1977 In Baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1977 throughout the world.

Champions

Major League Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2); Reggie Jackson, MVP

• American League Championship Series MVP: None
• National League Championship Series MVP: Dusty Baker
• All-Star Game, July 19 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 7-5; Don Sutton, MVP

Other champions

• Caribbean World Series: Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic)
• College World Series: Arizona State
• Japan Series: Hankyu Braves over Yomiuri Giants (4-1)
• Little League World Series: Li-Teh, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Awards and honors

• Most Valuable Player
  • Rod Carew (AL)
  • George Foster (NL)
• Cy Young Award
  • Sparky Lyle (AL)
  • Steve Carlton (NL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Eddie Murray (AL)
  • Andre Dawson (NL)
• Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league): Mary Anne Whitacre, Hawaii Islanders, Pacific Coast League

MLB statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

Events

January–March

• January 2 - Not even a full season into owning the Atlanta Braves, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends Ted Turner for tampering with the signing of Gary Matthews.
• January 4 - Mary Shane is hired by the Chicago White Sox as the first woman TV play-by-play announcer.
• January 19 - The Baseball Writers' Association of America elects Ernie Banks to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
• January 28 - Melanie Flynn, the sister of Cincinnati Reds infielder Doug Flynn, is reported missing to Lexington, Kentucky Police by her father, Robert. She was last seen leaving work on January 25.
• January 31 - The Special Veterans Committee selects Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie and Al Lopez for the Hall of Fame.
• February 3 - The Hall of Fame's Special Committee on the Negro Leagues picks versatile Cuban star Martín Dihigo and shortstop John Henry Lloyd for induction. The committee then dissolves, its functions being taken over by the Veterans Committee.
• March 21 - Mark Fidrych, the 1976 AL Rookie of the Year, rips the cartilage in his left knee and will undergo surgery in ten days. The injury will effectively end the fabled career of The Bird.
• March 28 - While in Orlando, Florida for an exhibition game with the Minnesota Twins. the Texas Rangers' Lenny Randle walks up to Rangers manager Frank Lucchesi during batting practice and says he wanted to talk to him. Words are exchanged, and Randle punches Lucchesi, who was still in street clothes, in the face. Lucchesi is hospitalized for a week, needing plastic surgery to repair his fractured cheekbone which Randle breaks in three places. He also receives bruises to his kidney and back. The Rangers suspend Randle for 30 days without pay and fined him $10,000, however, he is traded to the New York Mets for a player to be named later before the suspension is complete. Randle is charged with assault, and would plead no contest to battery charges in a Florida court, getting slapped with a $1,050 fine.

