65 Fun Facts About 2023 MLB Season

The Texas Rangers, first-time World Series winners in 2023, began in 1961 as which expansion team?

Washington Senators was the club's name until it moved to Arlington for the 1972 season; as the Rangers it lost the World Series in 2010 and 2011 before finally winning one in 2023.

Which pitcher won the 2023 World Series clincher?

Nathan Eovaldi walked five but stranded every runner across six scoreless innings in Game 5; the Rangers won all six of his starts that postseason, and the Series was over in five games.

Who was named 2023 World Series MVP, becoming the first player to win the award in both leagues?

Corey Seager hit .286 with three home runs in the Series, including a game-tying two-run shot in the ninth inning of Game 1; his first World Series MVP had come with the Dodgers in 2020.

Who hit the walk-off home run in the 11th inning of Game 1 of the 2023 World Series?

Adolis García's walk-off homer in the 11th gave him 22 RBI for the postseason, breaking David Freese's 2011 record. An oblique injury in Game 3 knocked him off the roster before Game 4.

Which manager won his fourth World Series in 2023, only the third to win one in each league?

Bruce Bochy had been retired for three seasons when he agreed to return to the dugout; with three earlier titles as Giants manager, he joined Sparky Anderson and Tony La Russa as winners in both leagues.

Which reliever won his third straight World Series in 2023, each with a different team?

Will Smith got the last out of the 2021 Series for Atlanta, was traded the next August to that year's eventual champions, then signed with Texas: the first player to win three straight titles with three teams.

The 2023 Rangers went a record 11–0 in which kind of postseason game?

Road games were where Texas was perfect: 11–0 away from home, beating the old best of 8–0 by the 1996 Yankees, yet only 2–4 in its own ballpark on the way to the title.

Which player won his second unanimous AL MVP in 2023, the first person ever to win two unanimous MVPs?

Shohei Ohtani, also unanimous in 2021, led the AL in home runs while posting a 3.14 ERA as a pitcher, yet the Angels finished under .500 in all six of his seasons with them.

Who won the 2023 National League MVP, making it the first year both MVPs were chosen unanimously?

Ronald Acuña Jr. had torn a knee ligament in July 2021 and could only watch as the Braves won that year's World Series; in 2023 he hit .337 and piled up 217 hits and 149 runs.

The 2023 NL MVP's 40–70 season outgrew the 40–40 club, founded in 1988 by which slugger?

Jose Canseco predicted his 40–40 season in 1988 without realising nobody had ever done it; 35 years later the NL MVP stretched the idea to 41 home runs and 73 steals.

Which pitcher won the 2023 NL Cy Young Award, his second, having taken the AL version in 2018?

Blake Snell's 2.25 ERA led the majors in 2023, though so did his 99 walks; he then turned down the Padres' qualifying offer and signed with the Giants the next spring.

Who won the 2023 American League Cy Young Award by unanimous vote?

Gerrit Cole had twice finished runner-up before taking all 30 first-place votes; he sealed it by shutting out Toronto in his final start and became the first Yankee to win since Roger Clemens in 2001.

Who won the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year Award?

Gunnar Henderson was batting .170 in mid-May before turning his season around to take all 30 first-place votes, the first Oriole to win the award since Gregg Olson in 1989.

Who won the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year Award?

Corbin Carroll, a unanimous pick, was the first rookie ever with 25 home runs and 50 stolen bases, and had signed an eight-year, $111 million extension in March after just 32 big-league games.

Which manager won the 2023 NL Manager of the Year Award after taking Miami to the playoffs?

Skip Schumaker, hired to replace Don Mattingly, added 15 wins in his first season as a manager for Miami's first full-season playoff berth since 2003; a year later the team lost 100 games and he left.

Which manager won the 2023 American League Manager of the Year Award after a 101-win season?

Brandon Hyde's Baltimore club had lost 110 games just two years earlier; in 2023 it won 101 and took its first AL East title since 2014.

Which Yankees pitcher threw the 24th perfect game in MLB history on June 28, 2023?

