1963 In Baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers beat New York Yankees (4–0); Sandy Koufax, MVP
*All-Star Game, July 9 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5–3; Willie Mays, MVP

Other champions

*College World Series: USC
*Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nishitetsu Lions (4–3)
*Little League World Series: Granada Hills National, Granada Hills, California
*Senior League World Series: Monterrey, Mexico
*Pan American Games: Cuba over United States

Awards and honors

*Baseball Hall of Fame
**John Clarkson
**Elmer Flick
**Sam Rice
**Eppa Rixey

Statistical leaders

¹ National League Triple Crown pitching winner

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

National League final standings

Nippon Professional Baseball final standings

Central League final standings

Pacific League final standings

Events

January

*January 14 – The Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox pull off a blockbuster trade. Baltimore obtains future Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparicio and veteran outfielder Al Smith in exchange for Cooperstown-bound knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm, shortstop Ron Hansen (the 1960 American League Rookie of the Year), third baseman Pete Ward and outfielder Dave Nicholson. The White Sox gain, in Wilhelm, a shutdown relief pitcher, as well as three regulars; meanwhile, Aparicio will help the Orioles break through to a World Series championship in 1966.
*January 24 – The Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Don Zimmer from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor league pitcher Scott Breeden. Infielder Zimmer previously played for the Dodgers from 1954 to 1959.
*January 27 – Sam Rice, Eppa Rixey, Elmer Flick and John Clarkson are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.
*January 29 – Elwood "Pete" Quesada divests himself of his majority stake in the Washington Senators, and James Johnston and James Lemon become co-owners of the two-year-old expansion team. Johnston and Lemon hire former New York Yankees outfielder George Selkirk as their new general manager, replacing Ed Doherty.

February

*February 7 – The Kansas City Athletics sign pitcher Marcel Lachemann, who becomes known as a manager and pitching coach after his playing days.
*February 20 – On the eve of spring training and Year 3 of the Chicago Cubs' "College of Coaches" era, owner Philip K. Wrigley appoints former American League outfielder and native Chicagoan Bob Kennedy "head coach." But in a departure from the coaching rotations of 1961–1962, it is announced that Kennedy is expected to serve in the post for the full 1963 season. In fact, Kennedy leads the Cubs to an 82–80 mark, their first above-.500 season since 1946, and will hold the head coaching job through June 13, 1965.
*February 27 – The Kansas City Athletics trade right-hander Jerry Walker to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Chuck Essegian. Walker, 24, is a former member of the "Kiddie Corps"—mostly "bonus-baby" pitchers of the Baltimore Orioles. His brief MLB playing career (which ends in 1964) will be superseded by a 40+ year tenure as a pitching coach and front-office executive.

March

*March 8 – The second-year New York Mets, who finished last in the National League with a 40–120 record in their inaugural season, release veteran Gene Woodling, closing the book on the outfielder's playing career. Known as a key member of five of Casey Stengel's championship New York Yankees teams (–), Woodling, 40, batted .274 in 81 games for the Mets in .
*March 14 – The Los Angeles Angels sell the contract of fireballing relief pitcher Ryne Duren to the Philadelphia Phillies. Duren, 34, will win six games and save two others for the 1963 Phils.
*March 18 – The Washington Senators purchase the contract of veteran right-hander Ron Kline, 31, from the Detroit Tigers.
*March 22 – The New York Mets purchase pitcher Carl Willey from the Milwaukee Braves. Willey will attempt to boost a pitching rotation that includes Roger Craig, Al Jackson and Tracy Stallard.
*March 25 – The Philadelphia Phillies further strengthen their bullpen by acquiring Johnny Klippstein from the Cincinnati Reds in a cash transaction. Veteran righty Klippstein, 35, will post a stellar 1.93 earned run average in 1963, his 14th MLB season.