April–June

• April 6 - The Seattle Mariners open their existence and their home stadium, the Kingdome, with a 7-0 loss to the California Angels.
• April 7 - The Toronto Blue Jays play their first game in franchise history, in the snow, defeating the Chicago White Sox 9-5 at Exhibition Stadium.
• April 15 - The Montreal Expos play their first game at Montreal's Olympic Stadium before a crowd of 57,592, as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies win 7-2.
• April 24 - Canadian Ferguson Jenkins throws the first shutout ever in Exhibition Stadium, as the visiting Boston Red Sox defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-0.
• April 26 - Before completing his suspension with the Texas Rangers, Lenny Randle is traded to the New York Mets for a player to be named later.
• May 11 - Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner names himself manager, and manages the Braves to a loss. He is ordered by National League president Chub Feeney to desist, and soon after, owners are banned from managing.
• May 14 - Journeyman pitcher Jim Colborn throws a no-hitter as the Kansas City Royals defeat the Texas Rangers 6-0. Colborn is the first Royal to pitch a no-hitter at Royals Stadium, now Kauffman Stadium.
• May 17 - The Mets' Tom Seaver pitches his fifth career one-hitter, a 6-0 shutout of the Chicago Cubs. Seaver's no-hit bid is broken up by Steve Ontiveros on a bloop single in the fifth.
• May 30 - At age 22, pitcher Dennis Eckersley fires a no-hitter as the Cleveland Indians top the California Angels 1-0. Eckersley walks one batter and strikes out 12.
• June 7 - The Chicago White Sox select Harold Baines with the number one pick in the draft. White Sox owner Bill Veeck had first seen Baines play Little League ball and had followed his career. Pitcher Bill Gullickson is taken with the second pick by the Montreal Expos, and the Milwaukee Brewers take University of Minnesota infielder Paul Molitor with the third pick. Danny Ainge, a potential pro basketball player, is picked in the 15th round.
• June 8 - For the fourth time in his career, Nolan Ryan strikes out 19 batters in a game, doing so against the Toronto Blue Jays.
• June 15 - The New York Mets trade Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman. They then trade Mike Phillips to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joel Youngblood, and send Dave Kingman to the Padres for minor league pitcher Paul Siebert and Bobby Valentine, who will one day manage the Mets.
• June 18 - In the sixth inning of an NBC-televised game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, New York Yankees manager Billy Martin pulls right fielder Reggie Jackson and replaces him with Paul Blair after Jackson misplays Jim Rice's fly ball for a double. As Jackson returns to the dugout, he and Martin exchange words, Martin arguing that Jackson had shown him up by "not hustling" on the play. The Yankee manager lunges at Jackson (who is 18 years younger than Martin and outweighs him by about 40 pounds), and has to be restrained by coaches Yogi Berra and Elston Howard—with the NBC cameras showing the confrontation to the entire country. The Red Sox win, 10-4.
• June 21 - Frank Lucchesi is fired as manager of the Texas Rangers with a 31 - 31 record following a 9 - 5 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Lucchesi blames former Ranger Lenny Randle, with whom he got into a confrontation during Spring training, for the firing, and sues him for $200,000.
• June 22 -- Eddie Stanky replaces Lucchesi as Rangers manager. He wins the game, and then surprisingly resigns as manager a mere 18 hours after being hired, one of the shortest tenures in MLB history.
• June 27 - The San Francisco Giants' Willie McCovey smashes two home runs, one a grand slam off reliever Joe Hoerner, in the sixth inning to pace a 14–9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. McCovey becomes the first player in major league history to twice hit two home runs in one inning (his first time was on April 12, 1973), and also becomes the all-time National League leader with 17 career grand slams. Andre Dawson, in both 1978 and 1986, will be the next player to hit two homers in the same inning.
• June 29 - Willie Stargell hits his 400th career home run helping the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1.

