1960 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1960 throughout the world.

Champions

Major League Baseball

• World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees (4-3); Bobby Richardson, MVP
• All-Star Game (#1), July 11 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5-3
• All-Star Game (#2), July 13 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 6-0

Continental League: Proposed 3rd Major League with teams in Atlanta, Buffalo, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis-St.Paul and New York disbanded before scheduled start of play in 1961.

Other champions

• College World Series: Minnesota
• Japan Series: Taiyō Whales over Daimai Orions (4-0)
• Little League World Series: American, Levittown, Pennsylvania

Winter Leagues

• 1960 Caribbean Series: Elefantes de Cienfuegos
• Cuban League: Elefantes de Cienfuegos
• Dominican Republic League: Leones del Escogido
• Mexican Pacific League: Ostioneros de Guaymas
• Panamanian League: Marlboro BBC
• Puerto Rican League: Criollos de Caguas
• Venezuelan Western League: Rapiños de Occidente

Awards and honors

• Most Valuable Player
  • Roger Maris, New York Yankees (AL)
  • Dick Groat, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)
• Cy Young Award
  • Vern Law, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Rookie of the Year
  • Ron Hansen, Baltimore Orioles (AL)
  • Frank Howard, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
• The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
  • Roger Maris, New York Yankees
• The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award
  • Chuck Estrada, Baltimore Orioles (AL)
  • Vern Law, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)
• The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
  • Danny Murtaugh, Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

Events

January–February

• January 5 – The Continental League, a proposed third major league, gets an assurance of Congressional support from New York Senator Kenneth Keating.
• February 4 – For the second straight election, the BBWAA voters fail to elect a new member to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Edd Roush gets 146 votes, but 202 are necessary for election. Sam Rice (143) and Eppa Rixey (142) are next in line.
• February 15 – In Caribbean Series action, the Elefantes de Cienfuegos completes a 6-0 sweep to give the Cuban team the Series championship for the fifth straight year. Camilo Pascual, who went 2-0 with 15 strikeouts including a one-hit shutout in the clincher, is named Most Valuable Player.
• February 18 – Walter O'Malley, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, completes the purchase of the Chavez Ravine area in Los Angeles by paying $494,000 for property valued at $92,000.
• February 20 – Branch Rickey meets with officials of the proposed Western Carolinas League about pooling talent for Continental League clubs.
• February 23 – Demolition of Ebbets Field begins. Lucy Monroe sings the National Anthem, and Roy Campanella is given an urn of dirt from behind home plate.

March–April

• March 13 – The Chicago White Sox unveil new road uniforms with the players' names above the number on the back, another innovation by Sox owner Bill Veeck.
• March 24 – Commissioner Ford Frick says he will not allow the Continental League to pool players in the Western Carolinas League as it would violate existing major-minor league agreements.
• March 26 – A Baltimore Orioles–Cincinnati Reds series scheduled for Havana, Cuba, is moved to Miami, Florida by Baltimore chief Lee MacPhail. The Reds, with a farm club in Cuba, want the trip, but the Orioles fear increased political unrest in the area.
• March 31 – By a vote of 8–1, the Professional Baseball Rules Committee turns down a PCL proposal to use a designated hitter for the pitcher.
• April 4 – The Chicago White Sox send catcher Earl Battey and first baseman Don Mincher plus cash to the Washington Senators for first baseman Roy Sievers.
• April 5 – The San Francisco Giants purchase first baseman Dale Long from the Chicago Cubs.
• April 12:
  • With 42,269 fans in attendance, the San Francisco Giants edge the St. Louis Cardinals, 3–1, in the first game at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Sam Jones pitches a three-hitter, and Cardinals outfielder Leon Wagner hits the first home run in the $15 million stadium.
  • Chuck Essegian bats an 11th-inning pinch-hit home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 3–2, before a record Opening Day crowd (67,550) at Los Angeles. The home run is Essegian's third straight as a pinch hitter, including two in the 1959 World Series. Don Drysdale pitches all the way, striking out 14, for the win over Don Elston.
  • In a deal that will haunt the Cleveland Indians, GM Frank Lane sends Norm Cash to the Detroit Tigers for third baseman Steve Demeter. Cash will be Detroit's regular first baseman for the next 14 years and will hit 373 home runs for them. Demeter will play four games for Cleveland.
• April 17:
  • On Easter Sunday, GM Frank Lane brings AL batting champ Harvey Kuenn to the Cleveland Indians and sends co-home run champ Rocky Colavito to the Detroit Tigers. Colavito, an unparalleled fan favorite in Cleveland, will hit 173 home runs before returning to Cleveland in 1965. Kuenn will report to Cleveland, pull a muscle, and never be the same hitter. He'll be traded after one season.
  • Eddie Mathews of the Milwaukee Braves hits his 300th home run, off Robin Roberts, plus a double and a triple, as Milwaukee beats the Philadelphia Phillies, 8–4. To date, only Jimmie Foxx hit his 300th at a younger age.
• April 18:
  • In the American League opener at Washington, D.C., a week later than the National League start, President Dwight D. Eisenhower throws out the first ball, then watches the Senators' Camilo Pascual strike out 15 Boston Red Sox batters to tie Walter Johnson's team record. Boston's only run in a 10–1 loss is a Ted Williams home run, which makes Williams the first player to hit a home run in four different decades.
  • Trader Frank Lane continues to swap, sending Cleveland favorite Herb Score to the Chicago White Sox for Barry Latman. Score and Rocky Colavito, traded three days before, were the last two players to pre-date Lane's arrival in Cleveland.
• April 19:
  • Before a home crowd of 41,661, Minnie Miñoso celebrates his return to the Chicago White Sox with a fourth-inning grand slam against the Kansas City Athletics. Leading off the bottom of the 9th with the score tied 9–9, Miñoso hits a solo homer for his sixth RBI.
  • On Patriot's Day at Fenway Park, Roger Maris makes his debut with the New York Yankees as he goes 4-for-5, including two home runs with four RBI. The Yankees spoil the Boston Red Sox opener with an 8–4 win.
  • The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians play the longest season opener in major-league history, a 15-inning affair won by the Tigers 4-2 at Cleveland Stadium.
• April 29 – At home, the St. Louis Cardinals crush the Chicago Cubs, 16–6. Stan Musial plays his 1,000th game at first base, becoming the first major league player ever with that many at two positions (1,513 games in the outfield). A bright spot for the Cubs is Ernie Banks hitting two home runs to break Gabby Hartnett's club record of 231 homers.

