2019 In Baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

Other champions

* Minor League Baseball
**AAA
***''Championship'': Sacramento River Cats (San Francisco Giants)
****International League: Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Indians)
****Pacific Coast League: Sacramento River Cats (San Francisco Giants)
***Mexican League: Acereros de Monclova
**AA
*** Eastern League: Trenton Thunder (New York Yankees)
*** Southern League: Jackson Generals (Arizona Diamondbacks)
***Texas League: Amarillo Sod Poodles (San Diego Padres)
**High A
***California League: Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks)
***Carolina League: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals)
***Florida State League: No Champions
**A
***Midwest League: South Bend Cubs (Chicago Cubs)
***South Atlantic League: Lexington Legends (Kansas City Royals)
**Short Season A
***New York–Penn League: Brooklyn Cyclones (New York Mets)
***Northwest League: Hillsboro Hops (Arizona Diamondbacks)
**Advanced Rookie
***Appalachian League: Johnson City Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals)
*** Pioneer League: Idaho Falls Chukars (Kansas City Royals)
**Rookie
***Arizona League: Arizona League Rangers (Texas Rangers)
***Dominican Summer League: DSL Royals 1 (Kansas City Royals)
***Gulf Coast League: No Champions
**Arizona Fall League: Salt River Rafters
*Independent baseball leagues
**American Association: St. Paul Saints
** Atlantic League: Long Island Ducks
**Can-Am League: New Jersey Jackals
**Empire League: Plattsburgh Thunderbirds
**Frontier League: River City Rascals
**Pacific Association: San Rafael Pacifics
**Pecos League: Alpine Cowboys
** United Shore League: Utica Unicorns
*Amateur
**College
*** 2019 College World Series: Vanderbilt University
***NCAA Division II:
***NCAA Division III:
*** NAIA: Tennessee Wesleyan University
*** Junior College World Series: Central Arizona College
***Cape Cod League: Cotuit Kettleers
**Youth
***Junior League World Series: Golden Hill Little League (Fullerton, California)
*** Intermediate World Series: McCalla Little League (McCalla, Alabama)
***Little League World Series: Eastbank Little League (River Ridge, Louisiana)
***Senior League World Series: Central East Maui Little League (Wailuku, Hawaii)

International competition

*National Teams
**U-12 Baseball World Cup: Chinese Taipei
**U-18 Baseball World Cup: Chinese Taipei
**Asian Baseball Championship: Chinese Taipei
** Europe/Africa Olympic Baseball Qualifier: Israel
**European Baseball Championship: Netherlands
**Pan American Games: Puerto Rico
**World Port Tournament: Netherlands
**WBSC Premier12: Japan
*International club team competitions
**Caribbean Series: Toros de Herrera
**European Cup: Unipol Bologna
**Latin American Series: Leones de León
*Domestic Summer Leagues
**British League: London Mets
** China National League: Beijing Tigers
** Dutch Baseball League: Amsterdam Pirates
**French League: Huskies de Rouen
** Finnish Baseball Championship: Espoo Expos
** German League: Heidenheim Heideköpfe
**Irish Baseball League: Dublin City Hurricanes
**Italian Baseball League: Unipol Bologna
**Japan Series: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
***Pacific League: Saitama Seibu Lions
***Central League: Yomiuri Giants
**Korean Series: Doosan Bears
** Spanish League: Tenerife Marlins
** Swedish League: Sölvesborg Firehawks
**Taiwan Series: Lamigo Monkeys
*Domestic Winter Leagues
**Australian Baseball League: Brisbane Bandits
** Colombian League: Caimanes de Barranquilla
**Cuban National Series: Las Tunas
** Dominican League: Estrellas Orientales
**Mexican Pacific League: Charros de Jalisco
** Nicaraguan League: Leones de León
** Panamanian League: Toros de Herrera
**Puerto Rican League: Cangrejeros de Santurce
**Venezuelan League:Cardenales de Lara
**Veracruz Winter League: Tobis de Acayucan

