1953 On Opening Day, thanks to the three-hit pitching of Max Surkont, the former Boston Braves win their first game representing the city of Milwaukee by beating the Reds, 2-0, at Crosley Field. The contest marks the first time since Baltimore shifted to New York to become the Highlanders, later renamed the Yankees, fifty years ago when a franchise moved to a different city. 1954 Not wanting to be associated with Communists, Cincinnati plays its first game as the Redlegs. The team will employ the new widely-accepted moniker for six seasons before the club reverts to the Reds, a shortened version of the Red Stockings, the team's original name from 1882-1899. 1954 Willie Mays, who missed nearly two seasons due to military service, homers in his first game back, a sixth-inning blast off Carl Erskine that will prove the difference in the Giants' 4-3 Opening Day victory over Brooklyn. The 22-year-old center fielder's prodigious poke at the Polo Grounds might have traveled over 600 feet if the upper left-field stands had not impeded the ball. 1954 Seven years after the team had threatened to strike over Jackie Robinson integrating baseball, North Carolina A&T graduate Tom Alston becomes the first black player to appear in a Cardinals uniform. The highly-touted first baseman, acquired from the PCL's San Diego club in exchange for veteran infielder Dick Sisler and $100,000, pops out to first base in his first major league at-bat. 1954 In the first season opener at Forbes Field in 61 years, Curt Roberts makes his major league debut, becoming the first black to play for the Pirates. In his first at-bat, the former Kansas City Monarch second baseman, signed by 72-year-old general manager Branch Rickey, triples off future Hall of Fame right-hander Robin Roberts in the first inning of the team's 4-2 victory over beat the Phillies. 1954 In a 9-8 victory over the Braves, Reds' outfielder Jim Greengrass hits four doubles, tying a 1901 Opening Day record set by Tigers' first baseman Pop Dillon. In the same contest, Hank Aaron goes hitless in five attempts in his first major league game with the Braves.
1954 Philadelphia A's second baseman 'Spook' Forrest Jacobs becomes the first major league rookie to collect four hits on Opening Day. In 1990, Expo second baseman Delino DeShields, going 4-for-6, becomes the second freshman to accomplish the feat on the first day of the season in the team's 6-5 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. 1954 On Opening Day at Busch Stadium, Wally Moon hits a home run off Paul Milner in his first major league at-bat in the Cardinals' 13-4 loss to the Cubs. The 24-year-old Redbird center fielder, the eventual National League's Rookie of the Year, also homers in the last at-bat of his freshman season. 1957 The Red Sox select right-hander Russ Meyer (1-6, 6.21) off waivers from the Redlegs. The 'Mad Monk' will appear in only two games for Boston, posting a 5.40 ERA in five innings of work, including a start. 1962 On a wintry day, the Mets play their first home game ever when only 12,000 fans show up at the Polo Grounds to see the return of National League baseball to the Big Apple. On Friday the 13th, the Pirates score the decisive run on Ray Diavault's two wild pitches in the eighth inning, beating the New York expansion team, 4-3. 1962 On Opening Day, Detroit's starting pitcher Frank Lary pulls a muscle while legging out a seventh-inning triple in the team's 5-3 victory over New York at Tiger Stadium. Subsequent arm problems resulting from compensating for the injury shorten the Yankee Killer's career. 1963 Reds' second baseman Pete Rose triples off Pirates' pitcher Bob Friend to collect his first major league hit. The future all-time hit leader, who will amass 4,256 hits during his 24-year career, had gone hitless in his first 11 major league at-bats. 1964 After beating the Reds, 6-3, in the traditional Opening Day game in Cincinnati, Houston is in first place for the first and only time as the Colt .45s. Next season, the team becomes known as the Astros, reflecting Houston's role in the nation's space program.