May

• May 1 – Skinny Brown of the Baltimore Orioles pitches a 4–1 win over the Yankees. Brown allows just one hit, a first-inning home run by Mickey Mantle. Rookie Ron Hansen matches Mantle to up his RBI total to an American League high 32.
• May 4:
  • The Chicago Cubs make a trade with WGN (AM) plucking Lou Boudreau out of the broadcast booth to replace Charlie Grimm (6-11) as Cubs manager. "Jolly Cholly" replaces Boudreau behind the mike. The Cubs win, 5–1, over the Pirates as pitcher Dick Ellsworth gains his first ML victory.
  • Baltimore Orioles catcher Gus Triandos sets a pair of American League records with three passed balls in one inning (6th) and four in one game, but knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm, making a rare start, goes seven innings and gets credit for a 6–4 Baltimore win over the Chicago White Sox. Early Wynn records his 2,000th strikeout in a no-decision effort for Chicago. Triandos' PB mark for an inning will be tied by reserve backstop Myron Ginsberg in six days, and Tom Egan will collect five PBs in 1970 to erase Triandos' name from the top of the list.
• May 6 – The Dodgers send veteran outfielder Sandy Amorós to Detroit for first baseman Gail Harris.
• May 7:
  • Pitcher Larry Sherry and catcher Norm Sherry of the Dodgers become the 10th sibling battery in ML history. Norman belts an 11th-inning home run to give his reliever brother Larry a 3–2 win against the Phillies.
  • Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette allows just one hit in beating the visiting Detroit Tigers, 5–0. Neil Chrisley's double is the only Tigers hit.
  • Takehiko Bessho becomes the winningest pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball as his Tokyo Giants beat the Hanshin Tigers 6–3. Bessho has 302 wins in the league, one more than Victor Starfin.
• May 10:
  • Catcher Joe Ginsberg of the Orioles loses a struggle with Hoyt Wilhelm's knuckleball facing the Athletics, and ties the record set six days earlier by teammate Gus Triandos with three passed balls in one inning.
  • Grand slams by Boston Red Sox teammates Vic Wertz and Rip Repulski at Fenway Park give Boston a 9–7 win over the Chicago White Sox. A former National League veteran, Repulski's eighth-inning shot off Don Ferrarese comes on his first American League at bat.
• May 11:
  • Sam Jones pitches a two-hitter and draws a bases-loaded walk for the only run, as the Giants edge the visiting Phillies, 1–0. Jim Owens is the loser.
  • The Phillies announce a trade of first baseman Ed Bouchee and pitcher Don Cardwell to the Chicago Cubs for second baseman Tony Taylor and catcher Cal Neeman.
• May 12 – Duplicating Sam Jones' effort of yesterday, the Giants' Jack Sanford pitches a two-hit, 1–0 win over the Phillies. Sanford matches Jones by striking out 11 and walking three.
• May 13:
  • Mike McCormick's shutout of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the third straight by San Francisco Giants pitchers, following two-hitters against the Philadelphia Phillies by Sam Jones and Jack Sanford. The first-place Giants have seven straight wins.
  • Dick Groat of the Pittsburgh Pirates becomes the first National League player since Connie Ryan in 1953 to hit 6-for-6 as Pittsburgh beats the Milwaukee Braves, 8–2.
  • The Philadelphia Phillies suffer their third straight 1–0 shutout, losing to the hosting Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies, losers of back-to-back 1–0 games in San Francisco, tie the major-league record for straight 1–0 losses. Jim O'Toole's win is Cincinnati's ninth straight.
  • Two days after being traded from the Phillies to the Cubs, Don Cardwell pitches a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. A brilliant, leaping catch of Carl Sawatski's line drive by George Altman in the eighth inning saves Cardwell's gem. Ernie Banks' home run paces the 4–0 win, the first no-hitter against the Cards since May 11, 1919.
• May 19 – The New York Yankees send shortstop Andy Carey to the Kansas City Athletics for slugger Bob Cerv. Cerv had been with the Yankees for five years before going to KC where he hit 38 home runs in 1958 and was chosen as the American League left fielder in the All-Star game over Ted Williams. Cerv will be claimed in the 1960 expansion draft and the Yankees will again reacquire him.
• May 25 – George Crowe of the St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record with his 11th pinch-hit home run, off Don McMahon, as the Cardinals win, 5–3, over the Braves. Crowe began the season tied with Smoky Burgess and Gus Zernial in most career pinch home runs.
• May 27:
  • Since there is no rule limiting the size or shape of the catcher's mitt, Baltimore manager Paul Richards combats the team passed-ball problem while catching Hoyt Wilhelm (38 in 1959; 11 so far this year) by devising an oversized mitt to gather in Wilhelm's fluttering knuckleball. It is half again as large as the standard glove and 40 ounces heavier. Wilhelm goes the distance in beating New York, 3–2, at Yankee Stadium. Catcher Clint Courtney has no passed balls behind the plate.
  • Camilo Pascual strikes out 13 but the Washington Senators lose to the Boston Red Sox, 4–3, his third loss to Boston this year.
• May 28 – Manager Casey Stengel is hospitalized with a virus and high fever and will miss 13 games. The Yankees go 7-6 under interim manager Ralph Houk.