Awards and honors

Major League Baseball

*Baseball Hall of Fame Honors

Events

January

*January 3 – Veteran shortstop Troy Tulowitzki signed a one-year contract with the New York Yankees after missing the entire 2018 season due to bone spurs. The Yankees will pay Tulowitzki the major league minimum salary for 2019 ($555,000), and the contract includes a no-trade clause. For the Yankees, Tulowitzki offered a lost-cost solution to their hole at shortstop, as Didi Gregorius will miss at least the first part of 2019 while he rehabs from Tommy John Surgery.
*January 11 – The Boston Red Sox and American League MVP Mookie Betts settled on a one-year deal worth $20 million. The salary figure is a record for a player in his second year of arbitration eligibility,Betts avoids arbitration with record $20M deal
. ''MLB.com''. Retrieved on January 11, 2019. with Betts still having one more year of arbitration-eligibility to go. Betts won his arbitration case with the Red Sox a year ago, securing $10.5 million, and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2021.
*January 15 – Longtime Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster and former pitcher Steve Blass announced that he would be retiring following the 2019 season, his 60th with the Pirates organization. Blass, 76, was signed as a player in 1960. He spent his entire ten-year career in the majors with the team. His most productive season came 1n 1972, when he posted a 19–8 record with a 2.49 ERA, 12 complete games and five shutouts, while earning an All Star berth and finishing as the runner-up in NL Cy Young voting. In addition, he pitched two complete games victories for the Pirates in Games 3 and 7 of the 1971 World Series triumph over the Baltimore Orioles. Afterwards, Blass joined the team's broadcast crew in 1983. Since 2005, he worked Pirates home games and select road trips, and the 2019 season will be his club-record 34th year as a color analyst for the organization.
*January 21 – The Cincinnati Reds acquire veteran starting pitcher Sonny Gray from the New York Yankees, which was followed by signing him to a three-year extension of $30,500,000 that includes a $12 million club option for 2023. Reiver Sanmartin, a minor league pitcher, also came to Cincinnati along with prospect second baseman Shed Long winding up in Seattle after being traded by the Yankees. New York also received an undisclosed draft pick.
*January 22 – For the second consecutive year, the Baseball Writers' Association of America elects four players into the Hall of Fame, including the first player ever selected unanimously, Mariano Rivera, Major League Baseball's all-time saves leader, who was listed on all 425 ballots cast. Rivera is joined by Roy Halladay and Edgar Martínez, both of whom receive 363 votes (85.4%), and Mike Mussina, who receives 326 votes (76.7%). Rivera and Halladay are both elected in their first year on the ballot, while Mussina is elected in his sixth year and Martínez in his tenth and last. Halladay, who died in a plane crash in November 2017, also becomes the first player to be elected posthumously by the BBWAA since Roberto Clemente in 1973. Also in his final year of eligibility, Fred McGriff was unable to receive enough votes to be elected in to Cooperstown by the BBWAA.
*January 26 – The Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent center fielder A. J. Pollock a four-year, $55 million deal, plus a $10 million player option for a fifth year. If Pollock declines that option, the Dodgers must buy out his fifth year for $5 million.

February

* February 8 :
** MLB commissioner Rob Manfred indicated at the annual owners' meeting that the league is not open to the introduction of the designated hitter rule to the National League. It emerged recently that MLB and the MLB Players Association were exchanging proposals on a variety of significant potential rules changes before the upcoming season. Some of those, including the introduction of a twenty-second pitch clock and a rule requiring any pitcher that enters a game to face at least three hitters, were set forth by the league.
** The Philadelphia Phillies acquired All-Star catcher J. T. Realmuto in a four-player transaction with the Miami Marlins. In exchange, the Marlins received right-handed pitcher Sixto Sánchez, catcher Jorge Alfaro, lefty-handed pitching prospect Will Stewart and international bonus slot money.
* February 18 – San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced that the 2019 season would be his last. Bochy is ranked 11th in all-time managerial wins with 1,926 career victories.
* February 22 – The San Diego Padres announced the signing of free agent Manny Machado. The 10-year deal will pay Machado $30 million annually through the 2028 season, and contain a six-team no-trade clause. He will play at third base for San Diego.
* February 26 – The Colorado Rockies and third baseman Nolan Arenado agreed to an eight-year, $260 million contract with an opt-out in three years. A four-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove Award winner, Arenado will receive the highest annual salary of $32.5 million, surpassing the $31 million of Detroit Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera, and behind the top earner in Major League Baseball, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke, at $34.4 million, for the largest in MLB history.

