Year In Review : 1992 American League

Off the field...

South-Central Los Angeles burned amidst several days of rioting, following a jury's acquittal of white L.A. police officers that had been videotaped beating a black motorist named Rodney King. The violent protest was the worst civil disobedience incident since the Watts Riots of 1964 and resulted in $785 million in property damage.

America's most notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, was sentenced to fifteen life terms (957 years) in prison for the vicious torture and murder of seventeen young men. He himself was murdered in prison by a fellow inmate on November 28, 1994.

Hurricane Andrew, the most destructive United States hurricane of record (a category four), caused twenty-three deaths in the U.S. and three more in the Bahamas. The massive storm had a peak gust of 164 mph and caused $26.5 billion in damage.

In the American League...

Oakland Athletics outfielder and perennial base thief Rickey Henderson snatched the 1,000th base of his career in the first inning of the A's 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Nolan Ryan, of the Texas Rangers, struck out his 100th batter for a record twenty-third year in a row. In doing so, he passed Phil Niekro as number twelve on the all-time win list with three-hundred nineteen victories.

Milwaukee Brewer Robin Yount reached the 3,000th hit of his career as his team lost 5-4 against the Cleveland Indians. He also became the second player in Major League history (behind Willie Mays) to record two-hundred home runs, two-hundred stolen bases and one-hundred triples.

In the National League...

Pittsburgh's Andy Van Slyke became the first outfielder in nearly eighteen years to record an unassisted double play. As the Pirates took on the Houston Astros, Van Slyke made a running catch in shallow center followed by a tag on Ken Caminiti, who was running from second base on the play.

Los Angeles Dodger Kevin Gross dominated the mound after tossing ninety-nine pitches (seventy-one for strikes) in a no-hitter, 2-0 triumph over the San Francisco Giants.

Eddie Murray topped the New York Yankees' Mickey Mantle for the most RBIs ever by a switch-hitter (1,510) after blasting two home two runs in the Mets 15-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Around the league...

Tom Seaver and Rollie Fingers were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame while Pete Rose, ineligible because of his ban from baseball for allegedly betting on games, surprisingly received forty-one write-in votes.

Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi of Japan petitioned the baseball owners for permission to purchase the Seattle Mariners. The owners approved the request 25-1 marking the first non-North American ownership of a Major League team.

Commissioner Fay Vincent ordered the realignment of the National League moving the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals into the Western Division. Later in the season, the owners voted 18-9 (with one abstention) calling for Vincent's resignation and the Commissioner obliged them three days after failing to receive a vote of confidence. Baseball's executive council rescinded the National League realignment following Vincent's departure.

In November, baseball held an expansion draft, resulting in seventy-two selections, to fill the rosters of the National League's two newest teams, the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies.