BR Bullpen:News Archive/2007

2007

• December 15: 47-year-old Fausto Álvarez is named 2007 Hoofdklasse MVP. David Bergman is named Pitcher of the Year.
• December 13: Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada, and Andy Pettitte are among those named in the Mitchell Report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.
• December 12: Miguel Tejada is sent from the Baltimore Orioles to the Houston Astros for Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate and Michael Costanzo.
• December 11: Kosuke Fukudome, the 2006 Central League MVP, signs a 4-year, $48 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, pending a physical.
• December 10: The 2007 Italian baseball awards are announced. Giuseppe Mazzanti is honored as the top Italian hitter and Matteo D'Angelo wins Rookie of the Year honors.
• December 4: The Detroit Tigers acquire 4-time All-Star Miguel Cabrera and 2-time All-Star Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins for a package of six players, including prospects Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller.
• December 3: Five new executives and managers are voted into the Hall of Fame - Billy Southworth, Barney Dreyfuss, Walter O'Malley, Bowie Kuhn and Dick Williams. Umpire Doug Harvey misses by one vote, as does Whitey Herzog.
• December 3: Japan wins the 2007 Asian Championship to clinch a spot in the 2008 Olympics. The favorite, they went 3-0 in the competition. Shinnosuke Abe is named tournament MVP.
• November 26: Jerry Royster is hired to manage the Lotte Giants. He will be the first foreign manager in the 26-year history of the Korea Baseball Organization.
• November 23: Pitcher Joe Kennedy collapses and dies at age 28.
• November 20: Yu Darvish and Michihiro Ogasawara are named MVPs of the Pacific League and Central League respectively for 2007.
• November 20: Jimmy Rollins wins the 2007 National League Most Valuable Player Award.
• November 19: Alex Rodríguez wins the 2007 American League Most Valuable Player Award.
• November 18: The United States wins the 2007 Baseball World Cup over Cuba by a score of 6–3 in Taiwan. It is the United States' third title–its first in 33 years–and snaps Cuba's nine consecutive titles. Jayson Nix of the USA is the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
• November 16: Joe Nuxhall, who at age 15 was the youngest man to ever play in a major league game, dies at age 79.
• November 15: Barry Bonds is indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice in the BALCO investigation.
• November 15: Jake Peavy is the unanimous winner of the 2007 National League Cy Young Award.
• November 14: Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin win the 2007 Manager of the Year Awards in the majors.
• November 13: Hall of Famer Kazuhisa Inao dies at age 80.
• November 13: C.C. Sabathia wins the 2007 American League Cy Young Award, beating out Josh Beckett. He becomes the first African-American Cy Young Award winner since Doc Gooden in 1985 and the first African-American to win in the AL since Vida Blue in 1971.
• November 12: Ryan Braun and Dustin Pedroia win the Rookie of the Year Awards in the majors.
• November 11: The Chunichi Dragons top the SK Wyverns 6-5 in the finale of the Konami Cup to win it. Hirokazu Ibata wins MVP honors.
• November 7: The 2007 Baseball World Cup begins in Taiwan.
• November 6: Greg Maddux wins a record 17th Gold Glove award.
• November 1: The Chunichi Dragons win the 2007 Japan Series for their first Japan Series title in 53 years. The last game includes the first perfect game in Series history and the first combined perfect game ever in Nippon Pro Baseball. Norihiro Nakamura wins the MVP award.
• October 31: Danny Rios wins the Korea Baseball Organization MVP award for 2007 following a season in which he led the league with 22 wins and a 2.07 ERA.
• October 29: Yu Darvish wins the Sawamura Award for 2007.
• October 29: The SK Wyverns win their fourth game in a row to take the 2007 Korean Series. Jae-hyun Kim wins the Korean Series Most Valuable Player Award.
• October 28: The Boston Red Sox sweep the Rockies in the 2007 World Series. Mike Lowell wins the World Series MVP award.
