2012 in baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

*Regular Season Champions

*Postseason

Other Champions

* Minor League Baseball
**AAA
***''Championship'': Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks)
****International League: Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox)
****Pacific Coast League: Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks)
***Mexican League: Rojos del Águila de Veracruz
**AA
*** Eastern League: Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians)
*** Southern League: Mobile BayBears (Arizona Diamondbacks)
***Texas League: Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals)
**A
*** California League: Lancaster JetHawks (Houston Astros)
***Carolina League: Lynchburg Hillcats (Atlanta Braves)
***Florida State League: Lakeland Flying Tigers (Detroit Tigers)
***Midwest League: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers)
***South Atlantic League: Asheville Tourists (Colorado Rockies)
***New York–Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay Rays)
***Northwest League: Vancouver Canadians (Toronto Blue Jays)
**Rookie
***Appalachian League: Elizabethton Twins (Minnesota Twins)
***Gulf Coast League: GCL Pirates (Pittsburgh Pirates)
*** Pioneer League: Missoula Osprey (Arizona Diamondbacks)
***Arizona League: AZL Rangers (Texas Rangers)
**Arizona Fall League: Peoria Javelinas
* Independent baseball leagues
** American Association: Winnipeg Goldeyes
** Atlantic League: Long Island Ducks
** CanAm League: Quebec Capitales
** Freedom Pro Baseball League: Copper State Prospectors
**Frontier League: Southern Illinois Miners
** North American League: San Rafael Pacifics (North Division); Edinburg Roadrunners (South Division)
**Pecos League: Alpine Cowboys
*Amateur
**College
***College World Series: Arizona
***NCAA Division II: West Chester
***NCAA Division III: Marietta
*** NAIA: Tennessee Wesleyan
*Youth
** Big League World Series: San Juan, Puerto Rico
**Junior League World Series: Rockledge, Florida
**Little League World Series: Tokyo, Japan
**Senior League World Series: Guatemala City, Guatemala
*International
**National teams

***European Baseball Championship: Italy
*** Women's World Cup: Japan
**International club team competitions
***Asia Series: Yomiuri Giants (Japan)
***Caribbean Series: Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic)
***European Champion Cup Final Four: Fortitudo Bologna (Italy)
**Domestic leagues
***Australian Baseball League: Perth Heat

***Cuban National Series: Ciego de Ávila
*** Dominican League: Leones del Escogido
*** France – Division Elite: Rouen Huskies
***Holland Series: Corendon Kinheim
*** Italian Baseball Series: T&A San Marino
***Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants
****Pacific League: Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
****Central League: Yomiuri Giants
***Korea Series: Samsung Lions
***Mexican League: Yaquis de Obregón
*** Puerto Rican League: Indios de Mayagüez
***Taiwan Series: Lamigo Monkeys
*** Venezuelan League: Tigres de Aragua

Awards and honors

*Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league): Darlene Giardina, Rochester Red Wings, International League

Major League Baseball

BBWAA awards
* Baseball Hall of Fame honors
**Barry Larkin was elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and subsequently inducted.
**Ron Santo was elected by the Veterans Committee and subsequently inducted.
** Bob Elliott received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for excellence in writing.
**Tim McCarver received the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting.
* MVP Award
**American League – Miguel Cabrera, DET
**National League – Buster Posey, SF
*Cy Young Award
**American League – David Price, TB
**National League – R. A. Dickey, NYM
* Rookie of the Year
**American League – Mike Trout, LAA
**National League – Bryce Harper, WAS
*Manager of the Year Award
**American League – Bob Melvin, OAK
**National League – Davey Johnson, WAS

Major League Baseball awards
*Delivery Man of the Year Award: Fernando Rodney, TB
* Comeback Player of the Year: Fernando Rodney, TB (AL); Buster Posey, SF (NL)
*Roberto Clemente Award: Clayton Kershaw, LAD
*Hank Aaron Award: Miguel Cabrera, DET (AL); Buster Posey, SF (NL)
* All-Star Game MVP: Melky Cabrera, SF
*League Championship Series MVP: Delmon Young, DET (AL); Marco Scutaro, SF (NL)
*World Series MVP: Pablo Sandoval, SF

