After years of investigation, federal law enforcement officials finally captured the Unabomber otherwise known as Ted Kaczynski. The anti-social academic, who developed mail bombs, was captured in a remote cabin after his own brother recognized his writing style in a lengthy manifesto that he anonymously submitted to the Washington Post.
The Summer Olympic Games celebrated its Centenary in Atlanta Georgia as a record-setting seventy-nine nations won medals and fifty-three won gold. Unfortunately, the festivities were interrupted after a terrorist bomb was detonated in Centennial Olympic Park killing one person and injuring one-hundred ten more.
After capturing an unprecedented third straight U.S. Amateur in August, twenty year-old Tiger Woods turned pro and promptly won two tourneys for $790,594. Sports Illustrated selected Woods as the 1996 Sportsman of the Year and he was only getting started.
The Texas Rangers showed no mercy in running up the largest score in the American League in forty-one years while massacring the league-leading Baltimore Orioles, 26-7. Sixteen of the runs came in the fifty-six minute eighth resulting in the largest eighth inning tally in baseball history.
As the Seattle Mariners hosted the Cleveland Indians on May 2nd, an earthquake, measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale, rattled the Kingdome causing the officials to suspend the game. The incident occurred in the seventh inning as the Tribe led 6-3 and after the stadium's structure was thoroughly inspected, play resumed the following day.
The Oakland Athletics' Pedro Munoz hit the longest home run in the five-year history of Camden Yards on the way to a 6-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. The 463-foot blast to dead center field came in the sixth inning (with two on) breaking through a 2-2 tie.
New York Mets closer John Franco recorded his 300th save in a 3-2 win over the division-leading Montreal Expos. The left-handed reliever became the first to reach the 300-save mark exactly twelve years to the day (April 29th) after his first one, for the Cincinnati Reds, in 1984.
Los Angeles Dodger, Chan Ho Park became the first South Korean pitcher to win in the majors. The right-handed sensation from Kongju tossed four scoreless innings in relief of injured starter Ramon Martinez for the 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Eric Davis belted his second grand slam in as many games leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 12-6 triumph over the home team San Francisco Giants. In doing so, the outfielder became the fifteenth player in Major League history to slam round-trippers in back-to-back outings and he went on to add a third slam later in the month.
Prior to the start of the season, major league baseball's Rules Committee announced that the strike zone would be enlarged, dropping it from the top of the knees to just below them. The change came in response to a series of recommendations to help speed up play and increase the television viewing audience that was rapidly depleting.
Popular umpire John McSherry died of a massive heart attack after calling time from behind home plate seven pitches into a Reds-Expos game at Riverfront Stadium. The twenty-one year veteran had been suffering from a series of medical problems that was aggravated by his obesity.
Roberto Alomar set off a national debate after spitting in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck following an argument and ejection over a called strike in the first inning of Baltimore's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. U.S. District Judge Edmund W. Ludwig later prevented other umpires from sitting out the playoffs in protest of the incident, citing a no-strike clause in their contract.
Milt Gaston, a former American League pitcher who played for five teams in the 1920s and 1930s (Yankees, Browns, Nationals, Red Sox, White Sox) died at age one-hundred. Gaston boasted eighteen Hall of Fame teammates and managers, more than any player in history of the game.