• October 28: The Uni-President Lions win the 2007 Taiwan Series in 7 games. Nelson Figueroa is named Series MVP.
• October 21: The Boston Red Sox defeat Cleveland 11-2 in Game 7 of the ALCS to reach the World Series where they will face the Colorado Rockies. Josh Beckett is the ALCS MVP.
• October 18: Joe Torre is out after 12 seasons as manager of the New York Yankees after refusing a large pay cut to renew his contract.
• October 8: Alex Ramirez collects his 203rd hit of the season, breaking the Central League record held by Tokyo Yakult Swallows teammate Norichika Aoki.
• October 7: Corendon Kinheim wins their second straight Hoofdklasse title, sweeping the Konica Minolta Pioniers in the 2007 Holland Series.
• October 6: The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies both sweep their Division Series and will meet in the National League Championship Series. It is the first time the Rockies have won a postseason series.
• October 5: Dominican slugger Tilson Brito sets new Chinese Professional Baseball League records for home runs (32) and RBI (103).
• October 5: Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Tracy is fired as part of a front office purge.
• October 3: Walt Jocketty resigns after 13 seasons as General Manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. During his tenure, the Cardinals reached the postseason 7 times and won the 2006 World Series.
• October 1: The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 9-8 in 13 innings to clinch the National League wild card. They will face the Philadelphia Phillies in the league's Division Series.
• September 30: The San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies end the regular season tied for the National League wild card, forcing a one game playoff to determine who will play the Philadelphia Phillies in the league's Division Series.
• September 28: The Boston Red Sox clinch the AL East title, bringing to an end a streak of 9 consecutive division titles by the New York Yankees, dating back to 1998. The Yankees will not miss the Postseason however, having clinched the American League Wild Card.
• September 25: Prince Fielder becomes the youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season.
• September 25: Neal Huntington is hired as General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, replacing Dave Littlefield.
• September 20: Danny Rios of the Doosan Bears wins his 20th game, becoming the first foreigner in Korea Baseball Organization history to reach that mark and the first hurler in the 21st Century to do so.
• September 20: Ed Wade is hired as General Manager of the Houston Astros, replacing Tim Purpura.
• September 16: Jim Thome of the Chicago White Sox hits his 500th home run, a two-run game-winner off Dustin Moseley of the Los Angeles Angels. He is the third player to reach the milestone in 2007, after Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez.
• September 16: The Netherlands wins the 2007 European Baseball Championship, the nation's twentieth title. The Dutch also qualify for the 2008 Olympics; medalists Great Britain and Spain qualify for the 2008 Final Olympic Tournament. Brant Ust, the Great Britain shortstop, is named MVP.
• September 15: Prince Fielder sets a new Milwaukee Brewers franchise home run mark with his 46th home run of the campaign. Gorman Thomas and Richie Sexson (twice) had hit 45 in a season.
• September 10: Troy Tulowitzki hits his 20th home run, setting a new National League record for rookie shortstops. Ernie Banks had held the record for 53 years.
• September 9: Curtis Granderson becomes the third player in MLB history to have 20 doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in the same year. Only Wildfire Schulte and Willie Mays had done it before.
• September 9: The Brewers become the third team in major league history to start a game with three consecutive homers. Phil Dumatrait serves up gopher balls to Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Ryan Braun.
• September 9: Todd Helton doubles against Joe Thatcher to give him at least 35 for the 10th year in a row, a new MLB record.
• September 8: Alex Rodriguez hits his 49th home run to break the record for third basemen in the majors; Rodriguez and Mike Schmidt had each hit 48. Rodriguez already held the record for a shortstop.
• September 7: Dave Littlefield is fired as General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brian Graham replaces him on an interim basis.
• September 5: Brandon Phillips hits his 28th homer, setting a new record for Cincinnati Reds second basemen. Joe Morgan had held the mark for 31 years.
