson who hit 2 HRs and stole twice on July 11‚ 1987. Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman hit back-to-back homers‚ and Jeff Kent also goes deep. Nomar Garciaparra and Derrek Lee homer for the Cubs. Farnsworth‚ after giving up 6 runs in the 9th‚ kicks an electric fan and sprains his right knee; tomorrow he goes on the 15-day disabled list.

Despite combining for 9 homers‚ Seattle beats Kansas City by on a 7-5 score. The Mariners have 9 hits‚ 8 for extra bases‚ including 3 homers in the 5th off rookie starter Zack Greinke. The Royals have 2 homers in the same inning to tie a ML record.
August 28The Dodgers defeat the Mets‚ 4-2‚ as Adrian Beltre goes 5-for-5‚ including his league-leading 42nd HR.

The Yankees pound the Blue Jays‚ 18-6‚ as Tony Clark slugs 3 HRs. Clark and Ruben Sierra each drive in 5 runs.
August 29The Cardinals shut out the Pirates‚ 4-0. Albert Pujols becomes the 4th player in history to start his ML career with 4 straight seasons with at least 100 RBIs. The others are Hall of Famers Al Simmons‚ Joe DiMaggio‚ and Ted Williams.
August 30The Cubs defeat the Expos‚ 5-2‚ to give Dusty Baker his 1‚000th win as a manager.

The Astros down the Reds‚ 11-3. Jeff Bagwell steals a base for Houston‚ thus becoming the 11th player in ML history to have 400 HRs and 200 stolen bases.
August 31The Indians bomb the Yankees‚ 22-0‚ to tie a record for the most lopsided shutout in history. Omar Vizquel ties an AL mark with 6 hits for Cleveland.

The Cubs acquire OF Ben Grieve from the Brewers for a player to be named and cash. Chicago also obtains C Mike DiFelice from Detroit for a player to be named.

September

September 1The Marlins edge the Mets‚ 5-4. Armando Benitez gets the save in relief. It is his 10th save of the year against NY for a new ML record for saves against a club in a year. He will add one more save to give him 11 against his former teammates.

Minnesota’s Terry Mulholland goes 6 innings and allows 2 runs in the Twins 4-2 win over Baltimore. Mulholland and catcher Pat Borders‚ who was obtained yesterday from Seattle for B.J. Garbe‚ are the first pair of 40-something batterymates since Curt Davis and Clyde Sukeforth for the Dodgers in 1945.
September 2The Giants acquire P Dave Burba from the Brewers for minor league P Josh Habel.

The Yankees score 1 in the 1st and five in the 2nd off Indian starter Cliff Lee enroute to a 9-1 win. A-Rod homers and Gary Sheffield has 3 hits and 3 RBI to reach the 100 RBI mark. He joins 19th century star Dan Brouthers who drove in 100 RBIs for 5 different teams between 1887 and 1894. Sheffield also drove in 100 for the Padres‚ Marlins‚ Dodgers‚ and Braves. Joining him today with 100 RBIs is Victor Martinez who hits a solo homer off Steve Karsay‚ who is making his first appearance since 2003.
September 3The Baltimore Orioles top the Yankees 3-1 behind Rodrigo Lopez. The loss goes to Kevin Brown who pitches 6 innings and then‚ frustrated on a grounder he botched‚ punches a concrete wall inside the Yankees’ clubhouse‚ breaking two bones in his left (non-throwing) hand that will require surgery. The pitcher‚ making $15.7 million‚ will miss the rest of the season. New York leads in the East by 2 1/2 games.

The Marlins three-game series with the Cubs is postponed by Hurricane Frances.
September 4The Rockies down the Padres‚ 8-2. Prior to the game‚ the Friars retires former All-Star OF Tony Gwynn‘s jersey No. 19.
September 5The Mariners lose to the White Sox‚ 8-7‚ despite 5 hits by Ichiro Suzuki. It is the 3rd time this season Suzuki has had 5 or more hits in a game. He now leads the majors with 223 hits‚ 34 short of George Sisler‘s all-time record.
September 7The Dodgers defeat the Diamondbacks‚ 8-2. Robin Ventura hits a pinch grand slam for LA‚ moving into a tie with Willie McCovey for 3rd place on the all-time list with 18. Hideo Nomo (4-11) wins his first game since April 21.
September 8The Indians down the Mariners‚ 8-5. Seattle rookie Greg Dobbs hits a pinch-hit HR in the 9th inning in his 1st ML at bat. He is the first Mariner player ever to accomplish the feat.