1969 After the Cubs, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth, rally to beat the Expos, 7-6, twenty-seven-thousand fans spontaneously swarm Wrigley Field in an early-season frenzy. The fans' reaction marks the first animated display of affection for the team since 1960 when Don Cardwell threw his no-hitter on Chicago's north side. 1970 In their home opener at the Oakland Coliseum, a 2-1 victory over Milwaukee, the A's use gold-colored bases. The MLB's Rules Committee will quickly ban this colorful innovation, introduced by team owner Charlie O. Finley. 1975 The Astros retire Don Wilson's number 40 posthumously in tribute to the right-hander, who was found dead of asphyxiation by carbon monoxide in the garage of his family's home in January. The 29-year-old fireballer, the author of an 18-strikeout game that tied a major league record, spent nine seasons with Houston, compiling a 104-92 record and an ERA of 3.15. 1978 In New York's Opening Day 4-2 victory over Chicago, Reggie Jackson hits a three-run homer in the first inning, his fourth consecutive round-tripper at Yankee Stadium, after going deep three times in last year's Fall Classic finale. The crowd celebrates by showering the field with Reggie! Bars, a chocolate and peanut candy bar with a picture of the slugger given to every fan entering the game. 1978 On Opening Day, Roger Maris returns to Yankee Stadium for the first time since being traded to the Cardinals in 1966. After shunning many previous invitations, the prodigal son returns to help Mickey Mantle hoist the club's World Champion flag when team owner George Steinbrenner promises to install sod and lights on the baseball field at his children's school in Gainesville (FL). 1980 At Royals Stadium, Dan Quisenberry and Jamie Quirk become the first Q battery when Quiz enters the contest in the seventh inning. The pitcher-catcher combo combines to face nine Tigers in Kansas City's 3-2 victory, with the 27-year-old right-handed reliever leaving the game after giving up a two-run homer to Champ Summers with two outs in the ninth. 1983 The Phillies, trailing by five runs entering the ninth inning, beat the Mets, 10-9, when Bo Diaz hits a walk-off bases-loaded home run. The Philadelphia catcher's 'ultimate grand slam,' a home run that wins a game when a team is down by three runs in the bottom of the final frame, is tossed by Neil Allen, who faces only the last batter. 1984 On the same date he got his first major league hit 21 years earlier, Pete Rose, as a member of the Expos, doubles off Phillies hurler Jerry Koosman for his 4000th hit, becoming the first player in the National League to reach the milestone. Montreal beats Philadelphia in the Friday the 13th contest at Olympic Stadium, 5-1.
1985 With his team down 7-4 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Mariners' left fielder Phil Bradley erases the three-run deficit with a walk-off grand slam. The game-ending round-tripper comes off Twins' closer Ron Davis, who had given up a hit and two walks before surrendering the 'sayonara slam.' 1987 In San Diego's home opener, the Padres waste no time making up a two-run first-inning deficit when the first three batters up in the bottom of the first homer off of Giant starter Roger Mason. Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn, and John Kruk go deep to establish a major league record. 1990 "I chose the Moose because they are funny, neat, and friendly. The Moose would show that the Mariners enjoy playing and that they still have a few tricks up their sleeves." -AMMON SPILLER, a fifth-grader from Central Elementary School in Ferndale, WA. In front of the first sellout crowd (54,874 fans) at the Kingdome, Mariner Moose debuts on Opening Night, Friday the 13th, the first mascot in franchise history. The team chose a suggestion summited by Ammon Spiller, a fifth-grader from Ferndale, WA, from over 2,500 entries submitted by children 14 and under across the Pacific Northwest. 1993 Lee Smith passes Jeff Reardon to become the all-time major league saves leader when the Cardinals beat the Dodgers, 9-7. The right-hander reliever tosses a scoreless ninth inning at Chavez Ravine to record the 358th of his career.
