2006 in baseball

Calendar

June

• 6-7 - Amateur draft
• 16-25/26 - College World Series, to be held at Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha, Nebraska

July

• 11 - All-Star Game at PNC Park
• 30 - Hall of Fame inductions, Cooperstown, N.Y.
• 31 - Last day to trade a player without securing waivers

August

• 18-27 - Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania

September

•   1 - Active rosters expand to 40 players

October

•   3 - Division Series begin
• 10 - League Championship Series begin
• 21 - World Series begins
• October/November - Free agent filing period, first 15 days after World Series ends

November

• 13-17 - General managers' meetings, Naples, Florida

December

• 4-7 - Winter meetings, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
• 4-8 - MLB Players Association executive board meeting, Bonita Springs, Florida
•   7 - Last day for teams to offer salary arbitration to their former players who became free agents
• 19 - Last day for free agents offered salary arbitration to accept or reject the offers
• 20 - Last day for teams to offer 2007 contracts to unsigned players

Champions

• Caribbean World Series: Caracas Lions (Venezuela)
• World Baseball Classic: Japan

Awards and honors

• Baseball Hall of Fame elections
  • Bruce Sutter is selected by the BBWAA.
  • In a special election by the Committee on African-American Baseball, seventeen Negro League figures are elected (all posthumously): Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Biz Mackey, Effa Manley, José Méndez, Alex Pompez, Cum Posey, Louis Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben Taylor, Cristóbal Torriente, Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and Jud Wilson. Manley is the first woman ever elected to the Hall. Including Sutter, the 18 inductees are the largest class in the Hall's history.
  • Gene Elston is selected to receive the Ford C. Frick Award. During his 47 years in the broadcast booth, the former Astros announcer brought a no-nonsense approach to reporting the happenings on the diamond.

Events

• February 7 - Venezuela wins its first Caribbean World Series championship since 1989 by rallying for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Dominican Republic 5–4. Alex González singles in the tying run off Jorge Sosa and scores the game-winning run on Henry Blanco's pop-fly double. Series MVP Ramón Hernández also hits a home run for Venezuela's Caracas Lions, who finish 6-0 in the Series.

• March 3 - In the first-ever World Baseball Classic game, Jae-Weong Seo pitches two-hit ball and Chan Ho Park works three effective innings for a save to lead South Korea past Taiwan 2–0. The first game of the 16-nation tournament starts at 11:30 a.m. local time and is played before a sparse crowd of 5,193 at Tokyo Dome. In the second game, playing before a crowd of 15,869, Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Kosuke Fukudome hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to lead Japan to an 18–2 rout of China.

• March 10 - In the World Baseball Classic, Giants minor leaguer Shairon Martis pitches a no-hitter for the Netherlands in a 10-0 victory over Panama that ends after seven innings because of the mercy rule.

• March 19 - After 19 seasons, two-time NL All-Star Al Leiter retires after his first 2006 spring training appearance for the New York Yankees.

• March 20 - Japan defeats Cuba 10-6 in the championship game of the 2006 World Baseball Classic. After falling behind 6-1 early in the game, Cuba pulls back to within one run entering the ninth inning before Japan closes the door. The championship game of the first international baseball tournament open to players from Major League Baseball features teams that, combined, have only two players on a Major League roster.

• March 28 - Marquis Grissom announces his retirement after a 17-year career. The MVP of the 1997 ALCS, a four-time Gold Glove winner and two-time All-Star, Grissom retires as one of seven players with 2,000 hits, 200 home runs and 400 stolen bases.

• March 30 - Commissoner Bud Selig appoints Red Sox director and former U.S. Senate majority leader George J. Mitchell to head a probe into the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in the major leagues. The investigation is initially limited to events since September 2002, when such drugs were banned in the majors, but Mitchell has the authority to expand its scope.

• April 6 - In the Phillies' 4-2 loss to the Cardinals, Jimmy Rollins goes 0-4, ending his multi-season hitting streak at 38 games.
• R.A. Dickey of the Texas Rangers ties a post-1900 major league record by giving up six home runs in 3 1/3 innings in the Rangers' 10-6 loss to the Tigers. Dickey had converted to throwing knuckleballs the previous season, and after this game he was sent to the Rangers' AAA team to work on it. Chris Shelton led the charge with two home runs. Magglio Ordóñez also hit two home runs, but only one off Dickey.

• April 9 - Cory Sullivan of the Rockies becomes only the eleventh player in major league history to triple twice in the same inning. It is the first time the feat had been accomplished in over fifty years. The two triples came against Padres pitchers Jake Peavy and Chan Ho Park.

• April 10 - The Cardinals play their first official game at New Busch Stadium, a 6-4 victory over the Brewers.

• April 17 - Pedro Martínez wins his 200th career game, a 4-3 Mets win against the Braves at Shea Stadium.

