2008 Major League Baseball season
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The 2008 Major League Baseball season began on March 25 2008 in Tokyo, Japan with the 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox defeating the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome 6-5 (in 10 innings) in the first game of a two-game series [1][2], and will end on September 28 of that same year. The Civil Rights Game in Memphis, Tennessee will take place March 29 when the New York Mets play the Chicago White Sox. The All-Star Game is scheduled to be played on July 15 at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York. The road to the World Series will begin on October 1 with the League Division Series, followed by the League Championship Series starting October 11, and the Fall Classic beginning October 22. If the 2008 World Series goes the full seven game limit, the season (barring postponements due to inclement weather) would end October 30.
Offseason news
The free agency filing period began on October 29, 2007, immediately following the 2007 World Series, and ended on November 12.
Bonds Indictment and The Mitchell Report
The biggest news of the offseason is that of home run champion Barry Bonds being charged with perjury and obstruction of justice on the issue of illegal steroids, namely the BALCO Scandal, on November 15, 2007. On December 7, he plead not guilty to said charges. With a trial set for this summer, it is likely that Bonds will not play at all, and these charges may force him into retirement. Bonds' name was the beginning of what may have been the biggest bombshell in sports.
Six days after Bonds was indicted, the Mitchell Report was released, and besides Bonds, Roger Clemens was named in the report along with 87 other current or former Major League players.
A-Rod and the Bronx Bombers
The next big story was about Alex Rodríguez opting out of the remaining three years of his contract with the New York Yankees. His infamous agent, Scott Boras, announced the decision during Game 4 of the 2007 World Series, infuriating Major League Baseball. Hank Steinbrenner immediately announced that the Yankees would not negotiate with A-Rod any further, and cut all ties with him. [3] However, on November 15, the same day Bonds was indicted of the perjury and obstruction of justice charges, an agreement was hammered out - without Boras' involvement, but rather advised by billionaire Warren Buffett - for a 10 year, $275 million (US) contract. Boras had another setback when pitcher Kenny Rogers fired him during negotiations with the Detroit Tigers.
Torre walks away to Hollywood
The other big story also involved the Yankees, but with Joe Torre, their manager for the last 12 seasons, and their most successful since Casey Stengel. Torre walked away from the Yankees after his contract, which paid him $7.5 million (US) after rejecting a one year deal worth two-thirds the value of his previous contract, but would have received a $3 million bonus had the team reached the World Series. Former Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi, who was sacked after the 2006 season and won National League Manager of the Year honors that season, replaced Torre, signing a three-year, $6 million pact. Girardi had spent the 2007 season as a color commentator on YES Network and WWOR-TV for Yankees games telecast on those stations. With that deal done, Torre replaces Grady Little as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Other managerial changes have Dusty Baker back in the dugout to manage the Cincinnati Reds after a one year respite, while the Kansas City Royals named former Nippon Ham Fighters skipper Trey Hillman as Buddy Bell's replacement, and former catcher John Russell has been named as the new manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, replacing Jim Tracy after two seasons. They will join three managers who had finished the 2007 season as replacements for their former leaders - Dave Trembley of the Baltimore Orioles, Cecil Cooper with the Houston Astros and John McLaren of the Seattle Mariners - as they embark on their first full season as skippers of their clubs.
Big Deals
In February, Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana was traded to the New York Mets for Carlos Gómez and three other prospects. Santana then signed a record-setting six year $137.5 million deal to complete the deal with the Mets.[4] In addition, the Orioles were in full "fire sale" mode, pulling off not one, but two "Von Hayes" (five-for-one) deals — with the Astros for shortstop Miguel Tejada in December and the Mariners for pitcher Erik Bedard in February prior to spring training. In both cases, they got five prospects.
