2002

2002 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
<< 2001 2003 >>

Championships, events, culture, births, and deaths that occurred in 2002.

Club competitions

Professional

Asia and Australia

• Nippon Professional Baseball
  • Nippon Series: Yomiuri Giants (CL) over the Seibu Lions (PL), 4 - 0 - 0 (Details)
    • Central League: Yomiuri Giants (Details)
    • Pacific League: Seibu Lions (Details)
• Korea Baseball Organization: Samsung Lions defeated the LG Twins in the Korean Series (Details)
• Chinese Professional Baseball League: Brother Elephants defeated the Chinatrust Whales in the Taiwan Series (Details)
• China Baseball League: Tianjin Lions defeated the Beijing Tigers in the championship series, 1 - 0 (Details)
• Taiwan Major League: Taichung Agan over Kaoping Fala, 4 - 1 in the championship series (Details)
• Claxton Shield: Victoria Aces, International Baseball League of Australia (Details)

Europe

• European Cup: DOOR Neptunus Rotterdam, Hoofdklasse (Details)
  • Division Élite: Lions de Savigny-sur-Orge
  • Baseball-Bundesliga: Paderborn Untouchables
  • Hoofdklasse Honkbal: DOOR Neptunus Rotterdam
    • Holland Series: SC Neptunus defeated the HCAW in the series, 3 - 0 (Details)
  • Serie A1: Semenzato Casa d'Aste Rimini

North America

• Major League Baseball
  • World Series: Anaheim Angels (AL) over the San Francisco Giants (NL), 4 - 3 (Details)
    • American League: Anaheim Angels (Details)
    • National League: San Francisco Giants (Details)

• Minor League Baseball
  • Appalachian League: Bristol White Sox
  • Arizona League: AZL Cubs
  • Atlantic League: Newark Bears
  • California League: Stockton Ports
  • Carolina League: Lynchburg Hillcats
  • Central League: San Angelo Colts
  • Eastern League: Norwich Navigators
  • Florida State League: Charlotte Rangers
  • Frontier League: Richmond Roosters
  • Gulf Coast League: GCL Phillies
  • International League: Durham Bulls (Details)
  • Midwest League: Peoria Chiefs
  • New York-Penn League: Staten Island Yankees
  • Northern League: Winnipeg Goldeyes
  • Northern League East: New Jersey Jackals
  • Northwest League: Boise Hawks
  • Pacific Coast League: Edmonton Trappers (Details)
  • Pioneer League: Great Falls Dodgers
  • South Atlantic League: Hickory Crawdads
  • Southeastern League: Pensacola Pelicans
  • Southern League: Birmingham Barons
  • Texas League: San Antonio Missions
  • Western League: Chico Heat

• Liga Mexicana de Béisbol: Diablos Rojos del México defeated the Tigres de la Angelopolis in the finals, 4 - 3

• Cuban Serie Nacional: Holguín (Details)

Winter Leagues

• Serie del Caribe: in Caracas, Venezuela; Tomateros de Culiacán (Mexico) (Details)
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana: Tigres del Licey defeated the Águilas Cibaeñas in the finals, 4 - 3
  • Liga Mexicana del Pacífico: Tomateros de Culiacán
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico: Vaqueros de Bayamón defeated the Cangrejeros de Santurce in the finals, 5 - 3
  • Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional: Navegantes del Magallanes defeated the Tigres de Aragua in the finals, 4 - 1

Amateur

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • College World Series (Division I): The University of Texas at Austin defeated the University of South Carolina in the finals, 12 - 6 (Details)
  • Division II Baseball Championship: Columbus State University over the California State University, Chico, 5 - 3 in the finals
  • Division III Baseball Championship: Eastern Connecticut State University over the Marietta College, 8 - 0 in the finals
• NAIA College World Series: Lewis-Clark State College over the Oklahoma City University, 12 - 8 in the finals
• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • Division I Baseball World Series: Central Arizona College
  • Division II Baseball World Series: Parkland College
  • Division III Baseball World Series: Richland College
• Community College League of California: Riverside Community College over Sacramento City College 10 - 4 in the finals
• National Baseball Congress World Series: Alaska Goldpanners (Details)
• National Club Baseball Association: Texas A&M University
• Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association/Association de Baseball Inter-Universitaire Canadienne: Université Laval
• All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series: Asia University defeated the Waseda University in the final, 2 - 1 (Details)
• Japan High School Baseball Federation
  • National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament: Hotoku Gakuen High School (Hyogo) defeat Naruto Kogyo High School (Tokushima), 8 - 2 in the championship (Details)
  • National High School Baseball Championship: Meitoku Gijuku High School (Kochi) defeat Chiben Wakayama High School (Wakayama), 7 - 2 in the championship (Details)
• Little League
  • Little League World Series: Valley Sports American (Louisville, KY) defeat Sendai Higashi (Sendai, Japan), 1 - 0 in the championship (Details)

International competitions

• Intercontinental Cup in Cuba (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); South Korea (Silver); Dominican Republic (Bronze)
• World Junior Championship in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); Japan (Silver); South Korea (Bronze)
• World University Baseball Championship in Messina, Sicily, Reggio Calabria, Calabria (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); United States (Silver); Japan (Bronze)
• Asian Games in Busan, South Korea (Details)
  • South Korea (Gold); Chinese Taipei (Silver); Japan (Bronze)
• Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador (Details)
  • Puerto Rico (Gold); Panama (Silver); Dominican Republic (Bronze)

Culture

Literature

• Black Baseball's National Showcase, by Larry Lester
• Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era, by Charles C. Alexander
• The End of Baseball As We Knew It: The Players' Union, 1960-1981, by Charles P. Korr
• For the Good of the Country, by David Finoli
• The Hit Men and the Kid Who Batted Ninth, by David Siroty
• If I Never Get Back, by Darryl Brock
• Mendoza's Heroes, by Al Pepper
• The New Biographical History of Baseball, by Donald Dewey and Nicholas Acocella
• Safe By a Mile, by Charlie Metro and Tom Altherr
• Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, by Jane Leavy
• Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, by Howard Bryant
• Summerland, by Michael Chabon

Song

• The Ballad of Eddie Klepp, by Chuck Brodsky
• Letters in the Dirt, by Chuck Brodsky
• Losing, by Pondering Judd

Film

• The Rookie

Births

Further information: Births in 2002

Deaths

Further information: Deaths in 2002