2011 Major League Baseball season

The 2011 Major League Baseball season began on Thursday, March 31, and ended on Wednesday, September 28.^[1] This marked the first time a season began on a Thursday since 1976, and the first time a regular season ended on a Wednesday since 1990. The 82nd edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 12 with the National League defeating the American League for the second straight year, by a score of 5–1. As had been the case since 2003, the league winning that game had home field advantage in the World Series. Accordingly, the World Series began on October 19, and ended on October 28, with the St. Louis Cardinals winning in seven games over the Texas Rangers.^[1]

The season is notable for its wild card chase on the last day of the regular season.

Only two teams were unable to complete the entire 162-game regular season schedule, as the make-up game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 8 was cancelled due to rain and not made up, owing to scheduling constraints and the game being inconsequential to the playoffs.^[2]

Standings

Postseason

Bracket

Managerial changes

General managers

Off-season

In-season

Field managers

Off-season

Four teams announced new managers for the 2011 season after the former manager retired from baseball.

At the end of the 2010 season, three teams fired their managers and made replacements:

The following managers who were interim managers for 2010 will lead their respective teams in 2011:

One team has hired a new manager:

In-season changes

League leaders

American League

National League

Milestones

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Batters

• David Ortiz (BOS):
  • Set the major league record for RBI by a designated hitter (1004) by driving in a run with a groundout in the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers on April 2. He broke the record that was previously held by Edgar Martínez. ^[17]
  • Recorded his 1,000th career run scored in the sixth inning against the
    Cleveland Indians
    on May 25. He became the 311th player to reach this mark.
• Ian Kinsler (TEX):
  • Became the first player in Major League history to hit leadoff home runs in his team's first two games of the season.^[18]
  • Became the 12th player in Major League history to record two 30 (home runs)/30 (stolen bases) seasons. He reached this mark on September 27 with his 30th stolen base against the Los Angeles Angels.
• Nelson Cruz (TEX):
  • Became the third player in Major League history, joining Willie Mays and Mark McGwire, and the first American League player to hit a home run in his fourth straight game to begin the baseball season.
  • Became the first player in Major League history to hit an official walk-off grand slam in postseason history (against the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the 2011 American League Championship Series). With that, Cruz also became the first batter to hit a walk-off hit in postseason for the Texas Rangers.
  • Set two postseason records with six home runs and 13 RBIs in the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers. Cruz won the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award.
• Chipper Jones (ATL):
  • Passed Mickey Mantle for second all-time for RBI by a switch-hitter by driving in his 1,510th run with a RBI groundout in the first inning against the San Diego Padres on April 27. Eddie Murray is the all-time leader with 1,917 RBIs.
• Jimmy Rollins (PHI):
  • Recorded his 1,000th career run scored in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals on April 12. He became the 310th player to reach this mark.
  • Recorded his 100th career triple in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals on September 19. He became the 161st player to reach this mark.
• Johnny Damon (TB):
  • Became the first player in Major League history to hit a walk-off home run with five different teams by hitting the game-winning home run against the Minnesota Twins on April 14. He also hit walk-off home run with the Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox.
• Michael Young (TEX):
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit with a single in the seventh inning against the
    Cleveland Indians
    on August 7. He became the 265th player, and first Rangers player, to reach this mark.
  • Recorded his 1,000th career run in the third inning against the Oakland Athletics on September 20. He became the 313th player to reach this mark.
• Adam Dunn (CWS):
  • Tied the Major League record with his 16th game this season that he went hitless and struck out at least three times in the game on August 1 against the New York Yankees. He joins Mark Reynolds, who set the record in 2009. He set the Major League record with his 17th such game on August 10 against the Baltimore Orioles. He finished the season with 18 such games.
• Andre Ethier (LAD):
  • Set a Major League record by hitting in 23 consecutive games in April with a double in first inning against the
    Florida Marlins on April 26. He broke the record that was held by Joe Torre
    in 1971. Ethier extended his April hitting streak to 26 games on April 30.
  • Tied the franchise record for consecutive seasons with 30-plus doubles with his double on September 6 against the Washington Nationals. Ethier tied Jackie Robinson with five consecutive seasons.