• September 4: Miguel Cabrera singles home Hanley Ramirez for his 500th RBI in the majors. Only Mel Ott and Ted Williams had ever reached 500 RBI at a younger age.
• September 4: Francisco Cordero saves his 40th game of the year, a new Milwaukee Brewers record. Danny Kolb and Derrick Turnbow had held the record previously.
• September 3: Delwyn Young ties the modern Pacific Coast League record for doubles (46), set in 1966 by Walt Williams.
• September 3: Pedro Martínez strikes out Aaron Harang for his 3,000th major league strikeout. He is the 15th pitcher to reach that mark.
• September 2: Tuffy Rhodes hits his 400th career home run in Nippon Pro Baseball. He is the 14th player and first foreigner to reach that level. It also gives him his 6th 40-homer season, second all-time to Sadaharu Oh.
• September 1: Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox pitches the third no-hitter of the season, beating the Baltimore Orioles 10-0 in his second career start. Wilson Alvarez was the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his first or second career start, in 1991.
• September 1: Domingo Guzman issues a Nippon Pro Baseball record four balks in a game, doing so in under four innings of work. He ties the record of three in an inning as well. Amazingly, it is the second all-time NPB balk record set by a Dominican hurler within two weeks, as Esteban Yan had set the single-season record in late August. Like Yan, Guzman is ejected from his record-setting game after conflict with the umpires.
• September 1: Tomonori Maeda joins the meikyukai with his 2,000th career hit.
• August 27: Phil Garner is let go as manager of the Houston Astros. Also, Tim Purpura is fired as General Manager; Tal Smith takes over as GM and Cecil Cooper as manager, both on an interim basis.
• August 26: Warner Robins, GA wins the 2007 Little League World Series on an extra-inning homer by Dalton Carriker off of Junsho Kiuchi of Tokyo.
• August 25: Craig Stansberry, born in Saudi Arabia, becomes the first major league player from the Middle East. He pinch-hits for Rob Mackowiak and singles off of Doug Brocail in his debut.
• August 22: The Rangers score an American League record 30 runs in a game and 39 in a doubleheader against the Orioles. Star performers include Jarrod Saltalamacchia (7 RBI, 5 R), Ramon Vazquez (7 RBI), Travis Metcalf (grand slam), Marlon Byrd (grand slam) and David Murphy (5 hits, 5 R).
• August 22: Saga Kita wins the 2007 summer Koshien over Koryo High School.
• August 21: Mark Reynolds becomes the sixth position player in major league history to strike out in nine straight plate appearances. He joins a group which includes Reggie Jackson, Eric Davis and Bo Jackson.
• August 21: Garret Anderson sets a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise record with 10 RBI in a game.
• August 21: Esteban Yan issues his 12th balk of the season, setting a new Nippon Pro Baseball record. In an unsportsmanlike and stupid act, he intentionally hits the next batter and is ejected.
• August 19: John Smoltz whiffs his 2,913th batter with the Atlanta Braves, breaking Phil Niekro's franchise record for career strikeouts.
• August 19: Johan Santana strikes out 17 batters to set a new single-game record for the Minnesota Twins; the old mark had been 15.
• August 17: Brandon Webb becomes the first pitcher in 19 years, since Orel Hershiser, to throw 40 consecutive scoreless innings. He moves into a tie for 12th in MLB history in consecutive scoreless frames.
• August 16: The Puerto Rican Winter League season is canceled due to financial problems. It is the first break in the league's history, which dates back to 1939. In other sad international news, the International Baseball Federation cancels its involvement in the World Youth Championship for 2007 due to political conflict between Venezuela and Taiwan. The Championship will be held with fewer participants.
• August 14: Bobby Cox is ejected from a game for the 132nd time, breaking the record long held by John McGraw.
• August 14: Phil Rizzuto, the oldest living Hall of Famer, dies at age 89.
• August 13: Placido Polanco breaks the record for consecutive error-free games at second base with his 144th. Luis Castillo had held the record for less than a year.
