2008 MLB season
Brad Lidge (bottom right) strikes outEric Hinske to win the2008 World Series for thePhiladelphia Phillies.
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	March 25 – October 29, 2008
Games	162
Teams	30
TV partner(s)	Fox,TBS,ESPN
Draft
Top draft pick	Tim Beckham
Picked by	Tampa Bay Rays
Regular season
SeasonMVP	AL:Dustin Pedroia (BOS) NL:Albert Pujols (STL)
Postseason
AL champions	Tampa Bay Rays
AL runners-up	Boston Red Sox
NL champions	Philadelphia Phillies
NL runners-up	Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series
Venue	Citizens Bank Park,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tropicana Field,St. Petersburg, Florida
Champions	Philadelphia Phillies
Runners-up	Tampa Bay Rays
World SeriesMVP	Cole Hamels (PHI)
MLB seasons
← 2007 2009 →

Angels

     Athletics

Mariners

Rangers

White Sox

Indians

Tigers      

Royals

Twins

Orioles

Red
Sox

Yankees

Rays

Blue
Jays

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Locations ofAL teams for the 2008 MLB season
West  Central  East

Diamondbacks

Rockies

Dodgers

Padres

  Giants

Cubs

Reds

Astros

Brewers

Pirates  

Cardinals

Braves

Marlins

Mets

Phillies

Nationals

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Locations ofNL teams for the 2008 MLB season
West  Central  East

The2008 Major League Baseball seasonbegan on March 25, 2008, in Tokyo, Japan with the2007 World Series championBoston Red Sox defeating theOakland Athletics at theTokyo Dome 6–5 (in 10 innings) in the first game of a two-game series,^[1][2] and ended on September 30 with the hostChicago White Sox defeating theMinnesota Twins in aone-game playoff to win theAL Central. TheCivil Rights Game, an exhibition, inMemphis, Tennessee, took place March 29 when theNew York Mets beat theChicago White Sox, 3–2.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays shortened their name toTampa Bay Rays.

TheAll-Star Game was played on July 15 at the OldYankee Stadium inThe Bronx, New York City, with the AL winning 4 to 3 in 15 innings. ThePhiladelphia Phillies won the World Series 4 games to 1 over theTampa Bay Rays. This was Philadelphia's second championship, and also the first World Series appearance for the Rays.

• TheChicago White Sox defeated theMinnesota Twins in aone-game playoff to earn the AL Central division title.

Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.

• Iván Rodríguez of the Detroit Tigers recorded his 2,500thhit April 9 against the Boston Red Sox.^[3]
• John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves recorded his3,000th strikeout againstFelipe López of the Washington Nationals April 22.^[4]
• Kenny Rogers of the Detroit Tigers became the all-time careerpickoff leader with 92. On May 9, Rogers picked offWilson Betemit of theNew York Yankees, passingMark Langston.^[5]
• Greg Maddux of the San Diego Padres recorded his 350th career win against the Colorado Rockies on May 10.^[6]
• Brad Ausmus of the Houston Astros recorded his 1,500th hit on May 12 against the Giants. Along with his 101 stolen bases, he became 1 of 8 catchers in MLB history that have achieved at least 1,500 hits and 100 stolen bases.
• Omar Vizquel of the San Francisco Giants played his 2,584th game as a shortstop on May 25, breaking the record previously held by Luis Aparicio.^[7]
• Philadelphia Phillies left-handed pitcherJamie Moyer became the sixth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to defeat all 30 teams on May 26 by defeating the Rockies 20–5.^[8]
• Manny Ramírez of the Boston Red Sox hit his500th career home run off ofChad Bradford of the Baltimore Orioles on May 31. Ramírez became the 24th player to hit 500 career home runs.^[9] Ramírez was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way trade that also involved thePittsburgh Pirates in July. Ramirez then recorded his 500th double, and became the first player to record 50 RBIs in the same season in both leagues.
• Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks recorded his 4,673rd career strikeout when he struck-outMike Cameron of the Milwaukee Brewers on June 3. With this strikeout, Johnson passedRoger Clemens for 2nd on the All-time Career Strikeout Leaders.^[10]
• Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves hits his 400th career home run on June 5 off ofRicky Nolasco of theFlorida Marlins
• Ken Griffey Jr. of theCincinnati Reds hit his 600th career home run on June 9, a two-run shot offMark Hendrickson of theFlorida Marlins, becoming only the sixth player to reach this plateau. On July 3, Griffey hit a home run off ofJason Bergmann that gave him 5,000 career total bases, becoming the 18th player to do so. Griffey, who was traded to theChicago White Sox on July 31, hit his 610th career home run on September 23, passing former White Sox playerSammy Sosa for fifth on the all-time list. He's also hit his 500th double as a member of the South Siders.
• Albert Pujols of theSt. Louis Cardinals hit his 300th career home run on July 4, a screaming line drive against the left field foul pole off theChicago Cubs atBusch Stadium. Also in the season, he recorded his 1,500th hit. He also became the third player in Major League history to begin his career with eight straight 100-RBI seasons, joining Hall of FamersAl Simmons andTed Williams.^[11]
• Carl Crawford of theTampa Bay Rays stole his 300th career base on July 7 against theKansas City Royals, making him only the ninth player in history to steal that many before age 27.^[12]
• Derek Jeter of theNew York Yankees hit his 200th home run.^[13]
• Jonathan Papelbon of theBoston Red Sox recorded his 100th career save on July 13 against theBaltimore Orioles^[14]
• Grady Sizemore of theCleveland Indians hits his 100th home run and stole his 100th base.^{[citation needed]}
• Jeff Kent of the Los Angeles Dodgers passed 1500 RBI.^[15]
• Ichiro Suzuki broke theSeattle Mariners franchise record forstolen bases of 290 previously held byJulio Cruz. He also recorded his 3,000th hit when combining his records in MLB andNippon Professional Baseball, Japan's major league.
• Mike Mussina of theNew York Yankees recorded his first 20 win season at the age of 39, becoming the oldest player to do so for the first time.

