As was the case in 2014, teams were scheduled to play 19 games against each division opponent for a total of 76 games, and six or seven games against each team from the other two divisions in its league for a total of 66 games.
All teams were scheduled to play 20interleague games throughout the season. For 2015, the interleague matchups wereAL East vs.NL East,AL Central vs.NL Central, andAL West vs.NL West. Since "natural rivalry" matchups will be part of the three-year divisional rotation (for the first time), the schedule format for interleague games was different from previous years. The 20 interleague games each team played consisted of two three-game series (one home, one away) against its natural rival (total of six games), two two-game series (one home, one away) against each team for two other opponents (total of eight games; one of the matchups took place back-to-back within the same week), and a single three-game series against each team for the last two (one home, one away; total of six games).
During the final day of the regular season, all games were scheduled to start simultaneously at 3:00 p.m.Eastern Time, reminiscent of theEnglish Premier League's last-day "Survival Sunday" scheduling.[1][2][3] MLB hoped that this would add excitement and drama during the final day, and also limit teams' ability to rest starters at the last minute based on early game results.[4]
O'Dowd resigned as general manager on October 8, 2014, after 15 seasons at the position, and Bridich was immediately named his replacement. Bridich spent 10 seasons in the Rockies' front office before becoming the general manager.[5]
On October 14, 2014, Colletti was removed from his position as general manager of the Dodgers but would remain with them in a new position of senior advisor to the president. Former Rays GM Andrew Friedman was named president of baseball operations the same day.[6] He hiredFarhan Zaidi to be the new GM.
Jerry Dipoto Resigned on July 1 Bill Stoneman was named interim General Manager until the night of October 4. The night after the 2015 baseball regular season ended.
Cherington stepped down as the general manager of Red Sox on August 18. Dombrowski then was hired as the president of baseball operations and hired Hazen on September 24 as the new general manager. Hazen was the assistant general manager for the last four years.[11]
Amaro, whose contract was set to expire after this season, was fired after seven seasons as general manager. Assistant GM Scott Proefrock was named interim GM during the search for a permanent general manager.
Porter was fired on September 1, 2014, along with bench coachDave Trembley. Lawless was named the interim manager. Porter finished with a record of 110–190 in under two seasons. A. J. Hinch was announced as the new manager on September 29, 2014.[12]
Washington resigned on September 5, 2014, for personal reasons, later revealed to be an affair, after eight seasons with the Rangers. He finished with a 664–611 record and is the franchise's all-time leader in regular seasons wins and games managed. Washington led the Rangers to four straight 90 win seasons, three playoff appearances, and back to back American League championships during his tenure. Banister was named the manager on October 16, 2014.[13]
Gibson was fired on September 26, 2014, after four years as manager of the Diamondbacks. He finished with a 353–375 record and led the Diamondbacks to the division title during the 2011 season while capturing the National League Manager of the Year award. Former Athletics and Mets coach Chip Hale was named manager on October 13, 2014.[14]
Gardenhire was fired on September 29, 2014, after 13 years as manager of the Twins. He finished with a 1,068–1,039 record and led the Twins to six division titles and was American League Manager of the Year after the 2010 season.[15] Paul Molitor was announced as the new manager of the Twins on November 4, 2014.[16]
Maddon exercised an opt-out clause on October 24, 2014, and resigned from the Rays. He managed them for nine years and finished with a 754–704 record with two division titles and led them to four post-season berths and the2008 World Series. Maddon was American League Manager of the Year after the 2008 and 2011 seasons.[17] On December 5, 2014, Kevin Cash was named the new manager of the Rays.
