Events
January
- January 8 – Ozzie Smith is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Smith, named on 91.7 percent of the ballots, became the 37th player in baseball history in being elected to be elected to the hall in his first year on the ballot.
February
- February 11 – Major League Baseball owners approve the sales of the Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos clubs. Marlins owner, John Henry, is selling the team to Jeffrey Loria for $158.5 million, while Loria is selling the Expos to Baseball Expos LP, a limited partnership owned by the other 29 MLB teams, for $120 million.
- February 12 – New York Mets assistant general manager Omar Minaya is named general manager of the Montreal Expos, Minaya, a native from the Dominican Republic, becomes the first Hispanic by accepting the GM position in Major League Baseball history. Hall of Fame player-manager Frank Robinson is also announced as the manager of the Expos, which will be run by MLB during the 2002 season.
- February 27 – The sale of the Boston Red Sox to a group headed by John Henry becomes official.
March
- March 1 – The Boston Red Sox dismissed general manager Dan Duquette and replaced him with Mike Port on an interim basis.
- March 11 – The Boston Red Sox hire Grady Little as their new manager.
- March 22 – The Chicago Cubs send Ryan Jorgensen, Julián Tavárez, Dontrelle Willis and minor leaguer José Cueto to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Antonio Alfonseca and Matt Clement.
April
- April 2 – In beating the San Diego Padres, 9–0, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the first defending World Champions to open the season with back-to-back shutouts since the 1918-19 Boston Red Sox; the Sox shutouts were thrown by Carl Mays and Sad Sam Jones. Besides, the last team to start the year with consecutive shutouts was the 1994 San Francisco Giants. Curt Schilling is the winning pitcher against the Padres, following Randy Johnson's 2–0 two–hitter a day before.
- April 3
- The San Francisco Giants defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12–0, as Barry Bonds hits a pair of home runs for the second day in a row. Bonds becomes the second player in MLB history to begin a season with consecutive two-homer games. Previously, Eddie Mathews also hit a pair of homers in each of the Milwaukee Braves first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates to start the 1958 season.
- At Oakland Coliseum, the Oakland Athletics lose to the Texas Rangers, 9–6, as the Rangers score three runs in the 8th inning. The loss snaps the A's string of 20 straight wins at home stretching back to August 24. Oakland move past the 1974–75 Cincinnati Reds for most consecutive home wins over two seasons, as the Reds mark was 17.
- April 5 – The San Francisco Giants defeat the San Diego Padres 3–1, in 10 innings, on Barry Bonds' fifth home run of the year. In doing so, Bonds ties the mark for most home runs in the first four games of the season, set by Lou Brock in 1967.
- April 7 – The Arizona Diamondbacks defeats the Milwaukee Brewers, 2–0, as Curt Schilling strikes out 17 batters in hurling a one–hitter. Raúl Casanova's 2nd–inning single is the only Milwaukee hit.
- April 11 – The Baltimore Orioles pound the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 15–6, scoring a franchise–high 12 runs in the 6th inning. They also collect a club–high 11 hits in 16 at-bats.
- April 14 – Baltimore Orioles infielder Mike Bordick begins a streak which leads to a Major League record for the most errorless games [95] and total chances [431] by a shortstop.
- April 16 – The Detroit Tigers win for the first time this season, defeating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9–3. The Tigers had lost their first 11 games for the fifth-worst start by a major league team.
- April 21
- Rafael Furcal hits three triples to tie the modern major league record, as the Atlanta Braves defeat the Florida Marlins 4–2. The last player to accomplish the feat was Lance Johnson of the Chicago White Sox in 1995.
- The Arizona Diamondbacks trounce the Colorado Rockies, 7–1, as Randy Johnson strikes out 17 batters in becoming the first pitcher this year to win five games. It is the sixth time that Johnson has fanned 17 or more batters in a game.
- Making his first start in almost seven years, the Cincinnati Reds' José Rijo allows one unearned run in five innings as the Reds defeat the Cubs, 5–3. It is Rijo's first win since July 13, 1995.
