This article documents a current sports-related event. Information may change as the event progresses.

The following are the baseball events of the year 2008 throughout the world.  

Calendar

Major League Baseball

Main article: 2008 Major League Baseball season

Regular season

• June 5-6 - Rule 4 draft in Orlando, Florida
• July 15 - 2008 All-Star Game will be played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York
• July 27 - Hall of Fame inductions in Cooperstown, New York
• July 31 - Last trading day without securing waivers
• September 1 - Active rosters expand to 40 players
• September 28 - End of the regular season

Postseason

• October 1 - Start of the postseason
• October 22 - 2008 World Series is scheduled to start
• December 8 - Start of the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada
• December 11 - Rule 5 draft in Las Vegas, Nevada

Minor League Baseball

Regular season

• June 14 - Florida State League All-Star Game will be played in Brevard County, Florida
• June 17 - Midwest League All-Star Game will be played in Midland, Michigan
• June 17 - South Atlantic League All-Star Game will be played in Greensboro, North Carolina
• June 24 - California/Carolina League All-Star Game will be played in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
• June 25 - Texas League All-Star Game will be played in Springfield, Missouri
• July 13 - All-Star Futures Game will be played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York
• July 14 - Southern League All-Star Game will be played in Zebulon, North Carolina
• July 16 - Triple-A All-Star Game will be played in Louisville, Kentucky
• July 16 - Eastern League All-Star Game will be played in Manchester, New Hampshire
• July, date TBD - New York - Penn League All-Star Game will be played in Troy, New York
• August 15 - Final date to bring player up for "full trial"

Postseason

• September, date TBD - Minor league playoffs begin
• September 30-October 3 - Minor League Baseball promotional seminar in Round Rock, Texas
• October, dates TBD - Arizona Fall League begins play
• December 8 - Start of the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada
• December 11 - Rule 5 draft in Las Vegas, Nevada

Other

• June 14-25 - 2008 College World Series will be held in Omaha, Nebraska
• August 13-23 - Baseball tournament at the Summer Olympics in Beijing
• August 15-24 - 2008 Little League World Series will be held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Champions

• International
  • International club team competitions
    • Caribbean Series: Tigres del Licey, Dominican Republic
  • Domestic leagues
    • Dominican League: Águilas Cibaeñas
    • Mexican League: Yaquis de Obregón
    • Venezuelan League: Tigres de Aragua

Awards and honors

• Baseball Hall of Fame honors
  • Rich "Goose" Gossage is elected by the BBWAA in his ninth year of eligibility. Executives Barney Dreyfuss, Bowie Kuhn and Walter O'Malley and managers Billy Southworth and Dick Williams will also be inducted following their election by the Veterans Committee.
  • Larry Whiteside, sportswriter for The Boston Globe from 1973 until 2004, will receive the J. G. Taylor Spink Award.

Events

March

• March 15 - The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres play to a 3-3 tie in the first major league game ever played in China. The game is played at Wukesong Stadium in Beijing, site of the baseball competition for the 2008 Olympics. The teams meet again the next day, with the Padres winning 6-3.
• March 17 - The Dodgers depart their Dodgertown complex in Vero Beach, Florida after 60 years of use. Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda manages the team in its final week's games, as regular manager Joe Torre is with the portion of the club that traveled to China.
• March 18 - The New York Yankees play an exhibition at Virginia Tech's English Field to commemorate the April 2007 campus shootings.
• March 25 - Opening Day takes place on the earliest date in history, with the Boston Red Sox defeating the Oakland Athletics 6-5 in 10 innings in Tokyo, Japan.
• March 30 - In the first ever game played at Nationals Park, on Opening Night, President George W. Bush throws out the first pitch and Ryan Zimmerman hits a walk-off home run to give the Washington Nationals a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves.
• March 31 - A statue of Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks is unveiled outside Wrigley Field.
• March 31 - Japanese sensation Kosuke Fukudome makes his major league debut with the Cubs, hitting a double on his first pitch. Fukudome later tied the game with a three-run homer in the 9th inning.
• March 31 - The independent South Coast League suspends its operations after only one season of play.

April

• April 3 - With his 194th consecutive game without an error, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis surpasses Steve Garvey's major league record for an errorless streak at first base; the streak began on July 5, 2006. He is given the first base bag from that day's game against the Oakland Athletics.^[1]
• April 8 - Bill Buckner throws out the first pitch on Opening Day at Fenway Park.
• April 17 - At Petco Park, the Colorado Rockies defeat the San Diego Padres 2-1 in 22 innings, in a game that lasts 6 hours 16 minutes and ends at 1:21 am after Troy Tulowitzki's RBI double with two out in the top of the inning drives in an unearned run. Inning-wise, the game is the longest in the majors since another 22-inning contest on August 21, 1993, the longest in the history of both teams and the longest in Petco Park's 5-year history.
• April 22 - John Smoltz records his 3,000th strikeout at Turner Field against the Washington Nationals.