Sporting News Awards
*Player of the Year: Miguel Cabrera, DET

* Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, LAA (AL); Wade Miley, ARI (NL)
* Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Dunn, CWS (AL); Buster Posey, SF (NL)
* Manager of the Year: Buck Showalter, BAL (AL); Davey Johnson, WAS (NL)
* Executive of the Year: Billy Beane, OAK

Players Choice Awards
*Player of the Year: Miguel Cabrera, DET
*Marvin Miller Man of the Year: Chipper Jones, ATL
*Outstanding Players: Miguel Cabrera, DET (AL); Andrew McCutchen, PIT, (NL)
*Outstanding Pitchers: David Price, TB (AL); R. A. Dickey, NYM (NL)
*Outstanding Rookies: Mike Trout, LAA (AL); Todd Frazier, CIN (NL)
*Comeback Players of the Year: Adam Dunn, CWS (AL); Buster Posey, SF (NL)

Silver Slugger Awards

Gold Glove Awards

Other Awards
* Babe Ruth Award – Pablo Sandoval, SF
*Branch Rickey Award: R. A. Dickey, NYM
*Hutch Award: Barry Zito, SF
* Luis Aparicio Award: Miguel Cabrera, DET

*Rolaids Relief Man Award: Jim Johnson, BAL (AL); Craig Kimbrel, ATL (NL)
*Warren Spahn Award: Gio González, WAS

Minor League Baseball

* Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award: Wil Myers, Omaha (KC)
* USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award: Wil Myers, Omaha (KC)
* International League MVP: Mauro Gomez, Pawtucket (BOS)
* Pacific Coast League MVP: Bryan LaHair, Iowa (CHC)

Events

January

*January 9 – former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, getting 86.4 percent of the vote by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). He would later be honored July 22 in Cooperstown, along with the late Ron Santo, who is elected by the Golden Era Committee. The day before the induction ceremony, the Hall presented ''Toronto Sun'' baseball writer Bob Elliott, with the BBWAA's J.G. Taylor Spink Award and Tim McCarver with its own Ford C. Frick Award.
*January 12 – Major League owners vote to approve a contract extension for two years for commissioner Bud Selig through the 2014 season.
*January 13 – In a cost-efficient effort to bolster the rotation, prized New York Yankees catching prospect Jesús Montero and pitcher Héctor Noesí are traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for power-pitching right hander Michael Pineda and minor leaguer José Campos. The Yankees build upon the trade agreement in a matter of hours with the addition of free agent Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal worth around 10 million dollars.
*January 17 – At White House, President Barack Obama dubs the St. Louis Cardinals the "greatest comeback team in the history of baseball" thanks to their thrilling late-season charge into the playoffs and death-defying, seven-game triumph in last November's World Series. Leading off at the event is First Lady Michelle Obama, celebrating her 48th birthday. Two key figures of the championship season are absent: Manager Tony La Russa retired after the series, while star Albert Pujols signed a $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason.

February

*February 6 – Dominican Republic's Leones del Escogido are soundly defeated by Venezuela's Tigres de Aragua, 7–0, but still clinched the 2012 Caribbean Series title when Mexico's Yaquis de Obregón loses to Puerto Rico's Indios de Mayagüez in the early game, 4–3, to play itself out of contention.
*February 23 – 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun wins his appeal against a 50-game suspension. The suspension was overturned by baseball arbitrator Shyam Das. The Braun case marks the first time a big leaguer has successfully challenged a drug-related penalty in a grievance. According to ''ESPN'' sources, Major League Baseball is weighing the possibility of suing in federal court to reverse the decision.

