1982 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1982 throughout the world.

Champions

Major League Baseball

• World Series Champion: St. Louis Cardinals

Template:Baseballplayoffsbracket1969–1993

• World Series MVP: Darrell Porter
  • American League Championship Series MVP: Fred Lynn
  • National League Championship Series MVP: Darrell Porter
• All-Star Game, July 13 at Olympic Stadium: National League, 4-1; Dave Concepción, MVP

Other champions

• Caribbean World Series: Leones del Caracas (Venezuela)
• College World Series: Miami (Florida)
• Cuban National Series: Vegueros
• Japan Series: Seibu Lions over Chunichi Dragons (4–3)
• Little League World Series: Kirkland National, Kirkland, Washington

Awards and honors

• Most Valuable Player
  • Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers, SS (AL)
  • Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves, OF (NL)
• Cy Young Award
  • Pete Vuckovich, Milwaukee Brewers (AL)
  • Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore Orioles, SS (AL)
  • Steve Sax, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2B (NL)
• Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league): Linda Pereria, San Jose Missions, California League

MLB statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

Events

January–April

• January 13 – Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson become the 12th and 13th players elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in their first year of eligibility. Aaron fell nine votes shy of becoming the first unanimous selection, and his 97.8 election percentage is second only to Ty Cobb's 98.2 percent in the inaugural 1936 election.
• January 22 – Reggie Jackson signs with the California Angels, thus ending his five-year stay with the New York Yankees
• January 27 – The Chicago Cubs complete a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies that sees Iván DeJesús go to the Phillies for Larry Bowa, and Minor League prospect Ryne Sandberg also goes to the Cubs.
• February 8 – The Los Angeles Dodgers trade away Davey Lopes to the Oakland Athletics. This trade breaks up the starting infield of Lopes (second base), Ron Cey (third base), Bill Russell (shortstop), and Steve Garvey (first base), which had been together since 1974; the longest intact infield in Major League Baseball history.
• February 11 – In a trade of shortstops, the St. Louis Cardinals acquire Ozzie Smith from the San Diego Padres for Garry Templeton.
• March 10 – Former New York Giants shortstop Travis Jackson and former baseball commissioner Happy Chandler are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Jackson hit .291 in 15 seasons between the 1920s and 1930s, while Chandler was the second commissioner and oversaw – and encouraged – the dismantling of the color barrier in 1947.
• April 1 – The New York Mets trade Lee Mazzilli to the Texas Rangers for Ron Darling and Walt Terrell.
• April 6 – In Minneapolis, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome debuts for major league baseball, as the Seattle Mariners outslug the Minnesota Twins 11-7. Dave Engle of the Twins christens the Dome with its first home run; third baseman Gary Gaetti, who earlier was thrown out trying to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park home run, adds two homers (over the fence) for the 52,279 in attendance. Muriel Humphrey, the widow of the 38th Vice President of the United States, threw out the first pitch.
• April 20 – Before a crowd of 37,268—the largest crowd to see a game at Fulton County Stadium this season—the Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 to go 12–0, the best start ever by any Major League team. Steve Bedrosian was the winning pitcher. The streak would reach 13 the next day as the Braves beat the Reds 4-3.