Standings
American League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 57–24 | 40–41 |
| Boston Red Sox | 95 | 67 | .586 | 2 | 56–25 | 39–42 |
| New York Yankees | 89 | 73 | .549 | 8 | 48–33 | 41–40 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 86 | 76 | .531 | 11 | 47–34 | 39–42 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 68 | 93 | .422 | 28½ | 37–43 | 31–50 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 89 | 74 | .546 | — | 54–28 | 35–46 |
| Minnesota Twins | 88 | 75 | .540 | 1 | 53–28 | 35–47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 81 | .500 | 7½ | 45–36 | 36–45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 75 | 87 | .463 | 13½ | 38–43 | 37–44 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | 88 | .457 | 14½ | 40–41 | 34–47 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 100 | 62 | .617 | — | 50–31 | 50–31 |
| Texas Rangers | 79 | 83 | .488 | 21 | 40–41 | 39–42 |
| Oakland Athletics | 75 | 86 | .466 | 24½ | 43–38 | 32–48 |
| Seattle Mariners | 61 | 101 | .377 | 39 | 35–46 | 26–55 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 48–33 | 44–37 |
| New York Mets | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3 | 48–33 | 41–40 |
| Florida Marlins | 84 | 77 | .522 | 7½ | 45–36 | 39–41 |
| Atlanta Braves | 72 | 90 | .444 | 20 | 43–38 | 29–52 |
| Washington Nationals | 59 | 102 | .366 | 32½ | 34–46 | 25–56 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | 97 | 64 | .602 | — | 55–26 | 42–38 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 90 | 72 | .556 | 7½ | 49–32 | 41–40 |
| Houston Astros | 86 | 75 | .534 | 11 | 47–33 | 39–42 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 76 | .531 | 11½ | 46–35 | 40–41 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 88 | .457 | 23½ | 43–38 | 31–50 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 67 | 95 | .414 | 30½ | 39–42 | 28–53 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 84 | 78 | .519 | — | 48–33 | 36–45 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 82 | 80 | .506 | 2 | 48–33 | 34–47 |
| Colorado Rockies | 74 | 88 | .457 | 10 | 43–38 | 31–50 |
| San Francisco Giants | 72 | 90 | .444 | 12 | 37–44 | 35–46 |
| San Diego Padres | 63 | 99 | .389 | 21 | 35–46 | 28–53 |
League Leaders
==Stats==
American League
Batting leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | ||
| HR | ||
| RBI | ||
| R | ||
| H | ||
| SB |
Pitching leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | ||
| L | ||
| ERA | ||
| SO | ||
| IP | ||
| SV |
National League
Batting leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | ||
| HR | ||
| RBI | ||
| R | ||
| H | ||
| SB |
Pitching leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | ||
| L | ||
| ERA | ||
| SO | ||
| IP | ||
| SV |
Stadiums
The Washington Nationals will begin the 2008 season in their new home Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. with a nationally telecast ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game (in a rare one-game series) against the Atlanta Braves on March 30 in the first official baseball game stateside. President Bush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch that night, and will join Jon Miller and Joe Morgan in the broadcast booth for the third inning of the game telecast. Nationals Park replaces their temporary home, RFK Stadium. Unlike RFK, Nationals Park should be fair to both hitters and pitchers. Additionally, there will be an exhibition game March 29 against their beltway rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, in which season ticket holders will be admitted free.
This season will also mark the last season in New York City for the two historic stadiums where the Mets and Yankees reside. Shea Stadium will close in Flushing Meadows, Queens on September 28 with the Mets taking on the Marlins, while Yankee Stadium will close after 83 seasons (the Yankees played at Shea Stadium in 1974 and 1975 while Yankee Stadium was refurbished), with the final home regular season game scheduled for September 21 against the Orioles. The teams will move into new ballparks near their current homes - Citi Field for the Mets and New Yankee Stadium for the Yankees - in time for their 2009 season openers. With the closing of these ballparks, Dodger Stadium will become the largest seating capacity park (56,000) and third oldest baseball stadium (after Fenway Park and Wrigley Field) starting in 2009.
One other change involved naming rights. Starting with the 2008 season, the Cleveland Indians home field has been renamed Progressive Field after the insurance company in suburban Mayfield Heights in a deal valued at $57.6 million over the next sixteen seasons. The new name replaces Jacobs Field, named for former team owner Richard Jacobs.
National broadcasts
For the 2008 season, TBS will switch from doing Atlanta Braves games (which will air 45 contests on WPCH-TV a/k/a "Peachtree TV" locally in Atlanta) to a national Sunday afternoon Game of the Week format. In addition, the TimeWarner-owned cable channel will televise games on Memorial Day (May 26), Independence Day (July 4), and Labor Day (September 1), games that were dropped by ESPN three years ago. TBS will also carry possible playoff games and the entire League Division Series as well as the American League Championship Series this season, with TNT possibly carrying some games when there are time conflicts.
Disney-owned ESPN and ESPN 2 will continue to do games on Sunday nights, Wednesday nights and Monday nights through the first week in August, switching to Friday nights for the remainder of the season, plus the traditional Opening Day (March 31) and the annual State Farm Home Run Derby on July 14.