March

*March 2 – Major League Baseball expands its playoff format to 10 teams for the 2012 season, adding a second wild card in each league. The decision establishes a new one-game, wild-card round in each league between the teams with the best records.
*March 16 – Andy Pettitte comes out of retirement to a $2.5 million deal with the New York Yankees.
*March 28 – At Tokyo Dome, Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki has four hits and drives in a run, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 3–1 win over the Oakland Athletics in Major League Baseball season opener.
*March 30 – At the age of 49, Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest starting pitcher ever on an Opening Day roster. Moyer joined the Colorado Rockies on this date, which was the 20th anniversary of his being released by the Chicago Cubs. At that time, he had been released three times in three years. He would turn 50 in November 2012.

April

*April 4 – The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Miami Marlins 4–1 in the first regular-season game at Marlins Park. The ceremonial first pitch is thrown by Muhammad Ali, who won his first of three heavyweight boxing championships by defeating Sonny Liston in Miami in 1964. The game marks Mike Matheny's managerial debut; he replaced Tony La Russa, who retired after managing the Cardinals to the 2011 World Series title.
*April 5 – The longest MLB Opening Day game is played, with the Toronto Blue Jays defeating the Cleveland Indians, 7–4, at Progressive Field in 16 innings. A three-run homer by J. P. Arencibia marks the difference. The marathon eclipses the previous longest openers – 15 innings between Cleveland and the Detroit Tigers on April 19, , and 15 innings between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators on April 13, .
*April 7
**Rajai Davis hits a two-run double in the 12th inning, as the Toronto Blue Jays rally for the second straight game against Cleveland Indians' bullpen, to win in extra innings again, by the same score of 7–4.
**Robin Ventura earns his first career victory as a manager, as the Chicago White Sox defeat the two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers, 4–3, at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
*April 8 – The Boston Red Sox lose to the Detroit Tigers, 13–12, while the New York Yankees are defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays, 3–0. These results mark the second time in Major League history that both the Red Sox and Yankees started with a 0–3 record. The other was in the 1966 season, in which Boston started 0–5 and finished next-to-last with a 72–90 record, and New York started 0–3 and finished last with a 70–89 record.
*April 10 – The Miami Marlins suspend manager Ozzie Guillén for five games because of his controversial comments about Fidel Castro.
*April 13
**The Boston Red Sox begin their 101st season at Fenway Park by winning their eighth straight home opener, 12–2, over the Tampa Bay Rays.
**Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Aaron Harang sets a franchise record by striking out nine consecutive batters against the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers go on to win 9–8. Harang falls one strikeout short of the all-time major league record of 10 set by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver of the New York Mets on April 22, , also against San Diego. Harang breaks the 50-year-old Dodgers mark of eight consecutive strikeouts, which was recorded by Johnny Podres against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 2, .
*April 17 – At Coors Field, Colorado Rockies pitcher Jamie Moyer, at 49 years 5 months, becomes the oldest pitcher to record a Major League victory as the Rockies defeat the San Diego Padres 5–3. The previous record was held by Jack Quinn, who recorded his last Major League victory in , two months after his 49th birthday.
*April 18
**Bartolo Colón of the Oakland A's pitches eight shutout innings in a 6–0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The game includes a stretch, from the fifth to the eight inning, in which Colon pitches 38 consecutive strikes, the longest such streak since major league baseball began recording the statistic in 1988.
**Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies scatters seven hits over 10 innings against the San Francisco Giants to become the first starting pitcher to throw ten shutout innings since Mark Mulder of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005. Giants starter Matt Cain, meanwhile, allows only two hits until being lifted for a pinch-hitter after 9 innings. The two become the first pair of starting pitchers to combine for at least 19 shutout innings since 1999. The Giants win the game 1–0 in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 11th inning.
*April 19 – José Altuve, Brian Bogusevic, and Matt Downs of the Houston Astros each hit a triple in the top of the first inning in an 11–4 victory over the Washington Nationals. This was the first time in Astros history that they hit 3 triples in an inning and also tied the club record for most in a game. 1995 was the last time a team had 3 triples in the first inning.