March

*March 2 – The Philadelphia Phillies reached an agreement to sign free agent outfielder Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract.Harper, Phils agree to 13-year deal
. ''MLB.com.'' Retrieved on March 2, 2019. Harper will receive a $10 million salary and a $20 million signing bonus for the upcoming season. He will then be paid $26 million annually from 2020 through 2028 and $22 million annually from 2029 to 2031. In addition, Harper received full no-trade rights and does not possess any opt-out opportunities. It now stands as the largest fully guaranteed contract in the history of North American team sports, surpassing the 10-year, $300 million contract that Manny Machado signed with the San Diego Padres just the previous week, as well as the 13-year, $325 million deal that Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Miami Marlins in 2014. Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez signed an 11-fight contract worth $365 million in 2018, but the contract is not guaranteed.Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez signs 'most lucrative' deal with sports service DAZN
. ''BBC Sports''. Retrieved on March 1, 2019.
*March 9 – In a 5–2 victory over Virginia Tech in the second game of a doubleheader, Mike Martin became the all-time winningest baseball coach in Florida State history with his 2,000th career win and the first ever coach to reach the 2,000 win mark.
* March 14 – Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced an agreement on significant changes to MLB roster rules that will take effect in 2020. Specifically:
** Active rosters, currently limited to 25 players prior to September 1 (with very limited exceptions), will increase to 26 players.
** The "expanded roster", which takes effect on September 1 of each season, will be reduced from 40 to 28 players. Additionally, all teams will be required to carry 28 active players for regular-season games on or after September 1.
** Players will be specifically designated as "pitchers" or "position players" before each season, with this designation being fixed throughout the season. From 2020, only players designated as "pitchers" can pitch in any regular-season or postseason game, with the following exceptions:
*** One team is ahead by at least 6 runs when the player assumes a pitching role.
*** The game is in extra innings.
*** The player assuming the pitching role has qualified as a "two-way player". A player qualifies as such if, in the current or immediately previous season, he has (1) pitched at least 20 MLB innings and (2) played at least 20 games as a position player or designated hitter, with at least three plate appearances in each game counting toward the latter limit. No player in the 2019 MLB season has yet qualified as a "two-way player" under the new rule. The most prominent two-way player in today's game, Shohei Ohtani, cannot qualify in 2019 because he is not pitching while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
** A joint MLB/MLBPA committee will make recommendations on limiting the size of pitching staffs that, if approved, will also take effect in 2020. MLB has proposed limiting pitching staffs to 13 through August 31, and 14 from September 1 to the end of the regular season.
*March 19 – The Los Angeles Angels signed outfielder Mike Trout to a ten-year extension that will pay him $426.5 million through the 2030 season. This represents the largest contract ever in sports history, overtaking boxer Canelo Álvarez, who signed an 11-fight $365 million deal with sports service DAZN in 2018. It is also almost $100 million more than Bryce Harper received on March 2, when he agreed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.
*March 20 – The Seattle Mariners defeated the Oakland Athletics 1–0 in the first game of the 2019 regular season at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. This was the first of a two-game series that was widely expected to be the finale for Ichiro Suzuki as a player.
*March 21 – Immediately after the Seattle Mariners' 5–4, 12-inning victory over the Oakland Athletics in the second and final game of their Tokyo series, Ichiro Suzuki goes 0 for 4 as Seattle's right fielder, then leaves after the 8th inning. Ichiro announced his retirement after the game, ending a playing career in both NPB and MLB that spanned 27 seasons.
*March 23 – The Diablos Rojos del México (Red Devils) opened their new Alfredo Harp Helú baseball stadium in Mexico City.

