1979 In Baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore Orioles (4–3); Willie Stargell, MVP

*American League Championship Series MVP: None.
*National League Championship Series MVP: Willie Stargell
*All-Star Game, July 17 at the Kingdome: National League, 7–6; Dave Parker, MVP

Other champions

*College World Series: Cal State-Fullerton
*Cuban National Series: Sancti Spíritus
*Japan Series: Hiroshima Toyo Carp over Kintetsu Buffaloes (4–3)
*Big League World Series: West Hempstead, New York
*Little League World Series: Pu-Tzu Town, Hsien, Taiwan
*Senior League World Series: Tung–Feng LL Taichung, Taiwan
*Pan American Games: Cuba over Dominican Republic
Winter Leagues
* 1979 Caribbean Series: Navegantes del Magallanes
* Dominican Republic League: Águilas Cibaeñas
*Mexican Pacific League: Mayos de Navojoa
*Puerto Rican League: Criollos de Caguas
*Venezuelan League: Navegantes del Magallanes

Awards and honors

*Baseball Hall of Fame
**Warren Giles
**Willie Mays
**Hack Wilson
*Most Valuable Player
**Don Baylor, California Angels, OF (AL)
**Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1B and Keith Hernandez, St. Louis Cardinals, 1B (NL)
*Cy Young Award
** Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles (AL)
**Bruce Sutter, Chicago Cubs (NL)
* Rookie of the Year
**John Castino, Minnesota Twins, 3B and Alfredo Griffin, Toronto Blue Jays, SS (AL)
**Rick Sutcliffe, Los Angeles Dodgers, P (NL)
*Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league): Doris Krucker, Midwest League
*Gold Glove Award
*Cecil Cooper (1B) Milwaukee Brewers (AL)
* Frank White (2B) Kansas City Royals (AL)
*Buddy Bell (3B) Texas Rangers (AL)
*Rick Burleson (SS) Boston Red Sox (AL)
*Dwight Evans (OF) Boston Red Sox (AL)
*Fred Lynn (OF) Boston Red Sox (AL)
*Sixto Lezcano (OF) Milwaukee Brewers (AL)
*Jim Sundberg (C) Texas Rangers (AL)
*Jim Palmer (P) Baltimore Orioles (AL)

MLB statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

Events

January

*January 15 – The Seattle Mariners sign Tom Paciorek as a free agent.
*January 23 – Willie Mays receives 409 of 432 votes in the Baseball Writers' Association of America election to earn enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
*January 26 – The Los Angeles Dodgers sign free agent Alan Wiggins.

February

*February 3 – The Minnesota Twins trade Rod Carew to the California Angels for Ken Landreaux, Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell and Brad Havens. His first season with the Angels, he helps his new team reach the post season for the first time, batting over .300 for the next five seasons, and being selected for the next six American League All-Star teams.
*February 15 – The Los Angeles Dodgers trade catcher Brad Gulden to the New York Yankees for outfielder Gary Thomasson. Gulden would later that season start the August 6th game against the Baltimore Orioles, which was the Yankees first game after the funeral for Thurman Munson, who'd died days earlier in a plane crash.

March

*March 7 – The Special Veterans Committee selects Warren Giles and Hack Wilson for the Hall of Fame.
*March 26 – The New York Mets released infielder Bobby Valentine.

April

*April 7 – In the earliest no-hitter in major league history, the Houston Astros' Ken Forsch shuts down the Atlanta Braves 6–0. His brother, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Forsch, hurled a no-hitter the previous season against the Philadelphia Phillies — making them the first big league brothers to each toss a no-hitter.
*April 15 – The New York Mets sign 16 year old infielder Jose Oquendo as a free agent.
*April 17 - The Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 BUT only 653 fans at Oakland Alameda Coliseum we're there. Some reports also say that only 250 people we're there for that night game.
*April 19 – New York Yankees' closer Rich Gossage breaks his right thumb in a clubhouse fight with teammate Cliff Johnson. Gossage would miss almost two months, while 1978 American League Cy Young Award winner Ron Guidry voluntarily replaced him in the bullpen for a short time.

May

*May 9 – With the score tied 4-4 in the ninth inning, and Jimmy Sexton on first base with no outs, the Houston Astros' Terry Puhl lays down a sacrifice bunt. The Cardinals attempt to get the lead runner on the play, however, second base umpire Dave Pallone calls Sexton safe, claiming that Garry Templeton never touched the bag. Cardinals manager Ken Boyer, First baseman Keith Hernandez and catcher Ted Simmons are ejected from the game. Players on the Cardinals bench begin throwing bats and helmets onto the field in protest. As a result, Pallone orders the entire Cardinals bench into the clubhouse, allowing players only to come onto the field as needed. The Cardinals would get out of the inning without a run scoring; however, they would lose in the sixteenth inning.
*May 11 – The New York Yankees purchase the contract of Jim Kaat from the Philadelphia Phillies.
*May 17 – Dave Kingman of the Chicago Cubs hits three home runs and Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies hits two, the second of which proves to be the game winner in the tenth inning, as the Phillies beat the Cubs 23–22 at Wrigley Field. Bill Buckner had a grand slam and seven RBIs for Chicago. The game included a then Major League record 11 home runs and 50 hits.
*May 21 – Batting ninth for the Toronto Blue Jays, Danny Ainge makes his major debut. Ainge gets three hits in four at bats and drives in a run as Toronto defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-1. While Ainge played just one season of major league baseball, he'd go on to greater fame as a member of the NBA's Boston Celtics.
*May 25 – Starter Ross Baumgarten and reliever Randy Scarbery pitched the first combined one-hitter in Chicago White Sox history, defeating Nolan Ryan and the California Angels, 6–1, at Comiskey Park.
*May 28 – Texas Rangers first baseman Mike Jorgensen is hit in the head by a pitch from Boston Red Sox pitcher Andy Hassler. Dave Roberts comes into the game to pinch run for Jorgensen, and Pat Putnam takes over as the Rangers' regular first baseman for the next month. Aside from a pinch-hit appearance on May 31, Jorgensen does not play again until July 1. After suffering headaches, it is discovered he has a small blood clot inside his head, which apparently caused a seizure and could have resulted in his early demise.
*May 31 – Detroit Tigers pitcher Pat Underwood makes his major league debut against his brother, Tom, pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. Both brothers hold the opposing team scoreless until Tom surrendered a solo home run to Jerry Morales leading off the eighth.

