The2007 Major League Baseball season began on April 1 with a rematch of the2006 National League Championship Series; theSt. Louis Cardinals andNew York Mets played the first game of the season atBusch Stadium inSt. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1. The regular season concluded with seven teams entering the postseason who had failed to reach the 2006 playoffs including all National League teams, with only theNew York Yankees returning; a dramaticone-game playoff between theColorado Rockies andSan Diego Padres; and the largest September collapse for a leading team in baseball history, with the Mets squandering a 7-game lead with 17 to play, losing on the final day of the regular season, and thePhiladelphia Phillies capturing the National League East for the first time since 1993. The season ended on October 28, with theBoston Red Sox sweeping theWorld Series over the Rockies, four games to zero.
For the fourth consecutive season, MLB regular season attendance increased by comparison with the previous year. In 2007, an all-time attendance record of 79,502,524 (32,785 per game) was set.[1]
The 2007 season saw the saw the following rule change:
Any game that was relocated to another city, saw the original home team still bat in the bottom of the inning, even if the relocated city was the original away team.[2]
Barry Bonds,left fielder for theSan Francisco Giants, surpassedHank Aaron as the all-time home run leader in Major League Baseball history with his 756th career home run offMike Bacsik of theWashington Nationals in the fifth inning of their game August 7 atAT&T Park inSan Francisco, California. The 3–2 pitch with one out and nobody on base was hit at 8:51 PM US PDT and according tohittrackeronline.com was estimated to have gone 422 feet. However, the Nationals came back and won the game, 8–6. Through his final home game (and last game of the season), on September 26, Bonds has hit 762 home runs.
The baseball that was hit for the record was caught by Mets fan Matt Murphy, who put the ball up for auction online. The winning bidder was fashion designerMarc Ecko, who purchased the baseball for $752,467 (US) and let fans decide what to do with it in an internet poll. Options included donating the ball to theBaseball Hall of Fame as-is, donating it marked with an asterisk (reflecting the widely held belief that Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs to break the record), or sending the baseball into space. The vote decided that an asterisk would be added, and the ball donated toCooperstown. In an interview that aired onMSNBC'sCountdown with Keith Olbermann on November 1 and 2, Bonds stated to interviewerJim Gray that if the ball were to be put on display with the asterisk, he would boycott his own Hall of Fame induction if he were elected.
Ryan Howard, first baseman for thePhiladelphia Phillies, hit his 100th career home run on June 27 against theCincinnati Reds atCitizens Bank Park inPhiladelphia. He accomplished this in his 325th career game, becoming the fastest player in Major League Baseball history to reach this milestone. Howard also set a dubious record September 27, when he struck out against the Braves' John Smoltz, whiffing for the 196th time in a season. He ended the season with 199 strikeouts, a new record.
Craig Biggio,second baseman for the Houston Astros, got his 3,000th careerhit on June 28 against theColorado Rockies atMinute Maid Park inHouston, Texas. Biggio was 5-for-6 in the game and wasthrown out at second on his 3000th hit. Biggio became the 27th member of the3,000 hit club, and is one of only nine players to get all 3,000 hits with one team. Biggio announced later in the season that he would retire following the completion of the season, finishing his career with 3,060 hits.
Alex Rodriguez,third baseman for the New York Yankees, hit his 500th career home run on August 4 against theKansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. At 32 years, 8 days of age, he became the youngest player to reach the 500-homer mark.
Left-handed pitcherTom Glavine of the New York Mets, earned his300th career win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 5 in front of a nationwide audience on ESPN'sSunday Night Baseball. Glavine became the fifth left-handed pitcher to win 300 games, the first sinceSteve Carlton in 1983, and the 23rd pitcher to win 300.
Greg Maddux of the San Diego Padres became the first pitcher in history to record at least 10wins in 20 consecutive seasons in the Padres' 14–3 defeat of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 24. The game also marked Maddux's 700th career start.
Chicago White Sox designated hitterJim Thome hit a two-runwalk-off home run on September 16 for his 500th career home run at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, leading the White Sox to a 9–7 win over theLos Angeles Angels, making the 2007 season the first in which three players hit their 500th homer. It was also the first time in MLB history that a player reached the 500-homer mark with a walk-off homer.
Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees southpaw, recorded his 200th career win against the Baltimore Orioles on September 19.
C.C. Sabathia, a left-handed pitcher for theCleveland Indians won his 100th game and struck out his 1000th batter for the Tribe, becoming the youngest pitcher to do so since Greg Maddux.[citation needed]
The Chicago Cubs of the National League recorded their 10,000th win in all major leagues against the Atlanta Braves on June 3, atWrigley Field in Chicago. They became the second team to reach this mark after the New York/San Francisco Giants were the first. However, this tally includes 77 wins gained during Chicago's years in theNational Association (1871, 1874 and 1875). These wins are not considered official byMajor League Baseball. Through 2007, the Cubs have 9,985 official wins.