July–September

• July 9 - New York Mets third baseman Lenny Randle ends an extra innings marathon with the Montreal Expos at Shea Stadium in the seventeenth inning with a walk off home run off Will McEnaney.
• July 13 - The New York Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in the sixth inning when the lights went out as New York City is stricken with a blackout that would last two days. The game was resumed on September 16, with the Cubs winning 5-2.
• July 19
  • For the first time since 1906 both Chicago teams were in first place at the All-Star break. However the Cubs, who had a 47-22 won-lost record at one point, skidded during the second half of the season to a mediocre 81-81 won-lost record while the Chicago White Sox, although succeeding in winning 90 games, were quickly overwhelmed by the run-away AL West Division winner Kansas City Royals in September.
  • In the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, the National League defeats the American League for the 14th time in the last 15 encounters. Don Sutton of the Los Angeles Dodgers is named MVP.
• August 7 - In the second game of a doubleheader at Manny Sanguillén of the Oakland Athletics foils a no-hit bid with a single hit off the Baltimore Orioles' Jim Palmer, who settles for a two-hit 6-0 victory. Yesterday's hit was off the New York Yankees' Mike Torrez, who finished with a 3-0 two-hitter.
• August 17 - Records fall as the Mexican League concludes its season. Ironman reliever Aurelio López of the Mexico City Reds racks up his 30th save to go with a record 19 victories in relief. Veteran Tampico first baseman Héctor Espino hits 14 home runs, raising his career total to 435, a new minor league record. Thirty-eight-year-old Vic Davalillo, the league's top hitter with a .384 batting average, is purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• August 20 - The Kansas City Royals defeat the Boston Red Sox 5-2. Coupled with losses by the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins, the Royals gain sole possession of first place in the American League West for the first time all season, and do not relinquish it for the remainder of the season.
• August 21 - In what must have appeared to be an optical illusion to the 46,265 fans at Shea Stadium, Tom Seaver takes the mound against the New York Mets for the first time in his career. His Cincinnati Reds defeat the Mets 5-1.
• August 23 - The New York Yankees defeat the Chicago White Sox 8-3 at Comiskey Park. Coupled with a Boston Red Sox loss, the Yankees move into first place for the first time since July 9, and remain atop the American League East for the remainder of the season.
• August 26 - The Kansas City Royals win their tenth game in a row to jump from fourth place to three games up on the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins in the American League West. They hold on to first place for the remainder of the season.
• August 27 - Against the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers' Toby Harrah and Bump Wills become the first players in Major League history to hit back-to-back inside the park home runs.
• August 28 - The Padres place Dave Kingman on waivers.
• August 29 - St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lou Brock steals two bases in a 4–3 loss to the San Diego Padres. It is the 893rd career stolen base for Brock, breaking Ty Cobb's modern record.
• August 31 - Hank Aaron's major league mark of 755 career home runs is tied by Sadaharu Oh in Japan. Three days later, Oh will hit his 756th homer to surpass Aaron's total, becoming the most prolific home run hitter in professional baseball history.
• September 3 - Sadaharu Oh surpassed Hank Aaron's world record of home runs hit when he hit home run #756.
• September 6 - Dave Kingman is claimed off waivers by the California Angels, making them his third team played for in 1977.
• September 9 - In the second game of a double header in Boston, the Detroit Tigers debut their new second baseman, Lou Whitaker, and their new shortstop, Alan Trammell. They will play side by side for 19 years to establish a new Major League record for tandem play at those positions.
• September 10 - Roy Howell hits two home runs, two doubles, and a single, and drives in nine runs, as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 19–3.
• September 15
  • Dave Kingman is traded by the California Angels to the New York Yankees for pitcher Randy Stein. Having also played with the New York Mets and San Diego Padres earlier in the season, Kingman becomes the first—and only-- Major League Baseball player to play in all four divisions in one season. Kingman hit four home runs in his two weeks with the Yankees, but was not eligible for the postseason.
  • Earl Weaver pulls his Baltimore Orioles from the field citing "hazardous conditions" caused by a small tarp weighed down by bricks covering the bullpen mound. This results in a forfeiture of the game.
  • Longtime New York Mets battery mates Tom Seaver and Jerry Grote, now of the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively, face each other for the only time in their careers. Seaver strikes Grote out in his only at-bat against him.
• September 22 - Bert Blyleven tossed a 6-0 no-hitter for the Texas Rangers against the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium.
• September 23 - Buzz Capra, becoming the first major leaguer with a 50-HR season since Willie Mays in 1965.

October–December

• October 1 - Despite a 10-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers, the New York Yankees clinch their second straight AL Eastern Division title when the Boston Red Sox are beaten 8-7 by the Baltimore Orioles.
• October 7 - In Game Three of the National League Championship Series at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers were down 5-3 with 2 outs in the 9th inning, but the Dodgers catch lightning in a bottle. Pinch-hitter Vic Davalillo beats out a 2-strike drag bunt and pinch-hitter Manny Mota follows with a long double off Greg Luzinski's glove. Mota reaches 3rd on a throw that Ted Sizemore mishandles. Davey Lopes' grounder hits a seam in the carpet and caroms off Mike Schmidt's knee to Larry Bowa, and the shortstop's throw is ruled late although television replays and a scene from a 1977 Philadelphia Phillies highlight film showed that Lopes was out. Los Angeles pulls out a 6-5 victory over the Phillies.
• October 18 - In Game Six of the World Series, Reggie Jackson becomes "Mr. October". His three home runs in three swings lead the New York Yankees to an 8–4, Series-clinching victory. Jackson is named Series MVP.
• November 22 - Andre Dawson of the Montreal Expos wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award by one vote over Steve Henderson of the New York Mets. Dawson hit .282 with 19 home runs and 65 RBI, while Henderson had .297, 12, 65.
• December 8 - In an unusual four team, off-season trade, the Atlanta Braves sent Willie Montañez to the New York Mets. Then, the Texas Rangers sent Adrian Devine, Tommy Boggs and Eddie Miller to the Braves; Tom Grieve and a player to be named later to the Mets, and Bert Blyleven to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates sent Al Oliver and Nelson Norman to the Rangers, and the Mets sent Jon Matlack to the Rangers and John Milner to the Pirates. The Rangers later sent Ken Henderson to the Mets to complete the trade (March 15, 1978).^[1]

