2005 Major League Baseball season

The 2005 Major League Baseball season was notable for the league's new steroid policy in the wake of the BALCO scandal, which enforced harsher penalties than ever before for steroid use in Major League Baseball. Several players, including veteran Rafael Palmeiro, were suspended under the new policy. Besides steroids it was also notable that every team in the NL East division finished the season with at least 81 wins (at least half of the 162 games played). Additionally it was the first season featuring a baseball team in Washington, D.C. after more than 4 decades, with the Washington Nationals having moved from Montreal.

This article is about the 2005 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 2005 in baseball.

2005 MLB season
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 3 – October 26, 2005
Draft
Top draft pick	Justin Upton
Picked by	Arizona Diamondbacks
Regular Season
Season MVP	AL: Alex Rodriguez (NYY) NL: Albert Pujols (STL)
League Postseason
AL champions	Chicago White Sox
AL runners-up	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
NL champions	Houston Astros
NL runners-up	St. Louis Cardinals
World Series
Champions	Chicago White Sox
Runners-up	Houston Astros
World Series MVP	Jermaine Dye (CHW)

The Anaheim Angels changed their name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The season ended when the Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros in a four-game sweep in the World Series, winning their first championship since 1917.

As of the 2019 season, this is the last season in which no no-hit games were pitched; 2005 was also only the 6th year since 1949 in which no such games were thrown.^[a]

Major league baseball final standings

The standings in the National League East were quite notable because all the teams in that division finished with at least a .500 record. The San Diego Padres' record of 82–80 was also notable as it was the worst ever by a division champion in a full-length season.

American League AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road ^(3) New York Yankees 95 67 0.586 — 53–28 42–39 ^(4) Boston Red Sox 95 67 0.586 — 54–27 41–40 Toronto Blue Jays 80 82 0.494 15 43–38 37–44 Baltimore Orioles 74 88 0.457 21 36–45 38–43 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 67 95 0.414 28 40–41 27–54 AL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road ^(1) Chicago White Sox 99 63 0.611 — 47–34 52–29 Cleveland Indians 93 69 0.574 6 43–38 50–31 Minnesota Twins 83 79 0.512 16 45–36 38–43 Detroit Tigers 71 91 0.438 28 39–42 32–49 Kansas City Royals 56 106 0.346 43 34–47 22–59 AL West W L Pct. GB Home Road ^(2) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 95 67 0.586 — 49–32 46–35 Oakland Athletics 88 74 0.543 7 45–36 43–38 Texas Rangers 79 83 0.488 16 44–37 35–46 Seattle Mariners 69 93 0.426 26 39–42 30–51

National League NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road ^(2) Atlanta Braves 90 72 0.556 — 53–28 37–44 Philadelphia Phillies 88 74 0.543 2 46–35 42–39 Florida Marlins 83 79 0.512 7 45–36 38–43 New York Mets 83 79 0.512 7 48–33 35–46 Washington Nationals 81 81 0.500 9 41–40 40–41 NL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road ^(1) St. Louis Cardinals 100 62 0.617 — 50–31 50–31 ^(4) Houston Astros 89 73 0.549 11 53–28 36–45 Milwaukee Brewers 81 81 0.500 19 46–35 35–46 Chicago Cubs 79 83 0.488 21 38–43 41–40 Cincinnati Reds 73 89 0.451 27 42–39 31–50 Pittsburgh Pirates 67 95 0.414 33 34–47 33–48 NL West W L Pct. GB Home Road ^(3) San Diego Padres 82 80 0.506 — 46–35 36–45 Arizona Diamondbacks 77 85 0.475 5 36–45 41–40 San Francisco Giants 75 87 0.463 7 37–44 38–43 Los Angeles Dodgers 71 91 0.438 11 40–41 31–50 Colorado Rockies 67 95 0.414 15 40–41 27–54

Postseason

The playoffs began on October 4, and ended on October 26. For more information, see the following articles:

• Division Series
  • American League
  • National League
• Championship Series
  • American League
  • National League
• World Series

