Top 10 Stories of 2007

His 2007 was all woven together with triumph and scandal, and it's hard to break it apart. On Aug. 7, he broke Hank Aaron's all-time record by hitting his 756th career home run, breaking perhaps the sport's most hallowed record. On Nov. 15, he was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice for telling a federal grand jury that he did not use performance-enhancing drugs.

The report by special investigator George Mitchell, released on Dec. 13, tied together all of the steroid reports and added additional ones, including the testimony of a trainer who said that seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens used steroids. The report is certain to have repercussions for years, both in policy and in the legacies of the players named in the report, guilty or not.

The Red Sox, on the brink of elimination in the American League Championship Series, reeled off three victories in a row to beat the Cleveland Indians, then swept the Colorado Rockies to win their second World Series in four years.

Despite leading the Yankees to the playoffs in 12 consecutive seasons and wining four World Series titles in five seasons (1996, 1998-2000), the Yankees offer manager Joe Torre a contract that would have cut his salary. He doesn't sign, and winds up as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Colorado won its first National League pennant on the strength of an incredible winning streak that began on Sept. 16. They won 11 in a row, lost one, then finished the season with two wins to tie the San Diego Padres for the NL wild-card spot. They won the one-game playoff in a 13-inning thriller, then swept the Phillies and Diamondbacks in the playoffs to make the World Series.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had one of his finest seasons statistically, leading the majors with 54 home runs and 156 RBI (the most by any player since 2001) and winning the AL MVP award for the third time. He then opted out of the final three years of his 10-year, $252 million contract, stirring up a few weeks of contentious negotiations. He went back to the Yankees without his agent Scott Boras, getting a new 10-year deal for $275 million.

New York looked like the National League favorite with a seven-game lead with 17 games to play. But they lost 11 of 16 down the stretch, and the red-hot Phillies passed them on the final day of the season, finishing one of the worst collapses in baseball history.

Coolbaugh, a former big-league player in his first season as a coach for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, was struck in the neck by a line drive that caused a brain hemorrhage. He was pronounced dead an hour later. As a reaction, base coaches will be required to wear helmets beginning in 2008.

On Aug. 22, Texas fell behind 3-0 in a game at Baltimore, then reeled off 30 runs, setting a modern major-league record. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 4 for 6 with two home runs and seven RBIs. Ramon Vazquez hit two homers, and Travis Metcalf and Marlon Byrd each hit grand slams.

Three players hit their 500th home runs: Frank Thomas of the Blue Jays, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees and Jim Thome of the White Sox. And Tom Glavine of the Mets won his 300th game.