The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League, recorded their 10,000th loss, a 10–2 loss to theSt. Louis Cardinals on July 15, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They became the first team in the four major sports leagues (MLB,NHL,NFL, andNBA) to accomplish this. However, Major League Baseball's season, by number of games, is almost twice as long as the NHL and NBA seasons and ten times longer than the NFL season. Also, the Phillies have existed since 1883, more than 30 years longer than any of the other major North American leagues (NHL: 1917, NFL: 1920, NBA: 1946).
The Texas Rangers of the American League scored 30 runs in a 30–3 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on August 22, atOriole Park at Camden Yards inBaltimore, Maryland. The Rangers set both a new American League and the modern Major League (post-1900) record for runs scored in a game, and became the first team since theChicago Colts scored 36 runs against theLouisville Colonels in 1897 to score at least 30 runs in a game. The previous record was 29, first set by the Boston Red Sox in 1950 at Fenway Park against the Orioles' predecessors, theSt. Louis Browns, and equaled atMunicipal Stadium inKansas City, Missouri, in 1955 by the Chicago White Sox against theKansas City Athletics, who had moved from Philadelphia the year before. The Rangers won the nightcap, 9–7 and extended the newly-set record for most runs in a doubleheader in the American League to 39.
The Colorado Rockies, winners of the NL wild-card, won their first-ever playoff series by sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. The Rockies then swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS to claim their first-ever National League championship.
Threeno-hitters were pitched during the 2007 regular season. This is the most in a single season since the three pitched in 2001. All three no-hitters in 2007 were in the American League, which is the most in a single league since the record-tying 1991 season when the two leagues combined for seven no-hitters (4 AL, 3 NL).
Clay Buchholz, a rookie pitcher for theBoston Red Sox, pitched a no-hitter on September 1 against theBaltimore Orioles atFenway Park inBoston, Massachusetts, during his second career Major League appearance.[5] It was the 17th no-hitter in Boston Red Sox history, and the first Boston rookie to throw one. He became only the second player to throw one in his second career game. On the day the rosters expanded, Buchholz was recalled from Triple-A to start the game becauseTim Wakefield was scratched due to a bad back. Buchholz improved to 2–0 for his career. Ironically, in his pre-game interview, manager Terry Francona had said "Even if he throws a no-hitter he's still going back to the minors."[citation needed] Buchholz remained on the active roster for the rest of the regular season.
Troy Tulowitzki, ashortstop for the Colorado Rockies, turned anunassisted triple play on April 29 against the Atlanta Braves atCoors Field inDenver, Colorado.[6] The play occurred during the 7th inning of a 9–7 victory. Tulowitzki became the 13th player in Major League Baseball history to accomplish this feat.
Plácido Polanco, asecond baseman for the Detroit Tigers, set a new Major League record by playing in his 144th consecutiveerrorless game on August 13, in a 7–2 loss to theOakland Athletics. Polanco appeared to have his streak snapped at 147 games when he was charged with an error in the first inning of the August 24 game vs. theNew York Yankees.[7] However, the next day, after conferring with the umpiring crew, the official scorer determined the error was instead charged to first basemanMarcus Thames.[8] This extended the streak to 149 games. Polanco also broke the record for consecutive chances without an error by a second baseman July 31. He passedLuis Castillo's mark of 647. Polanco finished the 2007 season without making an error, thereby becoming the first everyday second baseman in MLB history to play an entire season without committing an error.[9]
On April 22, Boston Red Sox playersManny Ramírez (left fielder),J. D. Drew (right fielder),Mike Lowell (third baseman) andJason Varitek (catcher) hit four consecutive home runs in a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. This marked the fifth time in Major League history that this feat was accomplished. All four home runs were hit off ofChase Wright in the 3rd inning.
Chone Figgins, third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels, went 6-for-6 on June 18 against the Houston Astros atAngel Stadium of Anaheim inAnaheim, California.[10] Figgins drove in the game-winning run on a triple in the ninth inning to win the game 10–9. He became the second player in team history to go 6-for-6; then-California Angels outfielderGarret Anderson accomplished this feat on September 27, 1996. Figgins also became the first player in Major League history to go 6-for-6 with a walk-off hit in a regulation nine-inning game.
Willie Harris, a left fielder for the Atlanta Braves, went 6-for-6 on July 21 atTurner Field as the Braves routed the St. Louis Cardinals, 14–6.[11] He hit two triples with six RBIs during the night, both career-highs. Harris became the seventh player in franchise history to go 6-for-6 and the fourth player in Major League history since 1950 to go 6-for-6 with 6 RBIs.