June

• June 12 – In a record-tying three-hour-and-52-minute, 9-inning game, Willie McCovey's pinch-hit grand slam, the first slam of his career, and Orlando Cepeda's three-run double pace the Giants to a 16–7 rout of the Braves.
• June 15 – Mexico City and Poza Rica combine to hit 12 home runs in one game, a Mexican League record.
• June 19 – In a brilliant pair of pitching performances, Orioles pitchers Hoyt Wilhelm and Milt Pappas threw shutouts to beat the host Detroit Tigers. Wilhelm allowed two hits in winning the opener, 2–0, over Jim Bunning, and Pappas allows three hits in winning the nitecap, 1–0, over Don Mossi. Jim Gentile and Ron Hansen collected home runs as catcher Clint Courtney, using the big glove designed by manager Paul Richards, is twice charged with batter interference, the first loading the bases in the 4th inning.
• June 24 – Willie Mays belted two home runs and made 10 putouts to lead the Giants in a 5–3 win at Cincinnati. Mays added three RBI, three runs scored, a single and stole home.
• June 26 – Hoping to speed up the election process, the Hall of Fame changes its voting procedures. The new rules allow the Special Veterans Committee to vote annually, rather than every other year, and to induct up to two players a year. The BBWAA is authorized to hold a runoff election of the top 30 vote getters if no one is elected in the first ballot.
• June 29 – The Cleveland Indians buy pitcher Don Newcombe from the Reds.
• June 30 – Dick Stuart blasts three consecutive home runs, as the Pirates split with the Giants. Stuart drives in seven runs and joins Ralph Kiner as the second Pirates player to hit three home runs in a game at Forbes Field.

