The following are the baseball events of the year 1998 throughout the world.
Headline events of the year
Champions
Major League Baseball
Other champions
Awards and honors
MLB Statistical Leaders
Major League Baseball final standings
- The asterisk denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league. The Chicago Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants in a 1-game playoff to determine the NL wild card.
Events
January–March
- March 3 - Larry Doby, Lee MacPhail, George Davis and Bullet Joe Rogan are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. (George Davis died in 1940 but death not publicly known until 1968)
April–May
- April 2 - By hitting a home run in Colorado's 6–4 win over Arizona at Bank One Ballpark, Rockies outfielder Ellis Burks sets a major league record by having homered in 33 different stadiums.
- April 5 - The Arizona Diamondbacks win their first game in franchise history 3–2, over the San Francisco Giants. Andy Benes gets the win for the 1–5 D'backs.
- April 10 - The Los Angeles Dodgers' Mike Piazza becomes the fifth NL player in history to hit grand slams in consecutive games by homering in a 7–2 win over the Houston Astros. Piazza also homered with the bags full, while driving in six runs, in last night's 7–2 win over Arizona. He'll hit another on April 24 to tie the major-league record for slams in a month.
- May 3 - The Seattle Mariners' Dan Wilson becomes just the seventh catcher in major league history to hit an inside-the-park grand slam, as Seattle defeats Detroit 10–6. It's a first for the Mariners and the first in the AL since Mike Greenwell did it on September 1, 1990.
- May 6 - In one of the finest pitching efforts ever, Chicago Cubs rookie righthander Kerry Wood fans 20 Houston Astros in a 2–0, one-hit victory to tie the major league mark for strikeouts in a 9-inning game. The 20-year-old ties the record held by Roger Clemens, who performed the feat twice. Wood does not walk a batter in his masterpiece, allowing only an infield single to Ricky Gutiérrez in the 3rd inning, that likely would have been ruled an error had it occurred late in the game. He hit one batter with a pitch, for only two Astros baserunners allowed. Wood also becomes the second pitcher in baseball history to record a single-game strikeout total equal to his age (in 1936, 17-year-old Bob Feller struck out 17 batters). Wood strikes out the first five batters of the game, and seven in a row between the 7th and 9th innings, tying Jamie Moyer's Cubs record for most consecutive strikeouts.
- May 11 - In a 4-2 win over Arizona, Kerry Wood strikes out 13 Diamondbacks in seven innings. By doing so, Wood sets a major league record with 33 strikeouts over two consecutive games.
- May 13 - The Atlanta Braves set an NL record by homering in their 25th straight game, a 10–2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. This ties the major league mark held by the 1941 Yankees and the 1994 Tigers. The streak will be stopped by the Cardinals tomorrow.
- May 15 - In one of the biggest trades in recent years, the Dodgers send All-Star catcher Mike Piazza and third baseman Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins in exchange for outfielders Gary Sheffield and Jim Eisenreich, catcher Charles Johnson, third baseman Bobby Bonilla, and pitcher Manuel Barrios. On May 22, the Mets will acquire Piazza from the Marlins in exchange for outfielder Preston Wilson, pitcher Ed Yarnall and a minor league player.
- May 19 - The Cardinals' Mark McGwire hits three home runs in a game for the 2nd time this season, leading St. Louis to a 10–8 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. He is only the 12th player in history to have a pair of 3–HR games in the same season. McGwire drives in six of the Cardinal runs as he reaches the 20 home run mark faster than other player in history.
- May 20 - The Triple-A Indianapolis Indians perform a feat possibly never before duplicated in professional baseball. In the 5th inning of a game against the Pawtucket Red Sox, Indianapolis players hit for a "Homer Cycle". Pete Rose, Jr. opens the inning with a solo home run, Jason Williams connects for a 3–run shot, Glenn Murray slugs a grand slam, and Guillermo Garcia finishes the scoring with a 2–run blast. The Indians win the game 11–4.
- May 25 - Cleveland's David Bell becomes the third player in major league history to play against a team managed by his father. Bell's 2–run double brings home the go–ahead run in the Indians 7–4 win over Buddy Bell's Detroit Tigers. Bump Wills and Moisés Alou are the only other players to appear in games against their fathers (Maury Wills and Felipe Alou).
- May 28 - With Arizona leading the Giants, 8–6, in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded, manager Buck Showalter orders reliever Gregg Olson to intentionally walk Barry Bonds to bring home the Giants' 7th run. It is only the 4th bases–loaded intentional walk in major league history, and the first since Bill "Swish" Nicholson on July 23, 1944.
June–July
- June 10 - NY Yankee Tim Raines steals the 800th base of his career in NY's 6–2 win over the Montréal Expos. He is the fifth player in history to reach the milestone.
- June 20 - The Cleveland Indians retire Bob Lemon's uniform number 19 prior to the team's 5–3 loss to the Yankees.
August–September
- September 8 - Mark McGwire breaks Roger Maris' 37-year-old home run record, lining historic No. 62 just over the wall in left field with two outs in the fourth inning. McGwire's grand slam shot off the Chicago Cubs' Steve Trachsel sets off a wild celebration at Busch Stadium. The Cubs' Sammy Sosa, who hit his 58th home run earlier in the game, is on the field to congratulate McGwire, creating an iconic image of the 1998 home run race.
- September 11 - The Florida Marlins lose to the Atlanta Braves 8–2, to become the first World Series champion in history to lose 100 games the next season.
- September 15 - Ken Griffey, Jr. hits homer #52 and drives in the 1,000th run of his career in the Mariners 12–7 win over the Twins. He becomes the 4th–youngest player in history to reach the milestone, after Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig. A day later, Griffey would collect his 20th stolen base of the season to become just the third player in major league history to record at least 50 homers and 20 steals in the same season; Willie Mays and Brady Anderson are the others.
- September 27 - In the St. Louis Cardinals' final game of the season, Mark McGwire hits two home runs against the Montreal Expos for the second straight night, establishing a new MLB record with 70 home runs in a season. Sammy Sosa fails to hit a home run in the Cubs' 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros, leaving him at 66 homers. However, the Cubs loss forces a one-game playoff with the San Francisco Giants for the National League wild card, giving Sosa one final chance to reach McGwire.
- September 27 - In the San Diego Padres' final regular season game, left fielder Greg Vaughn hits his 50th home run of the season, a career high and a San Diego Padres record for home runs in a season. This marks the first time in major league history that four players - Vaughn (50), Griffey (56), Sosa (66) and McGwire (70) - hit at least 50 home runs in the same season. Also during this game, Trevor Hoffman records his 53rd save of the season, tying the National League record set by the Cubs' Randy Myers in 1993.
- September 28 - In a one-game playoff, the Chicago Cubs defeat the San Francisco Giants to secure the final playoff spot in the National League. For the third game in a row, the Cubs' Sammy Sosa gets two hits, but no home runs, leaving him at 66 home runs for the season, the second highest single-season home run total in MLB history, but four fewer than Mark McGwire, who pulled ahead of Sosa with five home runs in his final three games.
October
- Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves wins his second National League Cy Young Award in an extremely close vote over two San Diego Padres pitchers: Trevor Hoffman and Kevin Brown. Glavine, who receives 11 first-place votes to Hoffman's 13 (Brown receives the remaining 8), becomes the first National League pitcher since the league instituted its four-vote system in 1970 to win the award despite receiving fewer first-place votes than another player.[1] Glavine tallied 99 points (Hoffman - 88, Brown - 76), with 5 points being awarded for each first place vote, 3 for each second-place vote, 2 for third, and 1 for fourth. Another oddity is the fact that Hoffman, Brown, and Rod Beck (who did not receive a single point in the Cy Young Award voting) finished higher than Glavine in the MVP voting, despite Glavine's Braves finishing with the best record in the National League.[2]
November–December
Movies
- Major League: Back to the Minors
Deaths
- February 11 - Mike Fornieles, 66, All-Star relief pitcher for four AL teams who led league in saves in 1960
- February 18 - Harry Caray, 83, beloved and much-parodied broadcaster for the Cardinals, White Sox and Cubs since 1945
- April 26 - Gabe Paul, 88, general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Colts .45s, and Cleveland Indians from 1951 to 1973, later part owner of the Yankees
- April 27 - John Irvin Kennedy, 71, first black player in Philadelphia Phillies history
- May 9 - Ray Noble, 79, Cuban catcher in the Negro Leagues, later a reserve with the New York Giants
- May 16 - Rufino Linares, 47, Dominican left fielder for the Atlanta Braves who hit .298 for 1982 division champions
- June 4 - Shirley Povich, 92, sportswriter for The Washington Post since 1924
- June 10 - Jim Hearn, 77, All-Star pitcher for the Cardinals and NY Giants who won 17 games for New York's 1951 pennant winners
- June 21 - Al Campanis, 81, general manager of the Dodgers from 1968 to 1987 who was fired after making racially controversial remarks in a 1987 TV interview; previously a scout for 18 years
- July 19 - Elmer Valo, 77, Czech right fielder who batted .300 five times for the Philadelphia and Kansas City Athletics; later a minor league manager and scout
- July 27 - Bill Tuttle, 69, center fielder for three AL teams who batted .300 for the 1959 Kansas City Athletics
- August 6 - Jack Brickhouse, 82, broadcaster for the Cubs from 1941-1981, also with the White Sox for over 20 years
- August 17 - Johnny Lipon, 75, shortstop for the Tigers who scored 104 runs in 1950; later a minor league manager
- August 17 - Jim Murray, 79, sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times since 1961 who won a Pulitzer Prize and was named the nation's best sportswriter 14 times
- September 17 - Chet Hoff, 107, pitcher for the New York Highlanders and St. Louis Browns who became the longest-lived major league player
- September 30 - Dan Quisenberry, 45, All-Star relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals who led the AL in saves a record five times and posted the first 40-save season in history; held AL career record from 1987 to 1992 and was Cy Young runnerup twice
- October 2 - Gene Autry, 91, owner of the Angels since their formation in 1961 who hoped in vain for the team's first pennant, watching the team fall achingly short three times
- October 6 - Mark Belanger, 54, All-Star shortstop and eight-time Gold Glove winner for the Baltimore Orioles, later a players' union official
- October 14 - Denny Galehouse, 86, pitcher who won 109 games with the Indians, Red Sox and Browns, and Game 1 of 1944 World Series
- November 10 - Hal Newhouser, 77, Hall of Fame pitcher for the Detroit Tigers who won back-to-back MVP awards in 1944-45; led AL in wins four times and in ERA and strikeouts twice each; struck out 10 in Game 7 victory in 1945 World Series
- November 16 - Russ Meyer, 75, pitcher who won over 90 games for the Cubs, Phillies and Dodgers, known as the "Mad Monk" for his fiery temper
- November 20 - Dick Sisler, 78, All-Star first baseman and left fielder for three NL teams whose closing day home run brought the Phillies the 1950 pennant
- November 23 - Bob Betts, 70, public announcer at Milwaukee County Stadium for 23 seasons