1998 National League
| 1998 in baseball |
|---|
| 1998 National League |
| Cuban National League |
| Japanese baseball |
| American League |
| << 1997 1999 >> |
The 1998 season of the National League was the one hundred twenty-third season of the league.
Season summary[edit]
Standings[edit]
- An asterisk (*) indicates the team won its league's wild card, Bold indicates league champion, Italics indicates World Series champion
| Rank | Team | G | W | L | T | WPCT | GB | RS (RS/G) | RA (RA/G) | AVG | OBP | SLG | ERA | FPCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Division | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Houston Astros | 162 | 102 | 60 | 0 | .630 | -.- | 874 (5.40) | 620 (3.83) | 0.280 | 0.351 | 0.436 | 3.50 | 0.983 |
| 2 | Chicago Cubs* | 163 | 90 | 73 | 0 | .552 | 12.5 | 831 (5.10) | 792 (4.86) | 0.264 | 0.335 | 0.433 | 4.50 | 0.984 |
| 3 | St. Louis Cardinals | 163 | 83 | 79 | 1 | .509 | 19.0 | 810 (4.97) | 782 (4.80) | 0.258 | 0.338 | 0.441 | 4.32 | 0.978 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Reds | 162 | 77 | 85 | 0 | .475 | 25.0 | 750 (4.63) | 760 (4.69) | 0.262 | 0.336 | 0.402 | 4.44 | 0.980 |
| 5 | Milwaukee Brewers | 162 | 74 | 88 | 0 | .457 | 28.0 | 707 (4.36) | 812 (5.01) | 0.260 | 0.325 | 0.396 | 4.63 | 0.982 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 163 | 69 | 93 | 1 | .423 | 33.0 | 650 (3.99) | 718 (4.40) | 0.254 | 0.304 | 0.374 | 3.91 | 0.977 |
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Atlanta Braves | 162 | 106 | 56 | 0 | .654 | -.- | 826 (5.10) | 581 (3.59) | 0.272 | 0.338 | 0.453 | 3.25 | 0.985 |
| 2 | New York Mets | 162 | 88 | 74 | 0 | .543 | 18.0 | 706 (4.36) | 645 (3.98) | 0.259 | 0.328 | 0.394 | 3.77 | 0.984 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Phillies | 162 | 75 | 87 | 0 | .463 | 31.0 | 713 (4.40) | 808 (4.99) | 0.264 | 0.325 | 0.395 | 4.64 | 0.982 |
| 4 | Montreal Expos | 162 | 65 | 97 | 0 | .401 | 41.0 | 644 (3.98) | 783 (4.83) | 0.249 | 0.305 | 0.394 | 4.39 | 0.975 |
| 5 | Florida Marlins | 162 | 54 | 108 | 0 | .333 | 52.0 | 667 (4.12) | 923 (5.70) | 0.248 | 0.313 | 0.373 | 5.20 | 0.979 |
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | San Diego Padres | 162 | 98 | 64 | 0 | .605 | -.- | 749 (4.62) | 635 (3.92) | 0.253 | 0.327 | 0.409 | 3.63 | 0.983 |
| 2 | San Francisco Giants | 163 | 89 | 74 | 0 | .546 | 9.5 | 845 (5.18) | 739 (4.53) | 0.274 | 0.352 | 0.421 | 4.19 | 0.984 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 162 | 83 | 79 | 0 | .512 | 15.0 | 669 (4.13) | 678 (4.19) | 0.252 | 0.308 | 0.387 | 3.81 | 0.978 |
| 4 | Colorado Rockies | 162 | 77 | 85 | 0 | .475 | 21.0 | 826 (5.10) | 855 (5.28) | 0.291 | 0.346 | 0.461 | 5.00 | 0.984 |
| 5 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 162 | 65 | 97 | 0 | .401 | 33.0 | 665 (4.10) | 812 (5.01) | 0.246 | 0.308 | 0.393 | 4.64 | 0.984 |
League leaders[edit]
- Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record
Batting[edit]
Pitching[edit]
All-Star Game[edit]
The National League lost the sixty-ninth midsummer classic at Coors Field in Denver, CO on Tuesday, July 7, 1998 by a score of 13 to 8. The league's manager was Jim Leyland.