Bracket

	Division Series (ALDS, NLDS)					League Championship Series (NLCS, ALCS)					World Series
	1	Chicago Sox	3
	4	Boston	0
						1	Chicago Sox	4
	American League
						2	LA Angels	1
	2	LA Angels	3
	3	NY Yankees	2
											AL1	Chicago Sox	4
											NL4	Houston	0
	1	St. Louis	3
	3	San Diego	0
						1	St. Louis	2
	National League
						4	Houston	4
	2	Atlanta	1
	4	Houston	3

Statistical leaders

Batting

Team

Statistic	American League		National League
Runs scored	Boston Red Sox	910	Cincinnati Reds	820
Hits	Boston Red Sox	1579	Chicago Cubs	1506
Home runs	Texas Rangers	260	Cincinnati Reds	222
Batting average	Boston Red Sox	.272	San Francisco Giants	.281
Stolen bases	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	161	New York Mets	153

Individual

Statistic	American League		National League
Batting average	Michael Young (Texas)	.331	Derrek Lee (Chicago)	.335
Runs scored	Alex Rodriguez (New York)	124	Albert Pujols (St. Louis)	129
Hits	Michael Young (Texas)	221	Derrek Lee (Chicago)	199
Home runs	Alex Rodriguez (New York)	48	Andruw Jones (Atlanta)	51
Runs batted in	David Ortiz (Boston)	148	Andruw Jones (Atlanta)	128
Stolen bases	Chone Figgins (Los Angeles)	62	José Reyes (New York)	60

Pitching

Team

Statistic	American League		National League
Runs allowed	Cleveland Indians	642	Houston Astros	609
Earned run average	Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians	3.61	St. Louis Cardinals	3.49
Hits allowed	Oakland Athletics	1315	Houston Astros	1336
Home runs allowed	Oakland Athletics	154	New York Mets	135
Strikeouts	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	1126	Chicago Cubs	1256

Individual

Statistic	American League		National League
Earned run average	Kevin Millwood (Cleveland)	2.86	Roger Clemens (Houston)	1.87
Wins	Bartolo Colón (Los Angeles)	21	Dontrelle Willis (Florida)	22
Saves	Francisco Rodríguez (Los Angeles) Bob Wickman (Cleveland)	45	Chad Cordero (Washington)	47
Strikeouts	Johan Santana (Minnesota)	238	Jake Peavy (San Diego)	216

Managers

American League

Team	Manager	Comments
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Mike Scioscia
Baltimore Orioles	Sam Perlozzo
Boston Red Sox	Terry Francona
Chicago White Sox	Ozzie Guillén	Won the World Series
Cleveland Indians	Eric Wedge
Detroit Tigers±	Alan Trammell
Kansas City Royals	Tony Peña	Replaced during the season by Bob Schaefer
Minnesota Twins	Ron Gardenhire
New York Yankees	Joe Torre
Oakland Athletics	Ken Macha
Seattle Mariners	Mike Hargrove
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	Lou Piniella
Texas Rangers	Buck Showalter
Toronto Blue Jays	John Gibbons

National League

Team	Manager	Comments
Arizona Diamondbacks	Bob Melvin
Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox
Chicago Cubs	Dusty Baker
Cincinnati Reds	Dave Miley	Replaced during the season by Jerry Narron
Colorado Rockies	Clint Hurdle
Florida Marlins	Jack McKeon
Houston Astros	Phil Garner	Won the National League pennant
Los Angeles Dodgers	Jim Tracy
Milwaukee Brewers	Ned Yost
New York Mets	Willie Randolph
Philadelphia Phillies	Charlie Manuel
Pittsburgh Pirates	Lloyd McClendon	Replaced during the season by Pete Mackanin
St. Louis Cardinals	Tony La Russa
San Diego Padres	Bruce Bochy
San Francisco Giants	Felipe Alou
Washington Nationals	Frank Robinson