- April 27 – Boston Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe hurls the first no-hitter at Fenway Park since the 1965 season, when Dave Morehead no-hit the Cleveland Indians 2–0 before only 1,247 fans at the ballpark. Lowe shutout the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10–0. It was also the first career complete game for Lowe, who began last season as the Red Sox closer. In his first start this year, Lowe hurled seven hitless innings against the Baltimore Orioles.
- April 29 – former major league outfielder Darryl Strawberry is sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating the terms of his probation six times.
- April 30 – Al Leiter of the New York Mets earns a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, to become the first pitcher in Major League history to record wins over all 30 franchises that have existed since 1901.
May
- May 2 – The Seattle Mariners rout the Chicago White Sox, 15–4, as outfielder Mike Cameron becomes the thirteenth player in Major League history to slug four home runs in a single game, all solo shots. In doing so, he becomes the first American League player in 43 years to accomplish the feat. Cameron is also hit by a pitch and flies out to deep right field in a bid for a 5th homer. Cameron and second baseman Bret Boone also become the first teammates in history to hit back–to–back home runs twice in the same inning, performing the feat in Seattle's 10–run 1st inning. The Mariners also tie a team record with seven homers in the game. James Baldwin is the easy winner, with seven innings pitched. There had only been 39 previous occasions of a player hitting two home runs in an inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Eric Karros was last to do it, on August 22, 2000, for the Dodgers. Mark McGwire was the previous AL player to do it, on September 22, 1996, for Oakland.
- May 4 – Barry Bonds hits his 400th home run as a Giant, leading his team to a 3–0 win over Cincinnati. Bonds is the first player to hit 400 homers for one team and 100 with another.
- May 10 – The Anaheim Angels crush the White Sox 19–0. The Angels join the 1923 Indians, 1939 Yankees and 1950 Red Sox as the only teams to beat two opponents by 19 or more runs in the same season. Earlier this year, the Angels beat the Indians 21–2. The Anaheim victory over Chicago is just the 11th since 1901 in which a team scored 19 or more runs while shutting out its opponent, and the first such shutout in the AL since 1955 when Cleveland beat Boston 19–0.
- May 17 – With the New York Yankees trailing the Minnesota Twins by three runs in the bottom of the 14th inning, Jason Giambi hits a walk-off grand slam to give the Yankees a 13–12 victory.
- May 18 – During a rehab start with the triple A Pawtucket Red Sox, Manny Ramirez loses his $15,000 diamond earring while sliding into third base. About half his teammates on their hands and knees, along with the Syracuse grounds crew, are unable to recover it despite combing the third base area after the game.
- May 23
- At Miller Park, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green becomes the 14th man in major league history to hit four home runs in a game and sets a big league record with 19 total bases. He goes 6-for-6, scores six runs (both Dodgers records), and gets seven RBI in a 16–3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Green is the second player this year to hit four home runs in a game. He also surpasses Joe Adcock's former mark of 18 total bases, set in 1954. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, six players have produced 17 or more total bases in a game, with the last being Mike Schmidt in 1976. Green also is the first major league player to collect six hits while hitting four homers, and his four homers plus a double ties the NL mark for extra base hits. The Dodgers hit eight homers in the game, another franchise record. Before today's power display, Green had gone 0-for-15, and had been benched May 18.
- The Gary SouthShore RailCats played their first Northern League game on the road versus the Sioux Falls Canaries.
- May 24 – The Los Angeles Dodgers lose to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 14–3, despite Shawn Green's fifth home run in two games, tying a major league record. Green also hits two singles to tie another mark with 25 total bases in the two games.
- May 25
- The Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants, 6–3, as Barry Bonds takes over sole possession of fifth place on the all-time home run list with the 584th four-bagger of his career.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers top the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10–5, as Shawn Green hits two more home runs and drives home six runs. The seven home runs in three games is a new major league record.
- May 29 – In an article in Sports Illustrated, former National League MVP Ken Caminiti says that about 50 percent of current major league players use some form of steroids.
- May 31 – Carlos Beltrán, Mike Sweeney and Joe Randa hit consecutive home runs in the top of the 11th inning to pace the Kansas City Royals to a 10–7 victory over the Texas Rangers.[1] The Royals became just the second team in MLB history to hit at least three consecutive home runs in extra innings. On May 2, 1964, the Minnesota Twins hit four consecutive home runs, also in the top of the 11th inning, as Tony Oliva, Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall and Harmon Killebrew went deep in a 7–3 victory against the Kansas City Athletics.[2]
June
- June 2 – Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Robert Person puts on one of the best offensive displays by a pitcher in Major League history. In his team's 18–2 victory over the Montreal Expos at Veterans Stadium, he hits two home runs and drives in seven runs. The first home run is a grand slam and comes off Bruce Chen in the first inning; the second comes in the fifth off Masato Yoshii with two men on base. In between, in the third inning, he barely misses joining Tony Cloninger in 1966 as the only pitchers to hit two grand slams in the same game; he strikes out to end the inning. With the second grand slam, Person, the first Phillie pitcher to hit two home runs in one game since Randy Lerch in 1978, would also have broken Cloninger's record of nine RBIs in one game by a pitcher, as well as become only the second pitcher to hit three home runs in one game, joining Jim Tobin in 1942.
- June 4 – The Minnesota Twins score 10 runs in the 7th inning to close out the scoring in a 23–2 win over the Indians, the largest margin of victory in Twins history. They stroke a franchise-record 25 hits (the team hit 24 five times while playing as the Washington Senators) in the contest, and tie their club record for total RBI with 22. They also tie the AL record as four players have four or more hits – Jacque Jones, Dustan Mohr, A. J. Pierzynski and Luis Rivas. Rivas scores five times to tie a club record. The Indians tie their team record for biggest loss, tying the mark set in a 21–0 loss to the Tigers on September 15, 1901. Cleveland also becomes the first team since the 1969 San Diego Padres to lose two games in the same season by 19 or more runs.
- June 10 – In an interleague game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Yankee Stadium, Marcus Thames of the New York Yankees becomes the first player ever to hit a home run off a defending Cy Young Award winner in his very first Major League at-bat. The home run comes in the third inning off defending National League Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson in the Yankees' 7–5 victory.[3]
- June 18 – Jack Buck, Hall of Fame Broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals, passes away after months of hospitalization. He worked football games and playoff games as well—noted for his call in the 1988 World Series following the game-winning home run by Kirk Gibson and the 1991 World Series game winning "And we'll see you tomorrow night" home run by Kirby Puckett. On the date of his death, Darryl Kile pitched the Cardinals into a tie for first place, their first time at the top of the division since early April. It would be his final start before his sudden death.
- June 20
- The Florida Marlins beats the Cleveland Indians, 3–0, as the Marlins' Luis Castillo extends his hitting streak to 34 games, the longest ever by a second baseman.
- The St. Louis Cardinals drop a 3–2 decision to the Anaheim Angels at Busch Stadium following a memorial service for Jack Buck.
- June 22 – St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile dies suddenly in his hotel room in downtown Chicago. When he didn't arrive at the ballpark, his room was checked. Kile had died in his sleep from 90% blockage of his arteries. He was 33. The game was postponed after the fans waited in the dark for an hour. Chicago Cubs catcher Joe Girardi (who later played for the Cardinals) made the announcement to the crowd that the game was canceled due to a "tragedy in the Cardinal family." The game was rescheduled for August 31 with the Cardinals winning 10–4.
- In the 2002 College World Series, Texas defeats South Carolina 12–6 to win their 5th NCAA baseball title. It is the last College World Series championship to be decided by a single game before moving to a three-game format the following year.
- June 27 – Montreal Expos GM Omar Minaya sends P Cliff Lee, 2B Brandon Phillips, OF Grady Sizemore and 1B Lee Stevens to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Ps Bartolo Colón and Tim Drew. Colón will win 10 of 17 starts for Montreal, but Sizemore with Cleveland and Phillips in Cincinnati will have solid careers for the rest of the decade.