June

*June 8 – The Kansas City Royals use their fourth overall pick to draft Dan Marino. In the seventeenth round, they select Stanford's John Elway. Neither player would sign with the Royals, though they would go on to record-breaking careers in the National Football League.
*June 12 – The Detroit Tigers hire Sparky Anderson as their new manager.
*June 18 – Bob Lemon is fired as manager of the defending World Series champ New York Yankees after a sluggish 34-31 start. Billy Martin, originally slated not to take over until the 1980 season, is brought back early by George Steinbrenner, drawing the ire of Reggie Jackson.
*June 24 – In a 5–1 loss to the Rangers, Rickey Henderson debuts for the Oakland Athletics. He singles and doubles; the first of his over 3,000 career hits, and steals the first of his over 1,400 bases.
*June 26 – Bobby Murcer returns to the New York Yankees after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. In exchange for Murcer, the Cubs acquired minor league pitcher Paul Semall.

July

*July 6 – The Los Angeles Dodgers purchase the contract of pitcher Fernando Valenzuela from Yucatan of the Mexican League.
*July 12 – The Detroit Tigers win the first game of a scheduled doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, 4–1, on Disco Demolition Night at Chicago's Comiskey Park. Thousands of young fans swarm onto the field between the games, damaging the field and causing mayhem throughout the stadium. The White Sox are forced to forfeit the second game.
*July 13 – In a rare event, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels and Steve Renko of the Boston Red Sox take separate no-hitters into the ninth inning before they both lose the no hit bids. Ryan's no-hit bid against the New York Yankees benefitted from some questionable official scoring; Jim Spencer's drive to center that Angels centerfielder Rick Miller barely got a glove on was ruled an error. In the ninth, Thurman Munson reached on an error by shortstop Jim Anderson. Two batters later, Reggie Jackson singled to center to unquestionably break up the no-hitter. The next batter, Lou Piniella hit a sacrifice fly to score Munson, and break up the shutout. The run was, however, unearned. Ryan's Angels defeat the Yankees, 6–1. Renko's no-hit bid against the Oakland Athletics is broken up by Rickey Henderson with one out. After recording a second out, Renko walks Mitchell Page, and is pulled in favor of Bill Campbell by Red Sox manager Don Zimmer. Campbell strikes out the only batter he faces, Dave Revering to earn the save, however, Renko is denied the shutout as a result. The Red Sox defeat the A's, 2–0. Ryan's feat, however, receives considerably more attention as the game was nationally televised on ABC's Monday Night Baseball and Ryan (while pitching the game) was on the ensuing issue's cover of Sports Illustrated.
*July 17 – The National League wins its eighth straight All-Star Game, 7–6, at Seattle. Lee Mazzilli hits a home run to tie the game in the eighth, and walks in the ninth to bring in the winning run. Dave Parker, with two outstanding throws, is named the MVP, and Pete Rose appears in the game playing first base, making him the only player in MLB history to appear in the game at five different positions in the field in his All-Star game career.
*July 24 – Boston's Carl Yastrzemski hits his 400th home run off Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Morgan in the 7th inning of the Red Sox's 7–3 win over the Athletics at Boston's Fenway Park.
*July 27 – Bert Blyleven of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches a 9-1 complete game victory against the Montreal Expos. However, he also strikes out five times as a hitter in the game, becoming the only pitcher in major league history to do so.

August

*August 2 – The Chicago White Sox announce that Don Kessinger has been fired as manager, and that he will be replaced by rookie manager Tony La Russa.
*August 3 – Over 51,000 mourners attend a memorial service for New York Yankees captain Thurman Munson at Yankee Stadium, who was killed the day before in a plane crash.
*August 5 – Fred Lynn hits his 100th career home run, helping the Red Sox beat Milwaukee Brewers 7–2.
*August 6 – The entire New York Yankee team flies to Canton, Ohio for captain Thurman Munson's funeral. Hours later, the team returns to New York City and defeats the Baltimore Orioles 5–4 at Yankee Stadium, before a national viewing audience on ABC's ''Monday Night Baseball''. Bobby Murcer, one of Munson's best friends, drives in all five Yankee runs with a three-run home run in the seventh inning and a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth.
*August 13 – The St. Louis Cardinals' Lou Brock slashes his 3,000th hit off the hand of Chicago Cubs pitcher Dennis Lamp in a 3–2 Cardinals win at Busch Memorial Stadium.
*August 22 – At Riverfront Stadium, Johnny Bench breaks Frank Robinson's record for most home runs by a Cincinnati Red. His shot, the 325th home run of his career (all with the Reds), comes off Stan Bahnsen in the fourth inning of the Reds' 7-2 victory over the Montreal Expos.
*August 24 – The Philadelphia Phillies retire eventual Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn's number 1.