July

• July 4 – Mickey Mantle's three-run first-inning home run off Hal Woodeshick is the 300th of his career. Mantle becomes the 18th major leaguer to join the 300-HR club, but the Yankees drop a 9–8 decision to the Senators.
• July 8 – The Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro brought an end to Havana's International League team. The Sugar Kings relocate in Jersey City, marking that city's return to the International League after a 10-year absence. Poor attendance at Roosevelt Stadium prompts the parent Cincinnati Reds to cease the minor league operation there following the 1960 season.
• July 9 – Jim Coates suffers his first loss after nine straight wins, and 14 straight over two seasons, as the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees, 6–5. The Sox are led by Vic Wertz, who hit a home run, double and single to drive in four runs. Coates' major-league career-record is 17–2.
• July 11 – At KC Municipal Stadium, one-hit three-innings shutout pitching by Bob Friend and home runs by Ernie Banks and Del Crandall paced the National League to a 5–4 win over the American League in the first of two All-Star Games. Friend, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, has notched two of the NL's last three All-Star wins.
• July 13 – At Yankee Stadium, Vern Law became the second Pirates pitcher to win a 1960 All-Star Game, working two scoreless innings. Stan Musial came off the National League bench and hit his record sixth and last All-Star Game home run. Willie Mays, Ken Boyer and Eddie Mathews also homered in the 6–0 NL win, the third shutout in All-Star Game history. Law (1st, 2nd) combined the eight-hit shutout along with Johnny Podres (3rd), Stan Williams (5th, 6th), Larry Jackson (7th), Bill Henry (8th) and Lindy McDaniel (9th). Whitey Ford was the loser.
• July 18 – The National League votes to expand to 10 clubs if the Continental League does not join organized baseball. The new NL clubs would invade CL territories.
• July 19:
  • In a spectacular ML debut, Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants pitches no-hit ball until Clay Dalrymple pinch-hit singles with two out in the 7th inning. Marichal winds up with 12 strikeouts and a one-hit 2–0 win against the Phillies, becoming the first National League pitcher since 1900 to debut with a one-hitter.
  • Roy Sievers' 21-game hitting streak, the longest for any player in the season, ends, but Chicago White Sox teammate Luis Aparicio's inside-the-park home run and Billy Pierce's shutout beat Boston, 6–0.
  • Senators ace Pedro Ramos pitches a one-hitter 5–0 shutout over Detroit. Rocky Colavito's leadoff single in the eighth inning, a grounder that eludes shortstop José Valdivielso, is the lone safety.
• July 20 – At Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Mickey Mantle golfs a Gary Bell pitch over the auxiliary scoreboard into the distant upper deck in right field, matching Luke Easter as the only major league players to reach that spot. Cleveland holds on for an 8–6 win over the Yankees.
• July 21 – Robin Roberts pitches his third career one-hitter, and the 3rd one-hitter of the season in new Candlestick Park. Felipe Alou spoils Roberts' no-hit bid in the fifth inning of a 3–0 Phillies victory; third baseman Joe Morgan fields the batted ball, but falls down and cannot make a throw.
• July 22 – At Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox down the Cleveland Indians, 6–4. Vic Wertz has a three-run home run and four RBI. Ted Williams also homers, and in the 7th inning, steals second base. Williams sets a major league record as the only player to steal bases in four consecutive decades. He'll be matched by Rickey Henderson in 2000. The Indians' Jimmy Piersall homers twice, both off winner Ike Delock.
• July 23- Kansas City outfielder Whitey Herzog hits into the only All-Cuban Triple Play in ML history. The action goes from Washington Senators starting pitcher Pedro Ramos, to first baseman Julio Bécquer, to shortstop José Valdivielso. The victory, however, goes to reliever Chuck Stobbs (7-2) as the Senators take an 8–3 decision. Harmon Killebrew has a two-run home run.
• July 27 – William Shea, chairman of Mayor Robert Wagner's New York baseball committee, announces the formation of the Continental League. The five founding cities are New York City, Houston, Toronto, Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
• July 30 – Just as he predicts, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Art Mahaffey picks off the first batter to get a hit against him. Then with the next batter to get a hit, he does it again. Curt Flood and Bill White of the St. Louis Cardinals are the base runner victims, but St. Louis still wins, 6–3. In his next game, the first batter to get a hit off Mahaffey will be Jim Marshall, and Mahaffey will pick him off as well.

