YEAR IN REVIEW : 2010 American League

Off the field...

The largest environmental disaster in U.S. history occurs on April 20, 2010, when an explosion occurs at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, killing eleven workers, causing the rig to sink two days later and initiating a massive ongoing offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The BP Oil Spill was finally stopped 86 days after oil started leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.

At the 82nd Academy Awards, The Hurt Locker wins six Oscars including the first Directing award for a female director, Kathryn Bigelow, beating hopefuls Avatar and Up in the Air.

Thirty-three miners near Copiapó, Chile, trapped 700 metres underground in a mining accident in San José Mine, are brought back to the surface after surviving for a record 69 days.

In the American League...

Dallas Braden threw the 19th perfect game in Major League history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 on May 9, 2010, which happened to be Mother's Day. Symbolically and coincidentally (as he had lost his mom to breast cancer while in high school), players wore pink wristbands and ribbons on this day to raise breast cancer awareness.

A-Rod hit his 600th career home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on August 4, 2010. Rodriguez became the seventh player to reach this mark and the youngest player to hit 600, at 35 years and eight days - a year and 188 days younger than Babe Ruth was when he swatted 600. Rodriguez is fourth-quickest to the mark in terms of at-bats. He hit 600 in his 8,689th at-bat, behind Ruth (6,921), Barry Bonds (8,211) and Sammy Sosa (8,637).

The Toronto Blue Jays became the fourth team in Major League history to hit 250 home runs in a season (finishing the 2010 season with 257). They joined the 1997 Seattle Mariners (264), the 2005 Texas Rangers (260) and the 1996 Baltimore Orioles (257).

In the National League...

Exactly 20 days after the Braden perfecto (mentioned above), on May 29, 2010, Roy Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in Major League history, defeating the Florida Marlins 1–0. This achievement marked the first time in the modern (post-1900) era that two perfect games were pitched in the same season. In 1880, both Lee Richmond and John Montgomery Ward both hurled a perfect game five days apart.

The Chicago Cubs played their 20,000th game in their history on June 26, 2010, but lost to their crosstown rivals the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at U.S. Cellular Field. Their record was 10,197-9,643 (with 160 games tied games). The Atlanta Braves played their 20,000th game in their history on August 6, having started in 1876 in Boston, transferring operations to Milwaukee in 1953 and coming to Atlanta in 1966, losing in 11 innings, 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants at Turner Field. Their record was 9,916-9,930 (with 154 tied games).

The Pittsburgh Pirates extended a dubious record; 2010 was their 18th consecutive losing season, a record for North American major professional sports teams. The Pirates matched the 1963 New York Mets for the worst road record in a 162-game season at 17-64.

Around the League...

Bobby Cox, manager of the Atlanta Braves, became the fourth manager in Major League history to win 2,500 games as the Braves defeated the Washington Nationals on September 25. He joined Connie Mack, John McGraw and Tony LaRussa as the only managers to reach this milestone. Cox had managed the Braves for 25 years (1978-81, 1990-2010) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1982-1985) for four years leading them to a Major League record of 16 playoff appearances, as well as the Braves' only World Series title in Atlanta (the franchise's first two titles came in Boston and Milwaukee respectively). All throughout the season baseball fans knew this would be the final season for the future Hall of Fame manager.

The Texas Rangers were sold at an auction in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on August 5, 2010 to a group led by Chuck Greenberg and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan from former owner Tom Hicks. The ownership change was approved by Major League Baseball owners on August 12, 2010.

Many uniform based memorials were worn by teams in 2010; Following the death of Colorado Rockies' president Keli McGregor on April 20, the team started wearing a patch with his initials KSM on their uniforms; On May 5, the day after the death of longtime Detroit Tigers radio broadcaster Ernie Harwell, the Tigers began wearing a patch on the right sleeve in his memory, inscribed with the broadcaster's initials; The Philadelphia Phillies wore a patch with the number 36 on their right sleeve, honoring Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, who died on May 6; The Pittsburgh Pirates honored former general manager Joe L. Brown following his passing with his initals in yellow on a black circle; Following the passing of long time public address announcer Bob Sheppard and owner George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees wore a black armband in memory of both gentlemen at the All-Star Game. Starting with their series at home against Tampa Bay, the team would have two patches, one with the initials GMS on their left chest for Steinbrenner, and on the left sleeve, a patch honoring Sheppard. When Ralph Houk died July 21, the team added a black armband on their left sleeve.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"I imagined early in the year I'd be in the N.L.C.S., playing at Citi Field. Instead I'll be in the A.L.C.S." - Jeff Francoeur in the New York Times (Pat Borzi, 10/14/2010, 'Francoeur Misses His Friends but Is Happy in the Playoffs', Link)