Garret Anderson, a left fielder for the Los Angeles Angels, set a franchise record and became the first player since April 2005 to get 10RBIs in a game on August 21 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, leading the Angels to an 18–9 victory over the New York Yankees.[12] Anderson broke the Angels' franchise record for RBIs in a game, previously set by his teammate,Vladimir Guerrero, who had nine RBIs on June 2, 2004, against theBoston Red Sox. Anderson also became the first player since Alex Rodriguez to hit 10 RBIs in a game, doing so on April 26, 2005, ironically in a game against the Angels at Yankee Stadium. The 10 RBIs also was a career-high, eclipsing his previous mark of seven which he set on September 5, 2002, in an Angels' 10–1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
On September 9, the Milwaukee Brewers became the first team in recorded Major League history to open a game with three consecutive home runs. The three home runs were hit in order byRickie Weeks,J. J. Hardy, andRyan Braun at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Reds pitcherPhil Dumatrait notched the loss after submitting the three home runs in only 10 pitches.[13]
Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers became the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to hit 50 home runs in a season. Prince hit his record-breaking home run at the age of 23 years, 4 months, and 18 days. His father,Cecil Fielder, hit 50 home runs in 1990 with the Tigers.
Two new members of the20–20–20–20 club (20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases) were entered in 2007.Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers center fielder, was the first to join (and third overall) this exclusive group when he stole his 20th base of the 2007 season, doing so September 9. On September 30, the last scheduled day of the regular season, Philadelphia Phillies shortstopJimmy Rollins joined Granderson as the fourth player to accomplish this feat by hitting his 20th triple of the 2007 season.
Kazuo Matsui hit his first evergrand slam and became the second person in MLB history to do so in the post-season.
Bobby Cox, manager of the Atlanta Braves was ejected from his 132nd game on August 14 against the San Francisco Giants, surpassingJohn McGraw of theNew York Giants for the all-time record.
Trever Miller, a relief pitcher for the Houston Astros, shatteredScott Aldred's record for most appearances in a season without a win or a loss, with 76. The previous record was 48, set by Aldred in 1998 as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
On July 10, 2007, atAT&T Park in San Francisco, theAmerican League defeated theNational League by a score of 5–4. The victory was the tenth consecutive (excluding the2002 tie) for the AL, and their eleven-game unbeaten streak matches only the NL's streak from 1972 to 1982 in All-Star history.
On April 15, Major League Baseball celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the debut ofJackie Robinson atEbbets Field inBrooklyn, breaking the color barrier.Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. asked Robinson's widow,Rachel, and commissionerBud Selig for permission to wear Robinson's number 42 in honor of him. He was granted permission, and Selig later said that any player who wanted to wear number 42 on his jersey could. The jersey was worn without the players' name on the back, as was the case when Robinson played with theBrooklyn Dodgers. All jerseys that were worn were auctioned off with all the proceeds donated to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, an organization which awards scholarships to African-American high school graduates to further themselves in colleges academically.
The Dodgers, Cardinals, and Brewers elected to have the entire team wear number 42 in his honor. ThePittsburgh Pirates, Phillies, and Astros were also scheduled to share that honor, but their games were postponed due to rain. The Phillies and Astros honored Robinson on April 23 when they made up their postponed game as originally planned, while the Pirates waited until April 27 to honor Robinson by wearing #42 as a team against the Reds.
On August 10, the Cleveland Indians paid tribute toLarry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League atJacobs Field inCleveland, Ohio. Every player on the Indians wore number 14, the number Doby wore during his career with the Indians.
The Nationals played their final game atRobert F. Kennedy Stadium on September 23, beating the Phillies 5–3. The team's new home,Nationals Park, formally opened on March 30, 2008.
The Tampa Bay franchise played its last season as the Devil Rays. In 2008, the name was shortened toTampa Bay Rays.
Biggio joined the3,000 hit club during the 2007 season, and became the first player to be called out in the same play that they got their 3000th hit. He was tagged out while trying to stretch his hit into a double. He announced his retirement on July 24, about a month after achieving the milestone. He finished his career with 668 doubles, good for 5th all-time at the time he retired. In the penultimate game of his career, on September 29, he was brought in as acatcher, playing the position for the first time in 15 years.
Conine, then of the New York Mets, announced his retirement on September 20, right before their last road trip to visit the Florida Marlins. The Marlins, fans of which refer to him as "Mr. Marlin", honored him for his contribution to their two World Series titles in1997 and2003. Ironically, losses to the Marlins contributed to the Mets failing to make the playoffs.
TheArizona Diamondbacks changed from purple, copper and turquoise to a modern Sedona Red, sand and black scheme, complete with re-colored primary and alternate logos, along with new scripts and sleeve insignia.
The Chicago Cubs have restored player names to the back of their home jerseys and removed their blue alternate jersey.