• Ben Zobrist (TB):
  • Became the fourth player in Major League history to record at least seven hits and 10 RBIs in a single day since RBIs became an official stat in 1920. The other three are Jim Bottomley (1929), Pete Fox (1935) and Nate Colbert (1972).
• Carlos Lee (HOU):
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit in the first inning with a single against the New York Mets on May 14. He became the 261st player to reach this mark.
• Brian McCann (ATL):
  • Became the second player in Major League history to hit a pinch-hit, game-tying home run in the ninth inning and end the game in extra innings with another home run on May 17 against the
    Boston Braves accomplished this feat on August 27, 1949, against the Cincinnati Reds
    .
• Wilson Ramos (WSH):
  • Became the fifth catcher (joining Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jody Davis, Wes Westrum and Walker Cooper) since 1920 to score five runs in a single game and just the second catcher (the other is Westrum in 1950) to score five runs, hit a home run and a triple in the same game on May 20 against the Baltimore Orioles.
• CLE
  ):
  • Became the fifth shortstop (joining Barry Larkin, John Valentin, Cal Ripken Jr. and Roy McMillan) since 1920 to have five hits and two home runs in a game on May 22 against the Cincinnati Reds.
• Wilson Valdez (PHI):
  • Became the first position player to earn a win since Colorado Rockies catcher Brent Mayne on August 22, 2000, by recording the victory against the Cincinnati Reds on May 25.
• Brandon Crawford (SF):
  • Became the sixth player in Major League history to hit a grand slam in his first Major League game on May 27 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
• José Reyes (NYM
  ):
  • After 1,000 career major-league games, Reyes has 98 triples and 360 stolen bases. The only other player in history with that many triples and stolen bases in their first 1000 games is Ty Cobb, who had 106 triples and 391 steals.
  • Became the first player in the Mets' 50-year history to win the batting title by hitting .337.
• José Bautista (TOR):
  • With 11 home runs during the month of May, the most in the American League, it was the fifth straight month in which he led the American League in home runs (excluding March and October) joining Jimmie Foxx in 1933–1934.
• Danny Espinosa (WSH):
  • Became the first rookie second-baseman in Major League history to hit 10 home runs before June 1.
• Curtis Granderson (NYY):
  • Became the second player in Major League history to have 17 or more home runs and five or more triples in a season before June 1. He joins Babe Ruth, who did it for the Yankees in 1928.
  • Became the third player in American League history (tenth in Major League history) to record at least 30 home runs, 20 steals and 10 triples in the same season with his triple on August 18 against the Minnesota Twins. The other American Leaguers were Ken Williams (1922) and Nomar Garciaparra (1997).
  • Became the second player in Major League history to have hit 40 home runs, 10 triples and have 20 stolen bases in a season on September 17 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Willie Mays accomplished this feat in 1955.
• Paul Konerko (CWS):
  • Recorded his 1,000th career run scored in the second inning against the Seattle Mariners on June 7. He became the 312th player to reach this mark.
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit in the eighth inning against the |Los Angeles Angels on August 23. He became the 266th player to reach this mark.
• CLE
  ):
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit with a single in the second inning against the New York Yankees on June 12. He became the 262nd player to reach this mark.
• Vladimir Guerrero (BAL):
  • With his single in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox on September 26, Guerrero became the all-time hits leader (2,587 hits) among Dominican-born players, passing Julio Franco.
• Mark Teixeira (NYY):
  • Set the Major League record for most switch-hitting home runs in the same game by hitting home runs from both sides of the plate for the 12th game of his career against the Chicago White Sox on August 2. He broke the record that he shared with Eddie Murray and Chili Davis.
• Scott Rolen (CIN):
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit with a single in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 4. He became the 263rd player to reach this mark.
• Derek Jeter (NYY):
  • Recorded his 3,000th career hit with a home run in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 9. He became the 28th player to reach this mark.
• FLA
  ):
  • Became the first player in Major League history with a multiple-home run game for eight different teams by hitting two home runs against the Washington Nationals on July 27. He broke the record that he shared with Jeromy Burnitz and Reggie Sanders.
• Albert Pujols (STL):
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit with a double in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs on July 29. He became the 264th player to reach this mark.
  • Reached 30 home runs for the 11th straight season with his home run on August 16 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Barry Bonds (13), Alex Rodriguez (13) and Jimmie Foxx (12) are the only other players to have streaks of more than ten seasons with at least 30 home runs.