April

*April 1 – The New York Mets purchase the contract of outfielder Duke Snider from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Future Hall of Famer Snider, 36, is one of the most celebrated stars of the Brooklyn Dodgers' 1950s National League dynasty.
*April 2 – Another veteran outfielder and future Hall of Famer, Minnie Miñoso, changes teams when the St. Louis Cardinals ship the 39-year-old to the Washington Senators. Miñoso's lone season as a Redbird was ruined by a fractured wrist, limiting him to only 39 games.
*April 4 – The Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Colt .45s swap outfielders, with Pittsburgh obtaining Manny Mota for Howie Goss. Mota, 24, will establish himself as a major-leaguer after the Pirates recall him from Triple-A in July, and go on to play into while setting pinch-hitting records.
*April 8 – The Detroit Tigers acquire pitcher Denny McLain, 19, off first-year waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
*April 11:
**Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves becomes the all-time winningest left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball history. His 6–1 victory over the New York Mets gives him 328 career wins, moving him ahead of Eddie Plank as the all-time winningest left-hander. Except for Duke Snider's home run in today's game, no Mets get past second base.
**In his third American League game since being acquired over the winter from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Don Leppert of the Washington Senators slugs three home runs against the Boston Red Sox, leading his team to an 8–0 rout at D.C. Stadium.
*April 13 – After 11 hitless at bats, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Pete Rose records his first major league hit, a triple off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Friend. Increased enforcement of the balk rule produces a Major League record seven in the Pirates' 12–4 trouncing of the Reds at Crosley Field. Friend commits four of the balks.
*April 21 – The New York Yankees acquire southpaw relief pitcher Steve Hamilton from the Washington Senators for right-handed reliever Jim Coates.
*April 29 – The Baltimore Orioles claim 18-year-old outfielder Curt Blefary from the New York Yankees on first-year waivers. He will win the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

May

*May 2 – The Minnesota Twins trade left-hander Jack Kralick to the Cleveland Indians for right-hander Jim Perry. Gaylord Perry's elder sibling, Jim will win 128 games over a decade in a Minnesota uniform, with two 20-game-winning seasons. Perry also will capture the American League Cy Young Award.
*May 5 – The Detroit Tigers release Vic Wertz, who later signs with the Minnesota Twins to close out his 17-year career.
*May 9 – Chicago Cubs first baseman Ernie Banks becomes the first National League player to record 22 putouts in a game, during a 3–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
*May 11 – At Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers no-hits the San Francisco Giants 8–0, his second no-hitter in as many seasons. The final out is made by Harvey Kuenn on a ground ball back to than Koufax. Kuenn will also make the final out of Koufax's perfect game two years later.
*May 17 – Houston Colt .45s pitcher Don Nottebart throws the first no-hitter in franchise history, leading his team past the Philadelphia Phillies, 4–1.
*May 19 – Detroit Tigers center fielder Bill Bruton ties a Major League record for most doubles in a single game. Bruton hits his four doubles in consecutive plate appearances, as Detroit defeats the Washington Senators, 5–1. Teammate and rookie pitcher Bill Faul tosses a three-hitter in his first Major League start.
*May 23:
**The New York Mets trade first baseman Gil Hodges to the Washington Senators for Jimmy Piersall. Hodges immediately retires as an active player and replaces Mickey Vernon as Washington's manager. He will pilot the Senators through 1967, then returns to the Mets as their manager in 1968.
**The Cincinnati Reds trade ace pinch-hitter and reserve outfielder Jerry Lynch to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Bob Skinner.
*May 25 – The Kansas City Athletics trade shortstop Dick Howser and catcher Joe Azcue to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Doc Edwards and $100,000.

June

*June 2 – At Busch Stadium, Willie Mays hits three home runs off pitchers Ernie Broglio, Bob Humphreys and Bobby Shantz, helping the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6–4.
*June 6 – The New York Mets sign infielder Bud Harrelson, 19, as a free agent.
*June 9 – Ernie Banks hits three home runs as the Chicago Cubs lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers 11–8.
*June 10 – Al Kaline belts his 200th career home run helping the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 6–1.
*June 11 – Bob Aspromonte clouts a walk-off grand slam in the tenth inning off pitcher Lindy McDaniel to give the Houston Colt .45s a 6–2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Colt Stadium.
*June 14:
**The New York Mets' Duke Snider hits his 400th career home run off Bob Purkey in the first inning of the Mets' 10–3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field.
**Willie Kirkland of the Cleveland Indians hits a home run in the 11th inning to tie the game 2–2. In the 19th inning, he hits the game-winning home run to defeat the Washington Senators. Kirkland joins Vern Stephens as the only player to hit two extra-inning home runs.

