Click on any series score to link to that series' page.
Higher seed has home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series.
The American League Champion has home field advantage during World Series as a result of the pre-2003 "alternating years" rule.
The asterisk denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league.
Events
January-March
January 8 - Ozzie Smith is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Smith, named on 91.7 percent of the ballots, is the 37th player to be elected in his first year.
February 11 - Major league owners approve the sales of the Florida Marlins and Montréal Expos. Florida owner John Henry is selling the Marlins to Jeffrey Loria for $158.5 million, while Loria is selling the Expos to "Baseball Expos LP", a limited partnership owned by the other 29 teams, for $120 million.
February 12 - Mets assistant general manager Omar Minaya becomes the first Hispanic GM by accepting the position with the Montreal Expos. Frank Robinson is also announced as the manager of the team, which will be run by Major League Baseball for the 2002 season.
April 2 - In beating the San Diego Padres 9–0, the Arizona Diamondbacks become the first defending World Champions to open the season with back-to-back shutouts since the 1918-19 Red Sox; the Red Sox shutouts were thrown by Carl Mays and Sad Sam Jones. The last team to start the year with consecutive shutouts was the 1994 San Francisco Giants. Curt Schilling is the winner today, following Randy Johnson's 2–0 two–hitter yesterday over the Padres.
April 3 - The Giants defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 12–0, as Barry Bonds hits a pair of home runs for the second day in a row. He becomes only the second player in history to begin a season with a pair of 2–HR games; Eddie Mathews was the other.
April 3 - At home, the Oakland Athletics lose to the Texas Rangers 9–6, as the Rangers score three in the 8th. The loss snaps the A's string of 20 straight wins at home stretching back to August 24. The A's move past the 1974–75 Cincinnati Reds for most consecutive home wins over two seasons; the Reds' mark was 17.
April 5 - The Giants defeat the Padres 3–1 in 10 innings on Barry Bonds' 5th home run of the year. In doing so, Bonds ties the mark for most home runs in the first four games of the season, set by Lou Brock in 1967.
April 16 - The Detroit Tigers win for the first time this season, defeating Tampa Bay 9–3. The Tigers had lost its first 11 games for the 5th-worst start by a major league team.
April 21 - The Diamondbacks trounce the Rockies 7–1, as Randy Johnson strikes out 17 batters in becoming the first pitcher this year to win five games. It is the 6th time he has fanned 17 or more in a game.
April 21 - Making his first start in almost seven years, the Cincinnati Reds' José Rijo allows one unearned run in five innings as the Reds defeat the Cubs 5–3. It is Rijo's first win since July 13, 1995.
April 27 - Boston pitcher Derek Lowe hurls Fenway Park's first no-hitter since 1965, shutting out Tampa Bay 10–0. It is the first career complete game for Lowe, who began last season as the Red Sox closer. In his first start this year, he hurled seven hitless innings against the Orioles.
April 29 - Former major league outfielder Darryl Strawberry is sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating the terms of his probation six times.
May 2 - The Seattle Mariners rout the White Sox by a score of 15–4, as outfielder Mike Cameron becomes the 13th player in major league history to slug four home runs in a single game, all solo shots. Cameron is also hit by a pitch and flies out to deep right field in a bid for a 5th homer. Cameron and second baseman Bret Boone also become the first teammates in history to hit back–to–back home runs twice in the same inning, performing the feat in Seattle's 10–run 1st inning. The Mariners also tie a team record with seven homers in the game. James Baldwin is the easy winner, with seven innings pitched. There had only been 39 previous occasions of a player hitting two home runs in an inning, according to the [[Elias Sports Bureau\\. Eric Karros was last to do it, on August 22, 2000, for the Dodgers. Mark McGwire was the previous AL player to do it, on September 22, 1996 for Oakland.
May 4 - Barry Bonds hits his 400th home run as a Giant, leading his team to a 3–0 win over Cincinnati. Bonds is the first player to hit 400 homers for one team and 100 with another.