Domingo Germán retired all 27 batters he faced, the first perfect game by a Dominican-born pitcher and the majors' first in eleven years; five weeks later he was placed on the restricted list after a clubhouse incident.

Which 2023 rule change cut the average MLB game by more than 20 minutes?

The pitch clock gave pitchers 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 with a runner aboard, and a batter not ready with eight seconds left was charged a strike; the average game shrank by 24 minutes.

MLB's 2023 rule changes enlarged which piece of equipment from 15 inches across to 18?

The bases grew to 18-inch squares, trimming the distance between them by 4.5 inches to cut collisions and invite steals; stolen bases jumped from 2,486 to 3,503, the most since 1987.

Under MLB's 2023 rules, what is called if a third pickoff attempt in one plate appearance fails?

A balk is called, so every runner moves up a base: pitchers get two free step-offs or pickoff throws per plate appearance, and a third must retire the runner; the count resets if a runner advances.

Which team opened 2023 with 13 straight wins, tying the modern-era record for the best start to a season?

The Tampa Bay Rays matched the 13–0 starts of the 1982 Braves and 1987 Brewers, yet finished second in the AL East and were swept out of the Wild Card Series by Texas.

Which team lost 112 games in 2023, the most in the majors that year?

The Oakland Athletics went 50–112 after a 10–45 start, their worst winning percentage since 1919; in June nearly 28,000 fans filled the Coliseum for a 'reverse boycott' protest against the team's ownership.

In November 2023, MLB owners unanimously approved the Athletics' relocation to which city?

Las Vegas was approved 30–0 at the owners' meeting on November 16, 2023, five months after Nevada's governor signed a $380 million stadium-funding bill for a ballpark on the Strip.

Whose ninth-inning homer in the 2023 Braves' regular-season finale tied the MLB team record?

Marcell Ozuna, who was batting .085 at the end of April, hit his 40th homer for Atlanta's 307th, matching the 2019 record; the club's .501 slugging percentage was the first above .500 in MLB history.

Which Braves starter led the majors with 20 wins in 2023?

Spencer Strider went 20–5 for a 104-win club, then lost both of his Division Series starts as Atlanta went out at that stage for the second straight year.

MLB's 2023 schedule was the first in which every club did what?

Faced all 29 others: the new balanced schedule cut division games from 76 to 52 and raised interleague games from 20 to 46, and all 30 clubs opened on the same day for the first time since 1968.

Where did the Giants and Padres play a two-game 'MLB World Tour' series in April 2023?

Mexico City sits higher than Denver, and the thin air showed: the Padres won the opener 16–11 as the teams hit 11 home runs, with a record-tying 10 different players going deep.

Which city hosted the 2023 MLB All-Star Game?

Seattle hosted for the third time; when its ballpark last staged the game in 2001, under the name Safeco Field, Cal Ripken Jr. homered and was named MVP in his final All-Star appearance.

Which Rockies catcher's eighth-inning homer gave the NL its first All-Star win since 2012?

Elias Díaz, Colorado's only All-Star, hit a two-run homer to end a run of nine straight American League wins and was named MVP; Pittsburgh had cut him loose after the 2019 season.

Who won the 2023 Home Run Derby?

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had hit a record 91 homers in the 2019 Derby and still lost the final; in 2023 he beat Randy Arozarena 25–23, joining his father, the 2007 champion, as the first father-son winners.

Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic by beating which defending champion 3–2 in the final?

Japan beat the United States 3–2 for a record third title without losing a game, after Trea Turner's fifth home run of the tournament had put the Americans ahead in the second inning.

Whom did Japan's closer strike out to end the 2023 World Baseball Classic final?

Mike Trout swung through a full-count sweeper from his own Angels teammate, the tournament MVP, who had come out of the bullpen for the ninth; the pair had shared a clubhouse since 2018.

Which Japan slugger, who hit 56 home runs in 2022, won the 2023 World Baseball Classic semifinal with a walk-off double?