1985 With his team down 7-4 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Mariners' left fielder Phil Bradley erases the three-run deficit with a walk-off grand slam. The game-ending round-tripper comes off Twins' closer Ron Davis, who had given up a hit and two walks before surrendering the 'sayonara slam.' 1987 In San Diego's home opener, the Padres waste no time making up a two-run first-inning deficit when the first three batters up in the bottom of the first homer off of Giant starter Roger Mason. Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn, and John Kruk go deep to establish a major league record. 1990 "I chose the Moose because they are funny, neat, and friendly. The Moose would show that the Mariners enjoy playing and that they still have a few tricks up their sleeves." -AMMON SPILLER, a fifth-grader from Central Elementary School in Ferndale, WA. In front of the first sellout crowd (54,874 fans) at the Kingdome, Mariner Moose debuts on Opening Night, Friday the 13th, the first mascot in franchise history. The team chose a suggestion summited by Ammon Spiller, a fifth-grader from Ferndale, WA, from over 2,500 entries submitted by children 14 and under across the Pacific Northwest. 1993 Lee Smith passes Jeff Reardon to become the all-time major league saves leader when the Cardinals beat the Dodgers, 9-7. The right-hander reliever tosses a scoreless ninth inning at Chavez Ravine to record the 358th of his career. 1997 Wally the Green Monster, the Red Sox official mascot, makes his debut, emerging from the legendary left-field wall to everyone's surprise on Opening Day. The green furry creature, who the Fenway Faithful does not warmly receive at first, becomes more endearing to the fans when the former player and current broadcaster Jerry Remy begins to create stories about the costumed character, sharing them during televised NESN games. 1998 Before tonight's game against the Angels, a 500-pound concrete and steel beam falls into the empty loge boxes between third base and left field at Yankee Stadium. The mishap causes the postponement of the next two games scheduled for the Bronx ballpark, with the team scheduling one of the games across the river at Shea Stadium. 1999 At the Kingdome, Rangers' starter Mike Morgan beats the Mariners for the first time since 1980 when he hurled for the A's. The interval of 19 years, eight months, and nine days is the longest span a hurler has gone between victories over one team. 2002 After striking out three batters on nine pitches in the top of the ninth inning, Cardinal closer Jason Isringhausen gets credit for the win when the Redbirds score a run in the bottom of the frame for a 2-1 walk-off victory over Houston. During his immaculate inning, the right-handed reliever's victims include Daryle Ward, Jose Vizcaino, and Julio Lugo, who all go down swinging. 2004 At SBC Park, Barry Bonds hits his 661st career homer off Brewers hurler Ben Ford to move up to third on the all-time home run career list, passing his godfather, Willie Mays, and leaving the 39-year-old Giant left fielder 53 behind Babe Ruth (714) and needs 94 to tie Hank Aaron (755). Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonator Larry Ellison, a Giants fan who also 'caught' and gave No. 660 to a grateful Bonds, scoops the historic 468-foot seventh-inning blast out of McCovey Cove and decides to keep this wet souvenir. 2005 A nearby pedestrian saves eight-year-old Patrick McCarthy from getting run down by a truck when the boy starts to run into Boston's Newbury Street traffic. The hero, who prevents the tragic accident by putting out his arm and saying, `Whoa, watch out, buddy,' is the boy's favorite player, Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez.
2008 At the new Yankee Stadium, workers dig up a tattered David Ortiz jersey buried in the concrete by a Red Sox fan working on the construction site who had hoped to put a hex on the Bronx Bombers. The ballpark's first 'souvenir' fetches a $175,100 bid in an auction to benefit the Jimmy Fund, a charity that raises money for cancer patients and their families at the Dana-Farber Institute. 2008 Reds hurler Johnny Cueto walks his first batter of the season, ending a string of 22 strikeouts without issuing a base-on-balls. The rookie right-hander is the only post-1900 pitcher to fan as many as 18 batters without throwing a ball four in his first two starts. 2009 Nick Swisher, who throws 22 pitches, allowing just one hit and one walk before retiring the next three consecutive batters, including a swinging strikeout of Gabe Kapler, becomes the first position player to pitch for the Yankees since Wade Boggs took the mound in 1997. During the 15-5 rout by the Rays at Tampa's Tropicana Field, the fun-loving first baseman volunteered to pitch the eighth inning to help save the bullpen after starter Chien-Ming Wang lasts only one inning. 2009 In a somber pregame meeting, Philadelphia president David Montgomery informs the players that Harry Kalas, who arrived at Nationals Park with the players on the team bus, collapsed in the broadcast booth and died shortly after being taken to a nearby hospital. In tribute to the 73-year-old Hall of Fame voice of the Phillies, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, and Scott Eyre, before their 9-8 victory over Washington, light up a cigarette and pass it around in honor of the broadcaster, whose smoking habit was legendary. 2009 LA's second baseman Orlando Hudson completes his cycle in the Chavez opener with a sixth-inning triple down the right-field line in the team's 11-1 rout of the Giants. The 31-year-old Darlington (SC) native, playing his first home game since signing with the team as a free agent, becomes the first Dodger to hit for the cycle at Dodger Stadium and the first franchise player to accomplish the feat in a nine-inning game since Gil Hodges did it in 1949. 2010 The 'Bring Back Orbit' Facebook group hopes to convince the Astros to reinstate its former mascot, who was replaced by Junction Jack in 2000 when the team moved from the Astrodome to Enron Field. The social media effort pays off when the franchise announces the lovable lime-green outer-space creature's return for 2013, their first season in the American League.
