1996

1996 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
<< 1995 1997 >>

Championships, events, culture, births, and deaths that occurred in 1996.

Club competitions

Professional

Asia and Australia

• Nippon Professional Baseball
  • Nippon Series: Orix BlueWave (PL) over the Yomiuri Giants (CL), 4 - 1 - 0 (Details)
    • Central League: Yomiuri Giants (Details)
    • Pacific League: Orix BlueWave (Details)
• Korea Baseball Organization: Haitai Tigers defeated the Hyundai Unicorns in the Korean Series (Details)
• Chinese Professional Baseball League: Uni-President Lions defeated the Wei Chuan Dragons in the Taiwan Series (Details)
• Claxton Shield: Sydney Blues, Australian Baseball League (Details)

Europe

• European Cup: Tropicano Neptunus Rotterdam, Hoofdklasse (Details)
  • Division Élite: Jimmer's de Saint-Lô
  • Baseball-Bundesliga: Trier Cardinals
  • Hoofdklasse Honkbal: Mr. Cocker HCAW Bussum
    • Holland Series: HCAW defeated the Honkbal Club Kinheim in the series, 3 - 2 (Details)
  • Serie A1: Caffè Danesi Nettuno

North America

• Major League Baseball
  • World Series: New York Yankees (AL) over the Atlanta Braves (NL), 4 - 2 (Details)
    • American League: New York Yankees (Details)
    • National League: Atlanta Braves (Details)

• Minor League Baseball
  • American Association: Oklahoma City 89ers (Details)
  • Appalachian League: Bluefield Orioles
  • Arizona League: AZL Padres
  • Big South League: Greenville Bluesmen
  • California League: Lake Elsinore Storm
  • Carolina League: Wilmington Blue Rocks
  • Eastern League: Harrisburg Senators
  • Florida State League: St. Lucie Mets
  • Frontier League: Springfield Capitals
  • Gulf Coast League: GCL Yankees
  • Heartland League: Lafayette Leopards
  • International League: Columbus Clippers (Details)
  • Midwest League: West Michigan Whitecaps
  • New York-Penn League: Vermont Expos
  • North Atlantic League: Catskill Cougars
  • Northeast League: Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs
  • Northern League: St. Paul Saints
  • Northwest League: Yakima Bears
  • Pacific Coast League: Edmonton Trappers (Details)
  • Pioneer League: Helena Brewers
  • Prairie League: Minot Mallards
  • South Atlantic League: Savannah Sand Gnats
  • Southern League: Jacksonville Suns
  • Texas League: Jackson Generals
  • Texas-Louisiana League: Abilene Prairie Dogs
  • Western League: Long Beach Riptide

• Liga Mexicana de Béisbol: Sultanes de Monterrey defeated the Diablos Rojos del México in the finals, 4 - 1

• Cuban Serie Nacional: Industriales (Details)

Winter Leagues

• Serie del Caribe: in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Tomateros de Culiacán (Mexico) (Details)
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana: Águilas Cibaeñas defeated the Estrellas Orientales in the finals, 4 - 1
  • Liga Mexicana del Pacífico: Tomateros de Culiacán
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico: Lobos de Arecibo defeated the Indios de Mayagüez in the finals, 5 - 3
  • Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional: Navegantes del Magallanes defeated the Cardenales de Lara in the finals, 4 - 3

Amateur

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • College World Series (Division I): Louisiana State University defeated the University of Miami in the finals, 9 - 8 (Details)
  • Division II Baseball Championship: Kennesaw State College over the Saint Joseph's College (Indiana), 4 - 0 in the finals
  • Division III Baseball Championship: William Paterson University of New Jersey over the California Lutheran University, 6 - 5 in the finals
• NAIA College World Series: Lewis-Clark State College over the Saint Ambrose University, 9 - 0 in the finals
• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • Division I Baseball World Series: Northeast Texas Community College
  • Division II Baseball World Series: Grand Rapids Community College
  • Division III Baseball World Series: Madison Area Technical College
• Community College League of California: Rancho Santiago College over Cypress College 16 - 10 in the finals
• National Baseball Congress World Series: El Dorado Broncos (Details)
• Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association/Association de Baseball Inter-Universitaire Canadienne: Dalhousie University
• All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series: Aoyama Gakuin University defeated the Kyushu Kyoritsu University in the final, 9 - 4 (Details)
• Japan High School Baseball Federation
  • National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament: Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School (Kagoshima) defeat Chiben Wakayama High School (Wakayama), 6 - 3 in the championship (Details)
  • National High School Baseball Championship: Matsuyama Commercial High School (Ehime) defeat Kumamoto Kogyo High School (Kumamoto), 6 - 3 in the championship (Details)
• Little League
  • Little League World Series: Fu-Hsing (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) defeated Cranston (Cranston, RI), 13 - 3 in the championship (Details)

International competitions

• Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); Japan (Silver); United States (Bronze)
• World Junior Championship in Sancti Spíritus, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); Chinese Taipei (Silver); United States (Bronze)
• World Youth Championship in Chiba, Chiba, Japan (Details)
  • South Korea (Gold); Cuba (Silver); Chinese Taipei (Bronze)

Culture

Literature

• Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's "Flying Dutchman", by Arthur D. Hittner
• I Was Right on Time: My Journey from Negro Leagues to the Majors, by Buck O'Neil
• Josh Gibson: The Power and the Darkness, by Mark Ribowsky
• Nice Guys Finish First, by Monte Irvin and James A. Riley
• Peloteros, by Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá
• Veracruz Blues, by Mark Winegardner
• When the Boys Came Back: Baseball and 1946, by Frederick Turner
• When Willard Met Babe Ruth, by Donald Hall

Song

• Negro Baseball League, by Jean Grae featuring Natural Resource
• Ty Cobb, by Soundgarden

Film

• Ed
• The Fan
• Soul of the Game

Births

Further information: Births in 1996

Deaths

Further information: Deaths in 1996

Further Reading

• Jon Finkel: 1996: A Biography ― Reliving the Legend-Packed, Dynasty-Stacked, Most Iconic Sports Year Ever, Diversion Books, 2021. ISBN 978-1635767506
• Will Leitch: "1996 defined by start of new Yankees dynasty", mlb.com, June 12, 2020. [1]