The1979 Major League Baseball season concluded with thePittsburgh Pirates defeating theBaltimore Orioles in seven games in the1979 World Series. None of the post-season teams of 1977 or 1978 returned to this year's postseason.
March 7 – The Special Veterans Committee selectsWarren Giles andHack Wilson for the Hall of Fame.
April – The1979 Major League umpires strike begins with all umpires walking the picket lines, except two umpires (one from each league) who worked Opening Day with replacement and amateur umpires before leaving for the picket lines.
April 7 – TheHouston Astros'Ken Forsch pitches ano-hitter against theAtlanta Braves in a 6–0 victory. At that time, it marks the earliest calendar date for ano-hitter in major league history, which stands untilHideo Nomo's no-hitter on April 4, 2001.[27] This also makes him andBob Forsch, who hurled a no-hitter in 1978, the first brothers in major league history to both pitch no-hit games during their careers.
May 15 – The1979 Major League umpires strike is settled effective May 18. The umpires gain pay raises and additional vacation time by the addition of another crew, but eight minor league umpires who worked during the strike are promoted to the Major Leagues, causing dissention and ostracizing of the replacements whom the regular umpires referred to as "scabs".
May 17 –Dave Kingman of theChicago Cubs hits three home runs andMike Schmidt of thePhiladelphia Phillies hits two, the second of which proves to be the game winner in the tenth inning, as the Phillies beat the Cubs 23–22 atWrigley Field.Bill Buckner had a grand slam and seven RBIs for Chicago. The game included a then Major League record 11home runs and 50 hits.
May 28 –Texas Rangersfirst basemanMike Jorgensen is hit in the head by a pitch fromBoston Red SoxpitcherAndy Hassler.Dave Roberts comes into the game to pinch run for Jorgensen, andPat Putnam takes over as the Rangers' regular first baseman for the next month. Aside from a pinch-hit appearance on May 31, Jorgensen does not play again until July 1. After suffering headaches, it is discovered he has a small blood clot inside his head, which apparently caused a seizure and could have resulted in his early demise.
June 24 – In a 5–1 loss to the Rangers,Rickey Henderson debuts for theOakland Athletics. He singles and doubles; the first of his over 3,000 career hits, and steals the first of his over 1,400 bases.
July 12 – TheDetroit Tigers win the first game of a scheduled doubleheader against theChicago White Sox, 4–1, onDisco Demolition Night at Chicago'sComiskey Park. Thousands of young fans swarm onto the field between the games, damaging the field and causing mayhem throughout the stadium. The White Sox are forced to forfeit the second game.
July 17 – TheNational League wins its eighth straightAll-Star Game, 7–6, atSeattle.Lee Mazzilli hits a home run to tie the game in the eighth, and walks in the ninth to bring in the winning run.Dave Parker, with two outstanding throws, is named the MVP, andPete Rose plays a record five All-Star positions.
August 6 – The entireNew York Yankee team flies toCanton, Ohio for captainThurman Munson's funeral. Hours later, the team returns to New York City and defeats theBaltimore Orioles 5–4 atYankee Stadium, before a national viewing audience onABC'sMonday Night Baseball.Bobby Murcer, one of Munson's best friends, drives in all five Yankee runs with a three-run home run in the seventh inning and a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth.
August 29 – In his first pitching appearance in the Major Leagues in his 11-year career,Kansas City Royals utility playerJerry Terrell entered the game in relief against theNew York Yankees and got three outs on just three pitches in the ninth inning of a 17–3 loss.[29]
September 15 – As part of a 10–2 win over theBaltimore Orioles, theRed Sox'sBob Watson hits for the cycle. Having done it for theHouston Astros on June 24, 1977, he is the first player to do this in both leagues.
September 24 –Pete Rose collects his 200th hit of the season, giving him ten seasons with at least 200 hits. This breaks the record set byTy Cobb.
September 28 –Garry Templeton of theSt. Louis Cardinals collects his 100th hit of the season while batting right-handed. Having already collected 100 hits while batting left-handed, Templeton is the first player in history to accomplish this. He had batted right-handed, exclusively, for the last week of the season to get the needed hits.
October 17 – In Game Seven of theWorld Series,Willie Stargell hits his third home run of the Series to send thePittsburgh Pirates to their third straight win over theBaltimore Orioles, to win the World Series Championship. Stargell wins Series MVP honors. The Pirates came back from a deficit of 3 games-to-1.
November 13 – For the first time ever, there will be League co-MVPs asKeith Hernandez of theSt. Louis Cardinals shares theNational LeagueBaseball Most Valuable Player Award withWillie Stargell of thePittsburgh Pirates. Stargell is the oldest person to win this award (since broken byBarry Bonds in 2004). The Pirates have thus won (or shared) all four "Most Valuable Player" awards for the season (All-Star Game, National League Championship Series, World Series, and National League regular season). This is the first such sweep in Major League history (Stargell had won the awards for the NLCS, World Series, and National League regular season, while teammateDave Parker won the All-Star Game award).
November 26 – Third basemanJohn Castino, who batted .285 for theMinnesota Twins, and shortstopAlfredo Griffin, who hit .287 for theToronto Blue Jays, tie for the American League Rookie of the Year Award, each receiving seven of the 28 votes. The deadlock precipitates a change in the voting system, effective in 1980.
^Gross, Jane (July 12, 1981)."Sports on cable".The New York Times.USA agreed to the baseball limitations rejected byESPN and shows a Thursday-night game in cities that do not have a major-league team. In New York City, Manhattan Cable broadcasts USA's programs, but cannot televise the weekly baseball game because the Yankees and Mets declined to grant the waivers necessary under major-league statutes.