The Astros hand the Reds a 5-2 loss. Pitcher Jose Acevedo ties a ML record by surrendering 4 Houston HRs in the 1st inning.
September 9The Royals score a team-record 26 runs on their way to a 26-5 win over the Tigers in the 1st game of a DH. KC scores in 7 of their 9 times up‚ including plating 11 runs in the 3rd. Joe Randa strokes 6 hits and scores a ML record-tying 6 runs for the Royals‚ becoming the 1st AL player ever to record 6 of each in a 9-inning game. The Royals are shut out by Detroit in the 2nd game‚ 8-0.

The Mariners down the Red Sox‚ 7-1‚ as Ichiro Suzuki breaks his own AL record for singles in a season with 194. He set the mark as a rookie in 2001.

The Phillies get homers from their first two batters‚ Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco‚ leading off the game and go on to beat the Braves‚ 9-4. Lieberthal and Burrell add homers to back Ryan Madosn (9-2).

The Tribune Company‚ owners of the Cubs‚ misses the Mark with a check. Mark Guthrie‚ 43‚ a former newspaper carrier for the Hartford Courant‚ which is owned by the Tribune‚ receives a check meant for former pitcher Mark Guthrie. A year ago‚ the Tribune’s payroll department mixed the two men up and deposited $301‚000 of the baseball player’s pay into the newspaper carrier’s bank account. It took five weeks for the company to detect the error. The deliveryman noticed the money‚ but didn’t touch it. He knew it was a mistake‚ and cooperated with Tribune. But Guthrie of Connecticut stopped the last $26‚000 from being taken out of his account until the company proved to him that he would not suffer any tax ramifications over the company’s error. Guthrie‚ the baseball player‚ didn’t get picked up by the Cubs and is now a free agent. Guthrie the newspaper carrier was also dropped by the media conglomerate due to the lawsuit‚ and is presumably also a free agent.
September 11The Phillies defeat the Mets in 13 innings by a score of 11-9. The teams combine to use a ML record 18 pitchers in the contest‚ 10 by the Phillies to tie a NL mark.

Texas beats Toronto‚ 10-7 despite the Jays hitting two pinch homeruns in the 8th inning. Eric Hinske and Chris Gomez hit the pinch homers‚ the latter hitting his off Ron Mahay‚ who gets one out and the win. Mark Teixeira has a 3-run homer for Texas.

The Cubs best the Marlins‚ 5-2 on Derrek Lee’s 3-run double in the 8th. Relief P LaTroy Hawkins strikes out the side on 9 pitches in the 9th inning to nail down the victory for Chicago.
September 12The Orioles lose to the Yankee‚ 9-7. In the process‚ they set an AL record by using 10 pitchers in the game.
September 13The Marlins down the Expos‚ 6-3‚ in a game played at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago because of Hurricane Ivan. The two teams thereby set a record by playing a game in their 21st different stadium in a single season.

The Cubs knock off the Pirates‚ 7-2. Sammy Sosa hits his 30th HR of the year to become the 3rd player in history to hit 30 or more HRs 10 seasons in a row.

In Oakland‚ Texas reliever Frank Francisco is arrested on a charge of aggravated battery after he tosses a chair into the right-field box seats and hits two spectators in the head and woman’s nose is broken when the chair bounces and hits her. Francisco will be suspended for the rest of the season by ML baseball. With two outs in the 9th inning‚ the Rangers’ Alfonso Soriano ties the game 5-5 with his 2nd homer of the night. Moments later‚ the Texas bench and bullpen clears. After a delay of 19 minutes‚ the Athletics win 7-6 in the 10th inning when Eric Chavez hits a single following 3 walks and an error. Chavez ties the game in the 8th after Mark Teixeira hits his 35th homer‚ off starter Tim Hudson. “Tonight‚ it went over the line‚” Rangers manager Buck Showalter said after the game. “It was a real break from the normal trash you hear from fans. We’ve had problems about every time we’ve come here.” Texas reliever Doug Brocail is seen screaming at a male fan‚ and the pitcher has to be restrained by his teammates and bullpen coach Mark Connor.