*April 20 – Fenway Park celebrates its 100th birthday, with about 200 former Boston Red Sox players, managers and coaches coming out for the pre-game introduction. Among those players are first baseman Bill Buckner (who famously let a ground ball get past him in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series), pitcher Pedro Martinez, and first baseman (and current MLB Network analyst) Kevin Millar (who famously drew the walk that started Boston's epic comeback in the 2004 ALCS). The New York Yankees, however, spoil the party and defeat the Red Sox 6–2 on five home runs, all off starter Clay Buchholz. One of the home runs is Alex Rodriguez' 631st and puts him past former teammate Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth place on the all-time list. In the first game at Fenway exactly 100 years earlier, the Red Sox had defeated the Yankees' forerunner, the New York Highlanders, 7–6 in 11 innings.
*April 21
**At Safeco Field, Philip Humber pitches the first perfect game in the majors in almost two years, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 4–0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. It is the 21st perfect game in major league history and first since the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay threw one against the Florida Marlins on May 29, . It is also the third in White Sox history, joining Mark Buehrle against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 23, , and Charles Robertson against the Detroit Tigers on April 30, .
**At Fenway Park, the New York Yankees tie a franchise record by overcoming a nine-run deficit to defeat the Boston Red Sox, 15–9. Trailing 9–0 after five innings, the Yankees begin their comeback in the sixth inning on the first of Mark Teixeira's two home runs, which come from both sides of the plate, the 13th time he has done so. The Yankees score seven runs in the seventh on a Nick Swisher grand slam, followed by Teixeira's second home run; then another seven runs in the eighth inning, with the tying and go-ahead runs scored by Eduardo Núñez and Derek Jeter on a Swisher double. Teixeira and Swisher each drive in six runs for the Yankees, who last overcame a nine-run deficit to win on June 26, , also against the Red Sox.
*April 25
**Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox becomes the 48th player in major league history to join the 400-home run club with a solo shot against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum.
**David Wright hit a two-run home run off Mark Buehrle in the 6th inning, guiding the New York Mets to a 5–1 victory over the Miami Marlins. With his two runs batted in, Wright becomes the all-time RBI leader in Mets franchise history with 735, passing Darryl Strawberry. Knuckle baller R. A. Dickey is credited as the winning pitcher. In addition, the Marlins becomes the first team in MLB history to walk four consecutive batters using four consecutive pitchers, when Josh Johnson, Randy Choate, Steve Cishek and Mike Dunn throws free passes to Lucas Duda, Justin Turner, Scott Hairston and Josh Thole, respectively.
*April 26
**Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants goes 1-for-5, extending his season-opening hitting streak to 19 games, a franchise record. Sandoval enters the game tied with Johnny Rucker, who hit in the first 18 games of the season with the then-New York Giants.
**The New York Mets field an entire starting lineup of home-grown talent for the first time since September 19, . With former Mets farmhand José Reyes batting lead-off for the Miami Marlins, all ten players on the field at the game's start began their careers with the Mets.
*April 27 – Ryan Cook of the Oakland Athletics becomes the 60th pitcher in MLB history to strike out four batters in an inning. J. J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles each strike out swinging in the bottom of the eighth inning, with Jones reaching first base as the result of a third-strike wild pitch.

