The 1979 Major League Baseball season concluded with the
Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the
Baltimore Orioles in seven games in the
1979 World Series. None of the post-season teams of 1977 or 1978 returned to this year's postseason.
March 7 – The Special Veterans Committee selects
Warren Giles and
Hack Wilson for the Hall of Fame.
April – The
1979 Major League umpires strike begins with all umpires walking the picket lines, except two umpires (one from each league) who worked Opening Day with replacement and amateur umpires before leaving for the picket lines.
April 7 – The
Houston Astros'
Ken Forsch pitches a
no-hitter against the
Atlanta Braves in a 6–0 victory. At that time, it marks the earliest calendar date for a
no-hitter in major league history, which stands until
Hideo Nomo's no-hitter on April 4, 2001.[27] This also makes him and
Bob Forsch, who hurled a no-hitter in 1978, the first brothers in major league history to both pitch no-hit games during their careers.
May 15 – The
1979 Major League umpires strike is settled effective May 18. The umpires gain pay raises and additional vacation time by the addition of another crew, but eight minor league umpires who worked during the strike are promoted to the Major Leagues, causing dissention and ostracizing of the replacements whom the regular umpires referred to as "scabs".
May 17 –
Dave Kingman of the
Chicago Cubs hits three home runs and
Mike Schmidt of the
Philadelphia Phillies hits two, the second of which proves to be the game winner in the tenth inning, as the Phillies beat the Cubs 23–22 at
Wrigley Field.
Bill Buckner had a grand slam and seven RBIs for Chicago. The game included a then Major League record 11
home runs and 50 hits.
May 28 –
Texas Rangersfirst basemanMike Jorgensen is hit in the head by a pitch from
Boston Red SoxpitcherAndy Hassler.
Dave Roberts comes into the game to pinch run for Jorgensen, and
Pat Putnam takes over as the Rangers' regular first baseman for the next month. Aside from a pinch-hit appearance on May 31, Jorgensen does not play again until July 1. After suffering headaches, it is discovered he has a small blood clot inside his head, which apparently caused a seizure and could have resulted in his early demise.
June 24 – In a 5–1 loss to the Rangers,
Rickey Henderson debuts for the
Oakland Athletics. He singles and doubles; the first of his over 3,000 career hits, and steals the first of his over 1,400 bases.
July 12 – The
Detroit Tigers win the first game of a scheduled doubleheader against the
Chicago White Sox, 4–1, on
Disco Demolition Night at Chicago's
Comiskey Park. Thousands of young fans swarm onto the field between the games, damaging the field and causing mayhem throughout the stadium. The White Sox are forced to forfeit the second game.
July 17 – The
National League wins its eighth straight
All-Star Game, 7–6, at
Seattle.
Lee Mazzilli hits a home run to tie the game in the eighth, and walks in the ninth to bring in the winning run.
Dave Parker, with two outstanding throws, is named the MVP, and
Pete Rose plays a record five All-Star positions.
August 6 – The entire
New York Yankee team flies to
Canton, Ohio for captain
Thurman Munson's funeral. Hours later, the team returns to New York City and defeats the
Baltimore Orioles 5–4 at
Yankee Stadium, before a national viewing audience on
ABC's Monday Night Baseball.
Bobby Murcer, one of Munson's best friends, drives in all five Yankee runs with a three-run home run in the seventh inning and a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth.
August 13 – The St. Louis Cardinals'
Lou Brock slashes his 3,000th hit off the hand of Chicago Cubs pitcher
Dennis Lamp in a 3–2 Cardinals win at
Busch Memorial Stadium.
August 29 – In his first pitching appearance in the Major Leagues in his 11-year career,
Kansas City Royals utility player
Jerry Terrell entered the game in relief against the
New York Yankees and got three outs on just three pitches in the ninth inning of a 17–3 loss.[29]
September 15 – As part of a 10–2 win over the
Baltimore Orioles, the
Red Sox'sBob Watson hits for the cycle. Having done it for the
Houston Astros on June 24, 1977, he is the first player to do this in both leagues.
September 24 –
Pete Rose collects his 200th hit of the season, giving him ten seasons with at least 200 hits. This breaks the record set by
Ty Cobb.
September 28 –
Garry Templeton of the
St. Louis Cardinals collects his 100th hit of the season while batting right-handed. Having already collected 100 hits while batting left-handed, Templeton is the first player in history to accomplish this. He had batted right-handed, exclusively, for the last week of the season to get the needed hits.
October 17 – In Game Seven of the
World Series,
Willie Stargell hits his third home run of the Series to send the
Pittsburgh Pirates to their third straight win over the
Baltimore Orioles, to win the World Series Championship. Stargell wins Series MVP honors. The Pirates came back from a deficit of 3 games-to-1.
November 13 – For the first time ever, there will be League co-MVPs as
Keith Hernandez of the
St. Louis Cardinals shares the
National LeagueBaseball Most Valuable Player Award with
Willie Stargell of the
Pittsburgh Pirates. Stargell is the oldest person to win this award (since broken by
Barry Bonds in 2004). The Pirates have thus won (or shared) all four "Most Valuable Player" awards for the season (All-Star Game, National League Championship Series, World Series, and National League regular season). This is the first such sweep in Major League history (Stargell had won the awards for the NLCS, World Series, and National League regular season, while teammate
Dave Parker won the All-Star Game award).
November 26 – Third baseman
John Castino, who batted .285 for the
Minnesota Twins, and shortstop
Alfredo Griffin, who hit .287 for the
Toronto Blue Jays, tie for the American League Rookie of the Year Award, each receiving seven of the 28 votes. The deadlock precipitates a change in the voting system, effective in 1980.
^
Jane Gross (July 12, 1981).
"Sports on cable". The New York Times. USA agreed to the baseball limitations rejected by
ESPN and shows a Thursday-night game in cities that do not have a major-league team. In New York City, Manhattan Cable broadcasts USA's programs, but cannot televise the weekly baseball game because the Yankees and Mets declined to grant the waivers necessary under major-league statutes.