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The following are the baseball events of the year 1966 throughout the world.
[edit] Champions
[edit] Major League Baseball
[edit] Other champions
[edit] Awards and honors
[edit] Statistical Leaders
1American League Triple Crown Batting winner
2Major League Triple Crown Pitching winner
[edit] Major League Baseball final standings
[edit] American League final standings
[edit] National League final standings
[edit] Events
- March 5 - In what will prove to be one of the more influential off-the-field events in Major League history, representatives of the players elect Marvin Miller to the post of Executive Director of the Major League Players Association (MLPA).
- March 17 - Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale escalate their threat of retirement by signing movie contracts.
- March 30 - Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale end their 32-day holdout, signing for $130,000 and $105,000 respectively.
- April 3 - USC pitcher Tom Seaver signs with the New York Mets. He had been drafted by the Braves, but they had signed him to a minor league contract while he was still in college. This voided Seaver's remaining eligibility, and voided the contract. The Mets won a special lottery over Cleveland and Philadelphia to win the right to sign him.
- September 22 - The Baltimore Orioles beat the host Kansas City A's 6-1 to clinch their first American League pennant since moving to Baltimore. Both Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson have two RBIs. Frank Robinson will end the year as the Triple Crown winner, the first to achieve the feat since Mickey Mantle in 1956. He clinches with a batting average of .316, 49 home runs and 122 RBIs.
- October 9 - In Game Four of the World Series, Dave McNally wrapped up a brilliant pitching display, and the first World Championship for the Baltimore Orioles, with a four-hit, 1–0 shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Series MVP Frank Robinson hits a home run off Don Drysdale for the only run of the game and gave Baltimore a surprising sweep of the defending World Champion Dodgers. The shutout completes a World Series record 33 2/3 scoreless innings pitched by Orioles pitchers, beginning with Moe Drabowsky pitching 6 2/3 innings in relief of McNally in Game One, followed by shutouts by Jim Palmer and Wally Bunker. The Orioles are the last of the original eight American League franchises to win their first World Series.
[edit] Births
[edit] January-March
[edit] April-June
[edit] July-September
[edit] October -December
[edit] Deaths
[edit] January-April
- January 29 - Homer Summa, 67, right fielder who collected a .302 average over 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Athletics
- February 14 - Jack Coffey, 79, infielder who played from 1909 to 1918 for the Boston Doves, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox
- March 18 - Frank Bennett, 61, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1920s
- April 5 - Sam Dodge, 76, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1920s
- April 12 - Joe Harris, 84, pitched with the Boston Americans in the early 20th century
[edit] May-August
- May 4 - Bob Elliott, 49, 7-time All-Star third baseman who won the NL's 1947 MVP award
- May 27 - Rip Collins, 72, a four-sport star at Texas A&M University, who pitched in the majors for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns from 1920 to 1931
- June 27 - Marty Krug, 77, third baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox (1912) and Chicago Cubs (1922)
- July 9 - Mule Suttles, 66, All-Star first baseman of the Negro Leagues who hit the first home run in the East-West All-Star game
- July 16 - Les Howe, 80, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the mid 1920s
- August 1 - Hank Gowdy, 76, catcher and first baseman who won the 1914 World Series and is the only player to have served in both World Wars.
- August 10 - Chuck Dressen, 67, manager of five teams who led the Dodgers to pennants in 1952-53
- August 15 - George J. Burns, 76, left fielder, primarily with the New York Giants, who led the NL in runs and walks five times each
- August 29 - Al DeVormer, 75, catcher for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and New York Giants between 1918 and 1927
[edit] September-December
- September 12 - Bill Summers, 70, American League umpire from 1933 to 1959 who worked in eight World Series and a record seven All-Star games
- September 13 - Ralph Comstock, 75, pitched in the 1910s for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Rebels, and Pittsburgh Pirates
- October 11 - Red Smith, 76, solid third baseman for multiple Dodgers and Braves teams in the 1910s, including the 1914 World Champions Boston Braves
- October 30 - Dick Barrett, 60, pitcher from 1933-45 for the Athletics, Braves, Cubs and Phillies, who was named Minor League Player of the Year by The Sporting News in 1942
- November 7 - Rube Bressler, 72, one of only a few players in major league baseball history to successfully convert from a pitcher to a position player as a first baseman/outfielder, who played for the Philadelphia Athletics & Phillies, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1914 and 1931
- December 20 - Doc Farrell, 64, utility infielder for six different teams between 1925 and 1935, including the Yankees 1932 World Champions
