2003

2003 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
<< 2002 2004 >>

Championships, events, culture, births, and deaths that occurred in 2003.

Club competitions

Professional

Asia and Australia

• Nippon Professional Baseball
  • Nippon Series: Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (PL) over the Hanshin Tigers (CL), 4 - 3 - 0 (Details)
    • Central League: Hanshin Tigers (Details)
    • Pacific League: Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (Details)
• Korea Baseball Organization: Hyundai Unicorns defeated the SK Wyverns in the Korean Series (Details)
• China Baseball League: Beijing Tigers defeated the Tianjin Lions in the championship series, 3 - 2 (Details)
• Chinese Professional Baseball League: Brother Elephants defeated the Sinon Bulls in the Taiwan Series (Details)
• Claxton Shield: Queensland Rams

Europe

• European Cup: DOOR Neptunus Rotterdam, Hoofdklasse (Details)
  • Division Élite: Rouen Baseball 76
  • Baseball-Bundesliga: Paderborn Untouchables
  • Hoofdklasse Honkbal: DOOR Neptunus Rotterdam
    • Holland Series: SC Neptunus defeated the HCAW in the series, 3 - 2 (Details)
  • Serie A1: Italeri Bologna

North America

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

• Minor League Baseball
  • Appalachian League: Elizabethton Twins
  • Arizona League: AZL Royals
  • Arizona-Mexico League: Nogales Charros
  • Atlantic League: Somerset Patriots
  • California League: Inland Empire 66ers
  • Canadian League: Calgary Outlaws
  • Carolina League: Winston-Salem Warthogs
  • Central League: Jackson Senators
  • Eastern League: Akron Aeros
  • Florida State League: St. Lucie Mets
  • Frontier League: Gateway Grizzlies
  • Gulf Coast League: GCL Braves
  • International League: Durham Bulls (Details)
  • Midwest League: Lansing Lugnuts
  • New York-Penn League: Williamsport Crosscutters
  • Northeast League: Brockton Rox
  • Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
  • Northwest League: Spokane Indians
  • Pacific Coast League: Sacramento River Cats (Details)
  • Pioneer League: Billings Mustangs
  • South Atlantic League: Rome Braves
  • Southeastern League: Baton Rouge River Bats
  • Southern League: Carolina Mudcats
  • Texas League: San Antonio Missions

• Liga Mexicana de Béisbol: Diablos Rojos del México defeated the Tigres de la Angelopolis in the finals, 4 - 1

• Cuban Serie Nacional: Industriales (Details)

Winter Leagues

• Serie del Caribe: in Carolina, Puerto Rico; Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic) (Details)
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana: Águilas Cibaeñas defeated the Leones del Escogido in the finals, 4 - 0
  • Liga Mexicana del Pacífico: Cañeros de Los Mochis
  • Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico: Indios de Mayagüez defeated the Criollos de Caguas in the finals, 5 - 1
  • Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional: the season was canceled on January 14 due to a national general strike)

Amateur

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • College World Series (Division I): Rice University defeated Stanford University in the finals, 4 - 3 (10 inn.), 3 - 8, 14 - 2 (Details)
  • Division II Baseball Championship: Central Missouri State University over the the University of Tampa, 11 - 4 in the finals
  • Division III Baseball Championship: Chapman University over the Christopher Newport University, 15 - 7 in the finals
• NAIA College World Series: Lewis-Clark State College over the Oklahoma City University, 7 - 5 in the finals
• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • Division I Baseball World Series: Community College of Southern Nevada
  • Division II Baseball World Series: Grand Rapids Community College
  • Division III Baseball World Series: Richland College
• Community College League of California: Cypress College over Saddleback College 13 - 3 in the finals
• National Baseball Congress World Series: Taiwan National Team (Details)
• National Club Baseball Association: Weber State University
• Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association/Association de Baseball Inter-Universitaire Canadienne: University of New Brunswick
• All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series: Nippon Bunri University defeated the Asia University in the final, 4 - 3 (Details)
• Japan High School Baseball Federation
  • National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament: Koryo High School (Hiroshima) defeat Yokohama High School (Kanagawa), 15 - 3 in the championship (Details)
  • National High School Baseball Championship: Joso Gakuin High School (Ibaragi) defeat Tohoku High School (Miyagi), 4 - 2 in the championship (Details)
• Little League
  • Little League World Series: Musashi-Fuchu (Tokyo, Japan) defeat East Boynton Beach (Boynton Beach, FL), 10 - 1 in the championship (Details)

International competitions

• Baseball World Cup in Cuba (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); Panama (Silver); Japan (Bronze)
• World Youth Championship in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (Details)
  • United States (Gold); Chinese Taipei (Silver); Cuba (Bronze)
• Asian Championship in Sapporo, Hokkaido (Details)
  • Japan (Gold); Chinese Taipei (Silver); South Korea (Bronze)
• European Championship in Amsterdam, Haarlem, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands (Details)
  • The Netherlands (Gold); Greece (Silver); Spain (Bronze)
• Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Details)
  • Cuba (Gold); United States (Silver); Mexico (Bronze)
• All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria (Details)
  • South Africa (Gold); Nigeria (Silver); Zimbabwe (Bronze)
• South Pacific Games in Suva, Fiji (Details)
  • Guam (Gold); American Samoa (Silver); Federated States of Micronesia (Bronze)

Culture

Literature

• At Home and Away, by John Kuenster
• Baseball Fever: Early Baseball in Michigan, by Peter Morris
• The Baseball Necrology, by Bill Lee
• The Beer and Whisky League, by David Nemec
• Bidou Jean, bidouilleur, by Alain Denis
• Black Baseball Entrepreneurs, 1860-1901, by Michael E. Lomax
• The First World Series, by Roger Abrams
• Foul Ball: My Life and Hard Times Trying to Save an Old Ballpark, by Jim Bouton
• Game Time, by Roger Angell
• Moneyball, by Michael Lewis
• The Negro Leagues, 1869-1960, by Leslie Heaphy
• Paths to Glory, by Mark Armour and Dan Levitt
• Rothstein, by David Pietrusza
• The Teammates, by David Halberstam

Song

• Boys of Summer, by The Ataris
• The Journey Within (album), by Bernie Williams
• Kenesaw Mountain Landis, by Jonathan Coulton
• Pete Rose Affinity, by Summer Hymns
• Piazza, New York Catcher, by Belle & Sebastian

Film

• Battlefield Baseball

Births

Further information: Births in 2003

Deaths

Further information: Deaths in 2003

Further Reading

• Will Leitch: "From Boone's heroics to Bartman: 2003 was wild: The baseball world has changed dramatically since that year", mlb.com, March 30, 2020.