2005 Major League Baseball season

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

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 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. since the second iteration of the Washington Senators last played there in 1971; the Washington Nationals had moved from Montreal, the first relocation of a team in 33 years and currently the most recent time this has occurred in the majors.

2005 MLB season
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 3 – October 26, 2005
Number of games	162
Number of teams	30
TV partner(s)	Fox, ESPN
Draft
Top draft pick	Justin Upton
Picked by	Arizona Diamondbacks
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Alex Rodriguez (NYY) NL: Albert Pujols (STL)
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
Venue	Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois
Champions	Chicago White Sox
Runners-up	Houston Astros
World Series MVP	Jermaine Dye (CWS)

Angels

     Athletics

Mariners

Rangers

White Sox

Indians

Tigers      

Royals

Twins

Orioles

Red
Sox

Yankees

Devil Rays

Blue
Jays

Locations of AL teams for the 2005–2007 MLB seasons
West   Central   East

Diamondbacks

Rockies

Dodgers

Padres

  Giants

Cubs

Reds

Astros

Brewers

Pirates  

Cardinals

Braves

Marlins

Mets

Phillies

Nationals

Locations of NL teams for the 2005 MLB season
West   Central   East

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 2024 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]

This was the first season since 1993 that all teams played at least 162 games with no cancellations.

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(3) New York Yankees	95	67	.586	—	53‍–‍28	42‍–‍39
(4) Boston Red Sox	95	67	.586	—	54‍–‍27	41‍–‍40
Toronto Blue Jays	80	82	.494	15	43‍–‍38	37‍–‍44
Baltimore Orioles	74	88	.457	21	36‍–‍45	38‍–‍43
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	67	95	.414	28	40‍–‍41	27‍–‍54

• v
• t
• e

AL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(1) Chicago White Sox	99	63	.611	—	47‍–‍34	52‍–‍29
Cleveland Indians	93	69	.574	6	43‍–‍38	50‍–‍31
Minnesota Twins	83	79	.512	16	45‍–‍36	38‍–‍43
Detroit Tigers	71	91	.438	28	39‍–‍42	32‍–‍49
Kansas City Royals	56	106	.346	43	34‍–‍47	22‍–‍59

• v
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• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(2) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	95	67	.586	—	49‍–‍32	46‍–‍35
Oakland Athletics	88	74	.543	7	45‍–‍36	43‍–‍38
Texas Rangers	79	83	.488	16	44‍–‍37	35‍–‍46
Seattle Mariners	69	93	.426	26	39‍–‍42	30‍–‍51

National League

• v
• t
• e

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(2) Atlanta Braves	90	72	.556	—	53‍–‍28	37‍–‍44
Philadelphia Phillies	88	74	.543	2	46‍–‍35	42‍–‍39
Florida Marlins	83	79	.512	7	45‍–‍36	38‍–‍43
New York Mets	83	79	.512	7	48‍–‍33	35‍–‍46
Washington Nationals	81	81	.500	9	41‍–‍40	40‍–‍41

• v
• t
• e

NL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(1) St. Louis Cardinals	100	62	.617	—	50‍–‍31	50‍–‍31
(4) Houston Astros	89	73	.549	11	53‍–‍28	36‍–‍45
Milwaukee Brewers	81	81	.500	19	46‍–‍35	35‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs	79	83	.488	21	38‍–‍43	41‍–‍40
Cincinnati Reds	73	89	.451	27	42‍–‍39	31‍–‍50
Pittsburgh Pirates	67	95	.414	33	34‍–‍47	33‍–‍48

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(3) San Diego Padres	82	80	.506	—	46‍–‍35	36‍–‍45
Arizona Diamondbacks	77	85	.475	5	36‍–‍45	41‍–‍40
San Francisco Giants	75	87	.463	7	37‍–‍44	38‍–‍43
Los Angeles Dodgers	71	91	.438	11	40‍–‍41	31‍–‍50
Colorado Rockies	67	95	.414	15	40‍–‍41	27‍–‍54

Postseason

Main article: 2005 Major League Baseball postseason

Bracket

	Division Series (ALDS, NLDS)					League Championship Series (NLCS, ALCS)					World Series
	1	Chicago White Sox	3
	4	Boston	0
						1	Chicago White Sox	4
	American League
						2	LA Angels	1
	2	LA Angels	3
	3	NY Yankees	2
											AL1	Chicago White 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

Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.