*June 15:
**At Candlestick Park, Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants no-hits the Houston Colt .45s, 1–0, becoming the first Latin American pitcher to throw a no-hitter. The no-hitter is the first by a Giant since the franchise's move from New York City after the 1957 season. Moreover, Marichal joins Carl Hubbell, who did it while pitching for the New York York Giants in 1929, as the second Giants pitcher to accomplish the feat.
**An era ends for the Milwaukee Braves when they trade 36-year-old right-hander Lew Burdette to the St. Louis Cardinals for catcher/outfielder Gene Oliver and young hurler Bob Sadowski. A three-time All-Star, Burdette had formed a formidable one-two pitching tandem with southpaw Warren Spahn since the Braves moved to Wisconsin in 1953, and had carried the team to its 1957 World Series championship with three complete-game victories.
*June 18 – Veteran manager Chuck Dressen is called back into harness when he replaces Bob Scheffing as pilot of the struggling Detroit Tigers. For Dressen, 68, the Tigers' job represents his fifth MLB managerial assignment since 1934.
*June 21 – Pitcher Early Wynn, 43, in search of his 300th career victory, returns to the Cleveland Indians as a free agent. He had been released by the Chicago White Sox on November 20, 1962.
*June 23 – Colorful Jimmy Piersall hits his 100th career home run in a 5–0 New York Mets victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at the Polo Grounds. In celebration, he runs backwards around the bases (although he touches each bag in the correct order); still photos of the stunt make coast-to-coast news but Piersall draws scorn from baseball traditionalists.
*June 24 – The St. Louis Cardinals acquire knuckle-balling reliever Barney Schultz, a 36-year-old journeyman, from the Chicago Cubs. In , Schultz will record saves in 11 straight appearances between September 15 and October 4, playing a major role in the Redbirds' successful late-season pennant drive.
*June 27 – Outfielder Al Luplow of the Cleveland Indians makes one of the most spectacular catches in Fenway Park history, catching Dick Williams' long drive as he leaps over the right field wall and tumbles into the Boston Red Sox' bullpen. The catch comes in the eighth inning with the tying runs on base, and preserves the Tribe's 6–4 victory over Boston.
*June 30 – The Los Angeles Angels sign 17-year-old outfielder Jay Johnstone as a free agent.

July

*July 1:
**The Cincinnati Reds trade Don Blasingame to the Washington Senators for reliever Jim Coates. Blasingame, a 31-year-old former NL All-Star, has lost his second-base job to the Reds' standout rookie, Pete Rose.
**The Kansas City Athletics purchase the contract of catcher/pinch hitter Charley Lau from the Baltimore Orioles.
*July 2 – The Giants' Juan Marichal pitches a 16-inning shutout against the Milwaukee Braves, outdueling Warren Spahn, who hurls scoreless innings before Willie Mays wins the contest 1–0 with a home run in the bottom of the 16th. In the ninth inning, when the Giants' manager suggests Marichal should come out for a pinch hitter, he angrily replies, "I am not going to come out of that game as long as that old man is still pitching." Later, when the Braves' manager suggests to Spahn that it's time he leaves the game, the 42-year-old Spahn replies that if that young kid can still pitch, so can he. When it's over, Marichal has thrown 227 pitches and Spahn 201.
*July 9 – At Municipal Stadium, the National League defeats the American League 5–3 in the 1963 Major League Baseball All–Star Game, as the annual Midsummer Classic returns to a single-game format. The Americans out-hit the Nationals 11–6, but MVP Willie Mays puts on a one-man show. Although he's held to a single, Mays collects two runs, two RBI and two stolen bases, and makes a running catch that deprives Joe Pepitone of an extra base hit in the eighth inning. The game marks the 24th and final All-Star appearance of Stan Musial, who pinch hits in the fifth inning. He lines out to right field, leaving behind a .317 batting average (20-for-63) and an All-Star Game record of six home runs.
*July 27 – The Los Angeles Angels sign outfielder Jim Piersall the same day he is unconditionally released by the New York Mets. Piersall, 33, will continue his MLB career as a backup outfielder with the Angels until he's released on May 2, 1967.
*July 31 – A gathering of 7,288 at Cleveland Stadium watches Cleveland Indians infielder Woodie Held, pitcher Pedro Ramos, outfielder Tito Francona, and shortstop Larry Brown slug four straight solo home runs off Los Angeles Angels right-hander Paul Foytack in the bottom of the sixth inning. The four homers build the Indians' lead to 9–1, and they win, 9–5.

August

*August 7 – The New York Mets defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7–3. Mets outfielder Jim Hickman hits for the cycle, doing '' it in order''. Both are firsts for the Mets.
*August 9 – Jim Hickman becomes the second player to hit a walk-off grand slam against Chicago Cubs pitcher Lindy McDaniel this season, in a 7–3 New York Mets victory at the Polo Grounds. Hickman's blow enables teammate Roger Craig (3–20) to break a personal 18-game losing steak that dates to May 4. McDaniel—who previously surrendered a game-ending slam to Bob Aspromonte of the Houston Colt .45s on June 11—is the second MLB pitcher to be so victimized in one season, joining Satchel Paige ().
*August 16 – The Baltimore Orioles sign 17-year-old free agent pitcher Jim Palmer.
*August 27 – Willie Mays hits his 400th career home run helping the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7–2.
*August 23 – Milwaukee Braves veteran pitcher Warren Spahn sets a National League record for most starts, previously set by Grover Alexander, with his 601st appearance on the mound during a 6–1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Later in 1963, Spahn will match an NL record set by Christy Mathewson with his thirteenth 20-win season, while becoming the oldest pitcher to do so at 42.
*August 29 – Helped by a league-record-tying eight home runs, the Minnesota Twins amass a team-record forty-seven total bases in the first game of a double-header at D.C. Stadium. Harmon Killebrew and Vic Power both strike for two homers in the 14–2 victory. In the second game, a 10–1 Minnesota win, the Twins hit four more homers for a team-record even dozen on the day.