Today In 1914: Opening Day of the Federal League! Buffalo Buffeds vs. Baltimore Terrapins at Terrapin Park!
Today In 1921: Babe Ruth and manager Miller Huggins pose on Opening Day at the Polo Grounds! Honus Wagner at the Pittsburgh Pirates spring training facility in Arkansas. The year is 1914
April 14 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS ************************************** 1917 Marvin Miller HOF executive (Executive Director MLB Players Association 1966-82), 1941 Pete Rose (17 × MLB All-Star; NL MVP 1973; World Series 1975 [MVP], 76 Cincinnati Reds, 1980 Philadelphia Phillies) and manager (Cincinnati Reds 1984-89), 1966 David Justice (Atlanta Braves), born in Cincinnati, Ohio 1966 Greg Maddux Hall of Fame pitcher (4 x NL Cy Young Award; World Series 1995; 8 x MLB All Star; 18 x Gold Glove; Atlanta Braves), born in San Angelo, Texas 1966 Greg Myers, catcher (Minnesota Twins) 1967 Mike Trombley pitcher, 1992-2002 (Minnesota Twins and 2 other teams) 1968 Jesse Levis catcher (Milwaukee Brewers) 1969 Brad Ausmus, catcher (Detroit Tigers) 1969 Brad Pennington pitcher (California Angels) 1970 Steve Avery pitcher (Atlanta Braves) 1971 Gregory Zaun baseball analyst & catcher (Baltimore Orioles) 1976 Kyle Farnsworth pitcher, 1999-2014 (Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and 7 other teams ***************************************
This Day in Baseball History April 14th 1908 Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss offers Honus Wagner a contract with a proposed salary of $6,000. The third baseman, who won his second consecutive NL batting crown last season, will eventually sign for $10,000, double his previous pay, to become the first major leaguer to make a five-figure salary. 1910 At American League Park in Washington, DC, William Taft becomes the first president to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Chief Executive stays to see a great game when Senator legend Walter Johnson one-hits the A's in the season opener, 3-0. 1911 Shortly after midnight, a tremendous fire destroys much of the Polo Grounds, leaving the Giants without a place to play. The Highlanders invite the McGraw men to share Hilltop Park, an offer the displaced National League team accepts for six weeks until the completion of the temporary stands at their damaged ballpark. 1915 Herb Pennock's bid to throw a no-hitter on Opening Day is spoiled when he gives up a scratch hit to Harry Hooper with two outs in the ninth inning. The A's southpaw retires the next batter, preserving his 2-0 shutout of Boston at Shibe Park. 1917 White Sox hurler Eddie Cicotte, who will become better known as one of the eight players made permanently ineligible for professional baseball due to his alleged participation in the Black Sox scandal in the 1919 World Series, no-hits the Browns, 11-0. The 33-year-old Michigan native, called Knuckles by his teammates, will finish the season with a 28-12 record with a 1.53 ERA, leading the league in victories and earned run average.
1925 The Indians start the season beating the Browns, 21-4, to establish the major league mark for the most runs scored by one club on Opening Day. Cleveland tallies 12 times in the eighth inning with the help of five St. Louis errors. 1925 WGN broadcasts the first fully live regular season baseball game, detailing Grover Alexander and the Cubs' defeat of the Pirates on a chilly Opening Day, 8-2. Quin Ryan is behind the microphone doing play-by-play from a perch on the Wrigley Field roof. 1930 President Herbert Hoover, continuing the tradition started by William Taft in 1910, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Red Sox edge the hometown Senators, 4-3. Historically thought to be a southpaw, the Chief Executive did the honors right-handed six times during his one term in the White House, all four Opening Days at Griffith Stadium, and two World Series games at Shibe Park in 1929 and 1930. 1931 At Braves Field, Jack Quinn becomes the oldest pitcher to start an Opening Day game. The 47-year-old Robin right-hander gives up six runs on nine hits in six innings, taking the loss when Brooklyn bows to Boston, 7-4. 1936 At Sportsman's Park, Eddie Morgan, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the Cardinals' 12-7 loss to the Cubs, hits a home run in his first major league first at-bat. During his brief stint with St. Louis and Brooklyn, the 21-year-old rookie's round-tripper will be his lone career homer.