Rentería finished the season with a 73–89 record. He was fired on October 31, 2014. Former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon was hired as his replacement.[18]
Roenicke was fired after starting the season with a 7–18 record, which was the worst record in baseball at the time. Roenicke in four-plus seasons finished with a 342–331 record.[19] Counsell, with no managerial experience, was most recently a special assistant to Brewers GMDoug Melvin.[20]
Redmond was fired after starting the season with a 16–22 record and finished with a 155–207 record in a little over two seasons. Bench coachRob Leary was also dismissed.[21] Jennings, who was the current general manager for the Marlins, moved from the front office to the managerial position. Jennings has no previous managerial experience.[22]
Black was fired during his ninth season as Padres manager after starting the season with a 32–33 record. During this time, he accumulated a 649–713 record with his best finish during the 2010 season where the Padres finished in second place. Black was the 2010 National League Manager of the Year.[23] On June 16, Murphy was named the interim manager for the rest of the 2015 season.[24]
Sandberg resigned on June 26 with a career record of 119–159 after becoming manager in August 2013. The Phillies were 26–48 this season. Pete Mackanin, the third-base coach, has been named interim manager.[25] On September 22 Mackanin had the interim tag removed and was named the manager for the 2016 season with a club option for 2017 season.[26]
Farrell was diagnosed with Stage 1 lymphoma, but considers his condition "very curable." Bench Coach Lovullo served as interim manager for the remainder of the season.[27]
Became the Marlins franchise leader in home runs after hitting his 155th career home run against theNew York Mets on April 16. Stanton passedDan Uggla to become the franchise leader.[29]
Became the youngest player in Major League history with 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases after hitting two home runs against theHouston Astros on April 17. At 23 years and 253 days old, Trout became the youngest player in history to reach the feat and broke the mark set byAlex Rodriguez (23 years, 309 days old).[30]
TiedWillie Mays for fourth all-time career home runs by hitting his 660th home run in the eighth inning against theBoston Red Sox on May 1. Rodriguez hit his home run off ofJunichi Tazawa.[34] Rodriguez passed Mays by hitting his 661st home run against theBaltimore Orioles on May 7. He hit his home run off ofChris Tillman.[35]
Recorded his 2,000th career RBI with a two-run home run in the sixth inning against theBaltimore Orioles on June 13. He became the fourth player to reach this mark.[36]
Scored his 2,000th career run in the third inning onCarlos Beltrán's home run against theChicago White Sox on September 24. He became the eighth player to reach this mark. Rodriguez also became the second player in Major League history to amass at least 3,000 hits, 2,000 RBIs and 2,000 runs scored in his career, joiningHank Aaron.[38]
Recorded his 400th career home run in the first inning against theCleveland Indians on May 15. He became the 52nd player to reach this mark.[39]
Tied a Major League record with his third career cycle on August 2. He becomes the fourth player to achieve this feat joiningJohn Reilly,Babe Herman andBob Meusel.[40]
Became the all-time leader in games played for among natives of the Dominican Republic, passingJulio Franco with his 2,528th game played on August 23 against theDetroit Tigers.[41]
Recorded his 550th career double in the ninth inning against theOakland Athletics on September 12. He became the 28th player to reach this mark.[42]
Recorded his 400th career home run in the first inning against theSt. Louis Cardinals on May 16. He became the 53rd player to reach this mark. Cabrera also became the all-time leader among Venezuelan-born players, passingAndrés Galarraga.[43]
Recorded his 1,426th career RBI on August 16 to pass Andrés Galarraga for the most RBIs by a Venezuelan-born player.[44]
Recorded his 300th career home run in the first inning against theToronto Blue Jays on June 26. He became the 138th player to reach this mark. Prince and his fatherCecil become the second father-son duo in Major League history to notch 300-plus homers, the other beingBobby andBarry Bonds.[48]
Recorded his 550th career home run in the ninth inning against theHouston Astros on July 29. He became the 15th player to reach this mark. Pujols home run, which was his 30th of the season, became the sixth player in Major League history to log 13 career 30-homer seasons joiningHank Aaron,Barry Bonds,Alex Rodriguez,Babe Ruth andMike Schmidt.[51]