- June 28
- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays defeat their cross-state rival Florida Marlins, 4–0 behind Wilson Álvarez and two relievers. Kevin Millar of the Marlins hits a towering fly that lands on one of the catwalks that hang from the stadium's dome. It never comes down and is ruled a double. It's the second time a ball has gotten stuck in a catwalk at Tropicana Field. In 1999, José Canseco hit a home run drive that lodged there. Millar joins Ruppert Jones, Ricky Nelson, Dave Kingman, Álvaro Espinoza and Canseco as the only players in major league history to hit a fair ball that got stuck in a stadium obstruction; Jones and Nelson both had hits get caught in the overhead speakers at the old Kingdome, while the balls hit by Kingman and Espinoza were at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, with Kingman's getting stuck in a drainage valve and Espinoza's lodging in an overhead speaker.
- The Chicago Cubs take an 8–0 lead over the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park behind Kerry Wood. After Wood hits Paul Konerko, the White Sox collect thirteen runs before allowing the Cubs to score one run late. Konerko had four hits, two of which were home runs in the 13–9 win for the Sox.
July
- July 2 – A combined total of 62 home runs are hit in today's games, breaking the old major league mark of 57 set on April 7, 2000. A record 9 players have multiple home run games, breaking the previous mark of 8 set on May 19, 1999.
- July 6 – Daryle Ward of the Houston Astros hits the first home run ever to exit PNC Park and land in the Allegheny River on the fly. The shot comes off Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Kip Wells in the fifth inning of a 10–2 Astro victory.
- July 9 – In a controversial finish, the 2002 All-Star Game held at Miller Park ends in a 7–7 tie after 11 innings as both the National and American Leagues run out of pitchers. Both managers discuss it with commissioner Bud Selig, who calls the game.
- July 23 – Nomar Garciaparra hits three home runs with eight RBI on his birthday as the Boston Red Sox defeat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 22–4, in the opener of a day–night doubleheader. The round–trippers give him five in two games to tie a major league record. Garciaparra also becomes the only player in major league history to hit three home runs in two back-to-back innings.
August
- August 7 – In a historic movement, major league players end their long-held opposition to mandatory drug testing by agreeing to be tested for illegal steroids beginning in 2003.
- August 8 – Braves pitcher John Smoltz reaches 40 saves in a season faster than any pitcher in major league history.
- August 9
- The Giants' Barry Bonds hits the 600th home run of his career, but his team still falls to the Pirates by a score of 4–3. Bonds joins Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays in the exclusive 600-HR club.
- Vladimir Guerrero hits his 200th career home run helping the Montreal Expos beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11–4.
- August 10 – Sammy Sosa hits 3 home runs, helping the Chicago Cubs the beat the Colorado Rockies 15–1.
- August 11 – Sammy Sosa hits a grand slam and drives in five runs in the Chicago Cubs' 12–9 victory over Colorado to set an NL record for RBIs in consecutive games with 14.
- August 17 – The Yankees defeat the Mariners 8–3, as Alfonso Soriano hits a home run to become the first second baseman ever to join the 30–30 club.
- August 26 – New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter scores his 100th run of the season, joining Ted Williams (1939–49) and Earle Combs (1925–32) as the only players in modern history to score at least 100 runs in their first seven seasons. Jeter scored again in the bottom of the eighth as the Yankees routed the visiting Texas Rangers 10–3.
- August 28 – Éric Gagné earns a save in a Los Angeles victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is the first of his Major League record 84 consecutive save opportunities that he will convert.
- August 29 – First baseman Mark Bellhorn becomes the first player in NL history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning, doing so in the Cubs' 10–run 4th inning at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Chicago wins 13–10 over the Brewers. Bellhorn also ties a team record with five RBI in the inning.
- August 30 – Major league players and owners agree to a historic contract that prevents the players from going out on strike, marking the first time in over 30 years that a collective bargaining negotiation in baseball was met without a work stoppage.
- August 31 – The New York Mets are shut out by the Philadelphia Phillies 1–0, to mark their 13th consecutive home defeat. In doing so, they become the first NL team to lose all their home games over the course of a month.