May–August

• May 6 – Gaylord Perry of the Seattle Mariners becomes the 15th pitcher with 300 career wins.
• May 9
  • The New York Mets' Rusty Staub hits a game winning home run off Greg Minton of the San Francisco Giants. The home run ends Minton's streak of 254 ¹⁄₃ innings without allowing a long ball. This still stands as the longest streak in the live-ball era, if not ever.
  • Angry at the release of second baseman Rodney Scott, left-hander Bill "Spaceman" Lee spends the first six innings of the Montreal Expos' 5–4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers shooting pool and drinking beer at a local tavern. He returns to Olympic Stadium in the seventh and, after the game, leaves his uniform in manager Jim Fanning's office. Shortly thereafter, Lee is released.
• May 25 – In the third inning against the San Diego Padres, Ferguson Jenkins, playing for the Chicago Cubs, becomes the seventh pitcher to record 3,000 strikeouts. His victim is Garry Templeton of the Padres.
• May 30 – Cal Ripken, Jr. starts at third base for the Baltimore Orioles against the Toronto Blue Jays. It is the first game of his record breaking 2,632 consecutive games played streak. Coincidentally, tomorrow, May 31, will be the fifty-seventh anniversary of the start of Lou Gehrig's streak, which Ripken will break.
• June 2 – The Milwaukee Brewers, 23–24 on the season and 7 games out of first place, fire Buck Rodgers as their manager. Harvey Kuenn replaces him and will guide the Brewers to victory in 20 of their next 27 games, the Brewers taking over first place on July 11. The team soon to be known as "Harvey's Wallbangers" will go on to win the American League East title and their only American League pennant.
• June 6 – While crossing a street in Arlington, Texas, umpire Lou DiMuro is struck by a car; he dies early the next day. Major League Baseball later retires his uniform number 16.
• June 20 – Pete Rose becomes only the fifth player in history to play in 3,000 Major League baseball games.
• July 13 – At Montreal's Olympic Stadium, in the first All-Star Game held outside the United States, Cincinnati Reds shortstop Dave Concepción hits a two-run home run in the second inning to spark the National League to a 4–1 win over the American League. It's the NL's 11th straight victory and 19th in the last 20 contests. Concepción wins the MVP honors.
• July 19 – Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres makes his Major League debut. His double and single will be the first two hits of the over 3,000 he will accumulate in his Hall of Fame career.
• July 29 – The Atlanta Braves were in first place in the National League West, 9 games ahead of the San Diego Padres when owner Ted Turner decides to remove the elevated tipi of mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa from the stands to allow more seats to be sold for the Braves' run at the division title. The Braves, however, lose 19 of their next 21 games, falling into third place before the tipi is restored.
• August 4 – Joel Youngblood of the New York Mets goes 1-for-2 off Ferguson Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs in a day game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. He is informed that he has been traded to the Montréal Expos, and leaves immediately for Philadelphia to meet the team there. He arrives in time to play, and enters the game in the sixth inning, getting a hit off Steve Carlton. He is the first player in Major League history to hit safely for two different teams on the same day.
• August 8 – Rollie Fingers earns the 300th save of his career, becoming the first pitcher in history to achieve that mark. He saves a 3–2 win for the Milwaukee Brewers vs the Seattle Mariners in Seattle.
• August 10 – For the first time this season, the Atlanta Braves are out of first place in the National League West. They lose to the San Francisco Giants 3-2 at Candlestick Park as the Giants' Milt May hits the game-winning home run off Al Hrabosky in the seventh inning; the loss is Atlanta's eighth consecutive and 12th in their last 13 games. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had trailed the Braves by 10 games less than two weeks earlier, defeat the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium 11-3 as Rick Monday and Steve Garvey both homer. The victory is the eighth consecutive and 12th in the last 13 games for the Dodgers, who had swept two four-game series from the Braves during this comeback—one at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium at the beginning and another at Dodger Stadium (the first three coming in extra innings) just prior to the Cincinnati series. The Braves had been in first place since winning their first 12 games of the season.
• August 23 – Even though he has made no secret that he occasionally employs the spitball, Gaylord Perry is ejected from a game versus the Boston Red Sox for throwing the illegal pitch—the only such ejection in his career.
• August 27 – Rickey Henderson steals four bases, breaking the record he had shared with Lou Brock at 118 stolen bases for the season. He will steal eight more to end the season with a record of 130.