• ThePhiladelphia Phillies notched two 20-run games in one season for their first time since 1900.^{[citation needed]}
• TheColorado Rockies andSan Diego Padres played a game that took 22 innings to complete on April 17 atPetco Park, lasting 6 hours, 16 minutes, marking the longest game (in terms of innings played) in the history of both franchises. The Rockies won 2–1.^[16] The Padres would later play another long home game on May 25, this time an 18-inning affair against theCincinnati Reds. The game, which ran five hours, 57 minutes was the longest game (time wise) in the Reds' history.
• TheChicago Cubs won their 10,000thNational League game on April 23,^[17] defeating the Colorado Rockies 7–6 in 10 innings. The Cubs also won 77 games during their time in theNational Association (1871–1875), a predecessor of the National League, but those wins are not counted byMajor League Baseball. TheSan Francisco Giants are the only other professional sports team with more than 10,000 wins, having reached that milestone in 2005.
• TheSt. Louis Cardinals achieved a franchise record of 18 wins for the month of April.^[18]
• TheFlorida Marlins had their best start in franchise history, with a record of 22–14.^{[citation needed]}
• TheTampa Bay Rays had their best start in franchise history, with a record of 55–32, 23 games over .500. Along with their best start, they are the first team since 1900 with the worst record in baseball the previous year to have the best record on July 4.^[19] On August 10, the Rays earned their 71st victory in an 11–4 win over theSeattle Mariners. This bests the franchise's previous best of 70 wins in 2004. They would ultimately win 97 games by the end of the regular season, 27 more than their previous record. The Rays reached the postseason for the first time in the Franchise's history.
• On August 12, theBoston Red Sox scored ten runs in the first inning, but had to come from behind to beat theTexas Rangers, who had overcome two ten-run deficits in this game, by a score of 19–17. On September 8, the Red Sox set a Major League Baseball record for the longest consecutive streak of home-park sellout games with their 456th consecutive sellout.^{[citation needed]} The previous record had been held by theCleveland Indians, who sold out 455 games between June 12,1995 and April 2,2001.^{[citation needed]} The streak began on May 15,2003, in a 14–3 blowout against theTexas Rangers. The Red Sox are only the fourth team to sell out every home game of an entire season, the others being the1996Colorado Rockies and the2000San Francisco Giants.^{[citation needed]}
• On September 10, theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim clinched theAmerican LeagueWest division title, becoming the earliest team to clinch that division in its history. On September 28, the Angels won their 100th game of the season, beating their previous record of 99 back in 2002.
• TheSeattle Mariners lost 100 games for the first time since the 1983 season, a span of 25 years. They are also the first team to lose 100 games with aUS $100 million payroll. Meanwhile, they had company as theWashington Nationals also registered 100 losses, marking the first time since the 1976 season, when the franchise was known as theMontreal Expos, that they would reach this dubious mark.
• TheMilwaukee Brewers secured their first playoff berth since1982 by winning the NL Wild Card berth.
• TheChicago White Sox broke the club record forgrand slams in a single season with 12. The White Sox also became the first team ever to win their last three games of the season against three different teams^{[citation needed]}: 5–1 vs.Cleveland Indians in the scheduled season ending game on September 28, 8–2 vsDetroit Tigers in a make-up game on September 29 from a rainout 16 days earlier, and a one-game playoff on September 30, 1–0 vsMinnesota Twins respectively.
• TheFlorida Marlins are the first team inMLB history to have all four infielders hit 25 or more home runs (Jorge Cantú, 29,Mike Jacobs/Dan Uggla, 32, andHanley Ramírez, 33)