• August 12: Closer Bobby Jenks of the Chicago White Sox ties a record set by Jim Barr when he retires the 41st consecutive batter he faced.
• August 10: Rick Guttormson becomes the first player to be suspended for a positive steroid test in Nippon Pro Baseball. NPB instituted drug testing this year.
• August 7: Barry Bonds homers for the 756th time in his major league career, breaking Hank Aaron's all-time record. Mike Bacsik is the pitcher who is victimized. Commissioner Bud Selig is not in attendance.
• August 5: Tom Glavine wins his 300th game in the majors. As with other pitchers to reach the level, the media speculates he might be the last pitcher to ever win 300.
• August 4: Alex Rodriguez hits the 500th home run of his career, the 22nd player to have hit so many. He is the youngest to reach the level, doing so almost a year younger than Jimmie Foxx had been.
• July 31: The trading deadline hits the majors. Among those to be sent in the flurry of action are Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Mark Teixeira, Eric Gagne, Octavio Dotel, Matt Morris and Morgan Ensberg. In the prior couple days, Luis Castillo and Tadahito Iguchi changed locales.
• July 29: In a 9-3 win over the US college national team, Dirk van 't Klooster plays in his 163rd official game for the Dutch national team, tying the record.
• July 29: Major League Baseball games draw a single-day record 717,478 fans, breaking the 8-year-old mark by over 70,000.
• July 26: Jose Mesa appears in his 1,000th game in the major leagues, becoming the 11th pitcher to reach that milestone.
• July 22: Rollie Stiles, the Oldest Living MLB Player, dies in his sleep at age 100. Billy Werber is now the oldest living former major leaguer.
• July 22: While coaching first base in a AA game, Mike Coolbaugh is fatally struck by a line drive.
• July 21: The Pittsburgh Pirates retire the number (11) worn by Paul Waner. It is the 10th number retired by the franchise.
• July 20: The Cuban national team wins the 2007 Pan-American Games, beating Team USA 3-1 in the finals.
• July 20: Nine Central League hurlers combine on a one-hit shutout to down the Pacific League in the first NPB All-Star Game of the year. MVP Alex Ramirez breaks the pitcher's duel open with a 2-run homer in the 7th and Tomonori Maeda follows with a blast. The next day, Shinnosuke Abe is the MVP as the CL wins 11-5 for their sixth straight title.
• July 15: The Philadelphia Phillies lose their 10,000th game, the first professional sports team to have suffered so many defeats.
• July 15: Guillermo Moscoso fires the first nine-inning perfect game in the New York-Penn League in over 50 years.
• July 10: The American League wins the 2007 All-Star Game, 5-4, for their 10th straight win in 10 decisions, the second-longest streak in All-Star Game history. Ichiro Suzuki hits the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game records.
• July 10: Norichika Aoki reaches 500 career hits the quickest in Nippon Pro Baseball history, taking 373 games. He beats the old mark by 13 contests.
• July 9: Vladimir Guerrero wins the 2007 Home Run Derby.
• July 8: Fausto Álvarez, a 46-year, 7-month old DH, breaks the Hoofdklasse single-season home run record in the wood bat era, with his 9th homer of the year. The mark previously belonged to Ivanon Coffie
• July 8: The World beats the USA, 7-2, in the 2007 Futures Game. Chin-Lung Hu wins the Larry Doby Award as the MVP.
• July 6: Kevin McClatchy steps down as CEO of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• July 2: Roger Clemens gets his 350th win in the major leagues. It has been over 43 years since a pitcher has reached that level.
• July 1: Mike Hargrove surprisingly resigns as manager of the Seattle Mariners, and Jerry Narron is fired as skipper of the Cincinnati Reds. Their replacements are John McLaren and Pete Mackanin, respectively.
• June 28: Frank Thomas hits his 500th home run and Craig Biggio gets his 3000th hit on the same day.
• June 27: A record set earlier this season is tied when six pitchers over 40 years old (Roger Clemens, Jamie Moyer, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Woody Williams, and John Smoltz) make starts on the same day, June 27th.