1949 Bobo Newsom signs as a free agent with the Senators. The 41-year-old right-hander, who will not appear with the club until the 1952 season, becomes the first major leaguer to join the same team on five occasions (1935-37, '42, '43, '46-47, '52).For his part, Newsom was ready to prove that he could still pitch. When a reporter asked if he was ready to help the Lookouts, he replied: “Son, I’ve been ready for 20 years. They ain’t got nuthin’ to worry ‘bout so long as Ol’ Bobo’s throwing for ‘um.” 1953 In their first game ever played in Milwaukee, the transplanted Braves beat the Cardinals at County Stadium, 3-2, thanks to Billy Bruton's walk-off home run off Gerry Staley in the tenth inning. The 27-year-old rookie center fielder will not hit another home run this season. 1953 Bob Lemon nearly throws an Opening Day no-hitter against the White Sox, except for Minnie Minoso's first-inning single spoiling the bid. The Indians' hurler almost loses his shutout when fleet-footed outfielder Jim Rivera walks, steals second and goes to third on a grounder, but he becomes the second out in the second frame attempting to swipe home. 1955 Elston Howard, named the American League's MVP in 1963, becomes the first black to play for the Yankees. The former Monarchs' catcher will appear in nine All-Star Games and 54 World Series games, compiling a .274 batting average during his 14-year playing career.
1960 Bill Mazeroski hits the first home run of the season at Forbes Field, going deep in the bottom of the second of the Pirates' 13-0 rout of the Reds in the team's home opener. The Bucs' second baseman will also hit the last round-tripper of the season at the historic Pittsburgh ballpark, ending the season with a dramatic ninth-inning walk-off homer that beats the Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series. 1961 Frank Lary tosses a one-hitter on Opening Day, beating the White Sox at Tiger Stadium, 7-0. Chicago's lone hit comes in the fifth inning when Jim Landis singles off the glove of shortstop Chico Fernandez. 1965 Willie Mays hits his 455th career home run, a third-inning two-run shot to left field off future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, in the Giants’ 5-2 victory over the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. The round-tripper surpasses Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle’s current total, a lead the Say Hey Kid will not again relinquish to his rival center fielder. 1967 In the Yankees' home opener, Red Sox southpaw Billy Rohr, making his major league debut, is one out from a no-hitter when Elston Howard singles hard to right field on a 3-2 curveball, ruining the 21-year-old rookie's shot at immortality. A heartbroken six-year-old fan sitting near the Boston dugout named John has to be consoled by his mother, Jackie Kennedy, although his beloved team beats the Bronx Bombers, 3-0. 1968 Jim Bunning becomes the first pitcher since Cy Young to collect a thousand strikeouts in both leagues when he whiffs eight Dodgers during his first win for the Pirates, a 3-0 complete-game victory in Chavez Ravine. The 37-year-old right-hander, acquired from the Phillies in December, sent 1,406 American League batters back to the bench with a bat in their hands for nine seasons while pitching for the Tigers at the start of his Hall of Fame career.
1969 In the first regular-season contest not played in the United States, the Expos host their first home game, treating 29,184 fans on a cold day at Jarry Park to an 8-7 win over the defending National League champion Cardinals. Montreal moundsman Larry Jaster throws baseball's first international pitch to left fielder Lou Brock, and Mack Jones provides the offense for the home team, driving in five runs and hitting the first home game homer in franchise history. 1976 At Wrigley Field, Dave Kingman launches a homer down the left-field line that hits a house 530 feet from home plate. The Cubs and the Northside home survive the right fielder's blast, with Chicago defeating the Mets in the Wrigley Field contest, 6-5. 1978 The biggest Opening Day crowd, 45,777, attends the Wrigley Field opener against Pittsburgh. Although the team gives up an early 3-0 lead, the hometown fans will not go home disappointed when Larry Biittner homers leading off in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Cubs a 4-3 walk-off victory. 1982 At Watt Powell Park, the home of the International League's Charleston Charlies, Toledo' Mud Hens' pinch-hitter Randy Bush hits an eighth-inning home run in the team's 4-3 victory over Charleston that travels over 200 miles. The Twins' farmhand, not known for his power, hits a ball over the right-field wall that lands on a moving coal train.