September

*September 8 – Kirk Gibson makes his major league debut for the Detroit Tigers, striking out pinch hitting for Dave Stegman in Detroit's 5-4 loss to the New York Yankees.
*September 11 – Dave Concepción and George Foster hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning off Houston Astros ace reliever Joe Sambito and the Cincinnati Reds hold off the Astros 9-8. The Reds trailed the Astros by 1/2 game and moved into first place to stay in the National League West.
** Tim Raines makes his major league debut. He is inserted into the game as a pinch runner for catcher Gary Carter in the Montreal Expos 8-6 win over the Chicago Cubs.
*September 12 – The Boston Red Sox's Carl Yastrzemski records his 3000th career hit with a single off of pitcher Jim Beattie during a 9–2 win over the rival New York Yankees at Fenway Park. He is the first American League player to reach both 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.
*September 14 – The Minnesota Twins trade All-Star first baseman Rod Carew to the California Angels for Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell and Brad Havens. Carew, who hit .333 for the Twins in 1978 but had vowed never to play again for team's owner Calvin Griffith after he made disparaging remarks against black players a few months earlier, will hit .318 for the Angels for the rest of the season. Carew will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.
*September 15 – As part of a 10–2 win over the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox's Bob Watson hits for the cycle. Having done it for the Houston Astros on June 24, 1977, he is the first player to do this in both leagues.
*September 17 – George Brett hits his 20th triple (baseball), triple of the season. He is the first player since Willie Mays in 1957 in baseball, 1957 to join the 20–20–20 club.
*September 23 – Lou Brock steals the 938th and final base of his career, breaking Billy Hamilton (baseball, born 1866), Billy Hamilton's all-time National League record. Brock's St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Mets 7–4 in ten innings.
*September 24 – Pete Rose collects his 200th hit of the season, giving him ten seasons with at least 200 hits. This breaks the record set by Ty Cobb.
*September 28 – Garry Templeton of the St. Louis Cardinals collects his 100th hit of the season while batting right-handed. Having already collected 100 hits while batting left-handed, Templeton is the first player in history to accomplish this. He had batted right-handed, exclusively, for the last week of the season to get the needed hits.
*September 28 – The Cincinnati Reds' Frank Pastore pitches a complete-game 3-0 shutout over the Atlanta Braves, clinching the National League West Division title for the Reds.

October

*October 3 – The San Diego Padres release pitcher Mickey Lolich.
*October 17 – In Game Seven of the World Series, Willie Stargell hits his third home run of the Series to send the Pittsburgh Pirates to their third straight win over the Baltimore Orioles, to win the World Series Championship. Stargell wins Series MVP honors. The Pirates came back from a deficit of 3 games-to-1.
** The Chicago Cubs trade pitcher Donnie Moore to the St. Louis Cardinals for second baseman Mike Tyson.
*October 23 – Yankee manager Billy Martin gets into a barroom fight with Joseph Cooper, a marshmallow salesman from Minnesota. Six days later, Martin is fired from the Yankees and replaced with Dick Howser.

November

*November 13 – For the first time ever, there will be League co-MVPs as Keith Hernandez of the St. Louis Cardinals shares the National League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award with Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stargell is the oldest person to win this award (since broken by Barry Bonds in 2004). The Pirates have thus won (or shared) all four "Most Valuable Player" awards for the season (All-Star Game, National League Championship Series, World Series, and National League regular season). This is the first such sweep in Major League history (Stargell had won the awards for the NLCS, World Series, and National League regular season, while teammate Dave Parker won the All-Star Game award).
*November 19 – The Houston Astros sign Nolan Ryan as a free agent.
*November 20 – California Angels outfielder and DH Don Baylor wins the American League Most Valuable Player Award after hitting .296 with 36 home runs and a major league-leading 120 runs scored and 139 runs batted in. Baylor receives 20 of 28 first-place votes to become the first Angel ever to win MVP honors.
*November 26 – Third baseman John Castino, who batted .285 for the Minnesota Twins, and shortstop Alfredo Griffin, who hit .287 for the Toronto Blue Jays, tie for the American League Rookie of the Year Award, each receiving seven of the 28 first-place votes. The deadlock precipitates a change in the voting system, effective in 1980.
*November 28 – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Rick Sutcliffe, who posted a 17–10 record with a 3.46 ERA for a sub-.500 team, receives 20 of first-place 24 votes to earn the National League Rookie of the Year honors. Right fielders Jeffrey Leonard of the Houston Astros (3) and Scot Thompson (baseball), Scot Thompson of the Chicago Cubs (1) receive the other votes.

December

*December 1 – San Diego Padres outfielder Dave Winfield and Texas Rangers third baseman Buddy Bell are first-time honorees as ''The Sporting News'' announces the 1979 Gold Glove teams.

Movies

*''Bleacher Bums'' (TV)
*''The Kid from Left Field (1979 film), The Kid from Left Field'' (TV)

Births

January

*January 3 – Rosman García
*January 3 – Carlos Maldonado (catcher), Carlos Maldonado
*January 3 – Michael Restovich
*January 5 – Rubén Quevedo
*January 15 – Ben Howard (baseball), Ben Howard
*January 16 – Jack Cust
*January 18 – Wandy Rodríguez
*January 21 – Byung-hyun Kim
*January 22 – Carlos Ruiz (baseball), Carlos Ruiz
*January 23 – Juan Rincón
*January 25 – Philip Barzilla
*January 26 – Kenny Kelly
*January 28 – Phil Seibel
*January 29 – Lance Niekro

February

*February 7 – Eliézer Alfonzo
*February 7 – Humberto Cota
*February 7 – Jon Leicester
*February 8 – Aaron Cook (baseball), Aaron Cook
*February 8 – Ryan Snare
*February 9 – Akinori Iwamura
*February 9 – Mike Tonis
*February 11 – Éric Cyr
*February 11 – Chris Mabeus
*February 15 – Luis Ugueto
*February 17 – Josh Willingham
*February 22 – Steve Colyer
*February 23 – Chris Aguila
*February 24 – Brian Esposito
*February 24 – Dennis Tankersley
*February 25 – Josh Labandeira

March

*March 1 – Chris Barnwell
*March 3 – Jorge Julio
*March 3 – John Nelson (infielder), John Nelson
*March 6 – Clint Barmes
*March 6 – Érik Bédard
*March 9 – Koyie Hill
*March 12 – Félix Escalona
*March 12 – David Williams (2000s pitcher), David Williams
*March 13 – Johan Santana
*March 14 – José Núñez (left-handed pitcher), José Núñez
*March 15 – Kevin Youkilis
*March 16 – Hee-seop Choi
*March 20 – Shinnosuke Abe
*March 20 – Wilfredo Rodríguez
*March 21 – Matt Palmer (baseball), Matt Palmer
*March 22 – Juan Uribe
*March 23 – Mark Buehrle
*March 24 – Norris Hopper
*March 26 – Jason Dubois
*March 27 – Michael Cuddyer
*March 30 – Mike Johnston (baseball), Mike Johnston
*March 31 – Josh Kinney
*March 31 – Charlie Manning