• CLE
  ):
  • Became the first player in Major League history to homer in four consecutive games within two weeks of his debut with his home run against the Boston Red Sox on August 3.
• J. D. Martinez (HOU):
  • Became the fifth player in Major League history to have as many as four home runs and 12 RBIs through his first ten games in the majors. He joins Dino Restelli (1949 Pirates), Alvin Davis (1984 Mariners), Mark Quinn (1999 Royals) and Taylor Teagarden (2008 Rangers).
• Dan Uggla (ATL):
  • With a home run on August 12 against the
    Roger Hornsby (1922), Joe DiMaggio (1941), Tommy Holmes (1945) and Chase Utley
    (2006).
  • With his 15th home run during his hitting streak on August 13 against the Chicago Cubs, Uggla tied the Major League record for most home runs during a hitting streak of any length. Joe DiMaggio hit 15 home runs during his 56-game hitting streak in 1941, Willie McCovey hit 15 home runs during his 24-game hitting streak in 1963 and Alex Rodriguez hit 15 home runs during a 23-game hitting streak that spanned the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
  • With his 30th home run on August 22 against the Chicago Cubs, Uggla became the first second baseman in modern baseball history (since 1900) with five seasons of at least 30 home runs.
• Ryan Zimmerman (WSH):
  • Became the first player in Major League history to have hit eight walk-off home runs in his first seven seasons with his walk-off grand slam on August 19 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
• Ryan Howard (PHI):
  • Played the 1,000th game of his big-league career on August 24. His 279 home runs is the most in Major League history through 1000 games breaking the old record of 277 that was held by Ralph Kiner.
• Matt Kemp (LAD):
  • Became the 55th player in Major League history to record a 30 (home runs)/30 (stolen bases) season. He reached this mark on August 26 with his 30th home run against the Colorado Rockies.
  • Became the second player in Major League history to record a season in which he hit .320 or better with at least 35 home runs, 125 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. The other was Ken Williams who accomplished this feat in 1922 for the St. Louis Browns.
• Adrián Beltré (TEX):
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit with a single in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox on September 4. He became the 267th player to reach this mark.
• Juan Pierre (CWS):
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit with a single in the seventh inning against the
    Cleveland Indians
    on September 8. He became the 268th player to reach this mark.
• Ryan Braun (MIL):
  • Became the 56th player in Major League history to record a 30 (home runs)/30 (stolen bases) season. He reached this mark on September 16 with his 30th home run against the Cincinnati Reds.
• Drew Stubbs (CIN):
  • Became the second player in Major League history to have struck out at least 200 times in a season on September 20 against the Houston Astros. He joins Mark Reynolds who accomplished this feat in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
• Starlin Castro (CHC):
  • With his 200th hit coming against the
    Washington Senators
    (21 years, 50 days).
  • At the age of 21 years, became the youngest player ever to lead the National League in hits with 207, breaking the record held by Charlie Hollocher (22 years, 83 days old on final day of season) in 1918.
• Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS):
  • Became the 57th player in Major League history to record a 30 (home runs)/30 (stolen bases) season. He reached this mark on September 25 with his 30th home run against the New York Yankees. Ellsbury also became the first player in Red Sox history to join the 30/30 club.
• Ryan Lavarnway (BOS):
  • Became the third player in Major League history to hit multiple home runs in the first game that he had started behind the plate on September 27 against the Baltimore Orioles. The others were J. P. Arencibia (August 7, 2010) and Bobby Pfeil (July 27, 1971). Lavarnway also became the first player in Major League history to hit his first two big-league homers in the same game for a team trying to earn a postseason berth, in either of the season's last two scheduled games (excluding tie-breaker games).
• Evan Longoria (TB):
  • Became the second player in Major League history to hit a walk-off home run in the team's final game of the regular season and clinch a postseason berth for his club. The other was Bobby Thomson's 1951 "shot heard 'round the world".
• Eugenio Vélez (LAD):
  • With his ground out as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning on September 28 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he set a modern-day record for non-pitchers with his 46th straight hitless at-bat breaking the record that was held by Bill Bergen, Dave Campbell and Craig Counsell. He finished the season hitless in 37 at-bats, which broke the record of 35 that was set by Hal Finney in 1936.
• Alex Rodriguez (NYY):
  • Became the first hitter to strike out to end a game that eliminated them from competition in the postseason twice in a row (against the Texas Rangers in the 2010 American League Championship Series and the Detroit Tigers in the 2011 American League Division Series)