FOX Sports will continue doing a weekly regional Saturday Game of the Week, the All-Star Game, the National League Championship Series and the World Series. The Game of the Week was expanded in 2007, as for the first time FOX was allowed to air a Game of the Week for all 26 weeks of the season, marking the first time since 1989, when NBC ended their iconic run of televising America's Pastime on a weekly basis, that a network covered games on a week to week basis for the entire season.
The limits for telecasts per season (starting in 2008) that any team can make are as follows:
- TBS: 13 times per season.
- ESPN: Four Sunday night games per season.
- FOX: Eight games per season.
ESPN Radio continues as the national radio carrier for Major League Baseball, airing Sunday night games throughout the regular season as well as Saturday afternoon games after the All-Star break, the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, selected Opening Day and holiday games, and the entire postseason.
Uniform changes
- With the previously mentioned Nationals, Yankees and Mets stadiums, those teams will wear commemorative patches on their home and away uniforms. Also, the Cincinnati Reds will pay tribute to Joe Nuxhall with a patch that will be black with "NUXY" (his nickname) in white lettering. The Yankees, who will host the 2008 MLB All-Star Game, will also wear the game patch on their uniform right sleeves, but only from May through July.
- In a ceremony November 8, 2007, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays debuted a new set of uniforms and a change in their team name, Tampa Bay Rays. The ceremony took place in St. Petersburg, Florida and featured a concert by Kevin Costner's band, Modern West. [3]
- Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants will wear a special 50th Anniversary patch to commemorate their franchises moving to California from the New York area - the Dodgers from Brooklyn's Ebbets Field to Los Angeles and the Giants from the Polo Grounds to San Francisco. Also in the NL West, the Arizona Diamondbacks will wear a Tenth Anniversary patch, celebrating a Decade in the Desert.
- The theme for alternate uniforms could be "throwback". For starters, the Philadelphia Phillies will debut an alternate uniform, which is all off-white with no red pinstripes, but will have red and royal blue trim around the neck, sleeve ends and outseams of the pants, and a blue hat with a red "P" and beak emulating their 1948 outfits. The current alternate hat will be dropped. The Cleveland Indians will have a new alternate off-white home uniform, based on the one worn in the late 1950s and early 1960s without player names on the back, replacing their "Chief Wahoo" vest. In both cases, they will be worn for all day home contests, except for the Phillies, who will wait until their April 3rd home game to debut the new alternates. The Kansas City Royals will have an alternate light blue jersey based those on their successful era from the 1970s and 1980s, and the Toronto Blue Jays will have a full-thrown replica of their 1977 inaugural season road uniform - complete with pullover jersey and belt loops with a blue belt that were not featured in the original outfits (there was a blue/white/blue knit-in belt) to be worn on Friday night home games. The Jays will also have a new road uniform with blue lettering and numbers, a change from the gray-on-gray numbering from a year ago. Also in the alternate department, the Oakland Athletics are bringing back their black alternate jerseys (albeit modified) and caps from the 2000 season, while the San Diego Padres will wear their camouflage jerseys every Sunday home game, and the White Sox and the Reds will honor the military with camouflage jerseys in a "one-off" event for each team season during the July 4th holiday weekend. The Pale Hose will also wear a replica of their 1983 AL West Championship uniform three times this season; the uniform was designed by White Sox fans and debuted in 1982, while dropping their home vest.
Et cetera
- After a five-decade long agreement, one of the longest in sports, the San Francisco Giants will switch local over-the-air telecast rights from longtime home KTVU (Cox Communications-owned Fox affiliate) to NBC Universal-owned KNTV. KTVU will continue to air some Giants games as part of the Fox Sports Saturday afternoon Game of the Week package.
- As part of the Dodgers' Golden Anniversary season, they will play an exhibition game for the ThinkCure charity against the Red Sox on March 29 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the team's home from 1958 until 1961. The game will be a night game, and all fans attending will receive a free LED light and recreate the moment Roy Campanella made his first appearance at the stadium in 1959 prior to the game. Over 100,000 tickets have been sold as of March 6th, and a crowd estimated to be over 115,000 is expected, which would be the largest crowd to ever attend a professional baseball game. The Dodgers will wear replicas of their 1958 uniform for that game.
Notes and references
- ^ A's likely to open '08 in Japan from MLB.com
- ^ Boston-Oakland box score, March 25, 2007
- ^ a b http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3084640 Cite error: The named reference "mlb" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Santana agrees to $137.5M, 6-year contract with Mets".
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