April

*April 7 – Adrián Beltré
*April 7 – Danny Sandoval
*April 8 – Jeremy Guthrie
*April 8 – Dane Sardinha
*April 12 – Jordan De Jong
*April 16 – Justin Huisman
*April 16 – Justin Wayne
*April 17 – Jorge Piedra
*April 19 – Nick Gorneault
*April 20 – Sean Green (baseball), Sean Green
*April 21 – Terry Tiffee
*April 23 – Henry Owens (right-handed pitcher), Henry Owens
*April 23 – Carlos Silva (baseball), Carlos Silva
*April 23 – Rich Thompson (outfielder), Rich Thompson
*April 28 – Sean Douglass

May

*May 1 – Brandon Claussen
*May 1 – Joe Hietpas
*May 4 – Ryan Jorgensen
*May 9 – Brandon Webb
*May 10 – El Potro Álvarez, Tony Álvarez
*May 12 – Travis Dawkins
*May 18 – Adam Peterson (2000s pitcher), Adam Peterson
*May 20 – Jayson Werth
*May 23 – César Crespo
*May 23 – Kirk Saarloos
*May 23 – John Webb (baseball), John Webb
*May 24 – Joe Kennedy (baseball), Joe Kennedy
*May 25 – Trey Lunsford
*May 25 – Chris Young (pitcher), Chris Young
*May 28 – Ryota Igarashi
*May 29 – John Rheinecker

June

*June 6 – Jeremy Affeldt
*June 6 – Jesús Feliciano
*June 8 – Pete Orr
*June 9 – Jason Anderson (baseball), Jason Anderson
*June 13 – Cory Aldridge
*June 13 – Ben Diggins
*June 15 – Matt Smith (baseball), Matt Smith
*June 20 – Scott Patterson (baseball), Scott Patterson
*June 20 – Cory Vance
*June 22 – Brad Hawpe
*June 24 – Jason Romano
*June 26 – Luis González (infielder), Luis A. González

July

*July 4 – Amauri Sanit
*July 6 – Vic Carapazza
*July 10 – Tyrell Godwin
*July 12 – Adam Johnson (baseball), Adam Johnson
*July 13 – Kei Igawa
*July 14 – Bernie Castro
*July 19 – Rick Ankiel
*July 24 – Ryan Speier
*July 28 – John Coppolella
*July 31 – J. J. Furmaniak
*July 31 – Andy Van Hekken

August

*August 2 – Colby Lewis
*August 2 – Humberto Quintero
*August 2 – Matt Riley
*August 9 – Ron Flores
*August 10 – Dan Johnson (baseball), Dan Johnson
*August 10 – Brandon Lyon
*August 11 – Jorge Padilla (baseball), Jorge Padilla
*August 12 – D. J. Houlton
*August 13 – Román Colón
*August 13 – Corey Patterson
*August 13 – Jon Switzer
*August 14 – Ángel Santos
*August 15 – Ryan Budde
*August 15 – Roberto Novoa
*August 19 – Rocky Cherry
*August 20 – Franklyn Gracesqui
*August 20 – Cory Sullivan
*August 23 – Prentice Redman
*August 23 – Chris Roberson (baseball), Chris Roberson
*August 26 – Charlie Zink
*August 27 – Tommy Murphy (baseball), Tommy Murphy
*August 27 – Andy Pratt (baseball), Andy Pratt
*August 29 – David Sanders (baseball), David Sanders
*August 29 – Ryan Shealy
*August 29 – Eduardo Villacis
*August 30 – Scott Richmond
*August 30 – Luis Rivas
*August 31 – Clay Hensley
*August 31 – Shane Loux
*August 31 – Tim Raines Jr.
*August 31 – Ramón Santiago

September

*September 5 – Cliff Bartosh
*September 5 – Ryan Spilborghs
*September 7 – Nathan Haynes
*September 7 – Brian Stokes
*September 11 – Frank Francisco
*September 16 – Chris George (left-handed pitcher), Chris George
*September 16 – Bobby Korecky
*September 18 – Kevin Thompson (baseball), Kevin Thompson
*September 18 – Billy Traber
*September 19 – Lenny DiNardo
*September 19 – Andrew Good
*September 22 – Charlton Jimerson
*September 24 – Nate Cornejo
*September 26 – Yurendell DeCaster
*September 27 – Jon Garland
*September 28 – Jason Young (baseball), Jason Young
*September 29 – Shelley Duncan
*September 29 – Joe Thurston

October

*October 9 – Alay Soler
*October 10 – Brad Ziegler
*October 11 – Shane Youman
*October 14 – Duaner Sánchez
*October 17 – John Ennis (baseball), John Ennis
*October 17 – Gil Velazquez
*October 20 – Choo Freeman
*October 21 – Khalil Greene
*October 21 – Gabe Gross
*October 21 – Steve Holm
*October 21 – Tim Spooneybarger
*October 22 – Eli Whiteside
*October 23 – Ramón Castro (third baseman), Ramón Castro
*October 23 – Bud Smith
*October 25 – Jeremy Brown
*October 25 – Tony Torcato
*October 28 – Bobby Cramer
*October 30 – Jason Bartlett (baseball), Jason Bartlett

November

*November 1 – Coco Crisp
*November 4 – Ezequiel Astacio
*November 6 – Adam LaRoche
*November 7 – Willie Collazo
*November 9 – Dave Bush
*November 9 – Adam Dunn
*November 11 – J. R. House
*November 13 – Gerald Laird
*November 15 – John Stephens (baseball), John Stephens
*November 18 – Steve Bechler
*November 19 – John-Ford Griffin
*November 19 – Ryan Howard
*November 20 – Lino Urdaneta
*November 21 – Bárbaro Cañizares
*November 24 – Horacio Ramírez
*November 25 – Matt Tupman
*November 26 – Jeff Fulchino
*November 27 – Carlos Mendoza (baseball coach), Carlos Mendoza
*November 27 – Jonathan Van Every
*November 28 – Nook Logan
*November 28 – Mike Schultz (2000s pitcher), Mike Schultz
*November 29 – Francis Beltrán

