1964 in baseball

Year in baseball
this year = 1964

Champions

Major League Baseball

*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees (4-3); Bob Gibson, MVP
*All-Star Game, July 7 at Shea Stadium: National League, 7-4; Johnny Callison, MVP

Other champions

*College World Series: Minnesota
*Japan Series: Nankai Hawks over Hanshin Tigers (4-3)
*Little League World Series: Mid Island, Staten Island, New York

Awards and honors

*Most Valuable Player
**Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles, 3B (AL)
**Ken Boyer, St. Louis Cardinals, 3B (NL)
*Cy Young Award
**Dean Chance, Los Angeles Angels
*Rookie of the Year
**Tony Oliva, Minnesota Twins, OF (AL)
**Dick Allen, Philadelphia Phillies, 3B (NL)

MLB Statistical Leaders

National League final standings

Events

*February 2 - Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes, Tim Keefe, Heinie Manush, John Montgomery Ward and Miller Huggins are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.

*February 17 - Former Chicago White Sox shortstop Luke Appling is selected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America in a runoff vote. In 1953, the first year of eligibility for Appling, he received just two votes.

*April 17 - The New York Mets play their first game at brand-new Shea Stadium and lose 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Willie Stargell hits the first home run in the stadium's history, a 2nd inning solo shot against the Mets' Jack Fisher.

*April 23 - At Colt Stadium, Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt .45's no-hits the Cincinnati Reds—and "loses" 1-0. Two ninth-inning errors allow the Reds to score the game's lone run: a two-base throwing error by Johnson himself on Pete Rose's groundball, and the second by Nellie Fox on Vada Pinson's grounder, which scores Rose. To date, the game is the only one in Major League history whose losing pitcher had pitched a nine-inning no-hitter.

*June 4 - Sandy Koufax pitches the third of his four career no hitters, defeating the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.

*June 15 - The Cubs trade Lou Brock to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio in a six-player deal.

*June 21 - On Father's Day at Shea Stadium, Jim Bunning fans 10, drives in two runs, and pitches the first perfect game (excluding Don Larsen's 1956 World Series effort, and Harvey Haddix's 1959 overtime loss) since Charlie Robertson's on April 30, 1922, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 6-0. Bunning also becomes the first pitcher to win no-hitters in both leagues, and Gus Triandos becomes the first catcher to catch a no-hitter in each league. Bunning throws just 90 pitches in winning his 2nd no-hitter. The next time Bunning faces the Mets he will shut them out, the first no-hit pitcher in the 20th century to do that. The Mets don't fare much better in the nitecap as 18-year-old rookie Rick Wise pitches into the seventh inning to win his first game, giving up just 3 hits and 3 walks (Johnny Klippstein pitched the final three innings). The Phillies increase their National League lead to two games over the San Francisco Giants.

*July 7 - At Shea Stadium, Johnny Callison's ninth-inning three-run home run off Dick Radatz caps a four-run rally and gives the National League a 7–4 win over the American League in the All-Star Game. Callison is named Game MVP as the NL triumph evens the series at 17.

*July 23 - Bert Campaneris hits two home runs in his Major League debut; the first time this has happened since 1901.

*August 12 - Mickey Mantle hit a home run both left- and right-handed in a 7-3 win over the Chicago White sox. It was the 10th time in his career and a major league record for switch-hit homers in a game.

*August 31 - Ground breaking is held for the new Anaheim Stadium.

*September 12 - Frank Bertaina of the Baltimore Orioles beats Bob Meyer of the Kansas City Athletics 1-0 in a game in which both pitchers throw a 1-hitter.

*September 20 - Jim Bunning, in relief, strikes out Johnny Roseboro in the 9th inning to preserve the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles. The win comes after 2 straight losses and leaves the first place Phils in front of the National League by six and a half games with 12 games to play. When they return to Philadelphia in the early morning, 2,000 fans including mayor James Tate are on hand to greet the team.