August

• August 2 – In an agreement with the major leagues, the Continental League abandons plans to join the American League and National League. Walter O'Malley, chairman of the NL Expansion Committee, says, "We immediately will recommend expansion and that we would like to do it in 1961." Milwaukee Braves owner Lou Perini proposes a compromise that four of the CL territories be admitted to the current majors in orderly expansion. Branch Rickey's group quickly accepts. The Continental League ends without playing a game.
• August 3 – In an unusual move, Cleveland Indians GM Frank Lane trades managers with Detroit Tigers GM Bill DeWitt. The Indians' Joe Gordon (49-46) is dealt to the Tigers for Jimmy Dykes (44-52). For one game, until the pair can change places, Jo-Jo White pilots the Indians and Billy Hitchcock guides the Tigers.
• August 7 – The Chicago White Sox win a pair from the Washington Senators, with reliever Gerry Staley picking up two victories. Staley will be 13–8, all in relief, with both wins and losses topping the American League relievers.
• August 8 – A day crowd of 48,323, the largest day crowd ever at Comiskey Park, cheers White Sox pitcher Billy Pierce's four-hit victory over the Yankees, 9–1. Pierce faces just 31 batters.
• August 9 – With fine relief pitching of Lindy McDaniel in the opener and a five-hitter by Curt Simmons in the nitecap, the St. Louis Cardinals sweep the Philadelphia Phillies, 5–4 and 6–0. Phillies Tony Taylor ties a major league record for a second baseman by going the entire doubleheader (18 innings) without a putout – the first to achieve the feat since Connie Ryan, of the Phillies, on June 14, 1953.
• August 10 – Ted Williams blasts a pair of home runs and a double to pace the Red Sox to a 6–1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Williams has 21 homers for the season. The first of the two today, #512, moves him past Mel Ott into fourth place on the all-time list. After the game, Williams announces that he will retire at the end of the season.
• August 18 – At County Stadium, Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves no-hits the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0. He faces the minimum 27 batters, a fifth-inning hit-by-pitch to Tony González being the only Phillies base runner; González is retired on Lee Walls' double play ground ball one batter later. Burdette also helps his own cause by scoring the only run of the game; after doubling to lead off the eighth, he scores on Bill Bruton's double one batter later.
• August 20 – Ted Williams draws the 2,000th walk of his career in the Red Sox' split of a twi-night doubleheader with the Orioles. Williams joins Babe Ruth as the only major leaguers to collect 2,000 walks. Rickey Henderson in 2000, and Barry Bonds in 2003, will join the select 2,000 walks group.
• August 23 – Following up his no-hitter, Lew Burdette fires his third shutout in a row, pitching the Milwaukee Braves to a 7–0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• August 27 – After pitching 32 ²⁄₃ shutout innings, Braves pitcher Lew Burdette gives up a Felipe Alou home run as San Francisco defeats the Braves 3–1.
• August 30 – Boston Red Sox second baseman Pete Runnels goes 6-for-7, as Boston edges the Tigers in the 15-inning opener of a twin bill. Runnels’ 15th-inning double brings Frank Malzone home with the winning run to win, 5–4. Runnels has three more hits in the nightcap victory, 3–2 in 10 innings. His six hits are the most in an American League game since July 8, 1955. With 9-for-11 in the doubleheader, Runnels ties the major league record.

September

• September 2 – Boston's Ted Williams hits a home run off Don Lee of the Senators. Williams had homered against Lee's father, Thornton, 20 years earlier.
• September 3:
  • A battle of left-handed pitchers features Sandy Koufax of the LA Dodgers against Mike McCormick of the SF Giants. Felipe Alou's home run gives McCormick a 1–0 win, his second 1–0 win against Los Angeles in 1960.
  • In the International League, Al Cicotte of the Toronto Maple Leafs pitches an 11-inning no-hitter against Montreal.
• September 6 – In his final game at Yankee Stadium, Ted Williams hits his 518th career home run in a Red Sox 7–1 win.
• September 10 – In Detroit, the Yankees' Mickey Mantle hits a home run in the 6th inning, the ball clearing the right field roof and landing in the Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. In June 1985, Mantle's blow was retroactively measured at 643 feet, and will be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records at that distance.
• September 13 – 18-year-old outfielder Danny Murphy becomes the youngest Chicago Cubs player to hit a home run when he clouts a three-run homer off Bob Purkey of the Cincinnati Reds, as the Reds win 8–6 at home. Murphy will play just 49 games for the Cubs from 1960 to 1962. He will come back as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox in 1969-70.
• September 15 – Willie Mays ties the modern major league record with three triples in a game against the Phillies. The last National League player to hit three triples in a game was Roberto Clemente, in 1958.
• September 16:
  • At the age of 39, Warren Spahn notches his 11th 20-win season with a 4–0 no-hitter against the Phillies. Spahn also sets a Milwaukee club record with 15 strikeouts in handing the last-place Phils their 90th loss of the year.
  • The Baltimore Orioles (83-58) and New York Yankees (82-57) open a crucial four games series with the Orioles just .002 in back of New York. Three days later, during a doubleheader, the Yankees will sweep Baltimore. The faltering Birds, now four back, will end up in second place, eight games back.
• September 18 – At Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks sets a record by drawing his 27th intentional walk of the season.
• September 19 – The Chicago White Sox pennant hopes are damaged with a nitecap 7–6 loss to the Detroit Tigers, after they win the opener, 8–4. Pinch hitter Norm Cash scores the decisive run in game two. Cash thus ends the season by grounding into no double plays, becoming the first American League player since league records on this were started in 1940. Teammates Dick McAuliffe and Roger Repoz will duplicate this in 1968.
• September 20 – Boston Red Sox outfielder Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for Ted Williams, who is forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his ankle, and grounds into a double play. On May 31, 1961, Hardy will pinch hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for Roger Maris when both were at Cleveland (May 18, 1958).
• September 25:
  • For the first time since 1927, the Pittsburgh Pirates are headed for the World Series.
  • Ralph Terry clinches the New York Yankees 25th pennant with a 4–3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Luis Arroyo saves the win. It is Casey Stengel's 10th pennant in 12 years at New York.
• September 28 – In his last major league at bat, Ted Williams picks out a 1-1 pitch by Baltimore's Jack Fisher and drives it 450 feet into the right-center field seats behind the Boston bullpen. It is Williams' 521st and last career home run, putting him third on the all-time list. Williams stays in the dugout, ignoring the thunderous ovation at Fenway Park, and refused to tip his hat to the hometown fans.