• Todd Jones on September 23 in an article published inThe Sporting News, of which he is a columnist, announced he would retire following the season's completion. He was twelve appearances shy of reaching the 1,000 game plateau.
• Salomón Torres announced in November that he would not return for the 2009 MLB season.
• Mike Mussina on November 20, 2008, officially announced his retirement. Mussina is the first pitcher to call it quits following a 20-victory season since Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax in 1966.
• Greg Maddux announced his retirement on December 8.^[20]
• Jeff Kent announced his retirement on January 22.^[21]
• Sean Casey decided to retire and become an analyst with the MLB Network^[22]

• Philadelphia Phillies general managerPat Gillick announced his retirement following the end of the season. The team namedRubén Amaro Jr. as his replacement November 3; Gillick remains as a team consultant.

• Lanny Frattare, longtime radio and cable television voice of thePittsburgh Pirates, called it a career following the Pirates season, his 33rd in the booth. His trademark victory call was "There wasnoooooooooooo doubt about it."
• Pete Van Wieren, announcer for theAtlanta Braves since its first broadcasts on then-SuperstationTBS in 1976, announced his immediate retirement on October 21. This followed the death of his play-by-play announcer,Skip Caray, earlier in the year.^[23]

• Jon Lester of theBoston Red Sox threw the team's 18thno-hitter on May 19 against theKansas City Royals in a 7–0 victory.
• Carlos Zambrano of theChicago Cubs tossed the team's first no-hitter sinceMilt Pappas threw one against theSan Diego Padres on September 2, 1972, on September 14 against theHouston Astros in a 5–0 win. The accomplishment was historic as it was the first no-hitter ever hurled at a neutral site, in this case,Milwaukee'sMiller Park, which was made possible because the Astros' home,Minute Maid Park was unavailable due to damage in theHouston area fromHurricane Ike.

• Edinson Vólquez of the Cincinnati Reds tied a Major League record by going eight starts without allowing more than oneearned run. It is the first time this feat has been accomplished sinceMike Norris did it for the Oakland Athletics in 1980.^[24]
• On June 8,Rich Harden, then a member of theOakland A's, pitched animmaculate inning (i.e., he struck out all three batters in the inning on the minimum 9 pitches required to do so), becoming the 37th MLB pitcher to do so.
• On June 17,Félix Hernández of theSeattle Mariners pitched an immaculate inning, becoming the 38th MLB pitcher to do so.
• On June 28,Jered Weaver andJosé Arredondo of theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitched a combined eight innings, allowing no hits in a 1–0 loss to theLos Angeles Dodgers. This became the fifth time in Major League history, and the first time since 1992, that a team has held its opponent hitless in a losing effort. This was not an official MLB-recognized no-hitter, however, because the rulebook states that a no-hitter occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) holds their opponent hitless over the course of a whole game, which consists of at least nine innings.
• On July 27, rookie pitcherBrad Ziegler of theOakland Athletics set a Major League record for most consecutive scoreless innings to start a career by pitching his 26th and 27th consecutive scoreless innings in a game against the Texas Rangers.^[25]
• Angels thencloser,Francisco Rodríguez recorded his 58thsave of the season on September 13, breaking the single season record previously held byBobby Thigpen. "K-Rod" would end the season with 62 saves.
• Oakland Athletics relieverJoey Devine finished the season with a 6–1 record and a 0.59 ERA. That's the lowest single-season ERA in Major League history (since ERA began being recorded in 1912) for a pitcher with a minimum of 40 innings.^[26]
• Philadelphia Phillies pitcherBrad Lidge ended the season 48 for 48 in save opportunities, including 2 saves in theWorld Series