• April 22 - The Brewers hit a record-tying five home runs in the fourth inning, scoring seven runs, as they defeat the Reds 11-0. Bill Hall, Damian Miller, Brady Clark and J.J. Hardy all hit their home runs off of Brandon Claussen before the first out is recorded in the inning. Prince Fielder hits the fifth homer off of Chris Hammond with two out. Miller's and Clark's are two-run homers, while the rest are solo.

• April 28 - In a 6-2 victory over the Brewers, Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux earns the victory with 6 K and 2 ER over 6.0 IP, earning the first 5-0 start of his career.
• Two home run records are tied or broken: Kevin Mench of the Rangers becomes the first right-handed batter in MLB history to hit home runs in seven consecutive games. He is one game short of tying the overall record. And Albert Pujols of the Cardinals ties a record with his 13th home run in the month of April.

• May 3-4 - The Washington Nationals are bought by Theodore N. Lerner, who has agreed to pay Major League Baseball's price of $450 million for the franchise; the following day, they break ground on their new ballpark.

• May 15 - The annual Hall of Fame Game between the Reds and the Pirates is cancelled due to rain with the Reds leading 3-0 in the third inning; it is the fifth rainout in the game's history, and the first since 1993.

• May 20 — Barry Bonds ties Babe Ruth for second place on the career list, and first place among left-handed hitters, with his 714th home run during the San Francisco Giants' road game against the Oakland Athletics.

• May 21 - The Minnesota Legislature, on the last full day of the 2006 session, approves a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, scheduled to open for the 2010 season. Under the bill, the Twins are prohibited from being folded by Major League Baseball or moved from the state of Minnesota for the 30-year duration of the initial lease. The provisions of the bill also allow a statewide corporation to The bill was signed into law by Governor Pawlenty at the Twins' May 23 home game vs. the Cleveland Indians.

• May 24 - In the Cardinals' 10-4 victory at San Francisco, pitcher Adam Wainwright becomes the seventh player in history to hit a home run on the first major league pitch he sees.

• May 28 - Barry Bonds hits his 715th career home run in a 6-3 home loss to the Colorado Rockies, passing Babe Ruth for second place on the career list and setting a new record for left-handed hitters.

Movies

• The Benchwarmers

Deaths

January-March

• January 1 - Paul Lindblad, 64, relief pitcher for the Athletics who retired with the seventh most appearances (655) among lefthanders
• January 5 - Rod Dedeaux, 91, baseball coach at the University of Southern California from 1942 to 1986 who won a record 11 College World Series titles, twice as many as any other coach, and 1,332 games, a record until 1994; played major role in baseball's acceptance in the Olympics, and coached the U.S. team in 1964 and 1984
• January 14 - Bubba Morton, 74, right fielder, mainly with the Tigers, Angels and Japanese Toei Flyers, who in 1972 became the first black head coach in any sport at the University of Washington
• January 17 - Seth Morehead, 71, relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Milwaukee Braves between 1957 and 1961
• January 24 - Carlos (Café) Martínez, 40, infielder for three AL teams who batted .300 for the 1989 White Sox
• February 1 - Jake Wade, 93, pitcher for six AL teams who had been the oldest living Chicago White Sox player
• February 4 - Joe McGuff, 79, sportswriter and editor for The Kansas City Star from 1948 to 1992 who covered the Athletics and later the Royals, playing an instrumental role in the latter franchise being awarded in 1969 and retained in the 1990s
• February 11 - Robert W. Peterson, 80, author of the 1970 book Only the Ball Was White, which focused attention on the Negro Leagues; member of the 2006 Hall of Fame committee responsible for electing Negro Leaguers
• February 20 - Curt Gowdy, 86, broadcaster whose voice was the soundtrack of 13 World Series and 16 All-Star games, as well as the Red Sox from 1951-1966 and ten years with NBC
• February 26 - Ace Adams, 94, All-Star pitcher for the New York Giants who led the National League in saves in 1944 and 1945
• March 6 - Kirby Puckett, 45, Hall of Fame center fielder for the Twins who batted .318 lifetime and won six Gold Gloves; 1989 batting champion; led AL in hits four times, total bases twice and RBI once; MVP of 1991 ALCS, his 11th-inning HR won Game 6 of 1991 World Series

April-May

• April 9 - Billy Hitchcock, 89, infielder for five AL teams who later managed Orioles and Braves, was minor league executive
• April 9 - Jimmy Outlaw, 93, outfielder and third baseman, primarily for the Tigers, who was the left fielder on the 1945 World Series champions
• April 26 - Russ Swan, 42, relief pitcher from 1989-94, primarily for the Seattle Mariners
• April 28 - Steve Howe, 48, All-Star relief pitcher, mainly with the Dodgers and Yankees, who was the 1980 NL Rookie of the Year but was suspended from baseball seven times and eventually barred from the sport due to drug abuse
• May 4 - Jim Delsing, 80, outfielder for five AL teams best remembered as the pinch runner for Eddie Gaedel
• May 14 - Jim Lemon, 78, All-Star outfielder for the Senators/Twins who led AL in triples in 1956, had two seasons of 30 HR and 100 RBI; later a coach