October

• October 2 – The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Washington Senators 2-1 at Griffith Stadium in the Senators' final game before their move to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. Milt Pappas wins the pitchers' duel against Pedro Ramos, who gives up a home run to Jackie Brandt for the deciding run.
• October 3 – The New York Yankees head into the World Series with a 15-game winning streak, the 8th longest streak in the American League this century, after Dale Long's two-run 9th-inning home run gives them an 8–7 win over the Boston Red Sox. The 193 home runs are an AL season record, three better than the 1956 Yankees. RBI leader Roger Maris drives in three runs, but falls one home run short of Mickey Mantle's league-high 40.
• October 5 – In a portent of things to come, Bill Mazeroski's two-run 5th-inning home run off Jim Coates is the difference as Pittsburgh beats the Yankees 6–4 in its first World Series win since 1925. Roy Face survives a two-run 9th-inning Elston Howard home run to preserve Vern Law's victory.
• October 6 – Mickey Mantle hits two home runs in a Yankees 16–3 victory at Forbes Field, evening the World Series. A seven-run 6th inning overwhelms Pittsburgh.
• October 8 – At Yankee Stadium, Bobby Richardson collects six RBI, including a grand slam off reliever Clem Labine in a six-run first inning, and Whitey Ford pitches a four-hitter 10–0 shutout to give the Yankees a 2-1 World Series lead, spoiling Pittsburgh manager Danny Murtaugh's 43rd birthday.
• October 9 – Vern Law wins again, thanks to his own RBI single and Bill Virdon's two-run hit. Roy Face retires the final eight batters in order. The Pittsburgh Pirates 3–2 win evens the 1960 World Series.
• October 10 – Bill Mazeroski stars again. His two-run double stakes Harvey Haddix to a 3–0 lead. Roy Face is called on once more for another hitless effort to preserve a 5–2 win over the Yankees and 3-2 World Series lead for the surprising Pirates.
• October 12 – In Game Six of the World Series, Whitey Ford preserves the Yankees hopes with a seven-hit shutout at Forbes Field. Bob Friend is bombed again as the Yankees coasts 12–0. Bobby Richardson's two run-scoring triples give him a WS record of 12 RBI.
• October 13 – The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the New York Yankees, 10-9, in Game 7 of the World Series, to win their third World Championship, and first since 1925, four games to three. In a 9–9 tie, Bill Mazeroski leads off the last of the ninth inning and hits what is arguably the most dramatic home run in WS history, off Yankees P Ralph Terry. The drama of Mazeroski's home run was heightened by the excitement that preceded the home run: A combined total of seven runs were scored by both teams in a wild and whacky bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth. An oddity in this game – it is the only World Series game this century with no strikeouts recorded. Another oddity, this one to the 1960 World Series itself – Mazeroski's home run makes this 1960 World Series the only World Series in Major League history won by a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the seventh and deciding game. Despite Mazeroski's heroics, however, Yankees 2B Bobby Richardson is named the Series MVP, as the Yankees outscore Pittsburgh, 55 to 27.
• October 17 – The National League votes to admit Houston and New York City teams to the league in 1962, the first structural change since 1900, and to go to a 10-team league.
• October 18 – Instituting a mandatory retirement age of 65, New York Yankees co-owners Dan Topping and Del Webb relieve Casey Stengel as the team manager. Stengel says "I wasn't retired—they fired me." The veteran skipper has a 1,149-696 career record.
• October 20 – Coach Ralph Houk, at age 41, is named to succeed Casey Stengel as the Yankees manager. Houk briefly led the Yankees in 1960 when Stengel was hospitalized.
• October 27 – Trying to jump ahead of the National League, the American League admits Los Angeles and Minneapolis teams to the league with plans to have the new clubs begin competition in 1961 in the new 10-team league. Calvin Griffith is given permission to move the existing Washington Senators franchise to Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota. (An expansion team, also called the Senators, will be placed in Washington.) American League president Joe Cronin says the league will play a 162-game schedule, with 18 games against each opponent. The National League will balk, saying the two expansions are not analogous and that the American League was not invited to move into LA.