• José López, a second baseman for the Seattle Mariners, became the 12th player in Major League history to hit threesacrifice flies in a single game, doing so during an April 15 game against the Kansas City Royals. The Mariners also became only the third team in Major League history to hit five sacrifice flies in a single game.^[27]
• Chase Utley, a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, tied a team record with home runs in 5 consecutive games (twice) that lasted from April 17 to 21. He hit home runs against the Astros, Mets, and Rockies during the streak.^[28]
• On May 7,Carlos Gómez of theMinnesota Twins hit for the cycle on the road against theChicago White Sox. Gómez became the first Twin to hit for the cycle sinceKirby Puckett did it in 1986.
• On June 23 atShea Stadium,Seattle MarinerspitcherFélix Hernández became the firstAmerican League pitcher to hit agrand slam in modernInterleague play (the last grand slam hit by an AL pitcher occurred before implementation of thedesignated hitter rule), as well as the first pitcher in Mariners franchise history to hit ahome run.
• Boston Red Soxdesignated hitterDavid Ortiz became the fifth player in Major League Baseball history to hit two home runs in the first inning with a pair of three-run four-ply swats on August 11 against the Texas Rangers.
• The Chicago White Sox tied the major league record for most consecutive home runs hit in an inning with four consecutive dingers against theKansas City Royals in the sixth inning of their game on August 14.Jim Thome began the two-out swatfest with a three-run dinger, which were followed by solo home runs byPaul Konerko, Alexei Ramìrez andJuan Uribe.
• Mark Kotsay, Atlanta Braves center fielder,hit for the cycle on August 14 against the Chicago Cubs. However, the Cubs got the win, 11–7. Kostay became the first Brave sinceAlbert Hall did it in September 1987.
• On September 1,Arizona DiamondbacksshortstopStephen Drew andSeattle Marinersthird basemanAdrián Beltré each hit for the cycle in their respective games, the first time two players accomplished the feat on the same day since theDetroit Tigers'Bobby Veach and theNew York Giants'George Burns did so in 1920.
• Ichiro Suzuki recorded his 200th hit of the season on September 17. This marked the eighth consecutive season he reached the milestone, tying the record set by"Wee" Willie Keeler from 1894 to 1901.
• Mark Reynolds, theArizona Diamondbacks' third baseman, broke the record for most strikeouts by a batter by whiffing for the 200th time on September 25 against theSt. Louis Cardinals. The previous record was set one year earlier byPhiladelphia Phillies first basemanRyan Howard, who had 199. Reynolds finished with a new record of 204 strikeouts.
• On September 29Chicago White Sox 2nd-basemenAlexei Ramírez hit his 4thgrand slam of the season, breaking the record for most in a season by a rookie. This same hit also broke the franchise record for most grand slams in a single season.

• Kevin Youkilis, a first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, set a new Major League record by playing 237 consecutiveerrorless games at first base. He brokeSteve Garvey's 193-game streak record on April 2 against Oakland.^[29]
• Asdrúbal Cabrera, a second baseman for theCleveland Indians recorded the 14thunassisted triple play in baseball history May 12 against theToronto Blue Jays in the nightcap of adoubleheader atProgressive Field inCleveland, Ohio. Cabrera caught aLyle Overbay line drive, then stepped on the bag to retireKevin Mench, and then tagged the incomingMarco Scutaro to complete the triple play. It was the first unassisted triple play in Indians history sinceBill Wambsganss' historic1920 World Series Game 5 event against theBrooklyn Dodgers.^[30] However, the Tribe lost to the Blue Jays by a score of 3–0 in 10 innings.

• Comeback Players of the Year:Cliff Lee (Pitcher,CLE,American);Brad Lidge (Pitcher,PHI,National).
• Edgar Martínez Award (Best designated hitter):Aubrey Huff (BAL)
• Hank Aaron Award:Kevin Youkilis (BOS, American);Aramis Ramírez (CHC, National).
• Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian):Albert Pujols (STL).
• Rolaids Relief Man Award:Francisco Rodríguez (LAA, American);Brad Lidge (PHI, National).
• Delivery Man of the Year (Best Reliever):Brad Lidge (PHI).
• Warren Spahn Award (Best left-handed pitcher):CC Sabathia (CLE/MIL)
• Clutch Performer of the Year:CC Sabathia (CLE/MIL).

The 2008Spring training session was marked by the final at-bats for three stadiums that had been mainstays in theGrapefruit League, as the spring training sites inFlorida are called.

The first to end its run wasHolman Stadium, longtime home to theLos Angeles Dodgers. On March 17, the Dodgers played their last game inVero Beach; they lost to theHouston Astros, 12–10.^[61] It has been rumored that theBaltimore Orioles might move into the facility.

The next stadium to close its doors wasChain of Lakes Park inWinter Haven, home of theCleveland Indians. On March 27, they lost their final game in the stadium to theTampa Bay Rays, 9–7 in 10 innings.^[62] Both the Dodgers and the Indians left their longtime Florida homes for new stadiums in theCactus League inArizona.

The oldest of them all,Progress Energy Park, home of Al Lang Field inSt. Petersburg, was retired on March 28 with the Tampa Bay Rays losing to theCincinnati Reds 6–3.^[63] The Rays, unlike the other teams to close stadiums before them, are staying in Florida; they are relocating their spring training home to theCharlotte Sports Park inPort Charlotte, where they spent $20 million to rebuild its main stadium. The site of Progress Energy Park was connected toplans to build a new retractable roof stadium for the Rays to replace the fixed-domeTropicana Field, but was eventually withdrawn from consideration by team ownership in favor of a more thorough study.