December

*December 2 – José Morban
*December 3 – Eric Hull
*December 4 – Manny Gonzalez (umpire), Manny Gonzalez
*December 7 – Ryan Theriot
*December 9 – Eric Stults
*December 12 – Garrett Atkins
*December 15 – Kevin Cameron (baseball), Kevin Cameron
*December 17 – David Kelton
*December 19 – Chip Ambres
*December 19 – Rafael Soriano
*December 20 – David DeJesus
*December 24 – Joe Valentine
*December 26 – J. C. Boscán
*December 28 – Bill Hall (infielder), Bill Hall

Deaths

January

*January 4 – Bobby Murray (baseball), Bobby Murray, 80, third baseman in ten games for 1923 Washington Senators
*January 5 – George Washburn (baseball player), George Washburn, 64, pitcher who spent 16 years in minor leagues, but appeared in only one major-league game, on May 4, 1941, for the New York Yankees
*January 6 – Jesse Douglas (baseball), Jesse Douglas, 62, infielder who appeared for three Negro American League teams during five seasons between 1940 and 1945
*January 9 – Hinkey Haines, 80, professional baseball and football player; outfielder over 12 minor-league campaigns and a single major-league season, appearing in 28 games for 1923 American League champion New York Yankees, then two games in 1923 World Series; in his final MLB contest, in Game 6, scored winning tally as a pinch runner during the Yanks' eighth-inning, Series-deciding rally, helping them win first world title; played halfback in the National Football League between 1925 and 1932
*January 9 – Charley Stis, 94, who spent more than six decades in professional baseball as a player, manager, scout and umpire
*January 21 – Sam Leslie, 73, line drive-hitting first baseman who played in 822 games over all or part of ten seasons for the New York Giants (1929–1933 and 1936–1938) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1933–1935); batted .304 lifetime with 749 career hits
*January 25 – Charlene Barnett, 50, who played second base in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1949 to 1952 and was a member of three champion teams
*January 26 – Nemo Gaines, 81, left-handed pitcher and U.S. Naval Academy graduate who threw 4 innings of shutout relief in four appearances for the Washington Senators in the midsummer of 1921; left baseball to return to active naval service, where he rose to the rank of captain and retired after World War II
*January 29 – Andy Harrington (pinch hitter), Andy Harrington, 75, minor league infielder between 1925 and 1942, who made one appearance in the majors, going hitless in one at bat as a pinch hitter for the Detroit Tigers on April 18, 1925

February

*February 1 – Milt Byrnes, 62, outfielder in 390 career games for 1943–1945 St. Louis Browns; member of 1944 American League champions, the only St. Louis-based team to conquer the Junior Circuit
*February 7 – Warren Giles, 82, Hall of Fame baseball executive; president of the National League from 1951 to 1969; previously, general manager and club president of the Cincinnati Reds between 1937 and 1951; father of longtime executive Bill Giles (baseball), Bill Giles
*February 8 – Alex Gaston, 85, catcher for the New York Giants (1920–1923) and Boston Red Sox (1926 and 1929) who got into 215 major-league games; brother of pitcher Milt Gaston, whose no-hitter Alex broke up with a seventh-inning single on September 12, 1926
*February 8 – Art Williams (umpire), Art Williams, 44, the first black umpire in the National League, working from 1972 to 1977 including the 1975 NLCS
*February 12 – Ernest Duff (baseball), Ernest Duff, 79, outfielder who batted .341 lifetime for five Negro National League teams between 1925 and 1928
*February 12 – Bill Vargus, 79, southpaw hurler for 1925–1926 Boston Braves, appearing in 15 games
*February 26 – Forrest Thompson, 60, left-handed pitcher who worked in 55 career games for the Washington Senators (1948–1949)

March

*March 2 – Dale Alexander, 75, first baseman who batted .331 in five seasons with the Tigers and Red Sox, winning the 1932 batting title, before an injury ended his career; later a longtime scout
*March 6 – Link Wasem, 68, catcher for appeared in two games for the Boston Bees in May 1937
*March 12 – Vernon Riddick, 62, infielder for the 1939 and 1941 Newark Eagles of the Negro National League
*March 13 – Bill Steen, 91, pitcher who appeared in 108 games for the Cleveland Naps/Indians and Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1915
*March 18 – Percy Jones (baseball), Percy Jones, 79, left-handed pitcher who appeared in 251 games for the Chicago Cubs (1920–1922, 1925–1928), Boston Braves (1929) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1930)
*March 19 – Jack Matchett, 71, member of the Kansas City Monarchs' "Big Four" starting rotation between 1940 and 1945; led 1940 Negro American League pitchers in games won (six)
*March 23 – Don Osborn, 70, longtime minor league pitcher and manager who served three terms as pitching coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates between 1963 and 1976; member of 1971 World Series champions
*March 23 – Wilson Redus, 74, All-Star outfielder who played in the Negro leagues between 1924 and 1940, principally for the St. Louis Stars and Chicago American Giants
*March 26 – Louis Dula, 67, pitcher/outfielder for the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League between 1933 and 1938; went 12–9 (3.62 ERA) in 37 games pitched and batted .314 with 32 hits at the plate
*March 29 – Luke Easter (baseball), Luke Easter, 63, first baseman in the Negro leagues, then with Cleveland Indians (1949–1954); slugged 86 home runs with 307 RBI over his first three full American League seasons (1950–1952); spent one season, 1969, as Cleveland's hitting coach
*March 31 – Bob Schultz, 55, left-handed pitcher who worked in 65 games over four big-league campaigns with the Chicago Cubs (1951–1953), Pittsburgh Pirates (1953) and Detroit Tigers (1955)