May 10 - The Anaheim Angels crush the White Sox 19–0. The Angels join the 1923 Indians, 1939 Yankees and 1950 Red Sox as the only teams to beat two opponents by 19 or more runs in the same season. Earlier this year, the Angels beat the Indians 21–2. The Anaheim calcimine of Chicago is just the 11th since 1901 in which a team scored 19 or more runs while shutting out its opponent, and the first such shutout in the AL since 1955 when Cleveland beat Boston 19–0.
May 23 - At Miller Park, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green becomes the 14th man in major league history to hit four home runs in a game and sets a big league record with 19 total bases. He goes 6-for-6, scores six runs (both Dodgers records), and gets seven RBI in a 16-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Green is the second player this year to hit four home runs in a game. He also surpasses Joe Adcock's former mark of 18 total bases, set in 1954. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, six players have produced 17 or more total bases in a game, with the last being Mike Schmidt in 1976. Green also is the first major league player to collect six hits while hitting four homers, and his four homers plus a double ties the NL mark for extra base hits. The Dodgers hit eight homers in the game, another franchise record. Before today's power display, Green had gone 0-for-15, and had been benched May 18.
May 24 - The Dodgers lose to the Diamondbacks 14–3, despite Shawn Green's 5th home run in two games, tying a major league record. Green also hits two singles to tie another mark with 25 total bases in the two games.
May 25 - The Colorado Rockies beat the Giants 6–3, as Barry Bonds takes over sole possession of 5th place on the all-time home run list with the 584th four-bagger of his career.
May 25 - The Dodgers top Arizona 10–5, as Shawn Green hits two more home runs and drives home six runs. The seven home runs in three games is a new major league record.
May 29 - In an article in Sports Illustrated, former National League MVP Ken Caminiti says that about 50 percent of current major league players use some form of steroids.
June 4 - The Twins score 10 runs in the 7th inning to close out the scoring in a 23–2 win over the Indians, the most runs in franchise history, stroke a franchise-record 25 hits (the team hit 24 five times while playing as the Washington Senators) in the contest, and tie the AL record as four players have four or more hits - Jacque Jones, Dustan Mohr, A.J. Pierzynski and Luis Rivas. The Twins are the 5th team to do it on the flip side; the Indians tie their team record for biggest loss, tying the mark set in a 21-0 loss to the Tigers on September 15, 1901. Cleveland also becomes the first team since the 1969San Diego Padres to lose two games in the same season by 19 or more runs.
June 5 - The Giants batter the Padres 12–2, as Barry Bonds hits his 587th home run to move him into 4th place on the all-time list, ahead of Frank Robinson.
June 18 - Jack Buck, Hall of Fame Broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals, passes away after months of hospitalization. He worked football games and playoff games as well -- noted for his call in the 1988 World Series following the game winning homerun by Kurt Gibson. On the date of his death, Darryl Kile pitched the St. Louis Cardinals into a tie for first place, their first time at the time of the division since early April. It would be his final start before his sudden death.
June 20 - Florida beats Cleveland 3–0, as the Marlins' Luis Castillo extends his hitting streak to 34 games, the longest ever by a second baseman.
June 22 - Darryl Kile of the St. Louis Cardinals dies suddenly in his hotel room in downtown Chicago. When he didn't arrive at the ballpark, his room was checked. Kile had died in his sleep from 90% blockage of his arteries. He was 33. The game was cancelled after the fans waited in the dark for an hour. Chicago catcher Joe Girardi (later played for the Cardinals, and currently manages the Florida Marlins) made the announcement to the crowd that the game was cancelled due to, "tragedy in the Cardinal Family."
June 28 - The Devil Rays whip their cross-state rival Marlins 4–0 behind Wilson Alvarez and two relievers. Kevin Millar of the Marlins hits a towering fly that lands on one of the catwalks that hang from the stadium's dome. It never comes down and is ruled a double. It's the second time a ball has gotten stuck in a catwalk at Tropicana Field. In 1999, José Canseco hit a home run drive that lodged there. Millar joins Ruppert Jones, Ricky Nelson, Dave Kingman, Alvaro Espinoza and Canseco as the only players in major league history to hit a fair ball that got stuck in a stadium obstruction; Jones and Nelson both had hits get caught in the overhead speakers at the old Kingdome, while the balls hit by Kingman and Espinoza were at the Metrodome, with Kingman's getting stuck in a drainage valve and Espinoza's lodging in an overhead speaker.