2010 American League Player Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls Daric Barton Oakland 110 Top25
Batting Average Josh Hamilton Texas .359 Top25
Doubles Adrian Beltre Boston 49 Top25
Hits Ichiro Suzuki Seattle 214 Top25
Home Runs Jose Bautista Toronto 54 Top25
On Base Percentage Miguel Cabrera Detroit .420 Top25
RBI Miguel Cabrera Detroit 126 Top25
Runs Mark Teixeira New York 113 Top25
Slugging Average Josh Hamilton Texas .633 Top25
Stolen Bases Juan Pierre Chicago 68 Top25
Total Bases Jose Bautista Toronto 351 Top25
Triples Carl Crawford Tampa Bay 13 Top25

2010 American League Pitcher Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games Cliff Lee Seattle/Texas 7 Top25
Carl Pavano Minnesota
ERA Felix Hernandez Seattle 2.27 Top25
Games Randy Choate Tampa Bay 85 Top25
Saves Rafael Soriano Tampa Bay 45 Top25
Shutouts Dallas Braden Oakland 2 Top25
Carl Pavano Minnesota
Strikeouts Jered Weaver Los Angeles 233 Top25
Winning Percentage Tommy Hunter Texas .765 Top25
Wins C.C. Sabathia New York 21 Top25

2010 American League

Team Standings

Tampa Bay Devil Rays 96 66 0 .593 -- $71,923,471
New York Yankees 95 67 0 .586 1 $206,333,389
Boston Red Sox 89 73 0 .549 7 $162,747,333
Toronto Blue Jays 85 77 0 .525 11 $62,689,357
Baltimore Orioles 66 96 0 .407 30 $81,612,500
Minnesota Twins 94 68 0 .580 -- $97,559,167
Chicago White Sox 88 74 0 .543 6 $108,273,197
Detroit Tigers 81 81 0 .500 13 $122,864,929
Cleveland Indians 69 93 0 .426 25 $61,203,967
Kansas City Royals 67 95 0 .414 27 $72,267,710
Texas Rangers 90 72 0 .556 -- $55,250,545
Oakland Athletics 81 81 0 .500 9 $51,654,900
LosAngelesAngelsofAnaheim 80 82 0 .494 10 $105,013,667
Seattle Mariners 61 101 0 .377 29 $98,376,667
2010 American League Final Standings
Seasonal Events: All-Star Game | Home Run Derby | World Series
Navigation: Year in Review Menu | Previous Season | Next Season
Miscellaneous: N.L. Leaderboard | Rookies List
Average Salary: $3,297,828.37
Minimum Salary: $400,000.00
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baseball almanac fast facts

Armando Galarraga threw what would have been a third perfect game on June 2, 2010 against the Cleveland Indians, however first base umpire Jim Joyce made an errant call on Galarraga's coverage of first base on a flip throw by first baseman Miguel Cabrera, which would have been the final out. "I just cost him a perfect game", Joyce replied. "I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay. It was the biggest call of my career. I don't blame them a bit or anything that was said. I would've said it myself if I had been Galarraga. I would've been the first person in my face, and he never said a word to me."

Did you know that when Carl Crawford hit his 100th career home run on August 29, 2010, he became only the eighth Major League player since 1900 to reach 100 home runs, 100 triples and 400 stolen bases for his career? He joined Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Lou Brock, Frankie Frisch, Kenny Lofton, Paul Molitor and Tim Raines as the only players to reach this "club".

With a walk in the first inning on October 2, 2010, against the Minnesota Twins, Jose Bautisa - who set a new Blue Jays franchise record for home runs in a season in 2010 - became the seventh player in major league history to record at least 50 home runs, 100 walks and 30 doubles in the same season. Bautista joined Luis Gonzalez, Sammy Sosa, Hack Wilson, Jimmie Foxx, Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth in accomplishing this feat.