May

*May 2 – At Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim no-hits the Minnesota Twins 9–0. Weaver strikes out nine and allows only two baserunners: Chris Parmelee, who strikes out in the second inning but reaches on a passed ball, and Josh Willingham, who walks in the seventh. The no-hitter is the first against the Twins since David Wells' perfect game in , and the fifth time they've been held hitless.
*May 3:
**Mariano Rivera tears a ligament in his right knee before the New York Yankees lose 4–3 to the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
**Cincinnati Reds starter Homer Bailey celebrates his 26th birthday and Chicago Cubs starter Ryan Dempster celebrates his 35th birthday, marking the first time in Major League history that opposing starting pitchers both celebrated birthdays. The Reds go on to win 4–3 in 10 innings in Cincinnati.
*May 7 – At Fenway Park, the Baltimore Orioles outlast the Boston Red Sox, 9–6, in 17 innings. Adam Jones hits a three-run home run in the top of the 17th off designated hitter Darnell McDonald, whom the Red Sox turn to once their bullpen was empty. Orioles DH Chris Davis, who had never pitched an inning in professional baseball, hurls two innings of shutout ball and is credited with the victory. The last time two teams brought in position players to pitch in the same game was on October 4, , when the Detroit Tigers' Ty Cobb and the St. Louis Browns' George Sisler closed out the second game of a doubleheader on the last day of the season. Davis also struck out five times at the plate to record the first '' platinum sombrero'' of the season, and becomes the eighth player, but first non-pitcher, since 1918 to get a win for a game in which he strikes out five times.
*May 8
**Josh Hamilton ties the major league record by hitting four home runs, all of them two-run shots with shortstop Elvis Andrus on base, as he went five-for-five in the Texas Rangers' 10–3 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. It marks the 16th four-home-run game in major league history, and the 6th in the American League. Hamilton adds a double for his third hit of the game in amassing a career-high eight runs batted in. His 18 total bases in the game breaks the club record set by José Canseco in against the Seattle Mariners, sets a new league record and is one shy of the major league record posted by Shawn Green in the 2002 season.
**Class-A Greenville Drive (Boston) makes history as three pitchers combine to toss the club's first ever no-hitter. Miguel Pena (six innings), Hunter Cervenka (two) and Tyler Lockwood (one) join forces to defeat the Rome Braves (Atlanta), 1–0. A solo home run by Keury De La Cruz off David Filak in the sixth inning counts for the only run of the game.
*May 13 – Joey Votto hits three home runs, including a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the 9th inning, in the Cincinnati Reds' 9–6 victory over the Washington Nationals. Votto, who racks up six RBI and 14 total bases in the game, is the first player ever to have hit three home runs which include a walk-off grand slam, in a game.
*May 14 – Major League Baseball drops its 100-game suspension of Colorado Rockies catcher Eliezer Alfonzo for a positive drug test because of the same procedural issues that came up in the Ryan Braun case. Alfonzo became the first player suspended twice for performance-enhancing drugs under the MLB testing program when the commissioner's office announced a 100-game penalty in September 2011. Alfonzo appealed, culminating in today's decision. The reversal comes about because the storage and shipment of his urine sample was similar to those leading to Braun's 50-game drug penalty getting overturned by an arbitrator in February.
*May 16 – New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg and owner Fred Wilpon announce that the 2013 All-Star Game will be held at Citi Field.
*May 17