September–December

• September 5 – Roy Smalley of the New York Yankees hits a pair of three-run home runs, one from each side of the plate, as New York beats the Kansas City Royals 18-7.
• September 6 – Veteran first baseman Willie Stargell, whose jersey #8 is retired, is saluted by 38,000 fans on his day at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. The 41-year-old slugger delivers a pinch single in the Pirates' 6–1 win over the Mets.
• September 12 – Minnesota Twins pitcher Terry Felton takes the loss today, his thirteenth of the year against no wins. He'll not pitch for a decision again. Coupled with his 1980 record of 0-3, Felton's 0-16 major league career sets a futility record for the most losses without a big league win.
• October 1 – Through seven innings, the New York Mets' Terry Leach and the Philadelphia Phillies' John Denny have each only given up one hit. Denny is lifted in the ninth for a pinch hitter, however, Leach remains in the game through the tenth inning without giving up a second hit. A sacrifice fly by Hubie Brooks in the tenth inning off Larry Anderson is the deciding factor in the Mets' 1–0 victory at Veterans Stadium.
• October 3 –
  • At Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, The American League East Title was decided before an ABC television audience. Robin Yount hit two home runs and Don Sutton outdueled Jim Palmer as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Baltimore Orioles 11-2 to capture the AL East Title. It was also to have been Earl Weaver's last game as an Orioles manager, but he would come out of retirement to manage the O's again from 1985 to 1986.
  • At San Francisco's Candlestick Park, a 3-run home run by Joe Morgan helped the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 and knocked the Dodgers out of the postseason and the Atlanta Braves became NL West Champions.
• October 6 – The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals play four innings of Game 1 of the 1982 NLCS when rain halts play in the bottom of the fifth with the Cardinals batting, three outs away from being an official game, and the Braves ahead, 1-0. The rain does not subside and the game is called. The Cardinals would go on to sweep the Braves and reach the 1982 World Series.
• October 10 – After being down 2–0 to the California Angels, the Milwaukee Brewers complete a three-game comeback, defeating the Angels 4-3 to capture their only American League Championship. Fred Lynn of the losing Angels is named the Most Valuable Player of the Series after going 11-for-18 with 5 RBI and 4 runs scored. On the same date, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Braves 6-2, to capture their first National League championship in 14 years. Darrell Porter was the MVP of the NLCS with his five-for-nine effort, including three doubles.
• October 12 –
  • The first game of the 1982 World Series features Paul Molitor setting a new World Series record with five hits (in five at bats), as he leads the Milwaukee Brewers to a 10–0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis.
  • The Montreal Expos' Tim Raines enters treatment for drug abuse. Raines claims to have spent a fifth of his salary on cocaine when he stole a National League-leading 78 bases during the regular season, and says he started sliding head first to avoid breaking the vial of cocaine he kept in his back pocket.
• October 17 – In Game 5 of the 1982 World Series, a 6-4 Brewers victory, Robin Yount powers the Brewers with four hits, including a home run and a double. Along with his four-hit effort in Game 1, Yount becomes the first player ever to have two four-hit games in a single World Series.
• October 20 – The St. Louis Cardinals win the 1982 World Series over the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. Catcher Darrell Porter is selected the Series MVP, making him the first player to be chosen as the MVP in both the LCS and World Series in the same season. This was the Cardinals' first World Series championship since 1967.
• November 17 – Center fielder Dale Murphy wins the National League MVP Award, becoming the first Braves player to be so honored since Hank Aaron in 1957. Murphy hit .281 with 36 home runs, 109 RBI, 113 runs, and 23 stolen bases.
• November 22 – Second baseman Steve Sax of the Los Angeles Dodgers is named National League Rookie of the Year, becoming the fourth consecutive player from the Dodgers to win the award. Sax hit .282 and stole 49 bases as the replacement for Davey Lopes in the Dodgers infield.
• November 24 – Cal Ripken, Jr., who hit .264 with 28 home runs and 93 RBI as a shortstop and third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, is named American League Rookie of the Year. Ripken, Jr. gets 24 of 28 first place votes, with the others going to Kent Hrbek of the Minnesota Twins.
• December 16 – The New York Mets send Lloyd McClendon, Charlie Puleo and minor leaguer Jason Felice to the Cincinnati Reds to reacquire Tom Seaver.

Births

January

• January 4 – Jason Bourgeois
• January 5 – Norichika Aoki
• January 6 – Brian Bass
• January 6 – Scott Thorman
• January 7 – Brayan Peña
• January 7 – Francisco Rodríguez
• January 9 – Tony Peña
• January 12 – Chris Ray
• January 12 – Dontrelle Willis
• January 15 – Melvin Dorta
• January 15 – Armando Galarraga
• January 19 – Terry Evans
• January 23 – Wily Mo Peña
• January 30 – Jorge Cantú
• January 31 – Yuniesky Betancourt
• January 31 – Brad Thompson

February

• February 1 – Jean Machi
• February 10 – Jamie Vermilyea
• February 16 – Manny Delcarmen
• February 17 – Brian Bruney
• February 19 – Chris Stewart
• February 20 – Jason Hirsh
• February 21 – Edwin Bellorín
• February 22 – Kelly Johnson
• February 24 – Nick Blackburn
• February 24 – J. D. Durbin
• February 24 – Gustavo Molina

March

• March 6 – Cristhian Martínez
• March 8 – Craig Stansberry
• March 11 – Brian Anderson
• March 12 – Zach Miner
• March 15 – Steven Jackson
• March 15 – Rafael Pérez
• March 16 – Brian Wilson
• March 17 – A. J. Murray
• March 18 – Chad Cordero
• March 18 – Carlos Guevara
• March 19 – Landon Powell
• March 21 – Aaron Hill
• March 22 – Mike Morse
• March 24 – Corey Hart
• March 24 – Dustin McGowan
• March 24 – Heath Phillips
• March 24 – Robinson Tejeda
• March 26 – Brendan Ryan