Munetaka Murakami was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts when he came up in the ninth, then hit a two-run double for a 6–5 walk-off win; a day later he homered in the final.

Who was taken first overall in the 2023 MLB draft?

Paul Skenes had been named college baseball's best two-way player at Air Force in 2022 before transferring to LSU; Pittsburgh, winner of the first draft lottery, took him one pick ahead of LSU teammate Dylan Crews.

Which team signed the reigning AL MVP to a record 10-year deal in December 2023?

The Los Angeles Dodgers gave him $700 million, then the largest contract in sports history, and at his own suggestion most of it is paid after the deal ends, leaving the club room to sign other stars.

The then-record 10-year, $700 million contract signed in December 2023 pays how much in salary each season until 2034?

$2 million a year is all he draws through 2033; the other $68 million of each season's pay arrives between 2034 and 2043, so 97 percent of the deal is paid after its final game.

The 2023 AL home run champion had already broken which Yankee's Japanese-born record?

Hideki Matsui hit 31 for the 2004 Yankees, a mark that stood until 2021; the man who passed it led the AL with 44 in 2023 even though an oblique strain kept him out after September 3.

On July 27, 2023, what did the Angels' two-way star do after his first shutout?

Hit two home runs, his 37th and 38th, in the second game of a doubleheader in Detroit after a one-hit shutout in the first; a night earlier the Angels had chosen to add players at the deadline, not trade him.

Which slugger became the fastest ever to 250 career home runs in September 2023, in 810 games?

Aaron Judge needed 810 games, 45 fewer than Ryan Howard, in a season when he missed 42 games after hurting his toe crashing through a bullpen gate at Dodger Stadium.

Which Reds rookie hit for the cycle in June 2023, the first Cincinnati player since 1989?

Elly De La Cruz was the youngest to hit for the cycle since César Cedeño in 1972; two weeks later he stole second, third and home in a single inning, the first Red to do that since 1919.

In 2023, who led the majors in both home runs and runs batted in?

Matt Olson, an Atlanta native who grew up a Braves fan, hit 54 home runs and drove in 139, passing Eddie Mathews' 135 from 1953 for the club's most RBIs since the stat became official in 1920.

Which Astros pitcher threw a no-hitter against Cleveland on August 1, 2023?

Framber Valdez faced the minimum 27 batters in a 2–0 win, the first no-hitter by an Astros left-hander, on the same day Houston traded to bring Justin Verlander back from the Mets.

Michael Lorenzen threw a 124-pitch no-hitter on August 9, 2023, in one of his first starts for which team?

The Philadelphia Phillies had traded for him eight days earlier, and this was his first home start; he ended the year with a 5.51 ERA for the club and pitched only in relief in the playoffs.

Which team ended an 18-game postseason losing streak in the 2023 Wild Card Series?

The Minnesota Twins ended the streak when Royce Lewis homered in back-to-back at-bats to open Game 1 against Toronto; the club's last postseason win had come in the 2004 ALDS and its last series win in 2002.

Which Dodgers starter recorded just one out in Game 1 of the 2023 NLDS against Arizona?

Clayton Kershaw gave up six runs while getting one out, and the underdog Diamondbacks went on to sweep the 100-win favorites; he had won his 200th career game earlier that season.

Which pitcher gave up four home runs in one inning to Arizona in the 2023 NLDS, a postseason first?

Lance Lynn had led the majors by allowing 44 home runs that season; in the third inning Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno all took him deep as Arizona finished its sweep.

Which Athletics rookie broke Kenny Lofton's AL rookie stolen-base record with 67 steals in 2023?

Esteury Ruiz passed Kenny Lofton's 1992 mark of 66 with a steal on the final day of the season, despite a July stint on the injured list; Oakland had acquired him in the three-team Sean Murphy trade.

Which Dodger set the record for most RBIs by a leadoff hitter in a season, finishing 2023 with 107?

Mookie Betts passed Charlie Blackmon's 2017 mark of 103 in a year when the Gold Glove right fielder also filled in at second base and made the first shortstop appearances of his career for an injury-hit infield.