Movies

• The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training

Births

January–March

• January 2 - Scott Proctor
• January 3 - A. J. Burnett
• January 10 - Rick Bauer
• January 12 - Reggie Taylor
• January 17 - Rob Bell
• January 28 - Lyle Overbay
• February 2 - Adam Everett
• February 5 - Abraham Núñez
• February 15 - Álex González
• February 22 - J. J. Putz
• February 24 - Bronson Arroyo
• February 26 - Josh Towers
• February 27 - Craig Monroe
• March 2 - Jay Gibbons
• March 5 - Mike MacDougal
• March 6 - Marcus Thames
• March 10 - Ben Davis
• March 10 - Tike Redman
• March 18 - Fernando Rodney
• March 18 - Terrmel Sledge
• March 19 - David Ross
• March 25 - Brett Jodie
• March 30 - Jeriome Robertson
• March 31 - Jamie Brown

April–June

• April 2 - Mike Gallo
• April 4 - Eric Valent
• April 19 - Dennys Reyes
• April 21 - Kip Wells
• April 23 - Andruw Jones
• April 23 - Jason Tyner
• April 24 - Carlos Beltrán
• April 26 - Kosuke Fukudome
• April 28 - Jorge Sosa
• May 2 - Luke Hudson
• May 3 - Ryan Dempster
• May 13 - Robby Hammock
• May 14 - Roy Halladay
• May 19 - Brandon Inge
• May 24 - Jae Weong Seo
• May 25 - Fernando Lunar
• June 1 - Brad Wilkerson
• June 3 - Travis Hafner
• June 6 - Mark Ellis
• June 7 - Odális Pérez
• June 15 - Bret Prinz
• June 16 - Kerry Wood
• June 19 - Bruce Chen
• June 27 - Juan Peña
• June 28 - Kevin McGlinchy

July–September

• July 22 - Ryan Vogelsong
• July 24 - Jason Smith
• August 2 - Julio Mateo
• August 5 - Eric Hinske
• August 5 - Mark Mulder
• August 7 - Tyler Yates
• August 9 - Jason Frasor
• August 13 - Will Ohman
• August 14 - Juan Pierre
• August 17 - Mike Maroth
• August 27 - Justin Miller
• August 29 - Roy Oswalt
• August 29 - Aaron Rowand
• August 30 - Marlon Byrd
• September 3 - Nate Robertson
• September 4 - Sun-Woo Kim
• September 9 - Kyle Snyder
• September 10 - Danys Báez
• September 13 - Grant Roberts
• September 15 - Damian Rolls
• September 18 - Jody Gerut
• September 21 - Brian Tallet
• September 23 - Brent Abernathy
• September 26 - Aaron Myette
• September 27 - Vicente Padilla
• September 29 - Heath Bell
• September 29 - Jake Westbrook
• October 3 - Eric Munson

October–December

• October 9 - Brian Roberts
• October 11 - Ty Wigginton
• October 24 - Rafael Furcal
• November 4 - Larry Bigbie
• November 8 - Nick Punto
• November 9 - Peter Bergeron
• November 19 - Justin Duchscherer
• November 23 - Adam Eaton
• November 27 - Willie Bloomquist
• November 27 - Raúl Valdés
• December 3 - Chad Durbin
• December 6 - Kevin Cash
• December 7 - Eric Chavez
• December 10 - Dan Wheeler
• December 12 - Orlando Hudson
• December 21 - D'Angelo Jiménez
• December 21 - Freddy Sánchez
• December 23 - Shawn Chacón
• December 29 - Jack Wilson
• December 30 - Grant Balfour
• December 31 - Chris Reitsma