April

*April 3 – Harry Simpson, 53, outfielder and first baseman who led the AL in triples twice during his eight-year career with five clubs between 1951 and 1959
*April 6 – Al Evans, 62, catcher in 704 games in a dozen MLB seasons, 11 of them for the Washington Senators (1939–1942 and 1944–1950); later a minor league manager
*April 6 – Rudy Kallio, 86, pitcher who hurled in 49 contests for the Detroit Tigers (1918–19) and Boston Red Sox (1925); later a coach for Triple-A Portland Beavers and scout for the Chicago Cubs
*April 11 – Eddie Wilson (baseball), Eddie Wilson, 69, outfielder who was hitting .347 in 52 games as a rookie for 1936 Brooklyn Dodgers when his skull was fractured by a beanball, August 26; returned to Dodgers in 1937 but only played in 36 more games, and spent the rest of his 13-year career in the minors, retiring in 1941
*April 12 – Sam Edmonston, 95, Washington Senators pitcher who logged three innings in his only big-league game, on June 24, 1907 against Philadelphia; at his death, the oldest living former MLB player
*April 13 – Frankie Kelleher, 62, outfielder in 47 games for 1942–1943 Cincinnati Reds; became mainstay of the minor-league Hollywood Stars, playing ten seasons for them (1944 and 1946–1954) and earning a spot in the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame
*April 18 – Lindsay Deal, 67, pinch hitter and outfielder who made it into four games for the 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers
*April 21 – Cliff Bolton, 72, lefty-swinging catcher and pinch hitter for the Washington Senators (1931, 1933–1936 and 1941) and Detroit Tigers (1937); batted .410 in a part-time role for 1933 American League champions (.429 as a pinch hitter) and .291 lifetime with 280 hits in 335 career MLB games
*April 24 – Fred Koster, 73, outfielder and pinch hitter who played in 76 games for the 1931 Philadelphia Phillies
*April 27 – Jim Mooney (baseball), Jim Mooney, 72, left-handed hurler who worked in 92 games for the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals from 1931 to 1934; member of 1934 World Series champion "Gashouse Gang" Cardinals; longtime college baseball coach
*April 29 – John Allyn, 61, Chicago business executive involved in ownership of the White Sox from 1961 until his death; co-owner (with his brother Arthur Allyn Jr., Arthur Jr.) from 1961–1969, owner and club president from 1969–1975, and minority owner and member of Bill Veeck's syndicate since 1975
*April 30 – Wally Kopf, 79, third baseman and second baseman who appeared in two career games for 1921 New York Giants; brother of Larry Kopf

May

*May 3 – Tom Jenkins (baseball), Tom Jenkins, 81, outfielder who appeared in 171 total games for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns over six seasons between 1925 and 1932
*May 5 – Virgil Cheeves, 78, pitcher who worked in 111 MLB games for 1920–1923 Chicago Cubs, 1924 Cleveland Indians and 1927 New York Giants
*May 5 – Bill Lucas (baseball), Bill Lucas, 43, general manager of the Atlanta Braves since September 1976 and the first African-American general manager in MLB history; previously, a player and executive in the Braves' organization since 1957
*May 6 – Allen Elliott, Al "Ace" Elliott, 81, first baseman in 63 total games for 1923–1924 Chicago Cubs
*May 6 – Red Hale, 65, shortstop for the 1937 Detroit Stars and 1939 Chicago American Giants of the Negro American League
*May 6 – Charlie Ripple, 56, left-handed pitcher who worked in 11 games in three brief stints with the 1944–1946 Philadelphia Phillies
*May 6 – Bunny Roser, 77, outfielder in 32 games for the 1922 Boston Braves
*May 7 – Johnny Berger, 77, catcher who appeared in 11 MLB games for the 1922 Philadelphia Athletics and 1927 Washington Senators
*May 7 – Marty McHale, 92, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians between 1910 and 1916, working in 64 career games; appeared on the vaudeville stage during off-seasons
*May 9 – Charlie Hargreaves, 82, catcher in 423 games for the Brooklyn Robins and Pittsburgh Pirates between 1923 and 1930
*May 12 – Clyde Kluttz, 61, catcher, scout and executive; appeared in 656 MLB games for six clubs (1942–1948 and 1951–1952); scouted for Kansas City Athletics (signing teenaged pitcher Catfish Hunter) and New York Yankees; then, during his term as Yankees' director of scouting/player development, he helped recruit free agent Hunter to the Bombers after the 1974 season; moved to Baltimore Orioles as vice president/player development, serving from 1976 until his death
*May 18 – Ray Blades, 82, left fielder, manager, coach and scout; batted .301 in 767 career games for the St. Louis Cardinals between 1922 and 1932; played on four NL pennant-winners and 1926 and 1931 World Series champions; managed Redbirds from 1939 to June 6, 1940; coached for Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs for a dozen seasons between 1930 and 1956
*May 23 – Bob Chesnes, 58, pitcher in 61 games for 1948–1950 Pittsburgh Pirates; his sparkling 14–6 rookie campaign helped lead 1948 Bucs to a surprising first-division finish
*May 23 – Hiroshi Oshita, 56, Hall of Fame first baseman who played for the Toei Flyers from 1946 to 1951 and the Nishitetsu Lions from 1952 to 1959
*May 29 – Sig Jakucki, 69, hot-tempered pitcher for St. Louis Browns (1936 and 1944–1945) who hurled a complete-game victory on October 1, 1944, to seal the only American League pennant the St. Louis entry ever won; lost his only decision in 1944 World Series; known for alcoholism and brawling, he was kicked off the 1945 Browns on September 1 and never returned to the major leagues
*May 30 – Joe Smaza, 55, outfielder who played two games for the Chicago White Sox in September 1946