Kansas City outhits the Yankees by just 2‚ but a 10-run 5th innings helps as the Royals flush the Yanks‚ 17-8. Angel Berroa scores 5 runs for KC.
September 14The Mets fire manager Art Howe‚ effective at the end of the season.

Corey Patterson hits a 2-run homer in the 8th to tie the Pirates‚ 2-2‚ then hits a walkoff homer in the 12th for a 3-2 Cubs win.
September 15The Diamondbacks edge the Rockies‚ 3-2‚ as Randy Johnson moves past Steve Carlton to become baseball’s leader in strikeouts for a left-hander. Johnson now has 4‚139 to move into third place on the all-time list behind Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens.

With the Expos leading 2-1‚ they load the bases with 2 out in the 4th inning against Florida ace Carl Pavano. As Brian Schneider steps off 3B‚ Mike Lowell tags him with the hidden ball trick. It is the first in the majors in 5 years.

Derrek Lee‚ Sammy Sosa and Michael Barrett hit back-to-back-to-back HRs in a 13-5 win over the Pirates. Lee’s homer is his 30th‚ giving the Cubs four players with 30 homers for the first time in club history.
September 17The Giants defeat the Padres‚ 4-1‚ as Barry Bonds hits the 700th HR of his ML career. The blast comes off SD hurler Jake Peavy in the 3rd inning. Barry will ends the season with more homeruns than strikeouts (45 to 41)‚ just the second player since 1959 to do that (minimum 10 homers). The other was George Brett in 1980.

The Mariners beat the Athletics‚ 6-3. Ichiro Suzuki gets his 199th single of the season to break Wee Willie Keeler‘s old mark.

The Cubs edge the Reds‚ 13-4‚ on the strength of 3 HRs and 5 RBI by Aramis Ramirez.
September 18The Cardinals knock off the Diamondbacks‚ 7-0‚ to lower their number to 2 games to clinch a division title. It is a costly win as starter Chris Carpenter leaves in the 4th with an injury that will prevent him from pitching in the post season. Reggie Sanders has an RBI and 2 steals to give him his 4th 20 homer‚ 20 SB season.

For the second day in a row‚ the Orioles score in double digits to beat the Twins‚ 12-3. Rookie Daniel Cabrera (12-7) notches the win with 6 IP. Miguel Tejada homers twice‚ has 5 RBI‚ and leads the AL with 131 RBI. Brian Roberts breaks the Orioles’ 103-year-old franchise record for most doubles by a switch hitter when he connected for his 47th two-bagger: in 1901‚ John Anderson of the Milwaukee Brewers hit 46. Roberts ties Cal Ripken’s club mark of 47 doubles set in 1983.
September 21The Mariners down the Angels‚ 7-3‚ as Ichiro Suzuki gets 5 hits in a game for the 4th time this season. He is within 14 hits of George Sisler‘s all-time season record of 257 hits.
September 22The Mariners pound out 24 hits in a 16-6 rout of the Angels. Raul Ibanez ties an AL record with 6 hits for Seattle. Ichiro Suzuki gets 4 more hits to give him 247 on the season.
September 24The Braves clinch their 13th consecutive division title with an 8-7 win over the Marlins.
September 26In a bench-clearing game at Fenway‚ the Red Sox down the Yankees‚ 11-4. Curt Schilling pitches 7 innings of one-hit ball‚ while the Red Sox jump on Kevin Brown in the 1st and Estaban Loaiza in the 2nd inning to post a 7-0 lead. Pedro Astacio‚ Brad Halsey and Joe Torre all get tossed in the 8th. Bill Mueller homers for Boston while Andy Phillips‚ in his first ML at bat‚ homers on the first pitch he sees. He is the 20th rookie to pinch hit a homer on his first at bat.
September 28Omar Infante and Bobby Higgenson homer off Jose Contreras to lead off the game for Detroit and it is the margin of victory as the Tigers beat the White Sox‚ 6-4.
September 29The Braves down the Mets‚ 6-3‚ for manager Bobby Cox‘s 2‚000th win as skipper. He is the 9th man to reach 2‚000.

Cubs reliever LaTroy Hawkins blows his 2nd save in five days and the Cubs eventually lose to the Reds‚ 4-2. Chicago slips a half-game behind Houston in the wild-card standings.