** Yan Gomes starts at third base for the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first Brazilian-born player in major league history. Born in São Paulo, Gomes goes 2-for-3 in a 4–1 victory over the New York Yankees at the Rogers Centre.
**Former Boston Red Sox manager Butch Hobson, now heading the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League, becomes the 20th manager in baseball history to reach 1,500 career victories with the club's win.
*May 18 – At Comerica Park, Justin Verlander has his bid for a third career no-hitter broken up with one out in the ninth inning of the Detroit Tigers' 6–0 interleague victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. A single by Josh Harrison foils this bid and will be the only hit Verlander allows. Verlander, who had already pitched an interleague no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers in , as well as a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays in , was bidding to join Larry Corcoran, Cy Young, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan as pitchers who had thrown three Major League no-hitters. The no-hitter would also have been the first pitched against the Pirates since Bob Gibson no-hit them in .
*May 20
** Mike Avilés hits a home run on the second pitch he saw from Cliff Lee, to become the first Boston Red Sox player in 99 years to lead off consecutive games with a home run, joining Hall of Famer Harry Hooper, who did it in the 1913 season. Josh Beckett hurls seven scoreless innings and Avilés also singles in a run in the 5–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
**Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers strikes out 15 batters in seven innings of work and the Tigers top the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4–3, at Comerica Park. Scherzer's 15 strikeouts are the most by a Tigers pitcher in 40 years. Mickey Lolich had 15 strikeouts against the Boston Red Sox on October 2, . Previously, Lolich set the club record of 16 during the 1969 season, doing it twice in less than three weeks.
*May 21 – In Double-A action, three New Hampshire Fisher Cats (TOR) pitchers combine to throw the third no-hitter in franchise history, stifling the Portland Sea Dogs (BOS) in a 6–0 victory at New Hampshire. Combining on the gem for the Fisher Cats were Brett Cecil ( innings), Danny Farquhar (), and Ronald Uviedo (1). It is the first no-hitter for New Hampshire since Kyle Drabek hurled a complete-game, nine-inning ho-hitter against the New Britain Rock Cats (MIN) on July 4, .
*May 26 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia has a pinch-hit two-run home run off Fernando Rodney with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 3–2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. It is the first walk-off home run of Saltalamacchia's career, while Rodney suffers the first blown save of the season after a perfect 15-for-15 in save opportunities.
*May 28 – Chris Sale strikes out a career-high 15, Adam Dunn hits a two-run home run, and the Chicago White Sox extend their winning streak to six games with a 2–1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Sale nearly makes White Sox history in a dominating victory, allowing one run on three hits and two walks in innings, while finishing one strikeout shy of the team record. Jack Harshman struck out 16 Boston Red Sox batters on July 25, 1954.
*May 29 – Hideki Matsui becomes the first player in baseball history to play 10 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball and 10 seasons in the Major Leagues when he debuts for the Tampa Bay Rays against the Chicago White Sox. Matsui breaks a scoreless tie with a two-run home run in his second at-bat in an eventual loss for the Rays. He also homered in his major league debuts with the Anaheim Angels and the New York Yankees.
*May 30 – Carlos González hits three home runs in his last three at-bats, en route to a Colorado Rockies 13–5 victory over the Houston Astros. González breaks a 5-all tie with a solo shot leading off the bottom of the fifth inning, adds a two-run drive in the sixth, and then has another solo shot in the eighth. Michael Cuddyer contributes a grand slam in the first frame and Dexter Fowler adds a three-run homer in the sixth.