Postseason[edit]
The 1998 National League playoffs featured the champions of the league's three divisions along with a wild card team. The teams competed in a best-of-five Division Series, followed by a best-of-seven League Championship Series. The winner of the League Championship Series represented the league in the World Series.
| Division Series | Championship Series | |||||||
| East. | Atlanta Braves | 3 | ||||||
| WC | Chicago Cubs | 0 | ||||||
| East. | Atlanta Braves | 2 | ||||||
| West. | San Diego Padres | 4 | ||||||
| Cent. | Houston Astros | 1 | ||||||
| West. | San Diego Padres | 3 | ||||||
In the World Series, the National League champion San Diego Padres were defeated by the American League's New York Yankees, 4 games to 0.
Award winners[edit]
The winner of the league's Most Valuable Player Award, given its Most Valuable Player, was Sammy Sosa, an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs. In the award's voting, he had 438 out of a possible 448 points and 30 first place votes.
The winner of the league's Cy Young Award, given its best pitcher, was Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves. In the award's voting, he had 99 out of a possible 160 points and 11 first place votes.
The winner of the league's Rookie of the Year Award, given its best rookie player, was Kerry Wood, a pitcher with the Chicago Cubs. In the award's voting, he had 128 out of a possible 160 points and 16 first place votes.
Gold Gloves[edit]
The following players won the Gold Glove Award, given to the league's best fielders as voted upon by its managers and coaches, at their respective position.
Silver Sluggers[edit]
The following players won the Silver Slugger Award, given to the league's best fielders as voted upon by its managers and coaches, at their respective position.
Monthly Awards[edit]
- Player of the Month Award
- April: Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals
- May: Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals
- June: Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs
- July: Vladimir Guerrero, Montréal Expos
- August: Jeff Kent, San Francisco Giants
- September: Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals
- Pitcher of the Month Award
- April: Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves
- May: Orel Hershiser, San Francisco Giants
- June: Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves
- July: Chan Ho Park, Los Angeles Dodgers
- August: Randy Johnson, Houston Astros
- September: Randy Johnson, Houston Astros
Hall of Fame Game[edit]
The fifty-second annual Hall of Fame Game was played on July 27 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY near the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In the game, the National League's Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Baltimore Orioles of the American League by a score of 7 to 1.
Notable events[edit]
Umpires[edit]
- Wally Bell
- Greg Bonin
- William Buchanan*
- CB Bucknor
- Pat Connors
- Jerry Crawford
- Kerwin Danley
- Gary Darling
- Bob Davidson
- Gerry Davis
- Dana DeMuth
- Bruce Dreckman
- Dennis Duncan*
- Bruce Froemming
- Joseph Fugere*
- Brian Gibbons
- Greg Gibson
- Brian Gorman
- Eric Gregg
- Tom Hallion
- Angel Hernandez
- Mark Hirschbeck
- Bill Hohn
- Sam Holbrook
- Marvin Hudson
- Jeff Kellogg
- Ron Kulpa
- Jerry Layne
- Randy Marsh
- Jerry Meals
- Ed Montague
- Paul Nauert
- Jeff Nelson
- Larry Poncino
- Frank Pulli
- Jim Quick
- Ed Rapuano
- Charlie Reliford
- Rich Rieker
- Steve Rippley
- Paul Schrieber
- Terry Tata
- Larry Vanover
- Mark Wegner
- Harry Wendelstedt
- Hunter Wendelstedt
- Joe West
- Charlie Williams
- Mike Winters
* Denotes a fill-in umpire
Further Reading[edit]
- 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
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