April

*April 2 :
**Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Atlanta Braves agreed to a $100 million, eight-year contract extension, which is the largest deal for a player under club control with less than one year of service. By way of team options for 2027 and 2028, the deal would max out at $124 million over 10 years. At 21, Acuña became the youngest player to sign a nine-figure contract in major league history, while winning the National League Rookie of the Year in 2018. Through 132 career games, the Venezuelan outfielder posted a .293/.366/.552 slash line, including 32 home runs, 26 doubles, 18 stolen bases, a .934 OPS (144 OPS+) and 5.6 WAR, according to ''Baseball Reference''. Besides, Acuña became the seventh big leaguer to hit 25 home runs in a season before his 21st birthday—and the fastest to reach that mark, in 92 games. The other six on the list are Hall of Famers Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, Al Kaline, Orlando Cepeda and Eddie Mathews, as well as the ill-fated Tony Conigliaro.
**Bryce Harper made his return to Nationals Park for the first time as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. Showered by jeers for much of the game, Harper rebounded from a pair of early strikeouts against former Washington Nationals teammate Max Scherzer, by hitting a fifth-inning double off Scherzer and a sixth-inning RBI single off reliever Matt Grace before towering a two-run home run off Jeremy Hellickson in the eighth inning, while leading his new team to an 8–2 victory.
*April 5 – Minnesota Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats of a 10–4 loss to the host Philadelphia Phillies. Besides, Polanco added a single in the ninth inning for his first five-hit game. It was Polanco's first career cycle, as well as the first of the current season, the 15th in franchise history, and the 11th since the Senators franchise became the Twins upon relocating from Washington, D.C., for the 1961 season.
*April 9 – In Opening Game at Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo made history, when they faced in a Major League game in which both teams were led by Puerto Rican-born managers. Toronto prevailed, 7–5.
*April 11 – Kansas City Royals outfielder Whit Merrifield saw his team-record hitting streak ended at 31 games, dating back to last season, after he went 0-for-6 in the Royals' 7–6 loss to the Seattle Mariners. The day before, Merrifield had passed George Brett for the longest streak in franchise history, which was set in 1980.
*April 13 – Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis ended his historic MLB record slump at 0-for-54 at Fenway Park, hitting a single and two doubles while driving in four runs as the Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 9–5, to stop a four-game losing streak.Chris Davis ends hitless streak
. ''MLB.com''. Retrieved on April 14, 2019. Davis, a two-time major league home run champion, had been 0-for-33 this season, as his single off pitcher Rick Porcello in the first inning was his first hit since September 14 of last season. The previous record for a position player had been established by Eugenio Vélez, a former San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers infielder who went 0-for-46 during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The all-time record for a hitless streak by any player was an 0-for-85 drought by Chicago Cubs pitcher Bob Buhl between 1962 and 1963.
*April 15 – Christian Yelich hit three home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs to carry the Milwaukee Brewers to a 10–7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park. The Brewers outfielder and reigning National League MVP has now hit seven home runs in his team's five games against the Cardinals to date in 2019. Besides, Yelich previously hit one homer apiece in the four-game season-opening series in Milwaukee, a record-tying start to a regular season.
*April 19 – Cleveland Indians prospect Will Benson hit four home runs, including a grand slam, to lead the Class-A Lake County Captains past 12–6 the visiting South Bend Cubs at Classic Park. Benson, who drove in eight runs, became the first player to hit four homers in a Midwest League game since Garrett Jones completed the feat for the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2002.
*April 20 – Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols surpassed Babe Ruth for fifth place in Major League Baseball history with his 1,993rd career run batted in in a 6–5 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium. Pujols drove home Andrelton Simmons with a double off Seattle's pitcher Yusei Kikuchi in the third inning to tie Ruth. In the ninth inning with the Angels trailing 6–4, Pujols passed Ruth with a solo home run off of Anthony Swarzak. Pujols only surpassed Ruth according to an MLB official starting point for the mark. It was not an official statistic until 1920, when ''Elias Sports Bureau'' did not count Ruth's RBIs from 1914 to 1919. Ruth played his first year with the New York Yankees, though his career began in 1914 with the Boston Red Sox. Nevertheless, according to the leaderboard at sites such as ''Baseball Reference'', Ruth would have an overall total of 2,213 RBI, which would rank second all-time behind Hank Aaron with 2,297.
*April 26 – Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer recorded his 2,500th career strikeout, becoming the third-fastest major league pitcher to reach the plateau, based on innings. The Washington Nationals ace stroke out 10 in seven innings against the visiting San Diego Padres, allowing two runs on four hits and got a no-decision in Washington's 4–3 loss. Scherzer need innings to achieve his feat. The only pitchers to reach 2,500 strikeouts quicker than Scherzer are Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martínez. Johnson did it in innings, while it took Martinez frames. Scherzer has led the National League in strikeouts each of the past three seasons, including last year, when he became the fifth hurler since 2001 to record 300 punchouts in a single season.
*April 30 – CC Sabathia became the 17th pitcher in Major League Baseball history as well as the third left-hander to reach the 3,000 strikeout club. It took five pitches to Arizona Diamonbacks catcher and former New York Yankees player John Ryan Murphy in the second inning of a Yankees' 3–1 loss at Chase Field. Sabathia left the game after innings, having given up two earned runs, five hits and two walks while striking out five. Sabathia joined lefties Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton in the select club. Besides, he is also the second African-American pitcher, after Bob Gibson, to have amassed 3,000 strikeouts in his career. Another pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts, Ferguson Jenkins, is a Black Canadian. These four pitchers are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In February, two months after an unexpected offseason angioplasty that followed an earlier offseason knee surgery, Sabathia announced he would be retiring after 19 seasons.