The Indians defeat the Royals‚ 5-2. After the game‚ Cleveland P Kyle Denney is hit in the right calf by a bullet that comes through the side of the team bus. He probably avoids more serious injury when the bullet hits the tough leather of the knee-high boot he is wearing as part of a rookie hazing ritual.

Major League Baseball announces that the Montreal Expos will relocate to Washington‚ DC for the 2005 season.

October

October 1The Mariners defeat the Rangers‚ 8-3‚ as Ichiro Suzuki gets 3 hits to give him a new ML-record 259 for the season. The old mark of 257 was set by George Sisler 84 years ago. Suzuki’s single in the 1st inning was the 919th hit of his career to break Bill Terry’s record for most hits over a 4-year span.
October 2Steve Finley’s grand slam caps a 7-run 9th inning rally to give the Dodgers a 7-3 win over the Giants and the NL West title.

The Angels clinch the AL West title with a 5-4 win over the Athletics.

The Marlins down the Phillies‚ 4-3‚ hours after Larry Bowa is fired as Philadelphia’s manager.

Josh Fogg (11-10) goes 6 innings as the Pirates beat the Reds‚ 3-1. Todd Van Poppel gives up 3 runs in 5 innings to finish the year with a 6.09 ERA and a career ERA of 5.58. His 5.58 moves him ahead of Pat Mahomes (5.47) for the highest ERA for any pitcher with 300 or more appearances in the bigs.

Shawn Estes goes 4 innings‚ his shortest start in the past 27‚ as his Rockies lose to the Astros‚ 9-3. Houston rockets 6 home runs‚ 2 each by Jeff Kent and Craig Biggio.

The Expos beat the Mets‚ 6-3. Todd Zeile hits a HR in his final ML at bat‚ duplicating a feat also performed by Ted Williams.
October 4The Mariners fire Bob Melvin as their manager.
October 5The Twins shutout the Yankees behind Johan Santana‚ 2-0‚ to take the opener of their Division Series. Minnesota turns a postseason-record 5 DPs in the contest and Jacque Jones hits a HR.

The Red Sox take the opener of their Division Series against the Angels behind Chuck Schilling‚ 9-3. Boston scores 7 runs in the 4th inning to break open the game. Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar homer for the Sox‚ while Darin Erstad and Troy Glaus connect for Anaheim.

The Cardinals clout 5 HRs to tie the NL record for a postseason game and go on to defeat the Dodgers‚ 8-3‚ in the game 1 of their Division Series. Larry Walker homers twice‚ while Albert Pujols‚ Jim Edmonds‚ and Mike Matheny hit one round-tripper apiece for St. Louis. Tom Wilson hits a solo blast for LA in the 9th. Woody Williams gets the victory while Odalis Perez is charged with the loss.
October 6The Yankees edge the Twins‚ 7-6‚ in 12 innings to even their Division Series at a game apiece. Alex Rodriguez gets 4 hits for NY‚ including a HR. Derek Jeter and Gary Sheffield also homer for the Bronx Bombers while Torii Hunter connects for Minnesota.

The Red Sox take a 2-to-0 lead in their Division Series with the Angels with an 8-3 victory behind Pedro Martinez. Jason Varitek homers for Boston.

The Astros down the Braves‚ 9-3‚ behind Roger Clemens. Carlos Beltran‚ Jason Lane‚ Lance Berkman‚ and Brad Ausmus homer to lead the Houston attack. Andruw Jones also homers for Atlanta.
October 7The Cardinals again down the Dodgers by a score of 8-3 to take a 2-to-0 lead in their division Series. Mike Matheny drives in 4 runs for St. Louis‚ while Milton Bradley‚ Shawn Green‚ and Jason Werth all homer for LA.

The Braves even their Division Series against Houston with a 4-2 win in 11 innings. Rafael Furcal‘s walkoff homer is the deciding blow. Raul Chavez and Jeff Bagwell clout round-trippers for the Astros.

The Cubs fine OF Sammy Sosa $87‚400 (one day’s pay) for arriving late and leaving early at the Cubs’ regular-season finale at Wrigley Field on Sunday. This incident leads to speculation that he’s going to be on the trading block.
October 8The Yankees take a 2-to-1 lead in their Division Series with the Twins with an 8-4 win behind Kevin Brown. Derek Jeter drives in 3 runs for NY while Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams homer. Jacque Jones hits one out for Minnesota.