April

Josh Whitesell

• April 8 – Kason Gabbard
• April 9 – Chad Reineke
• April 10 – Chris Dickerson
• April 10 – Andre Ethier
• April 10 – Colt Morton
• April 12 – Justin Ruggiano
• April 14 – Josh Whitesell
• April 15 – Michael Aubrey
• April 22 – David Purcey
• April 25 – Brian Barton
• April 26 – Alejandro Machado
• April 28 – Jim Miller

May

• May 3 – Bob McCrory
• May 3 – Nick Stavinoha
• May 4 – Matt Tolbert
• May 7 – Conor Jackson
• May 7 – Luis Antonio Jiménez
• May 8 – Adrián González
• May 12 – Jamie D'Antona
• May 14 – Kevin Melillo
• May 16 – Eugenio Vélez
• May 17 – Nick Masset
• May 21 – Ed Lucas
• May 24 – Kevin Frandsen
• May 25 – Jason Kubel
• May 26 – Joe Koshansky
• May 26 – Carlos Martínez
• May 28 – Jhonny Peralta
• May 29 – Matt Macri

June

• June 2 – Tim Stauffer
• June 7 – Virgil Vasquez
• June 9 – Buck Coats
• June 11 – Bobby Keppel
• June 11 – Josh Newman
• June 14 – Mike Hollimon
• June 19 – Dusty Brown
• June 21 – Arnie Muñoz
• June 22 – Ian Kinsler
• June 22 – Jason Motte
• June 23 – Matt Daley
• June 25 – Paul Maholm
• June 30 – Mitch Maier
• June 30 – Delwyn Young

July

• July 1 – Justin Huber
• July 3 – Logan Kensing
• July 8 – Renyel Pinto
• July 12 – Tom Gorzelanny
• July 13 – Shin-Soo Choo
• July 13 – Yadier Molina
• July 14 – Enrique González
• July 15 – Fernando Nieve
• July 15 – Seung-hwan Oh
• July 15 – Ryan Wagner
• July 16 – Jason Windsor
• July 17 – Brian Rogers
• July 18 – Josh Banks
• July 19 – Phil Coke
• July 20 – Jake Fox
• July 20 – Jason Miller
• July 23 – Joe Mather

August

• August 2 – Grady Sizemore
• August 4 – Josh Roenicke
• August 6 – Justin Germano
• August 8 – Matthew Brown
• August 8 – Donny Lucy
• August 8 – Ross Ohlendorf
• August 10 – Josh Anderson
• August 16 – Freddy Sandoval
• August 17 – Travis Metcalf
• August 18 – Josh Rupe
• August 19 – J. J. Hardy
• August 26 – Jayson Nix
• August 28 – Carlos Quentin
• August 28 – Randy Wells
• August 30 – Sean Marshall
• August 31 – Josh Kroeger

September

• September 2 – Jason Hammel
• September 2 – Rommie Lewis
• September 2 – Wes Littleton
• September 3 – Bobby Livingston
• September 8 – Geno Espineli
• September 12 – Carmen Pignatiello
• September 13 – Rickie Weeks
• September 16 – Chris Carter
• September 16 – Michael Martínez
• September 16 – Ramón Ramírez
• September 17 – Sean Burnett
• September 17 – Danny Putnam
• September 18 – Joseph Bisenius
• September 21 – Greg Burke
• September 24 – Jeff Karstens
• September 25 – Argenis Reyes
• September 26 – Daniel McCutchen
• September 28 -Héctor Giménez
• September 28 – Micah Owings
• September 30 – Seth Smith

October

• October 3 – Brett Carroll
• October 3 – Matt Young
• October 4 – Tony Gwynn
• October 4 – Ryan Sadowski
• October 4 – Jered Weaver
• October 5 – Mike Hinckley
• October 8 – Antoan Richardson
• October 9 – Jason Jaramillo
• October 11 – Jeff Larish
• October 12 – Casey McGehee
• October 12 – Paul Janish
• October 14 – Jerry Gil
• October 14 – Carlos Mármol
• October 17 – Abe Alvarez
• October 18 – Ross Wolf
• October 19 – J. A. Happ
• October 21 – Jim Henderson
• October 22 – Robinson Canó
• October 24 – Macay McBride
• October 28 – Jeremy Bonderman
• October 28 – Anthony Lerew
• October 29 – Will Venable
• October 30 – Anderson Hernández
• October 30 – Jonathan Albaladejo
• October 30 – Manny Parra
• October 31 – Alex Hinshaw

November

• November 2 – Yunel Escobar
• November 4 – Travis Blackley
• November 4 – Chris Resop
• November 5 – Bryan LaHair
• November 7 – Brian Horwitz
• November 14 – Angel Castro
• November 14 – Fu-Te Ni
• November 15 – Jerad Head
• November 16 – Tim Wood
• November 17 – Ty Taubenheim
• November 18 – Brent Leach
• November 19 – Jonathan Sánchez
• November 29 – Tony Giarratano

