1984 Major League Baseball season
# 1984 Major League Baseball season

The 1984 Major League Baseball season started with a 9-game winning streak by the eventual World Series champions Detroit Tigers who started the season with 35 wins and 5 losses and never relinquished the first place lead.

## New commissioner

On March 3, 1984, Peter Ueberroth was elected by the owners as the sixth commissioner of baseball (replacing retiring commissioner Bowie Kuhn) and officially took office on October 1 of that year. As a condition of his hiring, Ueberroth increased the commissioner's fining ability from US$5,000 to $250,000. His salary was raised to a reported $450,000, nearly twice what Kuhn was paid.

Just as Ueberroth was taking office, the Major League Umpires Union was threatening to strike the postseason. Ueberroth managed to arbitrate the disagreement and had the umpires back to work before the League Championship Series were over.

## Awards and honors

* Baseball Hall of Fame
   * Luis Aparicio
   * Don Drysdale
   * Rick Ferrell
   * Harmon Killebrew
   * Pee Wee Reese

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :

| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| - | - | - |
| Rookie of the Year | Dwight Gooden (NYM) | Alvin Davis (SEA) |
| Cy Young Award | Rick Sutcliffe (CHC) | Willie Hernández (DET) |
| Manager of the Year | Jim Frey (CHC) | Sparky Anderson (DET) |
| Most Valuable Player | Ryne Sandberg (CHC) | Willie Hernández (DET) |
| Gold Glove Awards |||
| Position | National League | American League |
| Pitcher | Joaquín Andújar (STL) | Ron Guidry (NYY) |
| Catcher | Tony Peña (PIT) | Lance Parrish (DET) |
| First Baseman | Keith Hernandez (NYM) | Eddie Murray (BAL) |
| Second Baseman | Ryne Sandberg (CHC) | Lou Whitaker (DET) |
| Third Baseman | Mike Schmidt (PHI) | Buddy Bell (TEX) |
| Shortstop | Ozzie Smith (STL) | Alan Trammell (DET) |
| Outfielders | Andre Dawson (MON) | Dwight Evans (BOS) |
| Outfielders | Bob Dernier (CHC) | Dwayne Murphy (OAK) |
| Outfielders | Dale Murphy (ATL) | Dave Winfield (NYY) |
| Silver Slugger Awards |||
| Pitcher/Designated Hitter | Rick Rhoden (PIT) | Andre Thornton (CLE) |
| Catcher | Gary Carter (MON) | Lance Parrish (DET) |
| First Baseman | Keith Hernandez (NYM) | Eddie Murray (BAL) |
| Second Baseman | Ryne Sandberg (CHC) | Lou Whitaker (DET) |
| Third Baseman | Mike Schmidt (PHI) | Buddy Bell (TEX) |
| Shortstop | Garry Templeton (SD) | Cal Ripken Jr. (BAL) |
| Outfielders | José Cruz (HOU) | Tony Armas (BOS) |
| Outfielders | Tony Gwynn (SD) | Jim Rice (BOS) |
| Outfielders | Dale Murphy (ATL) | Dave Winfield (NYY) |

### Other awards

* Outstanding Designated Hitter Award: Dave Kingman (OAK)
* Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): Ron Guidry (NYY)
* Rolaids Relief Man Award: Dan Quisenberry (KC, American); Bruce Sutter (STL, National).

### Player of the Month

| Month | American League | National League |
| - | - | - |
| April | Alan Trammell | Tony Gwynn |
| May | Eddie Murray | Leon Durham |
| June | Tony Armas | Ryne Sandberg |
| July | Kent Hrbek | José Cruz |
| August | Gary Ward | Keith Moreland |
| September | Greg Walker | Dale Murphy |

### Pitcher of the Month

| Month | American League | National League |
| - | - | - |
| April | Jack Morris | Rick Honeycutt |
| May | Mike Boddicker | Nolan Ryan |
| June | Charlie Hough | Ron Darling |
| July | Willie Hernández | Orel Hershiser |
| August | Roger Clemens | Rick Sutcliffe |
| September | Doyle Alexander | Dwight Gooden |