Which slugger, who opened 2014 in Sydney with Arizona, became the first to play regular-season MLB games in five countries in 2023?

Paul Goldschmidt got a hit in every one of his six games in Australia, Mexico and the fifth country on his list; Canada was his other stop abroad.

Which member of both the 500-homer and 3,000-hit clubs played his final season in 2023?

Miguel Cabrera, the 2012 Triple Crown winner, went out to first base one last time in his final game, fielded a ground ball for the out and left to a standing ovation in Detroit.

Who won his 200th career game on September 18, 2023, and retired at season's end?

Adam Wainwright carried a 7.40 ERA through his final season, yet he threw seven scoreless innings to beat Milwaukee 1–0 for No. 200; every one of those wins came with one club.

What were MLB teams allowed to do with their uniforms for the first time in 2023?

Teams could wear sponsor advertising patches on a sleeve once the 2022 labor deal allowed them; San Diego struck the first agreement, with Motorola, and clubs from the Red Sox to the Yankees followed.

Which defending champion did Texas beat in seven games in the 2023 ALCS?

The Houston Astros were in their seventh straight ALCS, but the first LCS between two teams from one state went to a club that had lost 102 games only two years earlier.

84-win Arizona began its 2023 World Series run by sweeping which NL Central champion?

The Milwaukee Brewers, with 92 wins, went out in two games; Arizona, a 110-loss team two years earlier, then swept the 100-win Dodgers and came from 0–2 down against Philadelphia to win the pennant.

Which Dodgers outfielder hit three homers, one a grand slam, in his first game of 2023?

Trayce Thompson, younger brother of NBA champion Klay Thompson, hit a grand slam in his first at-bat of the season and two more homers for eight RBIs; he was batting .155 when the Dodgers traded him in July.

The 2023 World Series set which unwanted record?

Least-watched ever on television: the Series averaged about 9.1 million viewers, and Game 3, out-drawn that night by a Monday Night Football game, was the least-watched World Series game on record.

Who threw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1 of the 2023 World Series?

George W. Bush had run the Rangers as managing general partner for five years before becoming governor of Texas; his pitch went to Iván Rodríguez, the Hall of Fame catcher who broke in with the club in 1991.

Before the 2023 season Texas signed which ace to a five-year, $185M contract?

Jacob deGrom made only six starts before needing Tommy John surgery in June; the club then traded for Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery and Aroldis Chapman in-season to patch the staff.

Which manager retired after the 2023 season at age 74?

Dusty Baker had finally won his first World Series as a manager only a year earlier, after decades of trying; his last game was a Game 7 loss in the ALCS.

Which two teams played the 2023 MLB London Series at London Stadium in June?

Cardinals and Cubs split two games at London Stadium in June 2023, three years late: the same clubs were booked for London in 2020 before the pandemic cancelled that trip.

Which Cardinals rookie opened 2023 with a 12-game hitting streak, a feat last done before age 21 in 1912?

Jordan Walker, 20, hit safely in his first 12 games, matching Eddie Murphy's 1912 mark for a player that young; two weeks after the streak ended, St. Louis sent him down to Triple-A Memphis.

Which Brave's 'atta boy, Harper' quip set up Bryce Harper's stare-down in the 2023 NLDS?

Orlando Arcia's 'atta boy, Harper' after Harper was doubled off first to end Game 2 reached reporters; Harper answered by homering twice in Game 3, staring at Arcia as he rounded the bases.

Who won the 2023 American League Comeback Player of the Year award?

Liam Hendriks, the White Sox closer, returned in May after treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, then needed Tommy John surgery in August; Cody Bellinger took the NL award.

Who won the 2023 Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award?

Félix Bautista saved 33 games with a 1.48 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 61 innings for Baltimore before a torn elbow ligament ended his season in late August.

Who won the 2023 National League batting title with a .354 average?

Luis Arraez hit .354 for Miami months after Minnesota traded him, the reigning AL batting champion, for pitcher Pablo López; only DJ LeMahieu had also won an undisputed batting title in each league.