Pitchers

No-hitters

• Francisco Liriano (MIN):
  • Threw the fifth no-hitter in Minnesota Twins history and the seventh in franchise history (the other two came when the club was known as the Washington Senators) in a 1–0 win over the Chicago White Sox in Chicago on May 3. It was also Liriano's first complete game in 95 major league starts.^[19] Liriano also became just the fifth pitcher in the last 30 years to throw a no-hitter that included more walks (6) than strikeouts (2). In addition, he carried the second-highest ERA (minimum three starts) of 9.13 into the outing of any pitcher to go on to throw a no-hitter, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.^[20]
• Justin Verlander (DET):
  • Threw the seventh no-hitter in Tigers history by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto on May 7. This was Verlander's second no-hitter, his first coming against the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007. Verlander allowed one walk but still faced the minimum of 27 batters. He became the second Tigers pitcher (Virgil Trucks) and the 30th pitcher in Major League history to throw multiple career no-hitters.
• LAA
  ):
  • Threw the ninth no-hitter in Angels history by defeating the
    Cleveland Indians 3–1 in Cleveland on July 27. This was Santana's first career no-hitter. Santana walked only one batter while striking out 10, but he allowed one unearned run, a wild pitch in the 1st. His no-no improved him to 6–8 on the year.^[21]