## Statistical leaders

| Statistic | American League | American League | National League | National League |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| AVG | Don Mattingly NYY | .343 | Tony Gwynn SD | .351 |
| HR | Tony Armas BOS | 43 | Dale Murphy ATL Mike Schmidt PHI | 36 |
| RBIs | Tony Armas BOS | 123 | Gary Carter MTL Mike Schmidt PHI | 106 |
| Wins | Mike Boddicker BAL | 20 | Joaquín Andújar STL | 20 |
| ERA | Mike Boddicker BAL | 2.79 | Alejandro Peña LA | 2.48 |
| SO | Mark Langston SEA | 204 | Dwight Gooden NYM | 276 |
| SV | Dan Quisenberry KC | 44 | Bruce Sutter STL | 45 |
| SB | Rickey Henderson OAK | 66 | Tim Raines MTL | 75 |

## Postseason

### Bracket

| League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | World Series | World Series |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| East | Detroit | 3 | | | |
| West | Kansas City | 0 | | | |
| West | Kansas City | 0 | AL | Detroit | 4 |
| | | | NL | San Diego | 1 |
| East | Chicago Cubs | 2 | NL | San Diego | 1 |
| West | San Diego | 3 | | | |

## All-Star game

* All-Star Game, July 10 at Candlestick Park: National League, 3–1; Gary Carter, MVP

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 79 | −13.2% | 3,134,824 | −10.7% | 38,702 |
| Detroit Tigers | 104 | 13.0% | 2,704,794 | 47.8% | 32,985 |
| California Angels | 81 | 15.7% | 2,402,997 | −5.9% | 29,667 |
| Chicago White Sox | 74 | −25.3% | 2,136,988 | 0.2% | 26,383 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 89 | 0.0% | 2,110,009 | 9.3% | 26,049 |
| Chicago Cubs | 96 | 35.2% | 2,107,655 | 42.4% | 26,346 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 81 | −10.0% | 2,062,693 | −3.1% | 25,465 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 85 | −13.3% | 2,045,784 | 0.2% | 25,257 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 84 | 6.3% | 2,037,448 | −12.1% | 25,154 |
| San Diego Padres | 92 | 13.6% | 1,983,904 | 28.8% | 24,493 |
| New York Mets | 90 | 32.4% | 1,842,695 | 65.6% | 22,749 |
| New York Yankees | 87 | −4.4% | 1,821,815 | −19.3% | 22,492 |
| Kansas City Royals | 84 | 6.3% | 1,810,018 | −7.8% | 22,346 |
| Atlanta Braves | 80 | −9.1% | 1,724,892 | −18.6% | 21,295 |
| Boston Red Sox | 86 | 10.3% | 1,661,618 | −6.8% | 20,514 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 67 | −23.0% | 1,608,509 | −32.9% | 19,858 |
| Montreal Expos | 78 | −4.9% | 1,606,531 | −30.8% | 19,834 |
| Minnesota Twins | 81 | 15.7% | 1,598,692 | 86.1% | 19,737 |
| Oakland Athletics | 77 | 4.1% | 1,353,281 | 4.5% | 16,707 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 70 | −5.4% | 1,275,887 | 7.2% | 15,752 |
| Houston Astros | 80 | −5.9% | 1,229,862 | −9.0% | 15,183 |
| Texas Rangers | 69 | −10.4% | 1,102,471 | −19.1% | 13,781 |
| San Francisco Giants | 66 | −16.5% | 1,001,545 | −20.0% | 12,365 |
| Seattle Mariners | 74 | 23.3% | 870,372 | 7.0% | 10,745 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 75 | −10.7% | 773,500 | −36.9% | 9,549 |
| Cleveland Indians | 75 | 7.1% | 734,079 | −4.5% | 9,063 |

## Television coverage

| Network | Day of week | Announcers |
| - | - | - |
| ABC | Monday nights Sunday afternoons | Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Howard Cosell, Don Drysdale, Tim McCarver, Earl Weaver, Reggie Jackson |
| NBC | Saturday afternoons | Vin Scully, Joe Garagiola, Bob Costas, Tony Kubek |

## Events

* April 7: Jack Morris of the Detroit Tigers threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* June 23: On a broadcast of NBC's Game of the Week between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg hits two crucial, game tying home runs off of Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter in both the bottom of the ninth and tenth innings. The Cubs would go on to win the game in eleven innings, by the score of 12–11.
* September 30: Mike Witt of the California Angels threw a perfect game against the Texas Rangers. He finished with 94 pitches and ten strikeouts.

## Movies

* The Natural

## Deaths

* March 18: Charley Lau
* March 20: Stan Coveleski
* August 14: Lynn McGlothen
* August 25: Waite Hoyt
* September 7: Joe Cronin
* October 1: Walter Alston
* October 26: Gus Mancuso
* November 25: Ival Goodman