July
July 2 - A combined total of 62 home runs are hit in today's games, breaking the old major league mark set on April 7, 2000. A record nine players have multiple home run games, breaking the previous mark of eight.
July 9 - In a controversial finish, the 2002 All-Star Game held at Miller Park ends in a 7–7 tie after 11 innings as both the National and American leagues run out of pitchers. Both managers discuss it with commissioner Bud Selig, who calls the game.
July 23 - Nomar Garciaparra hits three home runs with eight RBI on his birthday as the Boston Red Sox edge the Florida Marlins 26–9, in the opener of a day–night doubleheader. The round–trippers give him five in two games to tie a major league record.
August
August 7 - In a historic movement, major league players end their long-held opposition to mandatory drug testing by agreeing to be tested for illegal steroids beginning in 2003.
August 8 - Braves pitcher John Smoltz reaches 40 saves in a season faster than any pitcher in major league history.
August 9 - The Giants' Barry Bonds hits the 600th home run of his career, but his team still falls to the Pirates by a score of 4–3. Bonds joins Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays in the exclusive 600-HR club.
August 17 - The Yankees defeat the Mariners 8–3, as Alfonso Soriano hits a home run to become the first second baseman ever to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season.
August 29 - First baseman Mark Bellhorn becomes the first player in NL history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning, doing so in the Cubs' 10–run 4th inning at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Chicago wins 13–10 over the Brewers. Bellhorn also ties a team record with five RBI in the inning.
August 30 - Major league players and owners agree to a historic contract that prevents the players from going out on strike, marking the first time in over 30 years that a collective bargaining negotiation in baseball was met without a work stoppage.
August 31 - The New York Mets are shut out by the Philadelphia Phillies 1–0, to mark their 13th consecutive home defeat. In doing so, they become the first NL team to lose all their home games over the course of a month.
September 1 - Miguel Tejada of the Oakland Athletics hits his 30th home run of the season as Oakland beats the Minnesota Twins 7–5. Tejada is only the third shortstop in history with at least three seasons with 30 or more home runs and with 30 HR in three consecutive seasons. Alex Rodriguez leads in both categories with six such seasons, five in a row.
September 1 - Jim Thome of the Cleveland Indians becomes the only player in team history to earn 100 walks in consecutive seasons, doing so for the second time. This is his fourth consecutive season and sixth overall with at least 100 free passes.
September 3 - The Mets lose the first game of their doubleheader against the Marlins 3–2, but bounce back to take the nightcap 11–5. The loss in the opener sets a new NL record for consecutive home losses with 15.
September 5 - In a Texas 11-2 victory over Baltimore, shortstop Alex Rodriguez becomes the fifth player in major league history to record successive 50–home run seasons.
September 6 - The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Chicago Cubs 11–2, as brothers Andy Benes and Alan Benes oppose each other in the seventh matchup of brothers in major league history. Andy gets the win while Alan takes the loss. The Cardinals score all 11 of their runs in the third inning.
September 8 - The Texas Rangers set a major league record by homering in their 26th consecutive game as Texas falls to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6–3. Rafael Palmeiro's solo shot in the sixth inning is the record–breaker. The streak will be ended at 27 games two days later.
September 9 - Pitcher Randy Johnson reaches 300 strikeouts for the fifth consecutive season, extending his major league record.
September 9 - Texas Rangers reliever Joaquín Benoit pitches seven innings of one-hit ball against the Baltimore Orioles to record the longest save in Major League history.
September 14 - Pitcher Derek Lowe gets his 20th victory as the Red Sox beat the Orioles 6–4. Lowe becomes the first pitcher in major league history to win 20 games the season after saving 20. He is also the first pitcher to record at least 40 saves and later win 20. Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz did it the other way around.
September 14 - Barry Bonds ties Hank Aaron for the most 100-RBI seasons by an NL player as he drives in his 100th run of the season for the 11th time in his career. The major league record is 13, shared by
