March 10 - Former N.Y. 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 '30s, while Chandler was the second commissioner and oversaw – and encouraged – the dismantling of the color barrier in 1947.
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 ever. Steve Bedrosian was the winning pitcher.
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 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.
August 4 - Joel Youngblood of the New York Mets goes 1-for-2 off of 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 of Steve Carlton. He is the first player in Major League history to hit safely for two different teams on the same day. Adding to this, he hits safely off of two different future Hall of Famers.
August 23 - Even though he has made no secret that he occasionally employs the spitball, future Hall of FamerGaylord Perry is ejected from a game versus the Boston Red Sox for throwing the illegal pitch for the only time 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 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.
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 first and 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.
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
February 17 - Nestor Chylak, 59, American League umpire from 1954 to 1978 who worked in five World Series and six All-Star games
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 first Negro Leaguer elected to Hall of Fame
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 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
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
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