On March 15 and 16, theLos Angeles Dodgers andSan Diego Padres played a 2-game exhibition series atWukesong Stadium in Beijing, China, which would later be the baseball venue for the2008 Summer Olympics. The series marked MLB's first games played in China. The first game ended in a 3–3 tie, and the second ended in a 6–3 win for the Dodgers.

On March 29, as part of the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers' relocation fromBrooklyn to Los Angeles, the Dodgers hosted an exhibition game against theBoston Red Sox at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Dodgers' home stadium from 1958 to 1961. Proceeds from the game were donated to the Dodgers' official charity, ThinkCure. The game saw a sellout crowd of 115,300, which broke theGuinness World Record for the largest crowd to ever attend a baseball game. The previous record was an estimated 114,000 for a baseball demonstration during the1956 Summer Olympics at theMelbourne Cricket Ground.^[64]

TheWashington Nationals began the domestic portion of the 2008 season in their new US$611 million home,Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., with a nationally telecastESPNSunday Night Baseball game (in a rare one-game series) against theAtlanta Braves on March 30 in the first official baseball game stateside.President Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch while being booed by some of the crowd that night, and joinedJon Miller andJoe Morgan in the broadcast booth for the third and part of the fourth inning of the game telecast. Fittingly,Ryan Zimmerman hit awalk-off home run to give the Nats a 3–2 win. Nationals Park replaced their temporary home,RFK Stadium. Unlike RFK, Nationals Park has been considered to be fair to both hitters and pitchers. Additionally, there was an exhibition game March 29 against theirbeltway rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, in which season ticket holders were admitted free. The first game, however, was on March 22, when local universityGeorge Washington played a homeAtlantic 10 college contest againstSaint Joseph's at Nationals Park. The Colonials sent their fans home happy by defeating the Hawks 9–5.

This season also marked the last season in New York City for two historic stadiums where the Mets and Yankees reside.Shea Stadium closed inFlushing Meadows,Queens on a down note September 28 with the Mets being eliminated from postseason play for the second consecutive season by the Marlins, 4–2, while Yankee Stadium closed after 83 seasons (the Yankees played at Shea Stadium in 1974 and 1975 while Yankee Stadium was refurbished), with the final home game played on September 21 as the Bronx Bombers defeated the Orioles, 7–3. The teams will move into new ballparks near their current homes –Citi Field for the Mets andNew Yankee Stadium for the Yankees – in time for their 2009 home openers on April 13 against theSan Diego Padres (Citi Field) and 16th againstCleveland Indians (New Yankee Stadium) respectively. With the closing of these ballparks,Dodger Stadium becomes the largest seating capacity park (56,000) and third oldest baseball stadium (afterFenway Park andWrigley Field) starting in 2009, andAngel Stadium of Anaheim (built in 1966) andOakland–Alameda County Coliseum (first baseball game in 1968; stadium was built in 1966) become the fourth and fifth oldest baseball stadiums, respectively.

Starting with the 2008 season, theCleveland Indians' home field was renamedProgressive Field – after theinsurance company based in suburbanMayfield Heights – in a deal valued at US$57.6 million over the next sixteen seasons. The new name replaces Jacobs Field, named for former team ownerRichard Jacobs.

Anothernaming rights agreement concerned a stadium still under construction. TheMinnesota Twins andMinneapolis-based retail giantTarget Corporation announced on September 15 that the Twins' new stadium set to open in 2010 will be namedTarget Field. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Target Field is located not far from another facility of which the discount retailer owns naming rights:Target Center the home of theNBA'sTimberwolves.

On September 19, the naming rights contract owned byMcAfee for Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum lapsed; McAfee declined a new contract offer. The Coliseum, home to theOakland Athletics since their 1968 relocation fromKansas City, reverted to its old name after 10 years, during which it was originally known asNetwork Associates Coliseum, then McAfee Coliseum when the company changed its name in 2004. The A's played their last home series after the stadium reverted its name.

As a consequence ofHurricane Ike damaging theHouston area, two games between theHouston Astros andChicago Cubs were relocated toMiller Park inMilwaukee. Although Milwaukee was picked as a "neutral" site whoseretractable roof would ensure the game would be played in the event of inclement weather, Miller Park's location 90 miles (140 km) fromChicago – and well over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Houston – resulted in a decidedly pro-Cubs crowd in a series where Houston was officially designated as the home team. Adding to the controversy from the Houston perspective was thatTurner Field inAtlanta had been suggested by theplayers' union as a potential neutral site.^[65] This would mark the second time in as many years that a series was moved to neutral Miller Park due to weather, as a series between theSeattle Mariners andCleveland Indians was relocated thereone year earlier as a consequence of snow storms in northern Ohio.