• LAA
  ):
  • Became the first pitcher in Major League history with six wins by April 25. He defeated the Oakland Athletics to set this record. He also became the sixth pitcher since 1900 with six wins by the end of April joining Vida Blue (1971), Dave Stewart (1988), Randy Johnson (2000, 2002) and Brandon Webb (2008).
• Vin Mazzaro (KC):
  • According to The Elias Sports Bureau, Mazzaro became the first pitcher to give up at least 14 runs in fewer than three innings (2.1) in baseball's modern era (since 1900) against the
    Cleveland Indians on May 16.^[22]
• Jo-Jo Reyes (BAL)/(TOR):
  • Tied the major league record by making his 28th consecutive start without recording a win on May 25 against the New York Yankees. He ties the record that is currently held by Matt Keough (1978–79) and Cliff Curtis (1910–11).
• Mariano Rivera (NYY):
  • Became the first pitcher in Major League history to have appeared in 1,000 games for one team by closing out the Yankees win on May 25 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Rivera became the 15th pitcher overall to reach this plateau.^[23]
  • Recorded his 20th save of the season by closing out a win against the Colorado Rockies on June 26. This is the 15th time that Rivera has reached 20 saves in one season, tying Trevor Hoffman for the most 20-plus save seasons in Major League history.
  • Recorded his 25th save of the season by closing out a win against the Oakland Athletics on July 24. This extends his record to 15 consecutive seasons with 25 or more saves.^[24]
  • Set a Major League record for consecutive 30-save seasons with nine by closing out the win against the |Los Angeles Angels on August 11.
  • With his save on September 5 against the Baltimore Orioles, Rivera set the Major League record for the most saves by any pitcher against any team. His 69th save against the Orioles broke the record that Trevor Hoffman had against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
  • Recorded his 600th career save by closing out a win against the Seattle Mariners on September 13. He became the 2nd player to reach this mark.
  • With his save on September 19 against the Minnesota Twins, Rivera became the all-time saves leader in Major League history with his 602nd save, breaking Trevor Hoffman's record.
• Francisco Cordero (CIN):
  • Recorded his 300th career save by closing out a win against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 1. He became the 22nd player to reach this mark.
  • With his 321st save on September 6 against the Chicago Cubs, Cordero tied José Mesa for the most saves by any pitcher from the Dominican Republic.
• Craig Kimbrel (ATL):
  • Tied the Major League record for most saves by a rookie before the All-Star break since 1969 that was set by Jonathan Papelbon in 2006 by closing out the game against the Colorado Rockies on July 5. It was Kimbrel's 26th save. He set the rookie record on July 7 with his 27th save by closing out a win against the Colorado Rockies. He finished with 28 saves before the All-Star Game.
  • Tied the Major League record for most saves by a rookie by recording his 40th save on August 23 against the Chicago Cubs. He tied the record that was set by Neftalí Feliz that was set in 2010. He then broke the record with his 41st against the Washington Nationals on August 31. He finished with 46 saves.
• Zach Britton (BAL
  ):
  • Became the first player in Major League history to allow eight-or-more runs while lasting less than an inning in each of two consecutive starts. He allowed eight runs in two-thirds of an inning on July 8 against the Boston Red Sox and then in his next start on July 30 against the New York Yankees allowed nine runs in one-third of an inning.
• Sergio Santos (CWS):
  • Set the Major League record for most consecutive scoreless road games to begin a season on August 11 against the Baltimore Orioles. He hasn't been charged with a run in 25 appearances in road games this year. He broke the record that was previously held by Mariano Rivera.
• Jason Isringhausen (NYM):
  • Recorded his 300th career save by closing out a win against the San Diego Padres on August 15. He became the fourth-oldest pitcher at his time of his 300th save, behind Doug Jones, Dennis Eckersley and Todd Jones. He became the 23rd player to reach this mark.
• Alfredo Aceves (BOS):
  • With his victory in relief against the Oakland Athletics on August 27, Aceves lifted his career record to 23–2. This set the Major League record for the most wins by a pitcher in his first 25 decisions, breaking the record held by Larry Corcoran who had 22 wins in his first 25 decisions in 1880.
• Cliff Lee (PHI):
  • Became the first pitcher in Major League history to have two months in one season with at least five wins, no losses and an ERA under 0.50. Lee went 5–0 with a 0.21 ERA in June and then went 5–0 with a 0.45 ERA in August.
• Yoshinori Tateyama (TEX):
  • Became the second player in Major League history to allow grand slams to consecutive batters faced. He gave up a grand slam to Carl Crawford on September 3 then in his next appearance on September 10, allowed a grand slam to the first batter he faced, Scott Sizemore. Greg McCarthy did this in 1998.
• Roy Halladay (PHI):
  • Became the sixth player in Major League history to finish at least seven games over .500 in seven consecutive seasons. The other pitchers to do that are in the Hall of Fame: Tim Keefe (seven years, 1883–89), John Clarkson (nine, 1884–92), Kid Nichols (nine, 1890–98), Christy Mathewson (12, 1903–14) and Lefty Grove (seven, 1927–33).
• Micah Owings (AZ):
  • Became the second pitcher in modern Major League history to earn a victory in which he recorded three-or-fewer outs while allowing five-or-more runs on September 27 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jack Knott was the other pitcher who accomplished this on May 22, 1934.