"The game has to be fun if you're going to be any good at all." - Don Zimmer
1996 American League Player ReviewHitting Statistics League Leaderboard |
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Statistic | Name | Team | # | Top 25 |
Base on Balls | Tony Phillips | Chicago | 125 | Top 25 |
Batting Average | Alex Rodriguez | Seattle | .358 | Top 25 |
Doubles | Alex Rodriguez | Seattle | 54 | Top 25 |
Hits | Paul Molitor | Minnesota | 225 | Top 25 |
Home Runs | Mark McGwire | Oakland | 52 | Top 25 |
On Base Percentage | Mark McGwire | Oakland | .468 | Top 25 |
RBI | Albert Belle | Cleveland | 148 | Top 25 |
Runs | Alex Rodriguez | Seattle | 141 | Top 25 |
Slugging Average | Mark McGwire | Oakland | .730 | Top 25 |
Stolen Bases | Kenny Lofton | Cleveland | 75 | Top 25 |
Total Bases | Alex Rodriguez | Seattle | 379 | Top 25 |
Triples | Chuck Knoblauch | Minnesota | 14 | Top 25 |
Statistic | Name | Team | # | Top 25 |
1996 American League Pitcher ReviewPitching Statistics League Leaderboard |
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Statistic | Name | Team | # | Top 25 |
Complete Games | Pat Hentgen | Toronto | 10 | Top 25 |
ERA | Juan Guzman | Toronto | 2.93 | Top 25 |
Games | Eddie Guardado | Minnesota | 83 | Top 25 |
Mike Myers | Detroit | |||
Saves | John Wetteland | New York | 43 | Top 25 |
Shutouts | Pat Hentgen | Toronto | 3 | Top 25 |
Ken Hill | Texas | |||
Rich Robertson | Minnesota | |||
Strikeouts | Roger Clemens | Boston | 257 | Top 25 |
Winning Percentage | Charles Nagy | Cleveland | .773 | Top 25 |
Wins | Andy Pettitte | New York | 21 | Top 25 |
Statistic | Name | Team | # | Top 25 |
1996 American LeagueTeam Standings |
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East | Team [Click for roster] | Wins | Losses | WP | GB | Payroll |
New York Yankees | 92 | 70 | .568 | 0 | $61,511,870 | |
Baltimore Orioles | 88 | 74 | .543 | 4 | $55,127,855 | |
Boston Red Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 7 | $38,516,402 | |
Toronto Blue Jays | 74 | 88 | .457 | 18 | $28,778,577 | |
Detroit Tigers | 53 | 109 | .327 | 39 | $17,955,500 | |
Central | Team [Click for roster] | Wins | Losses | WP | GB | Payroll |
Cleveland Indians | 99 | 62 | .615 | 0 | $47,686,907 | |
Chicago White Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 14½ | $44,827,833 | |
Milwaukee Brewers | 80 | 82 | .494 | 19½ | $11,701,000 | |
Minnesota Twins | 78 | 84 | .484 | 21½ | $21,254,000 | |
Kansas City Royals | 75 | 86 | .466 | 24 | $19,980,250 | |
West | Team [Click for roster] | Wins | Losses | WP | GB | Payroll |
Texas Rangers | 90 | 72 | .556 | 0 | $41,080,028 | |
Seattle Mariners | 85 | 76 | .528 | 4½ | $43,131,001 | |
Oakland Athletics | 78 | 84 | .481 | 12 | $22,524,093 | |
California Angels | 70 | 91 | .435 | 19½ | $25,140,142 | |
American League Team Standings |
1996 American League Team ReviewHitting Statistics League Leaderboard |
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Statistic | Team | # |
Base on Balls | Chicago | 701 |
Batting Average | Cleveland | .293 |
Doubles | Seattle | 343 |
Hits | Cleveland | 1,665 |
Home Runs | Baltimore | 257 |
On Base Percentage | Cleveland | .372 |
Runs | Seattle | 993 |
Slugging Average | Seattle | .484 |
Stolen Bases | Kansas City | 195 |
Triples | Minnesota | 47 |
1996 American League Team ReviewPitching Statistics League Leaderboard |
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Statistic | Team | # |
Complete Games | Texas | 19 |
Toronto | ||
ERA | Cleveland | 4.34 |
Fewest Hits Allowed | New York | 1,469 |
Fewest Home Runs Allowed | New York | 143 |
Fewest Walks Allowed | Kansas City | 460 |
Saves | New York | 52 |
Shutouts | Cleveland | 9 |
New York | ||
Strikeouts | Boston | 1,165 |
Seasonal Events: All-Star Game | Draft | Home Run Derby | World Series Navigation: Year in Review Menu | Previous Season | Next Season Miscellaneous: N.L. Leaderboard | Retirements | Rookies List Average Salary: $1,176,967.00 Minimum Salary: $109,000.00 |
On July 15, 1996, Cal Ripken, Jr. played a game at third base making it the first time since 1982 that he has not started at shortstop.
On September 6, 1996, Eddie Murray hit home run number 500 making him only the 3rd player in Major League history with more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.
On September 27, 1996, Roberto Alomar had a dispute with umpire John Hirschbeck. Alomar spit in the face of the umpire and was suspended for five games. Alomar appealed the decision and was allowed to play the next day and help the Orioles clinch the wild card.