Recorded his 250th career home run in the first inning against theChicago Cubs on August 12. He became the 214th player to reach this mark.[53]
Became the Brewers' franchise leader in home runs by hitting his 252nd home run in the sixth inning on August 19 against theMiami Marlins.Robin Yount previously held the franchise record.[54]
Became the second player in Major League history to record at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in each of his first two seasons. Abreu reached these numbers by driving in two runs in the seventh inning against theKansas City Royals on October 1. He joinsAlbert Pujols who accomplished this during the 2001 and 2002 seasons.[58]
Set the Astros' franchise record for most home runs by a rookie when he hit his 22nd of the season on October 1 against theArizona Diamondbacks. He broke the record that was set byLance Berkman in 2000.[59]
The rookie threw his first career no-hitter in defeating theNew York Mets 5–0 on June 9. This was the 17th no-hitter in Giants franchise history. Heston struck out 11 batters and did not walk anyone in the game while throwing 110 pitches. The three batters that he hit were the only runners that he allowed to reach base.[60]
Threw his first career no-hitter in defeating thePittsburgh Pirates 6–0 on June 20. This was the sixth no-hitter in the Expos/Nationals franchise history, and second since the Nationals' move to Washington, D.C. Scherzer struck out ten batters while throwing 106 pitches. Only one man reached base via being hit with a pitch with two outs in the ninth inning. Scherzer was one strike away from a perfect game.[61]
Threw his second career no-hitter in defeating theNew York Mets 2–0 on October 3. Scherzer struck out 17 batters, the most ever in a no-hitter, while throwing just 109 pitches. The only blemish was whenKevin Plawecki reached on a throwing error byYunel Escobar leading off the sixth inning. Scherzer becomes the first pitcher to toss two no-hitters in a regular season sinceNolan Ryan in 1973 and the fifth all-time. He also became the first pitcher in Major League history to throw two no-hitters without walking a batter.[62]
Threw his first career no-hitter in defeating theChicago Cubs 5–0 on July 25. This was the 13th no-hitter in Phillies franchise history. Hamels struck out 13 batters and walked two batters while throwing 129 pitches.[63]
Threw his first career no-hitter in defeating theBaltimore Orioles 3–0 on August 12. This was the fifth no-hitter in Mariners franchise history. Iwakuma struck out seven batters, and walked three while throwing 116 pitches. Iwakuma also becomes the second Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the Major League history joiningHideo Nomo.[64]
Threw his first career no-hitter in defeating theLos Angeles Dodgers 3–0 on August 21. This was the 11th no-hitter in Astros franchise history. Fiers struck out ten batters, and walked three while throwing 134 pitches. Fiers also became the first player to throw a no-hitter after being traded during the season sinceJim Bibby in 1973.[65]
Threw his first career no-hitter in defeating theLos Angeles Dodgers 2–0 on August 30. This was the 14th no-hitter in Cubs franchise history. Arrieta struck out 12 batters and walked one while throwing 116 pitches.[66]
Recorded his 2,000th career strikeout by striking outSam Fuld of theOakland Athletics in the fifth inning on May 10. He became the 73rd player to reach this mark.[69]
Became the all-time Rockies' leader in wins with his 73rd on June 14 against theMiami Marlins. His victory surpassed the team record that was held byAaron Cook.[72]
Recorded his 200th career save by closing out a 5–3 victory against theAtlanta Braves on June 8. He became the 47th player to reach this mark.[74] Kimbrel reached the 200-save mark in his 318th major-league game, 41 games quicker than any other pitcher has hit that plateau. (The old record was 359 games by Papelbon.) Kimbrel posted his 200th save only 11 days after his 27th birthday. He's the second-youngest pitcher at the time of his 200th career save, behind Francisco Rodriguez, who hit that milestone with the Angels on September 2, 2008, at age 26 years, 239 days.[75]
Struck out fiveCleveland Indians on July 19, which gave him 500 strikeouts for his career in 292 innings. This set a Major League record for the fastest pitcher to reach 500 career strikeouts as he broke the record of 305 innings that was held byCraig Kimbrel.[77]