December

• December 2 – Wyatt Toregas
• December 3 – Manuel Corpas
• December 8 – Alfredo Aceves
• December 12 – Ervin Santana
• December 13 – Ricky Nolasco
• December 14 – Josh Fields
• December 16 – Chris Britton
• December 16 – Iván Ochoa
• December 17 – Josh Barfield
• December 17 – Juan Mateo
• December 19 – Jeff Baisley
• December 20 – David Wright
• December 21 – Philip Humber
• December 23 – Brad Nelson
• December 25 – Rubén Gotay
• December 27 – Michael Bourn
• December 27 – Chris Gimenez
• December 29 – Kevin Hart
• December 30 – James Hoey
• December 31 – Ronald Belisario
• December 31 – Julio DePaula

Deaths

• January 6 – Wally Post, 52, right fielder, most notably with the Cincinnati Reds, known for his home run power
• January 15 – Red Smith, 76, sportswriter who won a Pulitzer Prize and was described by Ernest Hemingway as "the most important force in American sportswriting"
• January 18 – Bob Addie, 71, sportswriter for Washington, D.C. newspapers for nearly 40 years who covered both Senators franchises
• January 18 – Johnny Tobin, 61, third baseman for the 1945 Boston Red Sox
• January 24 – Ben Shields, 78, pitcher who played from 1924 to 1931 for the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies
• February 12 – Dale Alderson, 63, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs in the mid-1940s
• February 17 – Nestor Chylak, 59, American League umpire from 1954 to 1978 who worked in five World Series and six All-Star games
• May 9 – John Smith, 75, first baseman for the 1931 Boston Red Sox
• May 11 – Dave Malarcher, 87, infielder and manager in the Negro Leagues who led the Chicago American Giants to World Series titles in 1926–27 and the Indianapolis ABC's to a 1933 pennant
• May 17 – Dixie Walker, 71, five-time All-Star outfielder who batted .306 lifetime and gained his greatest popularity with the Dodgers; NL batting champion in 1944
• June 7 – Lou DiMuro, 51, AL umpire since 1963 who worked two World Series, three ALCS and four All-Star Games
• June 8 – Satchel Paige, 75, Hall of Fame pitcher in the Negro Leagues, mainly with the Kansas City Monarchs, who was black baseball's biggest star for much of his career; won 28 major league games after debuting at age 42; in 1971 became the second Negro Leaguer elected to Hall of Fame, behind Jackie Robinson who was elected in 1962
• June 27 – Eddie Morgan, 77, outfielder/first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers, who hit a pinch-hit home run in his first major league at-bat
• July 6 – Indian Bob Johnson, 76, 8-time All-Star left fielder with the Philadelphia Athletics who had eight 100-RBI seasons and scored 100 runs six times
• July 14 – Jackie Jensen, 55, All-Star right fielder who starred for the Boston Red Sox, winning the AL's 1958 MVP award and leading the league in RBI three times, but retired at 32 due to an intense fear of flying
• July 20 – Grover Froese, 66, American League umpire
• July 22 – Lloyd Waner, 76, Hall of Fame center fielder who played in the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield next to his brother Paul; a career .316 hitter who led the NL in hits, runs and triples once each, his 1967 Hall election made them the first brothers to be inducted
• August 8 – Al Gould, 89, pitcher for two seasons with the Cleveland Indians, 1916–17.
• August 20 – Hank Johnson, 76, pitcher for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics and Cincinnati Reds, who had several victorious seasons as a Yankee in the 1930s
• August 22 – Ebba St. Claire, 61, catcher for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves and NY Giants from 1951 to 1954
• September 5 – Tom Hurd, 58, pitched from 1954 through 1956 for the Boston Red Sox
• September 7 – Ken Boyer, 51, 7-time All-Star third baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals who won the NL's 1964 MVP award and five Gold Gloves; batted .300 five times and had eight 90-RBI seasons
• September 29 – Monty Stratton, 70, All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who attempted to make a baseball comeback after a hunting accident cost him a leg, inspiring an Oscar-winning movie
• October 26 – Bud Podbielan, 58, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians between 1949 and 1959
• November 3 – Ray Fisher, 95, pitcher for the Yankees and Reds who started Game 3 of the 1919 World Series; coached at Michigan for 38 years, winning the 1953 College World Series
• November 6 – Al Baker, 76, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1930s