September

*September 5 – Willie McCovey hits his 100th career home run.
*September 6 – Major League Baseball celebrates its 100,000th game with a match-up between the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Senators at D.C. Stadium.
*September 10 – The Alous become the first brother trio to bat consecutively in one game, during the eighth inning of a San Francisco Giants' 4–2 loss to the New York Mets at the Polo Grounds. Jesús pinch-hits in his Major League debut and grounds out to shortstop Al Moran; Matty, also pinch-hitting, strikes out, and Felipe ends the inning by grounding out to pitcher Carl Willey, who goes the distance for the victory.

*September 13:
**Cleveland Indians pitcher Early Wynn finally wins his 300th and final game thanks to a little help from his bullpen. After losing eight straight starts, then struggling through five innings against the Kansas City Athletics, Wynn, 43, is replaced by relief man Jerry Walker, whose four scoreless frames save the future Hall of Famer's 7–4 triumph.
**The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 2–0 to clinch their 28th American League pennant.
*September 18:
**Playing in his first MLB game, Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Dick Nen clubs a ninth-inning, game-tying home run over the roof at Busch Stadium off Ron Taylor of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers go on to win in the 13th, 6–5, completing a three-game road sweep of the Redbirds and effectively wrecking St. Louis' pennant drive. When the season ends September 29, Los Angeles' ultimate winning margin is six games.
**In the final regular-season game ever played at the Polo Grounds, the Philadelphia Phillies defeat the New York Mets 6–1. New York gets its only run on Jim Hickman's fourth-inning home run, the last home run to be hit at Upper Manhattan's venerable stadium.
*September 21 – Harmon Killebrew, in a double-header split between his Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, hits four home runs on the day to tie an American League record.
*September 22:
**Willie McCovey hits three home runs to help San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets 13–4.
**Outfielder Jimmie Hall of the Minnesota Twins hits his 33rd and final home run of the year. No other rookie without previous-year at bats has hit more. Hall tops the current record-holder, Boston's Ted Williams, who hit 31 in 1939.
*September 27 – Manager Harry Craft of the Houston Colt .45s fields the "Baby Colts", a starting lineup with an average age of nineteen years, against the New York Mets at Colt Stadium. The oldest player used by Houston all game is 26-year-old Dick Drott, who pitched the ninth inning.
*September 28 – Minnesota Twins first baseman Vic Power hits the club's 225th home run of 1963, a season total that ranks second behind the 1961 New York Yankees' 240.
*September 29:
**Stan Musial's RBI single off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jim Maloney is his 3,630th hit (then a National League record) in the final at-bat of his 22-year major league career spent entirely with the St. Louis Cardinals; his Redbirds go on to defeat the Reds 3–2.
** John Paciorek makes his MLB debut for the Houston Colt .45s at age 18, lashing three hits, driving in four runs, and drawing two walks. He reaches base in all five plate appearances for a batting average of 1.000 and an OPS of 2.000. However, this will be Paciorek's only appearance in a major league game, after he suffers an injury in the minors that ends his career by the time he's 24.

October

*October 6 – At Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax defeats the New York Yankees, 2–1, completing a shocking World Series sweep for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Whitey Ford gives up only two hits, both by Frank Howard, who belts a long home run in the fifth inning to start the Dodgers' scoring. In the Series, the Yankees bat just .171 and score only four runs, the second-lowest total in World Series history. Curiously, the Dodgers would set the mark for the fewest runs scored in a World Series only three years later, falling victim to a decisive sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles.
*October 8 – The St. Louis Cardinals sign amateur free agent left-hander and future Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton, 18, from Miami Dade College.
*October 12 – In what is the only Hispanic American major league All-Star Game, the National League team beats the American League 5–2 at the Polo Grounds. The game features such names as Felipe Alou, Luis Aparicio, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente, Julián Javier, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva and Zoilo Versalles. Vic Power receives a pregame award as the number one Latin player. NL starter Juan Marichal strikes out six in four innings, though reliever Al McBean is the winning pitcher. Pinch hitter Manny Mota drives in two runs against loser Pedro Ramos. This was the last baseball game played at the Polo Grounds, as the New York Mets would move into the brand new Shea Stadium