September
- September 1
- Jeff Kent of the San Francisco Giants becomes the first second baseman in history to record 100 or more RBI for six consecutive years. The Giants lose to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7–6.
- Miguel Tejada of the Oakland Athletics hits his 30th home run of the season as Oakland beats the Minnesota Twins 7–5. Tejada is only the third shortstop in history with at least three seasons with 30 or more home runs and with 30 HR in three consecutive seasons. Alex Rodriguez leads in both categories with six such seasons, five in a row.
- September 3
- The Mets lose the first game of their doubleheader against the Marlins 3–2, but bounce back to take the nightcap 11–5. The loss in the opener sets a new NL record for consecutive home losses with 15.
- Texas Rangers reliever Joaquín Benoit pitches seven innings of one-hit ball against the Baltimore Orioles to record the longest save in Major League history.
- September 4
- The Oakland Athletics set an AL record by defeating the Kansas City Royals 12–11 for their 20th straight win. Oakland blows an 11–0 lead, but scores in the bottom of the 9th for the victory. The old mark of 19 wins was shared between the 1906 Chicago White Sox and the 1947 New York Yankees.
- Aaron Myette, ejected yesterday for two pitches behind Melvin Mora, starts today's game. According to The New York Times, it is the first back-to-back start by a pitcher since Steve McCatty in 1980, though five pitchers – Dennis Martínez, Bert Blyleven, Pete Vuckovich, Rick Langford and Juan Eichelberger – made their last start before the 1981 strike and their first start after.
- September 5
- In a Texas 11–2 victory over Baltimore, shortstop Alex Rodriguez becomes the fifth player in major league history to record successive 50–home run seasons.
- Drew Henson makes his major league debut pinch-running for Bernie Williams in the eighth inning of the New York Yankees' 9–3 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
- September 6
- The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Chicago Cubs 11–2, as brothers Andy Benes and Alan Benes oppose each other in the seventh matchup of brothers in major league history. Andy gets the win while Alan takes the loss. The Cardinals score all 11 of their runs in the third inning.
- The Oakland Athletics' 20-game winning streak is snapped as Brad Radke pitches the Minnesota Twins to a 6–0 victory at home. The Athletics fall short of matching the second-longest winning streak in baseball history. The Chicago Cubs of 1880 and 1935 both won 21 straight.
- September 8
- The Atlanta Braves win their 11th straight NL division title when the second-place Philadelphia Phillies lose to the New York Mets 6–4.
- The Texas Rangers set a major league record by homering in their 26th consecutive game as Texas falls to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6–3. Rafael Palmeiro's solo shot in the sixth inning is the record–breaker. The streak will be ended at 27 games two days later.
- September 9 – Pitcher Randy Johnson reaches 300 strikeouts for the fifth consecutive season, extending his major league record.
- September 14
- Pitcher Derek Lowe gets his 20th victory as the Red Sox beat the Orioles 6–4. Lowe becomes the first pitcher in major league history to win 20 games the season after saving 20. He is also the first pitcher to record at least 40 saves and later win 20. Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz did it the other way around.
- Barry Bonds ties Hank Aaron for the most 100-RBI seasons by an NL player as he drives in his 100th run of the season for the 11th time in his career. The major league record is 13, shared by Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.
- Chin-Feng Chen becomes the first Taiwan-born player to appear in the major leagues as he walks and scores as a pinch-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Colorado Rockies. The 24-year-old first baseman-outfielder played for the 1990 Taiwan team which won the Little League World Series.
- September 15 – Sammy Sosa joins Mel Ott and Willie Mays as the only NL players to post eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons.
- September 17 – Minnesota Twins outfielder Jacque Jones hits a lead-off home run against the Detroit Tigers, his eleventh of the season. That season total will place Jones second in AL history, only behind the twelve hit by Baltimore's Brady Anderson in 1996.
- September 18 – Arizona defeats San Diego 10–3, as Greg Colbrunn is the first player to hit two home runs in a game while hitting for the cycle since George Brett (May 28, 1979).
- September 20 – Shortstop Mike Bordick sets a major league record with his 102nd consecutive errorless game at shortstop. He also extends his major league mark of errorless chances at SS to 504.