The Red Sox complete a 3-game sweep over the Angels in their Division Series on David Ortiz’s 2-run walkoff HR in the bottom of the 10th inning. Vladimir Guerrero brings Anaheim back from a 6-1 deficit with a grand slam in the 7th inning‚ but Ortiz’s 4th hit of the game wins it for Boston.
October 9The Yankees finish off the Twins with a come-from-behind 6-5 win in 11 innings to win their Division Series. Ruben Sierra‘s 3-run HR ties the game in the 8th inning and Alex Rodriguez scores the winning run on a wild pitch. Henry Blanco homers for Minnesota.

The Astros move a game up on the Braves in their Division Series with an 8-5 win. Carlos Beltran‘s homer paces Houston while Andruw Jones and Johnny Estrada connect for Atlanta.

The Dodgers stave off elimination in their Division Series with the Cardinals behind Jose Lima’s 5-hit shutout‚ winning by a score of 4-0. Shawn Green hits a pair of homers to pace LA.
October 10Houston blows a 3-run lead and loses to Atlanta‚ 6-5‚ to even their Division Series at 2 games apiece. Adam LaRoche’s 3-run homer in the 6th inning ties the score at 5-5‚ and J.D. Drew’s single in the 9th wins it for the Braves. Craig Biggio hits a HR for the Astros.

The Cardinals top the Dodgers‚ 6-2‚ to win their Division Series and move on to the NLCS. Jeff Suppan hurls 7 innings of 2-hit ball for St. Louis. Albert Pujols and Reggie Sanders homer for the Cardinals‚ and Jason Werth for LA.
October 11The Houston Astros move on to the NLCS for the first time in their history‚ defeating the Braves‚ 12-3‚ to take their Division Series. Carlos Beltran is the hero for Houston with 4 hits‚ including 2 HRs‚ and 5 RBIs. Jeff Bagwell also homers for the Astros‚ while Johnny Estrada and Rafael Furcal connect for Atlanta.

Ken Caminiti‚ the 1996 NL MVP‚ dies at 41. After he stopped playing Caminiti admitted in a cover article in Sports Illustrated that he used steroids.
October 12The Yankees take the opening game of the ALCS with a 10-7 victory over the Red Sox. NY almost blows an 8-0 lead‚ but holds on to win behind the pitching of Mike Mussina and the hitting of Hideki Matsui (5 RBIs). Kenny Lofton homers for the Yanks and Jason Varitek connects for Boston.
October 13The Yankees go up 2-to-0 over the Red Sox with a 3-1 win. Jon Lieber gets the victory with John Olerud‘s 2-run homer in the 6th inning the key blow.

The Cardinals trounce the Astros‚ 10-7‚ in the opener of the NLCS. Albert Pujols homers for St. Louis‚ while Mike Lamb‚ Lance Berkman‚ Jeff Kent‚ and Carlos Beltran all connect in a losing cause for Houston.
October 14The Cardinals use the long ball to go 1 up in their NLCS with a 6-4 win over the Astros. Scott Rolen hit a pair of HRs‚ with Albert Pujols and Larry Walker also connecting for St. Louis. Morgan Ensberg and Carlos Beltran homer for Houston.
October 16Roger Clemens keeps Houston’s hopes alive in the NLCS with a 5-2 win over St. Louis. Lance Berkman‚ Carlos Beltran‚ and Jeff Kent homer for the Astros; Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker connect for the Cardinals.

The Yankees maul the Red Sox‚ 19-8‚ to take a commanding 3-games-to-0 lead in the ALCS. The 19 runs are an LCS record. Hideki Matsui leads the way for NY with 5 hits‚ 5 RBI‚ and 5 runs scored. Alex Rodriguez also score 5 for the Yankees. Gary Sheffield and Bernie Williams each have 4 hits. Matsui hits a pair of HRs‚ and Rodriguez and Sheffield connect once each for NY. Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon homer for Boston.
October 17The Red Sox stay alive in the ALCS with a 6-4‚ 12 inning win over the Yankees. David Ortiz’s 2-run walkoff homer wins it in the 12th after the Sox tied the score off Mariano Rivera in the 9th. Ortiz drives home 4 runs for Boston‚ while Alex Rodriguez homers for NY.