June

*June 1:
**Major League Baseball announces the introduction of a new qualifying round for the 2013 World Baseball Classic which will expand the competitive field from 16 to 28 countries. The new round will feature 16 teams divided into four pools of four teams each. The teams invited to participate will include the four World Baseball Classic teams from 2009 that did not win a game.
**After 50 seasons and 8,020 games, the New York Mets record their first no-hitter as Johan Santana performs the deed in the Mets' 8–0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. Santana is assisted in the sixth inning by a foul ball call on a Carlos Beltrán line drive over third base that appears to land on the chalk line (Beltrán eventually grounds out to third baseman David Wright) and by Mike Baxter's seventh-inning catch to rob Yadier Molina of a possible extra-base hit. The no-hitter leaves the San Diego Padres, who began play in , as the only remaining team without a no-hitter, and is the first against a defending World Series champion since Nolan Ryan no-hit the Oakland Athletics on June 11, .
**At Coors Field, a record five players whose fathers had played Major League Baseball are in the Los Angeles Dodgers starting lineup. Tony Gwynn Jr. (son of Tony Sr.), Iván DeJesús Jr. (son of Iván Sr.), Jerry Hairston Jr. (son of Jerry Sr.), Scott Van Slyke (son of Andy Van Slyke) and Dee Gordon (son of Tom Gordon) are in the starting lineup for the Dodgers' game against the Colorado Rockies, which Colorado wins 13–3. It is also the first time the starting infield consists of four players whose fathers had played Major League Baseball: Van Slyke at first base, Hairston at second base, Gordon at shortstop and DeJesús at third base.
*June 3 – Magglio Ordóñez officially announces his retirement at Comerica Park. A six-time All-Star, the 38-year-old Ordóñez finishes his career with a .309 batting average over 15 seasons with the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox. His 294 career home runs are the second-most by a Venezuela-born player, trailing only Andrés Galarraga's 399. His highlights include the pennant-winning home run in Game 4 of the 2006 AL Championship Series. Then, in 2007 he became the first Tiger to win the batting crown in 46 years. Ordóñez posted a .363 average to claim the American League title, including 28 home runs, 139 runs batted in and a league-best 54 doubles, while his .363 average was the highest by a Detroit player since , when Charlie Gehringer finished with a .371 mark.
*June 8 – At Safeco Field, a record-tying six Seattle Mariner pitchers combine to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kevin Millwood throws the first six innings before leaving the game with a groin injury; he is relieved by Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor (who records his first major league victory), Lucas Luetge and Brandon League, before Tom Wilhelmsen closed out a 1–0 win and was credited with the save. The six pitchers tie a record for most in a combined no-hitter, which was set by six Houston Astros pitchers in no-hitting the New York Yankees during the season. Millwood, a no-hit pitcher during the 2003 season, becomes the fourth no-hit pitcher to also pitch in a combined no-hitter, joining Vida Blue, Mike Witt and Kent Mercker.
*June 13:
**At AT&T Park, Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants pitches the 22nd perfect game in Major League history, and the first in the franchise's history, defeating the Houston Astros 10–0. His 14 strikeouts tie the record for most in a perfect game, set by Sandy Koufax in his perfect game in . Besides this, home plate umpire Ted Barrett becomes the first umpire to call balls and strikes for two perfect games, having also done so for David Cone's perfect game in .
**At Tropicana Field, R. A. Dickey of the New York Mets breaks Jerry Koosman's 39-year franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings, pitching a one-hitter in defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 9–1. He strikes out a career-high 12 batters and allows a ninth-inning unearned run, which ends his consecutive scoreless inning streak at . Koosman had held the previous franchise record, pitching consecutive scoreless innings in .
*June 14 – Jim Thome of the Philadelphia Phillies becomes just the fourth player in major league history to hit 100 home runs for three different clubs with his solo shot in a 6–1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. He joins Darrell Evans, Reggie Jackson and Alex Rodriguez in that exclusive club. Thome's homer also was his 99th in a Phillies uniform, while his 607 career homers rank him eighth on the all-time list.
*June 16 – The South Division rallies for a 6–3 victory over the North in the 51st annual Florida State League All-Star Game held at Charlotte Sports Park. St. Lucie Mets third baseman Wilmer Flores, who goes 3-for-4 with a run scored, drives in three runs over the final three innings to earn Most Valuable Player honors.
*June 18 – R. A. Dickey hurls his second straight one-hitter in the New York Mets' 5–0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, to become the first major leaguer in 24 years to do that since Toronto Blue Jays' Dave Stieb in the 1988 season. The knuckleballer also becomes the first pitcher in MLB history to allow no earned runs and strike out at least eight batters in five consecutive starts, while joining Stieb as one of 10 pitchers since to allow one hit or fewer in consecutive starts. The others are Sam McDowell ( CLE, ), Jim Tobin ( BSN, ), Mort Cooper ( STL, ), Johnny Vander Meer ( CIN, , Lon Warneke (Chicago Cubs">CHC, ), Dazzy Vance">Lon_Warneke">,_Lon_Warneke<_a>_([ , Lon Warneke (Chicago Cubs">CHC, ), Dazzy Vance (Los Angeles Dodgers">BRO, ), Howard Ehmke">hic.html" ;"title="Lon_Warneke.html" ;"title=", Lon Warneke">, Lon Warneke (Chicago Cubs">CHC, ), Dazzy Vance (Los Angeles Dodgers">BRO, ), Howard Ehmke (Boston Red Sox">BOS