Miscellaneous

• LAA
  ):
  • Became the 56th manager in Major League history to have 1,000 or more victories as his Angels defeated the
    Cleveland Indians
    on May 8. Scioscia is also the 23rd manager to get 1000 or more victories with a single team. He began his career as a manager in 2000, and reached this mark in 1817 games.
• Houston Astros
  • During their 5–1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on June 24, the Astros become the first team to use three pitchers with the same last name in a single game. Starter Wandy Rodríguez is followed to the mound by Fernando Rodríguez in the seventh and eighth inning, with Aneury Rodríguez pitching a scoreless ninth inning.^[25]
• San Francisco Giants:
  • Became the first team in Major League history to sweep a homestand of six games or more without scoring more than four runs in any of the games. They defeated the Colorado Rockies 4–3, 3–2, and 3–0 and defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 1–0, 4–3, and 3–2. The games took place May 6 through May 12.
  • Tied the Major League record for consecutive solo home runs by hitting their 19th consecutive on August 10 against the
    Florida Marlins
    .
• Tampa Bay Rays:
  • Became the first team in Major League history to avoid having more than one error in its first 49 games, according to statistics provided by the Rays from the Elias Sports Bureau. The streak stopped after 52 games.
  • Set the American League record for consecutive starts by a pitcher under the age of 30 on July 27 against the
    Jae Seo
    on May 24, 2007, which happened to be his 30th birthday.
  • Won their 1,000th game against the Texas Rangers on September 7. The Rays have lost 1245 games.
  • Became the first American League team to start a season 0–6 and make the postseason.
• Arizona Diamondbacks:
  • Became the first team in Major League history to enter the month of May with at least a 6+1⁄2-game deficit in their league (pre 1969) or division (since 1969) and gain sole possession of first place during the month on May 29.
  • With their 90th win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 21, the Diamondbacks become the eighth team in Major League history to win 90 games in a season after losing at least 90 games in each of the previous two seasons.
  • With their division-clinching victory on September 23, the Diamondbacks tied the Major League record for most losses in the previous season (65–97) by a team that finished in first place. The other two teams were the 1991 Atlanta Braves and the 1999 Diamondbacks.
• Tony La Russa (STL):
  • Joins Connie Mack (7,755 games) as the only manager or coach in American professional sports history to reach 5,000 games managed on June 10 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Pittsburgh Pirates/Houston Astros:
  • The Pirates (six) and Astros (four) used ten pitchers in the Pirates 1–0 victory on June 14. That is the most pitchers used in a 9-inning 1–0 game played without expanded rosters in Major League history.
• New York Yankees:
  • All four starting infielders (Mark Teixeira, Robinson Canó, Eduardo Núñez, Ramiro Peña) hit home runs on June 15 becoming the second time in team history that the Yankees had home runs from each of their starting infielders. The previous quartet to do so was Babe Dahlgren, Joe Gordon, Frankie Crosetti and Red Rolfe on August 22, 1939.
  • Became the third team in modern Major League history (since 1900) to issue no walks while sweeping a four-game series. They swept the Chicago White Sox from August 1–4. They join the Boston Red Sox who accomplished this feat against the White Sox in 1968 (August 5–8) and against Washington in 1905 (June 29 – July 3).
  • Became the first team in Major League history to hit three grand slams in a game on August 25 against the Oakland Athletics. Robinson Canó, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson hit the grand slams in the 22–9 victory.
  • Set the Major League record (since 1900) for best winning percentage in day games with a 44–12 (.786) record. This broke the record of .748 that was held by the 1906 Chicago Cubs.
• Kansas City Royals:
  • On September 15, Melky Cabrera hit his 40th double as an outfielder (he had one as a designated hitter) to become the first team in Major League history to have three outfielders with 40 or more doubles in a season. Joining him is Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur.
  • On September 21, Billy Butler hit his 40th double this season to become the fourth Royals player to reach 40 doubles in a season. The Royals become the fourth team in Major League history to have four player reach that many doubles in a season, joining the Texas Rangers (2006), Philadelphia Phillies (1932) and the Detroit Tigers (1929).
• San Diego Padres/San Francisco Giants:
  • The Padres (17) and Giants (19) pitching staffs combined to strike out 36 batters in their 14-inning game on July 6. This is the most combined strikeouts in a game of 14 or fewer innings since 1900. The previous record was 35, that was set in August 2007, by the Oakland Athletics (21) and Texas Rangers (14) in 13-innings.
• Atlanta Braves:
  • Became the fifth franchise in Major League history to record 10,000 wins in league history by defeating the Washington Nationals on July 15.
  • Became the fourth franchise in Major League history to score 90,000 runs as
    Florida Marlins on July 29. They join the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals
    .
  • Became the second franchise in Major League history to record 10,000 losses in league history by losing to the
    Florida Marlins on July 31. They join the Philadelphia Phillies
    as the only other franchise to reach this mark.
• Boston Red Sox/Tampa Bay Rays:
  • The Red Sox (five) and Rays (three) combined for only eight hits in Boston's 16-inning, 1–0 victory on July 17. This is the lowest hit total in any Major League game of 14 or more innings in the live-ball era (since 1920).
• Terry Francona:
  • Became the 57th manager in Major League history to have 1,000 or more victories as his Red Sox defeated the Seattle Mariners on July 23. Francona reached this mark in 1880 games.
• CC Sabathia/Carlos Zambrano:
  • Both pitchers allowed five home runs on August 12. This was the second time in Major League history that two pitchers allowed at least five home runs on the same day. The other was September 21, 1996, and Jeff D'Amico and Dave Telgheder were the pitchers.
• Milwaukee Brewers:
  • Became the first team in Major League history to earn a shutout win, hit at least three home runs, and execute a triple play in the same game on August 15 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Philadelphia Phillies:
  • With their loss to the New York Mets on September 24, the Phillies extended their losing streak to eight games. This set a Major League record for most consecutive losses by a team that had at least 95 wins breaking the old record of seven that was held by the 1987 Toronto Blue Jays.
• Pittsburgh Pirates:
  • With their loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on September 14, the Pirates extended their record for most consecutive losing season to 19. Their last winning record was in 1992.
• Mike Carp/Eric Hosmer:
  • Both rookies went 5-for-5 on September 20. This marked the first time in modern Major League history (since 1900) that two rookies both went 5-for-5 or better on the same day.
• Toronto Blue Jays:
  • With their extra-inning victory on September 22 against the Los Angeles Angels, it was their 14th consecutive extra-inning win at the Rogers Centre, which tied the Major League record that was set by the Chicago Cubs from July 1928 to August 1930.
• Major League Baseball:
  • The 200,000th regular-season game in Major League Baseball history was recognized on September 24 at Minute Maid Park as the Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros game became official around 8:45pm EDT. The Rockies won the game in extra-innings.^[26]
• Boston Red Sox:
  • With their 20th loss (in 27 games) to the
    New York Giants
    went 21–20 to finish the season.