November–December

• November 2 – Hank Greenberg asks for American League dates at the Los Angeles Coliseum, home of the National League Dodgers. Greenberg and Bill Veeck are expected to run the new Los Angeles club in the AL. On November 17, Greenberg will drop out of the bidding to run the new franchise.
• November 21 – Bob Scheffing signs to manage the Detroit Tigers after the job is turned down by Casey Stengel.
• November 22 – The American League proposes that both leagues expand to nine teams in 1961 and begin interleague play. It will delay entering the Los Angeles market if the National League agrees. There will be expansion in the American League in 1961, but interleague play does not arrive until 1997.
• November 23 – Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Frank Howard is selected National League Rookie of the Year with 12 of 24 votes. The six-foot, nine-inch Howard belted 23 home runs during the regular season.
• November 26 – The relocated American League team in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis – Saint Paul chooses the appropriate nickname Twins to represent its franchise. The team recently moved from Washington, D.C., where they were known as the Senators.
• December 5 – American League president Joe Cronin suggests that if the National League starts its new New York City franchise in 1961, the AL will stay out of Los Angeles until 1962. The NL turned down the suggested compromise of November 22 because Houston will not be ready in 1961.
• December 6 – A group headed by movie star Gene Autry and former football star Bob Reynolds is awarded the new American League |Los Angeles Angels. Charlie Finley withdraws his bid for Los Angeles and offers to purchase control of the Kansas City Athletics. On December 20, Finley will buy 52 percent of the A's from Arnold Johnson's estate.
• December 21 – Chicago Cubs owner P. K. Wrigley says his team will have no manager, but will use a college of coaches.

Births

January–February

• January 4 – Paul Gibson
• January 8 – Randy Ready
• January 12 – Tim Hulett
• January 12 – Mike Marshall
• January 12 – Mike Trujillo
• January 17 – Chili Davis
• January 21 – Andy Hawkins
• January 21 – Darryl Motley
• January 29 – Steve Sax
• February 1 – Cecilio Guante
• February 2 – Buddy Biancalana
• February 16 – Bill Pecota
• February 24 – Nick Esasky

March–April

• March 2 – Mike Woodard
• March 3 – Neal Heaton
• March 7 – Joe Carter
• March 8 – Kevin Hagen
• March 14 – Kirby Puckett
• March 14 – Jerry Willard
• March 15 – Mike Pagliarulo
• April 16 – Curt Young
• April 19 – Frank Viola
• April 26 – Steve Lombardozzi
• April 28 – Tom Browning
• April 28 – John Cerutti

May–June

• May 1 – Charlie O'Brien
• May 4 – Tim Tschida
• May 9 – Tony Gwynn
• May 21 – Kent Hrbek
• May 26 – Rob Murphy
• June 3 – Steve Lyons
• June 23 – Jim Deshaies
• June 27 – Jackie Gutiérrez
• June 30 – Al Newman

July–August

• July 13 – Mike Fitzgerald
• July 16 – Terry Pendleton
• July 20 – Mike Witt
• July 28 – Carmelo Martínez
• July 30 – Steve Ellsworth
• August 1 – Dave Anderson
• August 3 – Sid Bream
• August 11 – Al Pedrique
• August 18 – Mike LaValliere
• August 19 – Ron Darling
• August 20 – Tom Brunansky
• August 20 – Mark Langston
• August 24 – Cal Ripken, Jr.
• August 25 – Bobby Meacham

September–October

• September 2 – Rex Hudler
• September 5 – Candy Maldonado
• September 6 – Greg Olson
• September 9 – Alvin Davis
• September 16 – Mel Hall
• September 16 – Mickey Tettleton
• September 17 – John Franco
• September 20 – Dave Gallagher
• September 22 – Mark Hirschbeck
• September 29 – Rob Deer
• September 29 – Howard Johnson
• October 2 – Ernest Riles
• October 4 – Joe Boever
• October 4 – Billy Hatcher
• October 6 – Jay Baller
• October 10 – Terry Clark
• October 19 – Mark Davis
• October 21 – Franklin Stubbs
• October 27 – Tom Nieto
• October 30 – José Escobar
• October 30 – Gerald Perry
• October 30 – Dave Valle
• October 31 – Mike Gallego