The Astros tie the NLCS match with the Cardinals with a 6-5 victory. Carlos Beltran and Lance Berkman homer for Houston‚ and Albert Pujols for St. Louis. Beltran’s blast makes 5 consecutive post-season games in which he has homered for a new record.
October 18The Red Sox outlast the Yankees‚ 5-4‚ in 14 innings to force a Game 6 of their ALCS. David Ortiz again is the hero‚ driving home the winning run with a bloop single. Ortiz also homers‚ as does Bernie Williams for NY.

The Astros win their 3rd in a row‚ shutting out St. Louis 3-0 on Jeff Kent’s 9th inning walkoff HR. The Cardinals manage only 1 hit off Brandon Backe (8 innings) and Brad Lidge (1 inning)-Tony Womack‘s single in the 6th.
October 19In another thriller‚ the Red Sox even their ALCS with the Yankees by defeating NY by a score of 4-2. Chuck Schilling pitches 7 solid innings for Boston‚ while Mark Bellhorn hits a HR. Bernie Williams homers for the Yanks.
October 20The Red Sox defeat the Yankees‚ 10-3‚ to become the first team in history to come back from a 3-to-0 deficit and win a postseason series. Johnny Damon is the hero for Boston with a pair of HRs‚ including a grand slam‚ and 6 RBI. David Ortiz and Mark Bellhorn also homer for the Sox.

The Cardinals tie their NLCS with the Astros with a 6-4‚ 12-inning victory. Jim Edmonds‘ walkoff HR is the deciding blow. Albert Pujols also homer for St. Louis‚ while Mike Lamb connects for Houston.

The Seattle Mariners name Mike Hargrove as their manager.
October 21The Cardinals advance to the WS with a 5-2 win in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Astros. Scott Rolen homers for St. Louis‚ while Craig Biggio connects for Houston.
October 23The Red Sox take the opener of the WS with an 11-9 win over the Cardinals. Mark Bellhorn’s 2-run 8th inning HR is the deciding blow as Boston bounces back after blowing an early 7-2 lead. David Ortiz also homered for the Sox‚ while Larry Walker connected for St. Louis.
October 24Boston takes a 2-game lead in the WS with a 6-2 win over St. Louis in Game 2. Curt Schilling gets the win for the Red Sox. Orlando Cabrera‚ Mark Bellhorn‚ and Jason Varitek each drive in a pair of runs.
October 26The Red Sox win Game 3 of the WS with a 4-1 win over the Cardinals. Pedro Martinez hurls 7 shut out innings for Boston to put St. Louis in a 3-games-to-0 hole. Manny Ramirez homers and drives in a pair of runs for the Sox‚ while Larry Walker hits one out for the Cards.
October 27The Red Sox win their first WS in 86 years with a 3-0 victory over the Cardinals behind Derek Lowe. Johnny Damon hits a HR for the Sox. Manny Ramirez is voted Series MVP‚ as he leads Boston to the 4-game sweep with a .412 BA and 4 RBI.

November

November 1The Diamondbacks name Wally Backman as their new manager.
November 3The Mets name Yankee coach Willie Randolph as their new manager.

The Phillies name Charlie Manuel as their new manager.
November 5Four days after hiring him‚ the Diamondbacks fire manager Wally Backman for failing to inform them that he had been arrested twice over the past couple of years. Bob Melvin is hired to take his place.
November 6At an auction in Louisville‚ a Louisville Slugger bat signed by “Shoeless” Joe Jackson sells for $137‚500. Cracked on the handle and worn on the barrel‚ the bat‚ made in 1910 or 1911‚ has Jackson’s signature along the hitting area in bold ink. The bat is the featured piece among 412 items sold. The Louisville Slugger Museum planned to use the funds raised by the auction to pursue other pieces of baseball memorabilia. Also‚ a bat used by Ty Cobb goes for $132‚000‚ a record for a Cobb bat. The bat’s value was enhanced by grease-penciled writing on the barrel. The markings were made by a Hillerich & Bradsby receiving agent working at the factory during Cobb’s era. They indicate that Cobb probably used the bat‚ then had it sent back to Louisville to have more made exactly like it. A Cleveland Indians jersey worn by Satchel Paige sells for $110‚000. A letter handwritten by Babe Ruth‚ with six of his signatures at the bottom‚ and its original envelope went for $41‚800. A baseball signed by Ruth and Lou Gehrig went for $31‚900.
November 8Pittsburgh’s Jason Bay and Oakland’s Bobby Crosby are named Rookie of the Year in the NL and AL respectively.
November 9Roger Clemens is named the NL Cy Young Award winner. At 42‚ Clemens becomes the oldest to win the award. It is his record 7th Cy Young‚ won with 4 different teams.
November 10Bobby Cox of Atlanta and Buck Showalter of Texas are named Manager of the Year in the NL and AL respectively.
November 11The Twins Johan Santana is named the unanimous winner of the AL Cy Young Award.
November 14The Giants sign free agent SS Omar Vizquel to a 3-year contract.
November 15Barry Bonds wins his record 7th NL MVP award‚ and his 4th in a row.
November 16Vladimir Guerrero is named the AL MVP for the 2004 season.