During last season, especially theALCS, several plays were deemed to be considered controversial on whether or not balls were ruled home runs. During a game in the annual interleague Subway Series between the Mets and the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, a home run was taken away and ruled a ground rule double. This led to discussions about introducinginstant replay to baseball games, especially on balls that are ruled fair or foul and home runs. In August, all 30 parks have been wired to send feeds similar to a video goal judge in theNHL, where all video feeds are sent to a central control room at Major League Baseball Advanced Media's home office in New York City to be reviewed, and correct any errors. On August 20, MLB and theWorld Umpires Association, the umpires union, agreed to start reviews based only on whether or not a ball that is ruled a home run was fair or foul, or whether or not balls that clear walls are home runs according to each team's ground rules. This practice started August 28.

The first official use of the Instant Replay system occurred on Wednesday, September 3 in a game between theNew York Yankees andTampa Bay Rays atTropicana Field, whenAlex Rodriguez hit a home run in the top of the ninth inning with two outs remaining. Tampa BaycatcherDioner Navarro andmanagerJoe Maddon initially protested in order to reverse the call as it appeared to be foul. Television replays showed the ball hit Tropicana Field'sD-Ring catwalk on the foul side of the attached yellow post; however, the ball was still infair territory when it left the playing field (passing over thefoul pole) and was therefore a home run. Umpire crew chiefCharlie Reliford agreed to the review and after a delay of 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the ruling on the field was upheld and remained a home run.^[66]

Replay made itsNational League debut on September 9 atMinute Maid Park in a game between theHouston Astros andPittsburgh Pirates. Houstonright fielderHunter Pence hit a fly ball to right field that bounced off the top of the fence and back onto the field of play. The umpires on the field ruled alive ball, and Pence was credited with adouble. Houston managerCecil Cooper argued the ball bounced beyond the fence before bouncing back onto the field and was therefore a home run. After a discussion among the umpires, crew chiefTim Welke allowed the review and reviewed the play with his brotherBill Welke, thehome plate umpire. After the review the call was upheld as a double.^[67]

The first call to be reversed by instant replay occurred on September 19, and again involved the Tampa Bay Rays in a game against theMinnesota Twins at Tropicana Field. A fly ball hit by Rays' first basemanCarlos Peña, the umpires ruled, was interfered with by a fan sitting in the front row of the stands, when the ball hit the hands of the fan and fell back onto the field of play. The umpires originally ruled that the fan reached over the wall to touch the ball. After Rays manager Joe Maddon requested the umpires hold a conference to discuss the play, the umpires, headed byGerry Davis, decided to look at instant replay. Replays showed that the fan did not reach over the wall; the ball was over the wall when he tried to catch the ball, and the ball bounced back onto the field. Just over four minutes later, Davis returned to the field and signaled that the ball was a home run.^[68]

The use of replay created a statistical anomaly September 26, in which San Francisco Giants catcher Bengie Molina hit what was ruled a single off the high wall in right field at AT&T Park in San Francisco, in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Once he reached base, Molina was replaced by pinch runner Emmanuel Burriss, while Umpires conferred on whether the ball had actually hit the roof and bounced back, which would make it a home run. After a replay review, the umpires reversed their call, awarding Molina the home run. Giants manager Bruce Bochy then attempted to retract Burriss from the game, and put back Molina, under the logic that he wouldn't have pulled Molina had the correct call of home run been made in the first place. After a 15-minute delay, the umpires denied Bochy, citing the replacement rule. Burriss was told to complete the home run circuit, making it a two-run home run in which Molina, who had hit it, didn't score.

For the 2008 season,TBS switched from doingAtlanta Braves games (who telecast 45 contests onWPCH-TV a/k/a "Peachtree TV" locally in Atlanta) to a national Sunday afternoonGame of the Week format (though some games have involved the Braves). In addition, theTime Warner-owned cable channel also carried the one-game AL Central playoff between the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox on September 30 as well as the entireLeague Division Series and theAmerican League Championship Series this season, withTNT possibly carrying some games when there are time conflicts.

Disney-ownedESPN continued to televise games onSunday nights,Wednesday nights, and (through the first week in August)Monday nights, switching to Friday nights for the remainder of the season, plus multiple afternoon and prime-time games on the traditionalOpening Day (March 31) and the annualState Farm Home Run Derby on July 14. Certain games aired onESPN2 due to scheduling conflicts with the parent network.

FOX Sports continued with a weekly regional SaturdayGame of the Week, theAll-Star Game, theNational League Championship Series, and theWorld Series. TheGame of the Week was expanded in 2007, as for the first time FOX was allowed to air Saturday games for all 26 weeks of the season, marking the first time since 1989, whenNBC ended their iconic run of televising America's Pastime on a weekly basis, that a network covered games on a week to week basis for the entire season. Also, all games on FOX were televised in high definition; in previous years, only the primary (or "A") game was in HD.

