1998

1998 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
<< 1997 1999 >>

Championships, events, culture, births, and deaths that occurred in 1998.

Club competitions

Professional

Asia and Australia

• Nippon Professional Baseball
  • Nippon Series: Yokohama BayStars (CL) over the Seibu Lions (PL), 4 - 2 - 0 (Details)
    • Central League: Yokohama BayStars (Details)
    • Pacific League: Seibu Lions (Details)
• Korea Baseball Organization: Hyundai Unicorns defeated the LG Twins in the Korean Series (Details)
• Chinese Professional Baseball League: Wei Chuan Dragons defeated the Sinon Bulls in the Taiwan Series (Details)
• Taiwan Major League: Taipei Gida over Kaoping Fala, 4 - 3 in the championship series (Details)
• Claxton Shield: Melbourne Reds, Australian Baseball League (Details)

Europe

• European Cup: C.U.S. Cariparma, Serie A1 (Details)
  • Division Élite: Lions de Savigny-sur-Orge
  • Baseball-Bundesliga: Köln Dodgers
  • Hoofdklasse Honkbal: Mr. Cocker HCAW Bussum
    • Holland Series: HCAW defeated the SC Neptunus in the series, 3 - 1 (Details)
  • Serie A1: Caffè Danesi Nettuno

North America

• Major League Baseball
  • World Series: New York Yankees (AL) over the San Diego Padres (NL), 4 - 1 (Details)
    • American League: New York Yankees (Details)
    • National League: San Diego Padres (Details)

• Minor League Baseball
  • Triple-A World Series: New Orleans Zephyrs (PCL) over the Buffalo Bisons (IL), 3 - 1 (Details)
  • Appalachian League: Bristol White Sox
  • Arizona League: AZL Rockies
  • Atlantic League: Atlantic City Surf
  • California League: San Jose Giants
  • Carolina League: Wilmington Blue Rocks
  • Eastern League: Harrisburg Senators
  • Florida State League: St. Lucie Mets
  • Frontier League: Springfield Capitals
  • Gulf Coast League: GCL Rangers
  • Heartland League: Cook County Cheetahs
  • International League: Buffalo Bisons (Details)
  • Midwest League: West Michigan Whitecaps
  • New York-Penn League: Auburn Doubledays / Oneonta Yankees
  • Northeast League: New Jersey Jackals
  • Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
  • Northwest League: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
  • Pacific Coast League: New Orleans Zephyrs (Details)
  • Pioneer League: Idaho Falls Braves]
  • South Atlantic League: Capital City Bombers
  • Southern League: Mobile BayBears
  • Texas League: Tulsa Drillers
  • Texas-Louisiana League: Alexandria Aces
  • Western League: Sonoma County Crushers

• Liga Mexicana de Béisbol: Guerreros de Oaxaca defeated the Acereros de Monclova in the finals, 4 - 0

• Cuban Serie Nacional: Pinar del Río (Details)

Winter Leagues

• Serie del Caribe: in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela; Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic) (Details)
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana: Águilas Cibaeñas defeated the Tigres del Licey in the finals, 4 - 2
  • Liga Mexicana del Pacífico: Venados de Mazatlán
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico: Indios de Mayagüez defeated the Senadores de San Juan in the finals, 5 - 4
  • Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional: Cardenales de Lara defeated the Leones del Caracas in the finals, 4 - 3

Amateur

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • College World Series (Division I): The University of Southern California defeated Arizona State University in the finals, 21 - 14 (Details)
  • Division II Baseball Championship: The University of Tampa over the Kennesaw State University, 6 - 1 in the finals
  • Division III Baseball Championship: Eastern Connecticut State University over the Montclair State University, 16 - 1 in the finals
• NAIA College World Series: Albertson College of Idaho over the Indiana Institute of Technology, 6 - 3 in the finals
• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • Division I Baseball World Series: Cowley County Community College
  • Division II Baseball World Series: Jefferson Davis Community College
  • Division III Baseball World Series: Norwalk Community-Technical College
• Community College League of California: Sacramento City College over Saddleback College 10 - 9 in the finals
• National Baseball Congress World Series: El Dorado Broncos (Details)
• Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association/Association de Baseball Inter-Universitaire Canadienne: Brock University
• All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series: Kinki University defeated the Tokai University in the final, 4 - 3 (Details)
• Japan High School Baseball Federation
  • National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament: Yokohama High School (Kanagawa) defeat Kansai University Daiichi High School (Osaka), 3 - 1 in the championship (Details)
  • National High School Baseball Championship: Yokohama High School (East Kanagawa) defeat Kyoto Seisho High School (Kyoto), 3 - 0 in the championship (Details)
• Little League
  • Little League World Series: Toms River (Toms River, NJ) defeat Kashima (Kashima, Ibaraki), 12 - 9 in the championship (Details)

International competitions

• Baseball World Cup in Italy (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); South Korea (Silver); Nicaragua (Bronze)
• World Youth Championship in Fairview Heights, Illinois, United States (Details)
  • United States (Gold); Chinese Taipei (Silver); Venezuela (Bronze)
• Central American Games in Maracaibo, Venezuela (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); Nicaragua (Silver); Venezuela (Bronze)
• Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand (Details)
  • South Korea (Gold); Japan (Silver); Chinese Taipei (Bronze)

Culture

Literature

• Baseball's Last Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Oakland A's, by Bruce Markusen
• A Great and Glorious Game, by A. Bartlett Giamatti
• Early Dreams, by David Nemec
• The Historical Register, by Bob Hoie and Carlos Bauer
• If They Don't Win It's a Shame, by Dave Rosenbaum
• In the Ballpark, by George Gmelch and J.J. Weiner
• Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, by David Pietrusza
• Koppett's Concise History of Manjor League Baseball, by Leonard Koppett
• Last Days of Summer, by Steve Kluger
• On Days Like This, by Dan Quisenberry
• Once Around the Bases, by Richard Tellis
• Wait Til Next Year, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• When Johnny Came Sliding Home, by William J. Ryczek

Song

• The Ballad of Russell Perry, by The Vigilantes of Love
• Baseball Field, by Kristin Hersh
• The Greatest, by Kenny Rogers
• Rain Delay, by Marah

Film

• Major League III

Births

Further information: Births in 1998

Deaths

Further information: Deaths in 1998

Further Reading

• Will Leitch: "1998 was amazing, don't let anyone say otherwise: Year defined by a historic HR race and the near-perfect Yankees", mlb.com, May 8, 2020. [1]
• Brad Null and Dave Kaval: The Summer That Saved Baseball, Cumberland House Publishing, Nashville, TN, 2000. ISBN 978-1581821871