*September 21 - John Tsitouris hurls a 1-0 shutout for the Cincinnati Reds over Art Mahaffey and the first-place Phillies, launching a 10-game Phillies losing streak. Rookie Chico Ruiz scores the only run when, with Frank Robinson at bat, he steals home with two outs in the sixth inning.

*September 27 - Johnny Callison hits three home runs, but the Phillies lose to the Milwaukee Braves, 14-8 (the 7th loss in the Phillies' 10-game losing streak), as the Reds sweep the Mets (4-1 and 3-1). These results put the Reds into 1st place in the NL, and the Phillies will never return there in 1964.

*September 29 - The Pittsburgh Pirates blank the Reds 2-0 at Crosley Field to end the Reds' 9-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Phillies 4-2 at Sportsman's Park, the 7th win in the Cardinals' 8-game winning streak and the 9th loss in the Phillies' 10-game losing streak. The win, Ray Sadecki's 20th of the season, puts the Cardinals into a tie for first place with the Reds; St. Louis had been 11 games out of first on August 23.

*October 3 - The New York Yankees clinch their 14th American League pennant in 16 years with an 8-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians, holding off the Chicago White Sox by a single game.

*October 3 - As a result of the now-concluded Phillies' 10-game losing streak, this day begins with 4 teams still having a mathematical shot at the NL pennant. One of them, the San Francisco Giants, is eliminated today by a 10-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs. At the end of today's games, the Reds and the Cardinals are tied for 1st place, with the Phillies 1 game back. In recent days, the NL has had to scramble to schedule various possible playoffs.

*October 4 - The Phillies defeat the Reds, 10-0, in the last regular-season game for both teams unless there is a playoff. At the end of that game, both teams are 1/2 game back of the Cardinals (who as a result of that game have clinched a tie for the NL pennant), and await the result of the Cardinals-Mets game. Then, the Cardinals, never in first place until the last week of the season, clinch the NL pennant with an 11-5 win over the New York Mets, who had just beaten the Cardinals twice in the two preceding days. Today's win by the Cardinals averts a three-way tie for the NL pennant, with the Phillies and the Reds finishing one game back in a 2nd-place tie. It is the first Cardinals pennant since 1946.

*October 15 - The St. Louis Cardinals take an early lead in the deciding World Series Game Seven over the New York Yankees. Lou Brock hits a fifth-inning home run for a 6–0 lead for pitcher Bob Gibson. Mickey Mantle, Clete Boyer and Phil Linz homer for New York, but it's not enough. The Cardinals win 7–5 and are the World Champions. The Boyer brothers, Ken for St. Louis and Clete for the Yankees, homer in their last World Series appearance, a first in major league history.

Births

January-March

*January 3 - Luis Rivera
*January 3 - Russ Swan
*January 9 - Stan Javier
*January 13 - Billy Jo Robidoux
*January 18 - Brady Anderson
*January 20 - Ozzie Guillén
*January 22 - Wayne Kirby
*January 24 - Rob Dibble
*February 18 - Kevin Tapani
*February 25 - Rich Rowland
*March 4 - Tom Lampkin
*March 13 - Will Clark
*March 19 - Jeff Hamilton

April-June

*April 2 - Pete Incaviglia
*April 6 - Kenny Williams
*April 11 - Amalio Carreño
*April 11 - Bret Saberhagen
*April 11 - Wally Whitehurst
*April 12 - Mike Macfarlane
*April 13 - Doug Strange
*April 19 - Scott Kamieniecki
*April 28 - Barry Larkin
*April 30 - Jeff Reboulet
*May 1 - José Lind
*May 11 - Jeff Sellers
*May 11 - Bobby Witt
*May 11 - Floyd Youmans
*May 19 - Luis Aquino
*May 28 - Duane Ward
*June 5 - Edgar Cáceres
*June 28 - Mark Grace
*June 28 - Kevin Reimer
*June 30 - Doug Dascenzo
*June 30 - Nelson Liriano