The Cincinnati Reds changed from pinstriped vests to traditional sleeve jerseys at home with scarletsoutache trim de-emphasizing black trim and a new early 20th-Century lettering and numbering font as well as the return of "Mr. Redleg", the 1950s sleeve patch/mascot supplanting the modern "Mr. Red".
The Los Angeles Angels added a red alternate jersey.
The Los Angeles Dodgers restored player names to the back of their jerseys and removed the white trim from their road uniforms.
ThePittsburgh Pirates added a red alternate jersey to be worn on Friday nights, paying tribute to the city's "Redd Up" cleanup campaign. The lone exception was the April 27 game against theCincinnati Reds when the team wore #42 in tribute toJackie Robinson as stated above.
The Atlanta Braves wore a patch remembering the lives ofJohnny Sain andLew Burdette, two players who were traded for each other in a deal in 1951 between the then-Boston Braves and theNew York Yankees. The patch read their initials ("JS" on the left, "LB" on the right) between the number they shared, "33." Both died during the offseason.
The Florida Marlins wore a patch celebrating the 10th anniversary of their1997 World Series championship.
The Milwaukee Brewers, who since 1998 have played in theNational League, wore a patch celebrating the 25th anniversary of their1982 American League championship. The patch, however, was only worn on their Friday night retro uniforms.
The Minnesota Twins wore a black armband during their first home stand and a patch in memory ofHerb Carneal, their radio play-by-play announcer from 1962 until 2006, who died on April 1, 2007, for their first home stand. They then switched to a red circular patch featuring an old-style microphone and the name "Herb."
The New York Yankees wore a black armband in memory ofCory Lidle, who was killed in aplane crash inManhattan on October 11, 2006. They added the retired #10 above the armband in memory of longtime player and announcerPhil Rizzuto, who died on August 14.
The Philadelphia Phillies wore a black patch with "VUK" written in white in memory of longtime team player, coach and scoutJohn Vukovich, who died during spring training.
The San Francisco Giants wore two patches for the 2007 season:
An alternate version of the 2007 All-Star Game logo; being the host team of the 2007 All-Star Game.
Following the death of former playerRod Beck, they added a black square with "BECK 47" in white lettering.
The Seattle Mariners wore a patch celebrating their 30th anniversary, featuring their two home stadiums they have played in, theKingdome andSafeco Field, against the background ofMount Rainier and theSpace Needle.
The St. Louis Cardinals wore two patches for the 2007 season:
Following the death ofpitcherJosh Hancock, they added a black "32" patch on their jerseys in his memory.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays wore a patch celebrating the franchise's 10th season of existence.
The Toronto Blue Jays wore a patch in black with a white "SP" starting on August 20 in remembrance ofSam Pollock, a legendaryNHL general manager most notably with theMontreal Canadiens who died on August 15. Pollack had served as the Jays' Chairman and CEO from 1995 to 2000.
The Washington Nationals wore a patch for their last home stand, commemorating the final few games at RFK Stadium.
Josh Hancock, arelief pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals, died on April 29 in a car accident outsideSt. Louis, Missouri. The 29-year-old pitcher was killed within a couple of minutes after impact when the SUV he was driving crashed into a towing vehicle onInterstate 64. This marks the second time in five years that a Cardinals pitcher lost his life before a game, the other beingDarryl Kile, who died suddenly on June 22, 2002. The team postponed their game scheduled for later that day against theChicago Cubs to pay respect to Hancock.
A police report revealed that Hancock was intoxicated at the time of his fatal accident with ablood-alcohol level of 0.157, nearly double the legal limit inMissouri. Police also found 8.55 grams ofmarijuana along with a glass smoking pipe in his vehicle, although toxicology tests later proved no drugs were in his system except alcohol. In addition, Hancock was talking on a cell phone when the accident occurred and was not wearing aseatbelt. An accident reconstruction team determined that Hancock was driving 68 mph in a 55 mph zone.[44]
This was the first season ofFox's new media agreement lasting through 2013.Fox Saturday Baseball expanded to the entire 26 weeks of the regular season, up from 18 under the previous contract. Fox also retained exclusive rights to televise theWorld Series and the All-Star Game. Fox would also get exclusive rights to televise theAmerican League Championship Series in odd-numbered years, and theNational League Championship Series in even-number years.
TBS also signed a deal lasting through 2013, As part of the contract, TBS relinquished itsrights to airAtlanta Braves games nationally after the 2007 season, by separatingWTBS (nowWPCH) channel 17 from the TBS network, eventually rebranding asPeachtree TV on October 1, 2007. TBS also gained exclusive broadcast rights to theDivision Series in both leagues, any tiebreaking games, theNational League Championship Series in odd-numbered years, and theAmerican League Championship Series in even-number years. Additionally, TBS gained the rights to a Sunday afternoonGame of the Week beginning in 2008.