• June 24: Oregon State University wins the 2007 College World Series. They are the first CWS champion to have had a losing record in their regular-season conference schedule.
• June 24: Roger Clemens makes his first relief appearance in 22 years and 341 days. It is a new MLB record for the longest time between relief appearances, breaking the 20-year-old mark held by Steve Carlton.
• June 23: Fausto Álvarez, aged 46 years and almost 7 months, hits three home runs in a game for the Amsterdam Pirates. The player-coach is leading Hoofdklasse in home runs after the game. He ties the league record for homers in a contest and becomes the oldest player to hit 3 homers in a game.
• June 22: Ryan Rowland-Smith becomes the first major league player with a hyphenated last name as he debuts for the Mariners.
• June 20: Sammy Sosa hits his 600th MLB home run, the fifth player to reach that level. He goes deep against Jason Marquis.
• June 18: Yuki Saito leads Waseda University to its first All-Japan University Baseball Championship in 33 years, beating Tokai University, 4-1. He is the first freshman to win MVP honors in the tournament.
• June 18: Sam Perlozzo is fired as manager of the Baltimore Orioles. Dave Trembley replaces him on an interim basis.
• June 17: Brandon Watson breaks the 95-year-old International League record for the longest hitting streak by connecting for the 43rd straight contest. Jack Lelivelt had previously held the record.
• June 17: Frank Thomas hits his 244th home run as a DH, breaking the record held by Edgar Martinez. It was his 496th career homer.
• June 17: Kinheim beats the Rouen Huskies to win the 2007 European Cup. It is their first title.
• June 12: Justin Verlander throws the second no-hitter of the season, striking out 12.
• June 12: The 2007 European Cup begins in San Marino, with the C.E.B. Cup in Croatia, and Cupwinners Cup in the Netherlands starting on the following day.
• June 10: Masumi Kuwata, at 39 years old, becomes the oldest rookie in the majors in 46 years when he enters a game for the Pirates.
• June 9: Jun-hyeok Yang becomes the first player in Korea Baseball Organization history to reach 2,000 career hits.
• June 7: David Price is the first pick of the 2007 amateur draft, taken by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
• June 6: Trevor Hoffman records his 500th save in the majors, the first pitcher to reach that mark.
• June 6: Luis Castillo makes an error, ending a record streak of 143 games for a second baseman without a miscue. He had extended the record by 20 - Ryne Sandberg had held it previously.
• June 4: Yuki Saito becomes the first freshman pitcher ever selected for the Best Nine in the spring season of the Tokyo Big Six University League.
• May 24: John Smoltz beats former teammate of 15 years Tom Glavine, 2-1. In the process, he becomes the first pitcher in MLB history to have won 200 games and saved 150 in his career.
• May 23: Kimiyasu Kudoh wins a game for the 23rd consecutive season, breaking the Nippon Pro Baseball record held by Tetsuya Yoneda.
• May 21: Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame member Jiro Noguchi dies at age 87. Noguchi holds the Nippon Pro Baseball record for shutouts in a season with 19.
• May 18: Yukio Tanaka becomes the 47th member of the meikyukai and the second to join this month when the long-time Nippon Ham Fighters star gets his 2,000th hit.
• May 6: Hideki Matsui becomes the 46th member of the meikyukai when he collects the 2,000th hit of his MLB/NPB career.
• May 6: Roger Clemens returns to the majors yet again, joining the Yankees amidst significant pitching woes and injuries that have plagued the club.
• May 2: Jarrod Saltalamacchia breaks the 100+ year old record for the longest name in the majors. 15 prior players had 13 letters in their last name, but the 22-year-old Braves catcher tops them by one. He reaches base twice in his debut.
• April 29: Yuki Saito of Waseda University wins for the second time in two appearances. It is the first time in the 83-year history of the Tokyo Big Six University League that a freshman has won in his first two appearances during the spring season.