Deaths

January–March

• January 1 - Mary Carey, 51, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League infielder
• January 1 - Danny Frisella, 30, relief pitcher who saved 57 games for five teams
• January 10 - Vic Frazier, 82, pitched for the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Boston Bees in the 1930s
• January 11 - Tex Carleton, 70, pitcher who won 100 games, including a no-hitter, for Cardinals, Cubs and Dodgers
• January 16 - Baby Doll Jacobson, 86, center fielder for the St. Louis Browns who batted .311 lifetime
• January 29 - Hod Ford, 79, infielder for fifteen seasons with five NL teams
• February 4 - Nemo Leibold, 84, outfielder for four AL teams batted .300 twice; later a minor league manager
• March 9 - Spike Merena, 57, pitcher for the 1934 Boston Red Sox

April–June

• April 12 - Philip K. Wrigley, 82, owner of the Chicago Cubs since 1932, and vice president of the National League from 1947 to 1966; also organized the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943
• April 27 - Ernie Neitzke, 82, outfielder/pitcher for the 1921 Boston Red Sox
• April 28 - Al Smith, 69, All-Star pitcher who won 99 games for Giants, Phillies and Indians
• May 5 - Bill Marshall, 66, second baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds in the 1930s
• June 10 - Turk Farrell, 43, All-Star pitcher who won 106 games, mainly with the Phillies and Astros
• June 15 - Big Bill Lee, 67, All-Star pitcher who had two 20-win seasons for the Chicago Cubs
• June 18 - Johnny Frederick, 75, slugger who hit .308 with 85 HR and 377 RBI in parts of six seasons for the 1930s Brooklyn Dodgers

July–September

• July 16 - Milt Stock, 84, third baseman who batted .300 five times
• August 16 - Al Javery, 59, two-time All-Star pitcher who played for the Boston Braves from 1940 to 1946
• August 19 - Bob Klinger, 69, pitcher who compiled a 66-61 record for the Pirates and Red Sox from 1938 to 1947
• August 19 - Chuck Wortman, 85, shortstop for the Chicago Cubs from 1916–18, who appeared in the 1918 World Series
• September 2 - Chucho Ramos, 59, Venezuelan outfielder who played four games for the 1944 Cincinnati Reds
• September 8 - Oral Hildebrand, 70, All-Star pitcher who won 83 games for the Indians, Browns and Yankees
• September 14 - Beau Bell, 70, All-Star right fielder who led AL in hits and doubles in 1937; later coached at Texas A&M
• September 24 - Sherm Lollar, 53, seven-time All-Star catcher for the Chicago White Sox who won first three Gold Gloves awarded
• September 26 - Ernie Lombardi, 69, eight-time All-Star catcher, mainly with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants, who batted .306 lifetime and won 1938 MVP award; only catcher to win two batting titles, he caught Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters in 1938
• September 30 - Del Pratt, 89, second baseman for four AL teams who led AL in RBI in 1916 with St. Louis Browns; batted .300 in his last five seasons

October–December

• October 17 - Cal Hubbard, 76, Hall of Fame umpire in the American League from 1936 to 1951 who developed modern systems of umpire positioning
• November 4 - Pinky Pittenger, 78, backup infielder/outfielder who played from 1921 through 1929 for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds
• November 8 - Bucky Harris, 81, Hall of Fame manager of five teams who won 3rd most games (2157) in history; managed Senators three times, winning 1924 World Series as rookie skipper, and also led Yankees to 1947 title; as second baseman, led AL in double plays five times
• November 9 - Fred Haney, 79, manager who won World Series with Milwaukee Braves in 1957; was Angels' first general manager from 1960–68
• November 17 - Roger Peckinpaugh, 86, shortstop for four AL teams who was named the 1925 MVP in his last full season; became manager and general manager of the Indians
• November 24 - Mayo Smith, 62, manager of the Phillies, Reds and Tigers who led Detroit to the 1968 World Series title
• November 28 - Bob Meusel, 81, outfielder, who batted over .300 seven times, including a career-high mark of .337 in 1927, hit for the cycle three times, and appeared in six World Series with the New York Yankees
• December 1 - Dobie Moore, 82, star shortstop for the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs
• December 11 - Berith Melin, 59, outfielder, one of the original Rockford Peaches founding members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its 1943 inaugural season
• December 29 - Jimmy Brown, 67, All-Star infielder and leadoff hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals

References