The limits for telecasts per season (starting in 2008) that any team can make are as follows:

• TBS: 13 times per season.
• ESPN: Five Sunday night games per season.
• FOX: Eight games per season.

ESPN Radio continued as the national radio carrier for Major League Baseball, airing Sunday night games throughout the regular season as well as Saturday afternoon games after the All-Star break, the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, along with selected Opening Day and holiday games, and the entire postseason.

The biggest change in local rights came as the San Francisco Giants switched their terrestrial telecast rights from longtime homeKTVU (Cox Communications-ownedFox affiliate) toNBC Universal-ownedKNTV after fifty years, one of the longest in televised sports history. KTVU will continue to air some Giants games as part of the Fox Sports' Saturday afternoonGame of the Week package if the team is competitive.

Baseball games – mostly involving theToronto Blue Jays – were televised onRogers Sportsnet,TSN, andCBC. RSN airs Fox and ESPN/ESPN 2 feeds if they do not conflict with the Toronto Blue Jays games, as well as the All-Star Game and the entire post-season.

• In a ceremony November 8, 2007, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays debuted a new set of uniforms and changed the team name to theTampa Bay Rays. The ceremony took place inSt. Petersburg, Florida, and it featured a concert byKevin Costner's band, Modern West.^[69]

• With the previously mentioned Nationals, Yankees and Mets stadiums, those teams wore commemorative patches on their home and away uniforms.
• The Cincinnati Reds paid tribute toJoe Nuxhall with a black patch with "NUXY" (his nickname) in white lettering.
• The Atlanta Braves honored their former bench coachJim Beauchamp with a patch bearing his nickname ("Beach") following his death onChristmas Day 2007 fromleukemia, and in August 2008 added a memorial patch for longtime announcerSkip Caray on their right sleeve following his death.
• The Yankees, who hosted the 2008 MLB All-Star Game, also wore the game patch on their uniform right sleeves. They added an armband on their left sleeve following the passing of former player and announcerBobby Murcer from cancer just days before said All-Star Game.
• Both theLos Angeles Dodgers and theSan Francisco Giants wore special patches to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of their franchises moving toCalifornia from the New York area – the Dodgers fromBrooklyn'sEbbets Field to Los Angeles and the Giants from thePolo Grounds to San Francisco.
• TheArizona Diamondbacks wore a 10th Anniversary patch, celebrating a Decade in the Desert
• TheOakland Athletics celebrated their 40th Anniversary on the East Side ofSan Francisco Bay.

• ThePhiladelphia Phillies added an alternate uniform that emulates their 1948 uniforms, which was all off-white with no red pinstripes, but have red and blue trim around the neck, sleeve ends and outseams of the pants, and a blue hat with a red "P" and bill. The interleague alternate hat (Red hat with blue bill with white P with blue star in the middle) was dropped;
• TheCleveland Indians added an alternate off-white home uniform, based on the one worn in the late 1950s and early 1960s without player names on the back, replacing their "Chief Wahoo" vest;
• TheKansas City Royals added an alternate light blue jersey based on their successful era from the 1970s and 1980s;
• TheToronto Blue Jays wore a replica of their 1979 road uniform – complete with pullover jersey and belt loops with a blue belt that were not featured in the original outfits (there was a blue/white/blue knit-in belt) to be worn on Friday night home games. The Jays also had a new road uniform with blue lettering and numbers, a change from the gray-on-gray numbering from a year ago. The Jays utilized 'Flashback Friday', where they would use a retro uniform every Friday at the Rogers Centre.
• Additionally, teams such as theChicago White Sox,San Diego Padres,Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim andSeattle Mariners worethrowback uniforms in "Turn Back the Clock Day" events as a tribute to a particular year in that team's history. Two of the more notable throwback uniforms started on June 12, when theChicago Cubs and theAtlanta Braves wore 1948-styled uniforms to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Cubs games being broadcast on WGN-TV. The Atlanta Braves wore Boston Braves uniforms because they didn't move toAtlanta until 1966, moving toMilwaukee in 1953. The game, which was played atWrigley Field was broadcast in black and white, as they did in 1948, for the first two innings. Also notable was when thePittsburgh Pirates celebrated baseball'sNegro league heritage by wearing the uniform of the 1933–38Pittsburgh Crawfords during several Saturday home games, and in Washington on May 3, the Pirates and theWashington Nationals wore the home and road uniforms of theHomestead Grays, a team which used both Pittsburgh and Washington as their "home" city. TheTampa Bay Rays (dressed as theJacksonville Red Caps) participated on June 28, and theMilwaukee Brewers (dressed as theMilwaukee Bears) participated on July 5. The Detroit Tigers (1920 Detroit Stars) and Kansas City Royals (Kansas City Monarchs) also paid annual tributes to this era in the season.
• TheOakland Athletics brought back their black alternate jerseys and caps (with modifications of the jersey) from the 2000 season.
• TheAtlanta Braves began wearing new blue jerseys for Sunday away games.
• After discarding them for one season, theChicago Cubs revived the blue alternate jersey.
• TheChicago White Sox dropped the pinstriped alternate home vests.