• April 29: Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki makes the thirteenth unassisted triple play in MLB history against the Atlanta Braves.
• April 29: Pitcher Josh Hancock of the St. Louis Cardinals is killed in a car accident in St. Louis.
• April 29: Alex Cabrera of the Seibu Lions hits his 250th home run in Nippon Pro Baseball in his 733rd game in NPB, tying Ralph Bryant in becoming the fastest player to reach that mark.
• April 28: Trevor Hoffman pitches in his 803rd game for the San Diego Padres, breaking the record for appearances by a pitcher with one MLB team. The prior record-holders had been Walter Johnson and Elroy Face.
• April 26: Santiago de Cuba defeats the Industriales 4 games to 2 to take the Serie Nacional title. Santiago de Cuba is aided by 11 walks by the Industriales in the finale.
• April 26: Philip Hughes makes his MLB debut and the 2007 Yankees become the first team since the 1955 Cardinals to have three starting pitchers all debut in the first 20 games of the season. Hughes, Kei Igawa and Chase Wright had formed this trio.
• April 22: Chase Wright becomes the second pitcher in MLB history to allow four consecutive home runs. It is Wright's second start in the majors.
• April 18: Mark Buehrle throws the first no-hitter of the MLB season. He faces only 27 batters, picking off the lone batter he walks.
• April 9: Bridgewater State College sets NCAA Division III records for runs (57), hits and victory margin (56) against Newbury College.
• April 4: Tuffy Rhodes becomes the first foreigner and 28th player in Nippon Pro Baseball history to reach 1,000 RBI. Only two players had reached the level in fewer games.
• April 3: Tokoha Gakuen Kikugawa Koukou wins the 2007 National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament.
• April 2: The Tribune Company announces plans to sell the Chicago Cubs following the 2007 season.
• April 1: Longtime Minnesota Twins broadcaster and Ford Frick Award Winner Herb Carneal dies at age 83.
• March 28: Ugueth Urbina is sentenced to 14 years in jail for the attempted murder of five workers at his ranch two years ago.
• March 22: 1988 Olympics pitcher and former Korean Series MVP Dong-hee Park dies in a car accident at age 38.
• March 15: Former MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn dies at age 80.
• March 3: Jô Matumoto becomes the first Brazilian pitcher in a MLB exhibition game.
• February 22: Denny Matthews wins the Ford Frick Award.
• February 6: The Águilas Cibaeñas win their fifth Caribbean Series title, going 5 - 1 in 2007 Caribbean Series play.
• February 2: The 2007 Serie del Caribe begins with the longest game in its history - 18 innings. The Águilas of the Dominican Republic (LIDOM) defeat the Tigres of Venezuela (LVBP) 4 - 3 when Tony Batista drives in Bernie Castro with the winner.
• February 1: Spring training for Nippon Professional Baseball begins in southern Japan, and Australia.
• January 31: Reynaldo Gonzalez Lopez (Cuba), Theo Reitsma (Netherlands), and Harvey Schiller (United States) are nominated for the International Baseball Federation's presidency. The vote will be held March 3 at the IBAF congress in Beijing, China.
• January 27: The Victoria Aces win the 2007 Claxton Shield over the New South Wales Patriots.
• Last week of January: The 2006/2007 winter league season ends. The league champions are Águilas Cibaeñas (LIDOM-Dominican Republic), Naranjeros de Hermosillo (LMP-Mexico), Gigantes de Carolina (LBPPR-Puerto Rico), and Tigres de Aragua (LVBP-Venezuela). The four teams will play in the 2007 Serie del Caribe.
• Mid-January: The Macoto Cobras are sold and were to become the Jiuhe Dragons for the 2007 CPBL season. Four teams opposed the move and it did not take place.
• January 12: Takao Kajimoto and Reiichi Matsunaka are elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
• January 8: Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are elected to the Hall of Fame in the 2007 Hall of Fame Election.