June

*June 8 – Muriel Coben, 58, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitcher, and member of a Canadian women's curling champion team
*June 11 – Fred Martin (baseball), Fred Martin, 63, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1946, 1949–1950) who appeared in 57 career games, his MLB career curtailed by his suspension for "jumping" to the Mexican League in May 1946; later a minor league manager and pitching instructor for the Chicago Cubs, where he taught the split-finger fastball to eventual Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter; was pitching coach of the Chicago White Sox at the time of his passing
*June 12 – Bill Brenzel, 69, catcher who appeared in nine games for 1932 Pittsburgh Pirates and 67 contests for 1934–1935 Cleveland Indians; later, a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1948 to 1950 and the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1951 until his death
*June 17 – Duffy Lewis, 91, left fielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1910 to 1917 who starred on three champions (1912, 1915, 1916) and mastered Fenway Park's sloping left field; also played for Yankees and Senators between 1919 and 1921; longtime traveling secretary of the Boston and Milwaukee Braves
*June 18 – Hal Trosky, 66, slugging first baseman for the Cleveland Indians between 1933 and 1941 whose career was shortened by persistent migraine headaches; led American League in runs batted in 1936 with 162; batted .302 lifetime with 228 home runs and six 100-RBI seasons; his Hal Trosky Jr., son briefly pitched in majors
*June 27 – Pat Maloney, 91, outfielder who played in 25 games for 1912 New York Highlanders
*June 29 – Johnny Bassler, 84, good-hitting catcher who appeared in 44 games for the 1913–1914 Cleveland Naps and 767 contests for the 1921–1927 Detroit Tigers, batting .304 lifetime in 2,319 at bats; coached with Cleveland and the St. Louis Browns between 1938 and 1941; also batted .318 with 1,379 hits in 1,567 minor-league games
*June 29 – Steamboat Williams, 87, pitcher who worked in 36 career games for 1914 and 1916 St. Louis Cardinals

July

*July 2 – Ed Stauffer, 81, pitcher in 21 total games for 1923 Chicago Cubs and 1925 St. Louis Browns
*July 12 – Tom Lovelace, 81, pinch hit in one game with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1922
*July 15 – Garrell Hartman, 66, outfielder for the 1944 Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League
*July 15 – John Holland (baseball executive), John Holland, 69, longtime baseball executive; general manager of the Chicago Cubs from 1957 through 1975
*July 22 – Amos Strunk, 90, center fielder for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox between 1908 and 1924; appeared in 1,512 games and was a member of four World Series champion teams (1910, 1911, 1913, 1918)
*July 23 – Lefty West, 63, pitcher who appeared in 35 games for 1944–1945 St. Louis Browns
*July 25 – Jimmy Binder, 76, third baseman, listed as tall and , for five Negro leagues clubs over seven years between 1930 and 1937
*July 26 – Bill DeKoning, 60, catcher who played in three games (and was hitless in his lone at bat) for 1945 New York Giants

August

*August 2 – Thurman Munson, 32, seven-time All-Star catcher for the New York Yankees since 1969 who batted .300 five times and won the 1976 MVP award; 1970 Rookie of the Year won three Gold Gloves and batted .357 in 30 postseason games; two-time (1977 and 1978) World Series champion
*August 7 – Hal Wagner, 64, catcher who played 672 career games for Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1944), Boston Red Sox (1944–1947), Detroit Tigers (1947–1948) and Philadelphia Phillies (1948–1949); two-time American League All-Star
*August 9 – Walter O'Malley, 75, principal owner (1950–1975), then sole owner (1975 until his death), of the Dodgers who moved the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles (1958) and constructed Dodger Stadium (opened 1962); a lawyer, he first invested in the team during World War II (1944–1945), then became one of four equal partners (1945–1950); during his tenure, the Dodgers won four World Series titles (1955, 1959, 1963, 1965) and led MLB in attendance 13 times between 1959 and 1978; although vilified in his native New York City, perhaps the most powerful owner of his time, and was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008, a half-century after moving his club to Los Angeles
*August 14 – Mack Wheat, 86, weak-hitting backup catcher for Brooklyn Robins (1915–1919) and Philadelphia Phillies (1920–1921), playing in 225 total games; brother of Hall of Famer Zach Wheat
*August 17 – Bill Grieve, 83, American League umpire from 1938 to 1955; worked in three World Series and two All-Star games
*August 26 – Dizzy Sutherland, 57, left-handed hurler given a one-game audition with Washington Senators, September 20, 1949; starting against St. Louis, he walked six of the 11 batters he faced and surrendered five earned runs in one full inning pitched, to be tagged with Washington's 15–6 defeat
*August 28 – Paul Hardy (baseball), Paul Hardy, 68, catcher who played for multiple Negro leagues teams during the 1930s and 1940s, including the Kansas City Monarchs

September

*September 1 – Buck Ewing (1920s catcher), Buck Ewing, 76, standout catcher of the 1920s and 1930s for Negro leagues and black barnstorming teams, most notably the Homestead Grays
*September 4 – Turkey Stearnes, 78, center fielder in the Negro leagues who led the Negro National League in home runs six times while batting .350
*September 7 – Percy Wilson (baseball), Percy Wilson, 80, first baseman for the Negro leagues' Milwaukee Bears and Baltimore Black Sox in 1923–1924
*September 8 – Rick Joseph, 40, third baseman and first baseman who appeared in 270 career games for the 1964 Kansas City Athletics and 1967–1970 Philadelphia Phillies
*September 16 – Charlie Deal, 87, third baseman who played 851 games for five MLB teams (including his Federal League service); started all four games of the 1914 World Series for the "Miracle" world-champion Boston Braves who was the last surviving member of that team; also the starter in the "hot corner" for the 1918 NL champion Chicago Cubs
*September 18 – Gene Kelly (broadcaster), Gene Kelly, 60, sportscaster; member of the Philadelphia Phillies' announcing crew from 1950 to 1959
*September 18 – Isaac Lane (baseball), Isaac Lane, 90, third baseman and Wilberforce University graduate who played for the Dayton Marcos, Columbus Buckeyes and Detroit Tigers of the Negro National league from 1920 to 1922
*September 22 – Chuffie Alexander, 87, outfielder/infielder in black baseball between 1925 and 1932, including two years of service with the 1927–1928 Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro National League