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 (CWS)
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).
• Edgar Martínez Award (Best designated hitter): David Ortiz (BOS)
• 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).
• Warren Spahn Award (Best left-handed pitcher): Dontrelle Willis (FLA)

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

Home field attendance and payroll

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game	Est. payroll	%±
New York Yankees[1]	95	−5.9%	4,090,696	8.4%	50,502	$208,306,817	13.1%
Los Angeles Dodgers[2]	71	−23.7%	3,603,646	3.3%	44,489	$83,039,000	−10.6%
St. Louis Cardinals[3]	100	−4.8%	3,538,988	16.1%	43,691	$92,106,833	9.2%
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim[4]	95	3.3%	3,404,686	0.9%	42,033	$94,867,822	−5.6%
San Francisco Giants[5]	75	−17.6%	3,181,023	−2.3%	39,272	$90,199,500	10.0%
Chicago Cubs[6]	79	−11.2%	3,099,992	−2.2%	38,272	$87,032,933	−3.9%
San Diego Padres[7]	82	−5.7%	2,869,787	−4.9%	35,429	$63,290,833	14.3%
Boston Red Sox[8]	95	−3.1%	2,847,888	0.4%	35,159	$123,505,125	−3.0%
New York Mets[9]	83	16.9%	2,829,929	22.0%	34,937	$101,305,821	−0.7%
Houston Astros[10]	89	−3.3%	2,804,760	−9.2%	34,627	$76,779,000	1.8%
Washington Nationals[11]	81	20.9%	2,731,993	264.5%	33,728	$48,581,500	17.9%
Seattle Mariners[12]	69	9.5%	2,725,459	−7.3%	33,648	$87,754,334	7.7%
Philadelphia Phillies[13]	88	2.3%	2,665,304	−18.0%	32,905	$95,522,000	2.5%
Baltimore Orioles[14]	74	−5.1%	2,624,740	−4.3%	32,404	$73,914,333	43.2%
Texas Rangers[15]	79	−11.2%	2,525,221	0.5%	31,176	$55,849,000	1.5%
Atlanta Braves[16]	90	−6.3%	2,521,167	8.3%	31,126	$86,457,302	−4.1%
Chicago White Sox[17]	99	19.3%	2,342,833	21.4%	28,924	$75,178,000	15.3%
Milwaukee Brewers[18]	81	20.9%	2,211,023	7.2%	27,297	$39,934,833	45.1%
Oakland Athletics[19]	88	−3.3%	2,109,118	−4.2%	26,038	$55,425,762	−6.7%
Arizona Diamondbacks[20]	77	51.0%	2,059,424	−18.3%	25,425	$62,629,166	−10.2%
Minnesota Twins[21]	83	−9.8%	2,034,243	6.4%	25,114	$56,186,000	4.3%
Detroit Tigers[22]	71	−1.4%	2,024,431	5.6%	24,993	$69,092,000	47.5%
Toronto Blue Jays[23]	80	19.4%	2,014,995	6.1%	24,876	$45,719,500	−8.6%
Cleveland Indians[24]	93	16.3%	2,013,763	11.0%	24,861	$41,502,500	20.9%
Cincinnati Reds[25]	73	−3.9%	1,943,067	−15.0%	23,696	$61,892,583	31.9%
Colorado Rockies[26]	67	−1.5%	1,914,389	−18.1%	23,634	$47,839,000	−26.9%
Florida Marlins[27]	83	0.0%	1,852,608	7.5%	22,872	$60,408,834	43.3%
Pittsburgh Pirates[28]	67	−6.9%	1,817,245	15.0%	22,435	$38,133,000	18.3%
Kansas City Royals[29]	56	−3.4%	1,371,181	−17.5%	16,928	$36,881,000	−22.5%
Tampa Bay Devil Rays[30]	67	−4.3%	1,141,669	−10.5%	14,095	$29,679,067	−0.6%

Television coverage

This was the fifth season that national television coverage was split between ESPN and Fox Sports. ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected weeknight and Sunday night games, and selected Division Series playoff games. Fox televised Saturday baseball, the All-Star Game, selected Division Series games, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.

Events

• March 24 – a spring training game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies was abandoned after five innings because of a swarm of bees which settled over the field.^[31]
• 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.^[32]

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.