Awards and honors

Regular season

Player of the Month

Pitcher of the Month

Rookie of the Month

Other awards

• Comeback Players of the Year: Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS, American); Lance Berkman (STL, National)
• Edgar Martínez Award (Best designated hitter): David Ortiz (BOS)
• Hank Aaron Award: José Bautista (TOR, American); Matt Kemp (LAD, National)
• Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): David Ortiz (BOS)
• Rolaids Relief Man Award: José Valverde (DET, American); John Axford (MIL, National)
• Delivery Man of the Year (Best Reliever): José Valverde (DET)
• Warren Spahn Award (Best left-handed pitcher): Clayton Kershaw (LAD)

Home field attendance and payroll

Broadcasting

Television

Two more teams joined the growing cable-exclusive telecast teams in 2011.

• Fox: Saturday afternoon
  UEFA Champions League final
  as those games were scheduled to start at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT.
• ESPN/ESPN2:
  Home Run Derby on July 11. ESPN Deportes
  held Spanish rights to the Sunday night package.
• TBS: Sunday afternoon games starting on April 3; 13 appearances per team. TBS also carried the announcement of the All-Star teams in the
  HLN
  broadcast in the teams' markets during the regular season.
• MLB Network: The network again aired a Thursday Night Game of the Week, games on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights, and selected afternoon games. Thursday night games were mostly produced in-house, while all other games came from home teams' video productions. Blackouts applied, as viewers in competing teams' markets saw an alternative game from the feed of selected home teams. In addition, holiday games on Memorial Day (May 30), day games on July 4, Labor Day (September 5) and in addition, commencing in August, expanded coverage of the pennant races took place.