Recorded his 150th career win with a victory against theMilwaukee Brewers on August 11. He became the 252nd player to reach this mark.[80]
Recorded his 2,000th career strikeout by striking outBrian Bogusevic of thePhiladelphia Phillies in the first inning on September 13. He became the 74th player to reach this mark.[81]
Recorded his 2,500th career strikeout by striking outJorge Soler of theChicago Cubs in the first inning on September 27. He became the 32nd player to reach this mark.[83]
Became the first pitcher in Major League history to go undefeated with at least 14 wins at home in one season. Keuchel finished 15–0 in his 18 starts atMinute Maid Park.[84]
Set the White Sox single-season mark for strikeouts with his 270th strike out in the second inning against theDetroit Tigers on October 2. His strikeout ofJames McCann broke the record that was set in 1908 byEd Walsh.[85]
On August 11, for the first time in Major League history, all 15 home teams won on the same day. Prior to this, the most games ever won by home teams on the same day was 12 games. That record came more than a century ago, on May 23, 1914, according to Elias Sports Bureau.[86]
On August 9, theNew York Yankees Major League record of 2,665 consecutive games played without having been held scoreless, in back-to-back contests, was snapped whenToronto Blue Jays pitcherMarco Estrada tossed a 2–0 shutout win atYankee Stadium. Left-handed pitcherDavid Price blanked New York, 6–0, on the previous day.[87]
On September 19,Mike Matheny of theSt. Louis Cardinals became the first manager in MLB history to guide his club to a playoff appearance in each of his first four seasons as manager.[89]
On October 1, the New York Yankees made the postseason for the 52nd time in franchise history with their 4–1 victory against theBoston Red Sox. The win also coincided with the 10,000th victory in franchise history, becoming the eighth Major League and first American League club to attain this feat.[90]
On October 12, theChicago Cubs set a postseason record for most home runs hit during a game by hitting six against theSt. Louis Cardinals.[91] Also, there were a total of 21 home runs hit which also set a single-day postseason record.[92]
TheNew York Mets changed their home jersey from a cream shade to white and took away the home white alternate jersey.[123]
TheMinnesota Twins took away the pinstripes from their home jersey and added a gold trim to the "Twins" wordmark. A hat was also added highlighting the "Twin Cities" logo in gold.[124]
ThePittsburgh Pirates introduced a new camouflage alternate jersey in honor of the U.S. Military which will be worn during all Thursday home games. A new camo-style hat also accompanies this uniform with a black bill and black "Pittsburgh" logo.[125]
TheSeattle Mariners have added an alternate cream color jersey with blue and yellow, the original colors of the team from 1977–1992. An alternate light blue hat with a gold "Seattle" logo will accompany the uniform as well.
The Astros and Angels wore 1965 uniforms on April 18 to mark the 50th anniversary of theAstrodome and the 50th anniversary of the renaming of the team to Astros.
The Reds and Cubs wore 1990 uniforms on April 24 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Reds' winning the1990 World Series.
The Tigers and Indians woreNegro league throwbacks on April 25. The Tigers wore the uniforms of theDetroit Stars, while the Indians wore the uniforms of theCleveland Buckeyes.
The Red Sox wore their 1975 home uniforms on May 5 to mark the 40th anniversary of the club's 1975 AL Championship and trip to the1975 World Series. The uniforms had the Massachusetts bicentennial patch.
The Mariners and Red Sox wore Negro league throwbacks on May 16. The Red Sox wore the uniforms of theBoston Royal Giants, and the Mariners wore the uniforms of theSeattle Steelheads.
The Cubs and Royals wore 1915Federal League throwbacks on May 31 (originally, they were supposed to have worn them on May 30, but the game was postponed due to rain). The Cubs wore the uniforms of theChicago Whales, while the Royals wore the uniforms of theKansas City Packers.
The Cardinals and Phillies wore 1960s throwbacks on June 19. The Cardinals wore1961 uniforms, which did have the players' numbers on the fronts of the shirts. The Phillies wore1969 throwbacks.
The Mets and Braves wore Negro league throwbacks on June 20. The Mets wore the uniforms of theBrooklyn Royal Giants, while the Braves wore the uniforms of the 1938Atlanta Black Crackers.