- September 22
- Greg Maddux joins Cy Young as the only pitchers in major league history to win 15 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons.
- Fred McGriff becomes the first major league player to hit 30 homers for five different teams, and the first to homer in 42 different ballparks.
- The Cincinnati Reds play their last game at Riverfront Stadium, losing 4–3 to the Philadelphia Phillies. Aaron Boone hit the stadium's last home run, and 1990 World Series hero José Rijo took the loss for the Reds.
- September 29 – Albert Pujols becomes the fourth hitter in the major leagues, and the first batter since Ted Williams in 1939–40, to collect more than 250 RBI in his first two seasons in the majors. Pujols drove in 257 runs in his first two campaigns. Joe DiMaggio holds the record with 292 RBI, Dale Alexander is second with 272, and Williams is third with 258.
October
- October 2 – Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera hits his 55th home run of the season, off Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes pitcher Akira Okamoto, to tie the Japanese League record set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964 and matched by Tuffy Rhodes last year. Like Rhodes, Cabrera will see few good pitches for the remaining games.
- October 10 – The San Francisco Giants take a 2–games–to–0 lead in the NLCS with a 4–1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Jason Schmidt pitches shutout ball into the eighth inning while shortstop Rich Aurilia hits a pair of home runs with three RBI.
- October 13 – Adam Kennedy of the Anaheim Angels becomes the first player since Reggie Jackson in 1977 to hit three home runs in a single postseason game as the Angels defeat the Minnesota Twins to claim their first American League title in their 42-year existence.
- October 26 – The Anaheim Angels stage one of the great comebacks in World Series history to force a seventh game. With one out in the 7th inning, the Giants are leading 5–0 and are just 8 outs from their first World Series title since moving to San Francisco. But after two singles, Scott Spezio fouls off several pitches before hitting a 3-run homer to get the Angels close. In the bottom of the 8th, Darin Erstad led off with a home run to make it 5–4. After two singles, the Giants brought in their ace reliever Rob Nen. Series MVP Troy Glaus greeted him with a 2-run double to give the Angels a 6–5 lead. Reliever Troy Percival pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save.
- October 27 – The Anaheim Angels win their first World Series as they defeat the San Francisco Giants 4–1 in Game Seven. Pitcher John Lackey (with relief help from Brendan Donnelly, Francisco Rodríguez, and Troy Percival) becomes the first rookie to win a 7th game of a World Series since 1909. Garret Anderson's bases-loaded double in the third inning scores three runs for Anaheim to break a 1–1 tie and provide the margin of victory. Troy Glaus is named Series MVP.
- October 28 – Lou Piniella asks to be released from his managerial contract with the Seattle Mariners so that he may sign with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
November
- November 12 – Oakland Athletics shortstop Miguel Tejada, who receives 356 points from the BBWAA, including 21 first-place votes of the 28 cast, is selected as the American League MVP. Tejada joins countrymen George Bell (1987) and Sammy Sosa (1998) as Dominican Republic natives to win the award.
- November 22 – Houston Astros right fielder Richard Hidalgo is shot in the left forearm during a carjacking in Venezuela. He is released from the hospital and is expected to go to Houston for more tests.
- November 25 – The Boston Red Sox sign 28-year–old Theo Epstein as their new general manager. He becomes the youngest GM in major league history.
- November 26 – Prior to playing two regular-season games against the Oakland Athletics to open the major league season in Japan, the Seattle Mariners will face the Seibu Lions and Yomiuri Giants in exhibition contests on March 22 and 23 of spring training.
December
- December 2
- In support of a national strike, the Venezuelan professional league suspends its games. Many of the eight teams in the league belong to news media owners opposed to President Hugo Chávez. When the strike continues, the league will cancel its season on January 13, 2004.
- In the biggest free agent signing this year, the Philadelphia Phillies sign Cleveland Indians first baseman Jim Thome to a 6-year contract.
- December 29 – Riverfront Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Reds since 1970, is imploded. The team will start playing in Great American Ball Park next season.