May

*May 3 – Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley went 4-for-5, including two doubles, one home run and eight runs batted in, in a 14–1 rout over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. With his eight-RBI performance, Phegley set a single-game record for a catcher in Athletics' 119-year history and also marked the first time any Athletics player reached eight RBI in a game since third baseman Eric Chavez did it on August 30, 2001, against the Baltimore Orioles.
*May 4 – At t Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox had a nine-run third inning in a 15–2 rout of the Chicago White Sox that included 10 straight hits, one shy of the major league record set by the Colorado Rockies in a 17–2 win against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on July 30, 2010. White Sox starter Manny Bañuelos had retired the first eight Red Sox batters he faced. Carson Fulmer replaced Bañuelos and interrupted the hit parade to end the inning after 14 batters. Red Sox rookie Michael Chavis hit two of the four home runs of Boston. Xander Bogaerts and Eduardo Núñez homered, Mookie Betts and J. D. Martinez had RBI doubles, and Christian Vázquez capped the streak with his second single of the inning.
*May 7 :
**Mike Fiers pitched the second no-hitter of his career and the 300th no-hitter in Major League Baseball history, including the postseason, while leading the Oakland Athletics to a 2–0 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Oakland Coliseum. Previously, Fiers threw one no-hitter for the Houston Astros on August 21, 2015, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Besides, Fiers became the 35th pitcher to throw multiple no-hitters. Four of them still active: Jake Arrieta, Homer Bailey, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, according to the ''Elias Sports Bureau''.
**Justin Turner hit three home runs and drove in a career-high six runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 9–0 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. This was the first career three-homer game and eighth multi-homer game for Turner, who propelled the Dodgers to the 2017 NL Championship Series title and missed the first six weeks of 2018 with a fractured wrist, ending with a subpar season.
*May 9 – Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols recorded his 2,000th career run batted in with a solo home run in the 13–0 rout of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Pujols became only the third player in Major League Baseball history to collect 2,000 or more RBI in a career, joining Hank Aaron (2,297) and Alex Rodriguez (2,086) in achieving the feat, according to the ''Elias Sports Bureau'' – the official statistician of Major League Baseball.Albert Pujols reaches 2,000 RBIs and Angels rout Tigers 13-0
. ''ESPN box score and recap''. Retrieved on May 9, 2019. Nevertheless, some discrepancies exist between the statistics provided today by different historical data providers. The RBI did not become an official baseball statistic until the 1920 MLB season, so Elias does not count the RBI accrued before that date. That designation wipes out the entire careers of Babe Ruth (2,214 in all; 1,990 in 1920 and later) and Cap Anson (2,075). Besides, the ''Baseball Almanac'' and ''Baseball Reference'' websites, among others, retroactively added RBI prior to 1920, based largely on research originally spearheaded by sports statistician and editor Pete Palmer for the ''Total Baseball

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