November–December

• November 1 – Fernando Valenzuela
• November 6 – Ron Romanick
• November 12 – Donnie Hill
• November 15 – Rick Luecken
• November 21 – Mark Eichhorn
• November 26 – Harold Reynolds
• November 29 – Howard Johnson
• November 30 – Bob Tewksbury
• December 3 – Gene Nelson
• December 8 – John Mizerock
• December 9 – Juan Samuel
• December 10 – Paul Assenmacher
• December 13 – Jeff Robinson
• December 20 – José DeLeón
• December 21 – Roger McDowell
• December 21 – Andy Van Slyke
• December 24 – John Costello
• December 28 – Zane Smith
• December 28 – Carl Willis

Deaths

January–July

• January 12 – Jimmy Lavender, 75, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs from 1912 to 1916, and for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1917.
• February 11 – Fritz Clausen, 90, a 19th-century pitcher for the Louisville Colonels and Chicago Colts
• February 16 – Stuffy McInnis, 69, excellent fielding first baseman who batted .307 career, most prominently with the Philadelphia Athletics' "$100,000 infield"
• March 2 – Howie Camnitz, 78, pitcher who had three 20-win campaigns for the Pirates
• March 3 – Toussaint Allen, 63, outfielder in the Negro Leagues from 1914 to 1928
• March 18 – Dixie Howell, 40, relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox between 1940 and 1958, who threw a no-hitter game in the American Association, and also was a POW during World War II
• March 22 – Gordon Rhodes, 52, pitcher who played from 1929 to 1936 for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics
• March 30 – Joe Connolly, 76, outfielder for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox in the 1920s
• May 6 – Vern Bickford, 39, pitcher who won 66 games for the Braves, including a no-hitter
• May 21 – George Cochran, 71, a third baseman for the 1918 Boston Red Sox
• May 30 – George Hildebrand, 81, American League umpire from 1913 to 1934 who worked in four World Series; outfielder for Brooklyn in 1902, also credited with developing the spitball while in the minor leagues
• June 25 – Tommy Corcoran, 91, longtime shortstop, and captain of the Cincinnati Reds for 10 years
• July 14 – Al Kellett, 58, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics in the 1920s
• July 14 – Walter Thornton, 85, pitcher/outfielder for the early Chicago teams, 1895–1898. He later became a street preacher.
• July 17 – Pat Duncan, 66, Cincinnati Reds outfielder who was the first player to homer over Crosley Field's left-field fence
• July 18 – Terry Turner, 79, shortstop for the Cleveland Naps and Indians, who led American League shortstops in fielding percentage four times, ranks among the top 10 Cleveland all-timers in seven different offensive categories, and set team-records with 1,619 games played and 4,603 putouts that still stand
• July 28 – Ken Landenberger, 31, minor league slugger and briefly a first baseman for the 1952 White Sox; manager of the Class D Selma Cloverleafs until mid-July 1960 when, stricken with acute leukemia, he stepped aside. He died by month's end.

August–December

• August 12 – Leo Murphy, 71, catcher for the 1915 Pittsburgh Pirates and manager of the AAGPBL Racine Belles
• August 14 – Fred Clarke, 87, Hall of Fame left fielder and manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates who batted .312 in his career, and became one of the first dozen players to make 2500 hits and the first manager to win 1500 games
• August 21 – John Kelleher, 66, backup infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, Chicago Cubs and Boston Braves from 1912 to 1924
• September 23 – Paul Hinson, 56, utility for the 1928 Boston Red Sox
• October 16 – Arch McDonald, 59, broadcaster for the Washington Senators from 1934 to 1956
• October 22 – Charlie Hartman, 72, pitcher for the 1908 Boston Red Sox
• November 2 – Everett Scott, 67, shortstop who played in 1,307 consecutive games from 1916 to 1925, a record later broken by Lou Gehrig
• November 3 – Bobby Wallace, 86, Hall of Fame shortstop for the St. Louis Browns who set several fielding records, later a scout for the Cincinnati Reds for 33 years
• November 12 – Merle Keagle, 37, All-Star female outfielder who set several single-season records in the AAGPBL
• December 10 – Ernie Quigley, 80, National League umpire from 1913 to 1937 who worked in six World Series, was later a league supervisor
• December 18 – Art Nehf, 68, pitcher who won 184 games for four National League teams
• December 22 – Jack Onslow, 72, manager of the White Sox in 1949-50, formerly a catcher, coach and scout