The Expos sign free agent 3B Vinny Castilla to a 2-year pact‚ and free agent SS Cristian Guzman to a 4-year deal.
November 18The Tigers sign free agent P Troy Percival to a 2-year contract‚ leaving the A’s in need of a closer.
November 19The Washington-bound Expos trade OF Juan Rivera and INF Maicer Izturis to the Angels in exchange for OF Jose Guillen.
November 22ML baseball announces the new nickname of the Washington NL franchise-formerly the Montreal Expos-will be the Nationals.
November 24The Twins sign free agent C Mike Redmond and free agent SS Juan Castro to 2-year contracts.
November 27The Pirates trade All-Star C Jason Kendall to the Athletics for pitchers Mark Redman and Arthur Rhodes.
November 30In an interview on the Howard Stern show‚ Anna Benson‚ pin-up star wife of Mets pitcher Kris Benson‚ says that if she ever caught her husband cheating on her she would f**ck the whole Mets team‚ including coaches, bat boys, and groundskeepers. When Stern mentions the rumor that Kris was traded by the Pirates because Anna was a pain in the ass‚ she does not deny the stories. The former stripper also takes credit for negotiating Kris’s Mets contract.

December

December 1The Giants sign free agent P Armando Benitez to a 3-year contract.
December 3The Yankees trade P Felix Heredia to the Mets for P Mike Stanton. They also send OF Kenny Lofton to the Phillies for P Felix Rodriguez.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Barry Bonds admitted to the grand jury that he used a clear substance and a cream that were supplied by Balco but that he didn’t believe they were steroids. Yesterday the Chronicle reported that Jason Giambi told the grand jury he knowingly took steroids provided by Bonds’s trainer.
December 6Baseball officials report that they are closer to an agreement on a drug-testing program that will incorporate more tests‚ and stiffer penalties. Donald Fehr says he expects the plan to be in place by spring training.
December 8The Red Sox sign free agent P Matt Mantei to a contract.

The White Sox sign free agent P Dustin Hermanson to a 2-year contract.

The Marlins sign free agent P Al Leiter to a contract.

The Phillies sign free agent P Jon Lieber to a 3-year contract.

The Padres sign free agent P Woody Williams and IF Geoff Blum to contracts.

The Rangers sign free agent C Sandy Alomar to a contract.
December 9The Diamondbacks sign free agent 3B Troy Glaus to a 4-year contract.

The White Sox sign free agent OF Jermaine Dye to a 2-year contract.

The Dodgers agree to a 2-year contract with free agent 2B Jeff Kent.

The Padres sign free agent IF Eric Young to a contract.
December 10The Angels sign free agent OF Steve Finley to a 2-year contract.

The Diamondbacks sign free agent P Russ Ortiz to a 4-year contract.

The Marlins sign free agent P Alfonso Alfonseca to a 2-year contract.

The Rangers sign free agent OF Richard Hidalgo to a contract.
December 11The Pirates traded newly-acquired P Arthur Rhodes to the Indians for OF Matt Lawton.

The Brewers obtained P Jose Capellan and a player to be named from the Braves in exchange for closer Danny Kolb. Kolb (0-4) had 39 saves and just 21 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings. He is the first pitcher with more than 30 saves and less than 30 K’s.
December 12The Blue Jays trade C Kevin Cash to the Devil Rays in exchange for P Chad Gaudin.
December 13The Angels sign free agent P Esteban Yan to a 2-year contract.

The White Sox acquire OF Scott Posednik‚ P Luis Vizcaino‚ and a player to be named to the Brewers for OF Carlos Lee.