July-September

*July 2 - José Canseco
*July 2 - Ozzie Canseco
*July 2 - Joe Magrane
*July 8 - Bob Kipper
*July 24 - Barry Bonds
*July 25 - José Bautista
*July 28 - Bob Milacki
*August 3 - Kevin Elster
*August 4 - B.J. Surhoff
*August 10 - Andy Stankiewicz
*August 13 - Jay Buhner
*August 13 - Tom Prince
*August 15 - Jeff Huson
*August 16 - Rick Reed
*August 21 - Shawn Hillegas
*August 23 - Jeff Manto
*August 24 - Kip Gross
*August 26 - Chad Kreuter
*September 11 - Ellis Burks
*September 13 - Greg Hibbard
*September 24 - Rafael Palmeiro
*September 26 - Dave Martinez
*September 30 - Doug Jennings

October-December

*October 1 - Roberto Kelly
*October 2 - Héctor Villanueva
*October 4 - Mark McLemore
*October 7 - Rich DeLucia
*October 11 - Chris Gwynn
*October 14 - Joe Girardi
*October 22 - Gerald Young
*October 28 - Lenny Harris
*November 1 - Eddie Williams
*November 10 - Kenny Rogers
*November 11 - Roberto Hernández
*November 15 - Daryl Irvine
*November 16 - Dwight Gooden
*November 17 - Mitch Williams
*November 28 - John Burkett
*December 3 - Darryl Hamilton
*December 13 - Steve Wilson
*December 16 - Billy Ripken
*December 19 - Mike Fetters
*December 22 - Mike Jackson
*December 26 - Jeff King
*December 29 - Craig Grebeck

Deaths

*February 13 - Ken Hubbs, 22, second baseman for the Chicago Cubs and the 1962 Rookie of the Year, in a plane crash
*February 14 - Bill Stewart, 69, NL umpire from 1933 to 1954 who worked four World Series, four All-Star Games and the 1951 NL pennant playoff; also a hockey coach and referee who led the Chicago Black Hawks to the 1938 Stanley Cup title
*March 19 - John Henry Lloyd, 79, Hall of Fame shortstop of the Negro Leagues who became known as the black Honus Wagner
*April 1 - Casey Hageman, 76, pitched from 1911 through 1914 for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs
*April 8 - George Moriarty, 79, third baseman, manager and umpire in the American League for 35 years
*April 8 - Jim Umbricht, 33, relief pitcher for the Houston Colt .45s, who battled back from cancer surgery to post a 4-3 record for the club in 1963
*April 20 - Eddie Dyer, 64, pitcher and manager for the St. Louis Cardinals who guided the team to the 1946 World Series title
*June 11 - Jack Blott, 61, catcher for the 1924 Cincinnati Reds, and later a football coach in the Michigan and Wesleyab universities from 1924 through 1940
*July 19 - Len Swormstedt, 85, pitched from 1901 to 1906 for the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Americans
*July 22 - Bill Narleski, 64, shortstop who played from 1929 to 1930 for the Boston Red Sox
*August 21 - J.L. Wilkinson, 86, owner of the Negro League Kansas City Monarchs from 1920 to 1948
*September 11 - Tom Meany, 60, sportswriter for six New York newspapers, as well as "Collier's" magazine, from 1923 to 1956; publicity and promotions director for the Mets since their 1961 formation
*September 27 - Jud McLaughlin, 52, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox between 1931 and 1933
*November 12 - Fred Hutchinson, 45, manager of the Cincinnati Reds since 1959, previously a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers
*November 19 - Fred Hofmann, 70, spent 36 years in the major leagues as a catcher, coach and scout, and also won two minor league pennants as a manager
*December 31 - Red Rollings, 60, utility infielder/outfielder who played for the Red Sox and Braves Boston teams betwenn 1927 and 1930