Several teams wore special uniforms to honor military serving overseas:

• TheSan Diego Padres donned theircamouflage jerseys for every Sunday home game, while the White Sox and the Reds each honored the military with camouflage jerseys in a "one-off" event during theJuly 4th holiday weekend;
• All teams during the July 4 weekend and on September 11 wore special caps with each team's cap logo woven into the "Stars and Stripes" (with the exception of theToronto Blue Jays, whose logo is woven with theCanadian flag). The sales of these caps to the public will benefit Welcome Back Veterans, a group of veterans organizations.

• Following the death ofColorado Rockies minor league coachMike Coolbaugh as a result of a foul ball striking him on the neck, all coaches on the first and third base lines began to wearbatting helmets as a mandatory rule starting this season.

• TheOakland Athletics wore their classic white cleats for the first time since1999.

Through the 2008 All-Star break, there had not been an official game called that was not suspendable. As of the break, every win and loss in the standings for every team represented a game played to its legitimate nine-inning (or more) completion. The streak ended on August 4 in Chicago, however, when theChicago Cubs andHouston Astros were unable to complete their game due to a rainstorm. The Astros were leading the game 2–0 in the 8th inning, and since that was the score when the inning started, the game was not resumeable to the next day and the Astros were awarded the "win". This was the only game to be rain shortened until September 26, when theToronto Blue Jays defeated theBaltimore Orioles in a game curtailed to seven innings, 2–0. The next day, the Jays lost another rain-shortened game against the O's, 2–1 after 6 innings.

Both the Astros and the Cubs were also involved in a rare "rain-in" due toHurricane Ike postponing the first two games of their three-game series on September 12 and 13; the city of Houston had been evacuated so they were not able to play at the retractable-roofMinute Maid Park. The last rain-in was on June 15, 1976, when the Astros' game at theAstrodome against thePittsburgh Pirates was called due to heavy flooding in the Houston area. Two of the games were played atMiller Park inMilwaukee on September 14 and 15, the remaining game was canceled outright, one of three games that would be outright canceled, the first being theOakland Athletics scheduled to play the Orioles on September 7; however, the game was switched due to a conflict with theBaltimore Ravens'NFL season opener against theCincinnati Bengals. This game was moved to September 6 as part of a day/nightdoubleheader. However, the remnants ofHurricane Hanna called off the afternoon game, and because both teams were not in the pennant races, the game was not made up, in spite of the fact that both teams still had two common off days.

In another weather-related note involving a team playing in an indoor venue, theTampa Bay Devil Rays/Tampa Bay Rays had either postponed or canceled a home game on a Sunday in September of a presidential election year three consecutive times due to hurricanes. The streak started on September 17, 2000, and continued on September 5 and 26, 2004. The streak ended when the Rays played their game against theMinnesota Twins as scheduled on September 21, 2008. They played at home on the final day of the 2000 season, but that game was on October 1, not September.

The 2008 season also marked the first timeCitizens Bank Park, home of thePhiladelphia Phillies andBusch Stadium, home to theSt. Louis Cardinals made it through an entire season without a game either being canceled or shortened. TheWashington Nationals came close, but their home finale atNationals Park was canceled on September 25.

On September 29, one day after the scheduled final day of the season, theDetroit Tigers andChicago White Soxmade up a game postponed from two weeks earlier, the first such game since 1981, as in 1908 and 1973. The game needed to be played because the White Sox trailed theMinnesota Twins by a half-game in the AL Central standings following play on September 28, and even then, rain was a problem as the contest was delayed for three hours and four minutes.

On October 27, Game 5 of the World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies was suspended in the bottom of the 6th with the score tied 2–2 and the Phillies leading 3–1 in games. This marked the first time in World Series history that a game was suspended. The game finished with the Phillies winning 4–3, at home on October 29. However, the official records will indicate that the game was played on October 27, the game's original date.

• 2008 Korea Professional Baseball season
• 2008 Nippon Professional Baseball season

• 2008 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference

Wikimedia Commons has media related to2008 in Major League Baseball.

• 2008 Major League Baseball season
• Major League Baseball seasons

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