The Red Sox wore their 1975 road uniforms on June 27 against the Rays. The Rays, meanwhile, wore their "fauxback" jerseys, which have a retro feel yet never actually were worn regularly because the franchise did not exist back then.
The Athletics wore 1965 Kansas City Athletics uniforms June 27. Ironically, the Kansas City Royals were their opponents.
The Pirates and Brewers wore Negro league throwbacks on July 18. The Pirates wore the uniforms of thePittsburgh Crawfords, while the Brewers wore the uniforms of theMilwaukee Bears.
The Rangers and Astros wore 1980s throwbacks on July 18 as part of a 1980s night promotion at Minute Maid Park.
The Cardinals and Royals wore 1985 uniforms on July 23 to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1985 World Series. They were supposed to be worn on June 14, but that game was postponed due to rain.
The Cubs and White Sox wore 1959 uniforms on August 14 in honor of Minnie Miñoso at US Cellular Field. Each of the White Sox players wore Minoso's number 9.
The Cubs and Tigers wore 1945 uniforms on August 19 to mark the 70th anniversary of the1945 World Series.
Players, coaches, and umpires at all games wore #42 on April 15, the 68th anniversary ofJackie Robinson's debut in the majors.
The Giants wore uniforms with gold "Giants" script lettering and numbering on April 18 to celebrate their2014 World Series title.
On April 20 (Patriots' Day), the Boston Red Sox wore home white jerseys with "BOSTON" written on the front to mark the second anniversary of theBoston Marathon bombings. The uniform also sported the 2013 navy-blue circular patch with a white border on the left shoulder saying "B Strong" (with the red B in the classic font featured on the Red Sox's caps).
TheMilwaukee Brewers wore their batting practice jerseys as an alternate on April 21. The front has the Brewers' "M" logo on front, and has gold trim on the side.
The Giants wore Spanish-language "Gigantes" uniforms on May 5,Cinco de Mayo.
The Orioles wore a special uniform May 11, the first game atCamden Yards with spectators since April 26 due to theriots that took place in the city in April. The uniforms were in their home whites, but had their road "Baltimore" script on the front instead of the usual "Orioles".
The Reds worecamouflage uniforms and caps on May 16 and June 6. The uniforms had the "Reds" script on the front, instead of the player's number and the Reds' logo.
All teams wore camouflage uniforms on May 25,Memorial Day in the United States. Although Memorial Day is not a legal holiday in Ontario, the Blue Jays wore camouflage.
The Reds wore green caps and uniforms on June 19 as part of a "Shamrock the Ballpark" promotion. Like the camouflage uniforms, the uniforms had the "Reds" script on the front, instead of the player's number and the Reds' logo; the uniforms have a shamrock on the right sleeve, instead of the Mr. Redlegs mascot.
The Blue Jays wore a special uniform onCanada Day. July 1. The uniform had the Blue Jays wordmark in red, instead of blue. They had theCanadian flag on their right sleeve. The Red Sox, their opponent, wore a Canadian flag on their uniform as well. The uniform was worn again on August 30.
All teams woreAmerican flag-themed caps and uniforms on July 4,Independence Day in the United States. The uniforms had an American flag on a sleeve. The logos and players' numbers had stars on them; the caps had a star instead of a baseball on the MLB logo. The Blue Jays wore a jersey with both the U.S. and Canadian flags.
The Royals and the Astros wore Spanish-language "Los Reales" and "Los Astros" uniforms on July 25.
The Tigers wore Spanish-language "Tigres" uniforms August 8. The uniforms were based on the Tigers' 1960 uniforms.
The Reds and the Diamondbacks wore Spanish-language "Los Rojos" and "Los D-backs" uniforms August 21.
The Mets wore camouflage uniforms on August 31.
The Mariners wore Spanish-language "Marineros" uniforms on September 12.
The Astros wore Spanish-language "Los Astros" uniforms on September 27.