May

• May 6 - Gavin Floyd of the Chicago White Sox takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Twins before giving up a double to Joe Mauer with one out; Floyd and Bobby Jenks settle for a combined 7-1 one-hitter.
• May 7:
  • Carlos Gómez of the Minnesota Twins hits for the cycle at US Cellular Field against the White Sox.
  • The Cincinnati Reds hit seven home runs, including three by Joey Votto, in a 9-0 victory over the Cubs; Jon Lieber surrenders four homers in the second inning.
• May 10 - Greg Maddux of the San Diego Padres wins his 350th career game against the Colorado Rockies.
• May 12 - Cleveland Indians second baseman Asdrúbal Cabrera turns the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history in the second game of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field. He makes a diving catch of Lyle Overbay's fifth-inning line drive for the first out, steps on second to double up Kevin Mench, then tags out Marco Scutaro, who had just passed second base. Ron Hansen, who accomplished the feat in 1968, was in attendance as a scout.

Deaths

January-March

• January 1 - Chuck Daniel, 74, pitcher for the 1957 Detroit Tigers, and the only major leaguer to come out of the University of the Ozarks
• January 2 - Gerry Staley, 87, All-Star pitcher for six teams from 1947-1961 who won 19 games for the 1951 Cardinals and led AL in games as a reliever for the 1959 White Sox
• January 2 - Richard J. Thompson, 52, baseball historian and author who was a SABR member for more than 25 years and authored the book The Ferrell Brothers of Baseball
• January 4 - Bill Ramsey, 87, outfielder for the 1945 Boston Braves
• January 8 - Steve Ridzik, 78, pitcher for five teams from 1950 to 1966
• January 13 - Johnny Podres, 75, All-Star pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers who was MVP of the 1955 World Series and also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers' 1959 and 1963 World Series champions; led NL in ERA, shutouts and winning percentage once each
• January 14 - Don Cardwell, 72, pitcher for five NL teams who threw a no-hitter in his first start with the Cubs in 1960
• January 17 - John McHale, 86, executive who served as general manager of the Tigers, Braves and Expos between 1957 and 1986; previously a reserve first baseman on Detroit's 1945 World Series champions
• January 22 - Lance Clemons, 60, relief pitcher for the Royals, Cardinals and Red Sox from 1971 to 1974
• January 24 - Art Frantz, 86, American League umpire from 1969 to 1977 who was crew chief for the 1975 World Series; also worked the 1972 and 1976 ALCS and 1974 All-Star Game
• January 27 - Ken Hunt, 69, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds 1961 NL champions who won the TSN Rookie Pitcher Award in the same season
• February 2 - Ed Vargo, 79, National League umpire from 1960 to 1983 who officiated in the World Series, NLCS and All-Star Game four times each
• February 19 - Bob Howsam, 89, general manager of the Reds from 1967 to 1977 who built the "Big Red Machine" dynasty that won four NL pennants; previously general manager of the Cardinals, and owner of minor league teams in Denver
• March 16 - Bob Purkey, 78, All-Star pitcher for the Reds who was 23-5 in 1962 after losing 3-2 in Game 3 of the 1961 World Series
• March 21 - Roy Foster, 62, outfielder for the Indians from 1970 to 1972 who won the 1970 TSN Rookie of the Year Award
• March 27 - Billy Consolo, 73, shortstop for five teams from 1953 to 1962 who later served as the Tigers dugout coach for 14 seasons

April-May

• April 5 - Walt Masterson, 87, All-Star pitcher for the Senators and Red Sox from 1939 to 1953 who started the 1948 All-Star Game; baseball coach at George Mason University in 1980-81
• April 8 - Hersh Lyons, 92, pitcher who appeared in one game for the 1941 Cardinals
• April 14 - Tommy Holmes, 91, All-Star right fielder for the Boston Braves from 1942 to 1951 who hit .302 lifetime and set a modern NL record in 1945 with a 37-game hitting streak; later a New York Mets executive
• April 19 - John Marzano, 45, backup catcher for the Red Sox and Mariners who played for division champions with both teams, batting .287 for the 1997 Mariners; member of the 1984 US Olympic team
• May 1 - Buzzie Bavasi, 93, general manager of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1951-68 who assembled teams that won eight NL pennants and the club's first four World Series titles; later the first GM of the San Diego Padres, and GM of the California Angels teams that won the club's first two division titles

See also

• 2008 Major League Baseball season
• 2008 Nippon Professional Baseball season
• 2008 Korea Baseball Organization season

External links

• 2008 MLB Season

This baseball-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.