±hosted the MLB All Star Game

Awards and honors

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Ryan Howard (PHI)	Huston Street (OAK)
Cy Young Award	Chris Carpenter (STL)	Bartolo Colón (LAA)
Manager of the Year	Bobby Cox (ATL)	Ozzie Guillén (CHW)
Most Valuable Player	Albert Pujols (STL)	Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Greg Maddux (CHC)	Kenny Rogers (MIN)
Catcher	Mike Matheny (SF)	Jason Varitek (BOS)
1st Base	Derrek Lee (CHC)	Mark Teixeira (TEX)
2nd Base	Luis Castillo (FLA)	Orlando Hudson (TOR)
3rd Base	Mike Lowell (FLA)	Eric Chavez (OAK)
Shortstop	Omar Vizquel (SF)	Derek Jeter (NYY)
Outfield	Bobby Abreu (PHI) Jim Edmonds (STL) Andruw Jones (ATL)	Torii Hunter (MIN) Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) Vernon Wells (TOR)
Silver Slugger Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher/Designated Hitter	Jason Marquis (STL)	David Ortiz (BOS)
Catcher	Michael Barrett (CHC)	Jason Varitek (BOS)
1st Base	Derrek Lee (CHC)	Mark Teixeira (TEX)
2nd Base	Jeff Kent (LAD)	Alfonso Soriano (TEX)
3rd Base	Morgan Ensberg (HOU)	Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
Shortstop	Felipe López (CIN)	Miguel Tejada (BAL)
Outfield	Miguel Cabrera (FLA) Andruw Jones (ATL) Carlos Lee (MIL)	Vladimir Guerrero (LAA) Manny Ramirez (BOS) Gary Sheffield (NYY)

Other awards

• Comeback Players of the Year: Jason Giambi (Designated hitter/first baseman, NYY, American); Ken Griffey, Jr. (Center fielder, CIN, National).
• Hank Aaron Award: David Ortiz (BOS, American); Andruw Jones (ATL, National).
• Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): John Smoltz (ATL).
• Rolaids Relief Man Award: Mariano Rivera (NYY, American); Chad Cordero (WSH, National).
• Delivery Man of the Year (Best Reliever): Mariano Rivera (NYY).

Player of the Month

Month	American League	National League
April	Brian Roberts	Derrek Lee
May	Alex Rodriguez	Bobby Abreu
June	Travis Hafner	Andruw Jones
July	Jason Giambi	Adam Dunn
August	Alex Rodriguez	Andruw Jones
September	David Ortiz	Randy Winn

Pitcher of the Month

Month	American League	National League
April	Jon Garland	Dontrelle Willis
May	Kenny Rogers	Trevor Hoffman
June	Mark Buehrle	Chad Cordero
July	Barry Zito	Andy Pettitte
August	Bartolo Colón	Noah Lowry
September	José Contreras	Andy Pettitte

Rookie of the Month

Month	American League	National League
April	Gustavo Chacín	Clint Barmes
May	Damon Hollins	Ryan Church
June	Joe Blanton	Garrett Atkins
July	Gustavo Chacín	Zach Duke
August	Joe Blanton	Zach Duke
September	Robinson Canó	Ryan Howard

Events

• April 29 - The highly anticipated matchup of Roger Clemens of the Houston Astros vs. Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs took place at Minute Maid Park, two of the most acclaimed pitchers of the modern era (between them are 11 Cy Young awards - 7 and 4 respectively). Both Clemens and Maddux had 300 career wins at this point in their careers, a feat that is arguably impossible for modern era pitchers to achieve since the advent of middle and closing relief rosters. The Cubs went on to win the game 3-2.

• June 18 – Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees hits the first grand slam of his 11-year major league career, as the Yankees defeat the Chicago Cubs 8-1.[1]

See also

• 2005 Nippon Professional Baseball season

Notes

^a Major League Baseball seasons since 1901 without a no-hitter pitched are 1909, 1913, 1921, 1927–1928, 1932–1933, 1936, 1939, 1942–1943, 1949, 1959, 1982, 1985, 1989, 2000 and 2005.

External links

• 2005 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference

References

• Baseball-Reference.com, 2005 American League season
• Baseball-Reference.com, 2005 National League season

1. Pellowski, Michael J (2007). The Little Giant Books of Baseball Facts. United States: Sterling Publishing Co. pp. 352. ISBN 9781402742736.