The Marlins sign free agent P Todd Jones to a contract.
December 14The Angels send P Ramon Ortiz to the Reds in exchange for minor league P Dustin Moseley. Anaheim also signs free agent P Paul Byrd to a contract.

The Diamondbacks sign free agent SS Royce Clayton to a contract.

The Red Sox sign free agent P David Wells to a 2-year contract.

The Indians sign free agent IF Jose Hernandez to a contract.

The Blue Jays sign free agent 3B Corey Koskie to a 3-year contract.
December 15The Diamondbacks sign free agent IF Craig Counsell‚ a former D’back‚ to a 2-year contract.

The Red Sox sign free agent P John Halama to a contract.

The Reds sign free agent Ps David Weathers and Ben Weber to contracts.

The Athletics get IF Keith Ginter from the Brewers for P Justin Lehr and OF Nelson Cruz.

The Cardinals sign free agent C Einar Diaz to a contract.

The Mariners sign free agent 1B Richie Sexson to a 4-year contract.
December 16The Braves obtain ace pitcher Tim Hudson from the Athletics in exchange for pitchers Dan Meyer and Juan Cruz‚ and OF Charles Thomas.

The Mets sign free agent P Pedro Martinez to a 4-year contract.

The Pirates acquire veteran catcher Benito Santiago and cash from the Royals for P Leo Nunez.
December 17The Red Sox sign free agent SS Edgar Renteria‚ recently with the Cardinals‚ to a 4-year contract.

The Marlins sign free agent P Antonio Alfonseca to a contract.

The Mariners sign free agent 3B Adrian Beltre to a 5-year contract.
December 18The Athletics send star pitcher Mark Mulder to the Cardinals in exchange for pitchers Danny Haren and Kiko Calero and C Daric Barton.
December 20The Orioles obtain IF Chris Gomez from the Phillies for cash. They also sign free agent P Steve Kline to a 2-year contract.

The Reds sign free agent P Kent Mercker to a 2-year contract.

The Angels sign free agent SS Orlando Cabrera to a 4-year contract.

The Rockies and Mariners exchange pitchers‚ with Aaron Taylor going to Colorado and Sean Green to Seattle.

The Dodgers sign free agent SS Jose Valentin to a contract.

The Padres acquire OF Dave Roberts from the Red Sox‚ sending OF Jay Payton‚ IF Ramon Vazquez‚ and P David Pauley to Boston.
December 21The Reds sign free agent 3B Joe Randa to a contract.

The Yankees sign free agent 2B Tony Womack to a 2-year contract.
December 22The Red Sox sign free agent P Matt Clement to a 3-year contract.

The Yankees sign free agent P Carl Pavano to a 4-year contract. The young ace pitched for the Marlins last year.

The White Sox sign free agent pitcher Orlando Hernandez to a 2-year contract.

No joke. The Cardinals sign free agent P Mike Myers to a contract.

The Padres sign free agent OF Mark Sweeney to a contract.

The Devil Rays sign free agent 1B Josh Phelps to a contract.
December 23The Red Sox sign free agent P Wade Miller to a contract.

The Dodgers sign free agent OF J.D. Drew to a 5-year contract.

The Cardinals sign free agent SS David Eckstein to a 3-year contract.
December 25The Royals sign free agent P Jose Lima to a contract.
December 27The Reds sign free agent P Eric Milton to a 3-year contract.

The Giants sign free agent OF Moises Alou to a contract.

Three more umpires will be rehired by major league baseball and six more will split $2.3 million in severance pay as part of a settlement of the dispute that cost 22 umps their jobs in 1999. The umpires will be brought back as part of a new five-year labor contract‚ a deal that also settles the nearly two-year-old grievance umpires filed over a computer system baseball has used to evaluate plate umps. Bob Davidson‚ an 18-year major league veteran‚ will get the next big league opening. Davidson‚ 52‚ umpired last season in the Class-A Midwest League. To resolve the grievance over the computer system‚ baseball agreed that umpires whose ball-and-strike calls are rated below standard by Questec will be evaluated by umpire supervisors based on videotape and in-game inspection.
December 29The Yankees sign free agent P Jaret Wright to a 3-year contract.
December 31The Yankees sign an insurance policy‚ inking free agent 1B Tino Martinez to a contract.