This article is about the 2005 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see
2005 in baseball .
Sports season
The2005 Major League Baseball season was notable for the league's newsteroid policy in the wake of theBALCO scandal, which enforced harsher penalties than ever before for steroid use in Major League Baseball. Several players, including veteranRafael Palmeiro , were suspended under the new policy. Besides the cracking down on steroids, it was also notable that every team in the NL East finished the season with at least 81 wins (at least half of the 162 games played). Additionally it was the first season featuring a baseball team in Washington, D.C. since the second iteration of the Washington Senators last played there in 1971; theWashington Nationals had moved from Montreal, the first relocation of a team in 33 years and currentlythe most recent time this has occurred in the majors .
The Anaheim Angels changed their name to theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim .
The season ended when theChicago White Sox defeated theHouston Astros in a four-game sweep in theWorld Series , winning their first championship since 1917.
This was the last season in which no no-hit games were pitched until2025 ; 2005 was also only the 6th year since 1949 in which no such games were thrown.[a]
This was the first season since 1993 that all teams played at least 162 games with no cancellations.
Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.
Statistical leaders [ edit ] ±hosted theMLB All Star Game
Player of the Month [ edit ] Pitcher of the Month [ edit ] Rookie of the Month [ edit ] Home field attendance and payroll [ edit ] Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game Est. payroll %± New York Yankees [ 1] 95 −5.9% 4,090,696 8.4% 50,502 $208,306,817 13.1% Los Angeles Dodgers [ 2] 71 −23.7% 3,603,646 3.3% 44,489 $83,039,000 −10.6% St. Louis Cardinals [ 3] 100 −4.8% 3,538,988 16.1% 43,691 $92,106,833 9.2% Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim [ 4] 95 3.3% 3,404,686 0.9% 42,033 $94,867,822 −5.6% San Francisco Giants [ 5] 75 −17.6% 3,181,023 −2.3% 39,272 $90,199,500 10.0% Chicago Cubs [ 6] 79 −11.2% 3,099,992 −2.2% 38,272 $87,032,933 −3.9% San Diego Padres [ 7] 82 −5.7% 2,869,787 −4.9% 35,429 $63,290,833 14.3% Boston Red Sox [ 8] 95 −3.1% 2,847,888 0.4% 35,159 $123,505,125 −3.0% New York Mets [ 9] 83 16.9% 2,829,929 22.0% 34,937 $101,305,821 −0.7% Houston Astros [ 10] 89 −3.3% 2,804,760 −9.2% 34,627 $76,779,000 1.8% Washington Nationals [ 11] 81 20.9% 2,731,993 264.5% 33,728 $48,581,500 17.9% Seattle Mariners [ 12] 69 9.5% 2,725,459 −7.3% 33,648 $87,754,334 7.7% Philadelphia Phillies [ 13] 88 2.3% 2,665,304 −18.0% 32,905 $95,522,000 2.5% Baltimore Orioles [ 14] 74 −5.1% 2,624,740 −4.3% 32,404 $73,914,333 43.2% Texas Rangers [ 15] 79 −11.2% 2,525,221 0.5% 31,176 $55,849,000 1.5% Atlanta Braves [ 16] 90 −6.3% 2,521,167 8.3% 31,126 $86,457,302 −4.1% Chicago White Sox [ 17] 99 19.3% 2,342,833 21.4% 28,924 $75,178,000 15.3% Milwaukee Brewers [ 18] 81 20.9% 2,211,023 7.2% 27,297 $39,934,833 45.1% Oakland Athletics [ 19] 88 −3.3% 2,109,118 −4.2% 26,038 $55,425,762 −6.7% Arizona Diamondbacks [ 20] 77 51.0% 2,059,424 −18.3% 25,425 $62,629,166 −10.2% Minnesota Twins [ 21] 83 −9.8% 2,034,243 6.4% 25,114 $56,186,000 4.3% Detroit Tigers [ 22] 71 −1.4% 2,024,431 5.6% 24,993 $69,092,000 47.5% Toronto Blue Jays [ 23] 80 19.4% 2,014,995 6.1% 24,876 $45,719,500 −8.6% Cleveland Indians [ 24] 93 16.3% 2,013,763 11.0% 24,861 $41,502,500 20.9% Cincinnati Reds [ 25] 73 −3.9% 1,943,067 −15.0% 23,696 $61,892,583 31.9% Colorado Rockies [ 26] 67 −1.5% 1,914,389 −18.1% 23,634 $47,839,000 −26.9% Florida Marlins [ 27] 83 0.0% 1,852,608 7.5% 22,872 $60,408,834 43.3% Pittsburgh Pirates [ 28] 67 −6.9% 1,817,245 15.0% 22,435 $38,133,000 18.3% Kansas City Royals [ 29] 56 −3.4% 1,371,181 −17.5% 16,928 $36,881,000 −22.5% Tampa Bay Devil Rays [ 30] 67 −4.3% 1,141,669 −10.5% 14,095 $29,679,067 −0.6%
Television coverage [ edit ] This was the fifth season that national television coverage was split betweenESPN andFox Sports . ESPN andESPN2 aired selected weeknight andSunday night games , and selected Division Series playoff games. Fox televisedSaturday baseball , theAll-Star Game , selected Division Series games, both League Championship Series, and theWorld Series .
March 24 – a spring training game between theArizona Diamondbacks and theColorado Rockies was abandoned after five innings because of a swarm of bees which settled over the field.[ 31] April 29 – The highly anticipated matchup ofRoger Clemens of the Houston Astros vs.Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs took place atMinute Maid Park , two of the most acclaimed pitchers of the modern era (between them are 11 Cy Young awards—7 and 4, respectively). Both Clemens and Maddux had300 career wins at this point in their careers, a feat that is arguably impossible for modern era pitchers to achieve since the advent of middle and closing relief rosters. The Cubs went on to win the game 3–2. June 18 –Derek Jeter of theNew York Yankees hits the firstgrand slam of his 11-year major league career, as the Yankees defeat theChicago Cubs 8–1.[ 32] a 1909 ,1913 ,1921 ,1927 –1928 ,1932 –1933 ,1936 ,1939 ,1942 –1943 ,1949 ,1959 ,1982 ,1985 ,1989 ,2000 , 2005 and2025 .
^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Houston Astros Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Washington Nationals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Seattle Mariners Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Milwaukee Brewers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Arizona Diamondbacks Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Toronto Blue Jays Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Colorado Rockies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Florida Marlins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Kansas City Royals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Tampa Bay Rays Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors" .Baseball-Reference.com . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2020 .^ "Bees swarm Rockies' game" .www.deseret.com . RetrievedOctober 16, 2023 .^ Pellowski, Michael J (2007).The Little Giant Books of Baseball Facts 352 .ISBN 978-1-4027-4273-6
Pre-modern era
Beginnings Competition NL monopoly
Modern era
See also