October

*October 4 – Fred Graf, 90, third baseman who had a 16-year career in the minor leagues, interrupted by a four-game trial with the 1913 St. Louis Browns
*October 11 – Abe Bowman, 86, pitcher who worked in 24 games for the Cleveland Naps/Indians in 1914 and 1915
*October 20 – Cy Slapnicka, 93, pitcher, scout and executive who spent 60 years in baseball; appeared in only ten total MLB games for 1911 Chicago Cubs and 1918 Pittsburgh Pirates, but became one of the most celebrated scouts of his day working for the Cleveland Indians; signed Hall of Famers Lou Boudreau, fellow Iowan Bob Feller and Bob Lemon among many other stars; general manager of the Indians from 1935 to 1940
*October 22 – John Drebinger, 88, sportswriter for ''The New York Times'' for 41 years
*October 25 – Morrie Schick, 87, outfielder and pinch hitter who got into 14 games for 1917 Chicago Cubs
*October 29 – Mel Ingram, 75, whose entire pro baseball career consisted of three major-league games as a pinch runner for 1929 Pittsburgh Pirates; he scored one run
*October – Anthony Cooper (baseball), Anthony Cooper, 75, shortstop/outfielder who played for ten Negro leagues teams over ten seasons spanning 1928 to 1941

November

*November 4 – Johnny Priest, 88, infielder who played ten total games in stints for the 1911–1912 New York Highlanders
*November 4 – Yank Terry, Lancelot "Yank" Terry, 68, pitcher who—despite his nickname—spent his entire MLB career with Boston Red Sox, appearing in 93 games over five seasons (1940 and 1942–1945)
*November 15 – Ken Ash, 78, pitcher who appeared in two games for the 1925 Chicago White Sox and 53 contests for the 1928–1930 Cincinnati Reds
*November 15 – Ed Klieman, 61, pitcher who worked in 222 games for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, White Sox and Philadelphia Athletics between 1943 and 1950; led AL in saves (17) in 1947
*November 16 – Jack Butterfield (baseball), Jack Butterfield, 50, vice president/player development and scouting of the New York Yankees and former head baseball coach of the University of Maine (1957–1974) and the University of South Florida (1975–1976); father of Brian Butterfield
*November 16 – Joseph Iglehart, 88, investment banker, CBS stockholder and board member, and baseball club owner; joined Baltimore Orioles' ownership group in autumn of 1953, when the team moved from St. Louis; became largest shareholder and served as board chairman from 1955 to 1964; sold his Orioles' stock to Jerold Hoffberger when CBS purchased the Yankees in 1964, then joined Yanks' board of directors, serving until CBS sold the Bombers to George Steinbrenner's syndicate in 1973; continued as limited partner in Steinbrenner's group until selling his interest in 1977
*November 18 – Freddie Fitzsimmons, 78, knuckleball pitcher who won 217 games for the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers; manager of Philadelphia Phillies from July 28, 1943 to June 29, 1945; later, a longtime coach associated with manager Leo Durocher
*November 25 – Elbert Andrews, 77, relief pitcher who took part in six games for the 1925 Philadelphia Athletics
*November 28 – Herb Bremer, 66, second-string catcher who appeared in 70 games for the St. Louis Cardinals between 1937 and 1939
*November – Cliff Carter, 79, pitcher who appeared in the Negro leagues for six teams between 1923 and 1934; led 1927 Eastern Colored League in complete games (18)

December

*December 2 – Sam Dailey, 75, who posted a 2–2 (7.54 ERA) record in 20 games for the 1929 Philadelphia Phillies in his lone MLB season
*December 4 – Bert Delmas, 68, infielder who played 12 games for the 1933 Brooklyn Dodgers
*December 4 – Pedro Dibut, 87, pitcher who played with the Cuban Stars West of the Negro National League in 1923 and the Cincinnati Reds of the National League in 1924–1925, appearing in 26 total contests
*December 8 – Del Young (infielder), Del Young, 67, shortstop and second baseman who appeared in 309 games for the 1937–1940 Philadelphia Phillies
*December 12 – Nick Dumovich, 77, left-hander who pitched in 28 games for 1923 Chicago Cubs
*December 14 – Willie Nixon, 63, outfielder for the Birmingham Black Barons, Newark Eagles and Jacksonville Red Caps of the Negro leagues in 1940 and 1941
*December 14 – Vinnie Smith, 64, MLB catcher and umpire; appeared in 16 total games for Pittsburgh Pirates (1941 and 1946), then umpired in the National League from 1957 through 1965; officiated for the two All-Star Games played in 1960, and the 1964 World Series
*December 15 – Stan Hack, 70, five-time All-Star third baseman for the Chicago Cubs who batted .301 lifetime and posted a .394 career on-base percentage, the highest of any 20th-century third baseman; scored 100 runs seven times and led NL in hits and steals twice each; as Cubs' manager (1954–1956) and interim skipper of St. Louis Cardinals (September 17 through end of 1958 season), compiled a 199–272 record
*December 19 – Bud Sketchley, 60, Canadian-born outfielder and pinch hitter who played 13 games for the 1942 Cleveland Indians
*December 28 – Hank Butcher, 93, who appeared in 64 games as an outfielder and pinch hitter for the 1911–1912 Cleveland Naps
*December 28 – Jim Mosolf, 74, pinch hitter and backup outfielder who played in 118 games for the 1929–1931 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1933 Chicago Cubs
*December 29 – Ed Albrecht, 50, pitcher and minor-league phenom who appeared in three total games for 1949–1950 St. Louis Browns; won 29 games (losing 12) with 389 strikeouts in 1949 for Pine Bluff of the Class C Cotton States League; called up by Browns in September, he threw a five-inning, one-hit victory against the White Sox on October 2 for his only MLB triumph (the game, although "official" because it lasted five full innings, was halted because of darkness and a Sunday curfew)
*December – Obie Lackey, 76, infielder who played in the Negro leagues and former black barnstorming teams between 1929 and 1945

{{DEFAULTSORT:1979 In Baseball