2015 marks the second year of MLB's eight-year deal withFox Sports,ESPN, &TBS.Fox will televise Saturday night games for eight consecutive weeks, leading up to theAll Star Game, which will also air on Fox. Fox will then televise Saturday afternoon games for the last four weeks of the regular season.Fox Sports 1 will televise games on Tuesday nights and Saturdays, both during the afternoon and at night. ESPN will televise games on its flagship telecast,Sunday Night Baseball, as well as Monday and Wednesday nights. TBS will televise Sunday afternoon games for the last thirteen weeks of the regular season. Fox and ESPN Sunday Night Baseball telecasts will be exclusive; all other national telecasts will be subject to local blackout.
TBS will televise the National League Wild Card Game, Division Series, and Championship Series. ESPN will televise the American League Wild Card Game, Fox Sports 1 andMLB Network will televise American League Division Series, and Fox and Fox Sports 1 will televise the American League Championship Series. The World Series will air exclusively on Fox for the sixteenth consecutive year. All postseason games will air onESPN Radio.
2015 was the second year of MLB's eight-year contracts for national broadcasts in Canada.Rogers Communications-ownedSportsnet holds English-language rights to the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, almost all postseason games, and various regular season games, all of which are in addition to the channel's Canada-wide "regional" deal for all regular season games of the co-ownedToronto Blue Jays.[127]
With the Blue Jays reaching the postseason in 2015 for the first time since 1993, Sportsnet presidentScott Moore announced the channel was unable to produce separate Canadian telecasts of the Blue Jays' postseason games, and picked up the U.S. network telecasts of these games as it typically did for its postseason coverage.[128] As in 2014, when the two Division Series games carried byMLB Network in the U.S. was also exclusive to that channel in Canada despite very limited carriage,[129] Game 3 of the Royals-Astros ALDS was exclusive to MLBN in both countries.[130] However Sportsnet aired all games of the Blue Jays-Rangers ALDS in Canada (MLBN carried Game 2 in the United States).[131]
TSN holds English-language rights to most regular season games in ESPN's U.S. package.[132] French-language rights are split betweenRDS andTVA Sports.[133][134]
TheChicago Cubs opted to re-negotiate their terrestrial television contracts for the2015 season through 2019, when all the Cubs' television rights contracts will expire, including their cable deal withComcast SportsNet Chicago.WGN-TV will still hold rights to 45 Cubs games per season, and its overflow broadcasts will move toWPWR-TV in place ofWCIU-TV. WGN will be joined byABC-owned stationWLS-TV, which will now broadcast 25 games per season.[135][136][137] Broadcast Cubs games among the three stations in the market, along withWhite Sox games (which will also have games move from WCIU to WPWR) will be carried in theIndianapolis market amongMedia General's duopoly ofWISH-TV andWNDY-TV, in addition to a regional network in Iowa and downstate Illinois.[138]
The cable networkWGN America will no longer carryChicago White Sox orChicago Cubs games, as the network has phased out Chicago sports programming as part of its transition towards becoming a nationally focused entertainment network. This brings an end to the "superstation" era of cable broadcast, started in 1976 whenWTCG (later to become WTBS) broadcastAtlanta Braves games, followed by WGN and other stations such asWOR-TV (New York Mets),WSBK-TV (Boston Red Sox) andKTLA (California Angels) airing simulcasts via satellite or cable.
After an absence of over a decade,New York Yankees telecasts will return toWPIX, sharing time with the Mets afterWWOR-TV gave up its contract due to the rejection of a contract extension. Both teams' games on WPIX will still be produced by theYES Network andSportsNet New York respectively.
Don Zimmer's #66 was retired by theTampa Bay Rays on April 6. It is the third number retired by the organization.[165]
Former commissioner andMilwaukee Brewers founder/ownerBud Selig had #1 retired by the team on April 6. He became the fifth person to have a number retired by the Brewers.[166]
^Newman, Mark (September 24, 2015)."2015 Postseason Schedule".mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP.Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. RetrievedOctober 7, 2015.