1983 The Metrodome's roof deflates due to the weight of heavy snow dumped during a late-season storm, canceling the game between the Twins and Angels. The postponement marks only the second time the putting off a contest occurs in a domed stadium due to weather, the first being a 1976 Astros match not played when massive flooding in the Houston metropolitan area prevented many fans and the umpiring crew from reaching the Astrodome. View attachment 229527
1990 Cal Ripken begins a streak that leads to the major league record for the most errorless games [95] and total chances [431] by a shortstop. At the end of June, the O's infielder will appear to have made an error, but official scorer Bill Steka changed his mind the next day, giving Birds' center fielder Mike Devereaux the error. 1990 Kansas City beats the Blue Jays, 3-1, marking the first time two reigning Cy Young Award recipients contribute to the same victory. Brett Saberhagen picks up his first win of the season when the reigning NL Cy Young recipient, Mark Davis, a closer with 44 saves for the Padres last year, pitches a perfect ninth inning to pick up the save in the Royals Stadium contest. 1993 After establishing the all-time career major league record last night with his 358th save, Cardinal reliever Lee Smith breaks the National League mark, recording his 301st in the Senior Circuit when he tosses a perfect 15th frame in the Cardinals' 2-1 victory at Dodger Stadium. The right-handed reliever will extend the big league mark to 478, pitching for the Cubs (1980-1987), Red Sox (1988-1990), Cardinals (1990-1993), Yankees (1993), Orioles (1994), Angels (1995-1996), Reds (1996), and Expos (1997) . 1998 Diamondback third baseman Matt Williams knots the score at 4-4 when he hits the first-ever grand slam in franchise history. The fourth-inning blast off southpaw Kent Mercker has little consequence in the expansion team's 15-5 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. 1999 Tampa Bays' designated hitter Jose Canseco becomes the 28th player in major league history to hit 400 home runs when he takes Kelvim Escobar deep down the left-field line in the top of the third inning in the Devil Rays' 7-6 loss to Toronto at the SkyDome. The controversial slugger will finish his 17-year career in 2001 with 462 round-trippers.
2001 The Reds beat Al Leiter and the Mets, 1-0, to establish the new National League mark for not being shut out by an opponent, scoring in their 175th consecutive game. Ironically, the record-breaking contest comes against the last team and pitcher to blank the franchise, a 5-0 defeat at Cinergy Field in a playoff game to determine the NL Wild Card. 2001 A total of eleven one-run games (six in AL and five in NL) breaks a 1967 record set on May 30th when there were ten combined one-run contests in the major leagues. 2002 Mascots from all the major league teams and Sandy the Seagull of the nearby farm team, Brooklyn Cyclones, attend a birthday party for Mr. Met at Shea Stadium. The Amazins' 38-year-old bobble-headed good luck charm, believed to be the first live mascot in big-league history, appeared in the flesh, so to speak, in 1964 after being an illustration on the cover of scorecards the season before. 2002 In his major league debut, Mariner DH Ron Wright strikes out in the second inning, grounds into a triple play (1-6*-2-5-1*-4*) in the fourth frame, and completes his one-game career hitting into a twin killing (6-4-3) in the sixth in the team's 9-6 loss to the Rangers. The 26-year-old's three at-bats against Kenny Rogers account for six outs, tying the mark for the fewest number of plate appearances for any player hitting into a triple play, a feat accomplished in 1901 by Giants hurler Larry Hesterfer in his only big-league game. 2004 Aaron Miles becomes the fifth player in history to hit his first two career home runs from different sides of the plate in the same game, joining Johnny Lucadello (1940 Browns), U.L. Washington (1979 Royals), Bret Barberie (1991 Expos), and Brian Simmons (1998 White Sox). In a 14-4 defeat of the Diamondbacks at Coors Field, the Rockies' switch-hitting second baseman hits a solo homer in the first inning, batting lefty off Elmer Dessens before going deep in the fifth with two on as a right-handed batter off southpaw Stephen Randolph. 2004 In the game played after teammate Mike Mussina earns his 200th career victory, Kevin Brown, obtained from the Dodgers for Jeff Weaver and two minor-leaguers in an off-season trade, reaches the same plateau, beating the Devil Rays, 5-1. The wins mark the first time in baseball history that members of the same pitching staff have won their 200th career victory in consecutive starts. 2006 At the Mets Team Store, through the April 17 tax deadline, fans can have their taxes done for free by Gilman Ciocia. The Shea TAX-TEAM will also prepare an automatic extension for those not ready to file. 2017 Hank Aaron, who also did the traditional toss for the Braves in the first and last contests at Turner Field, throws the ceremonial first pitch, with former long-time manager Bobby Cox serving as the catcher, before SunTrust Park's inaugural game. Atlanta outfielder Ender Inciarte records the first out, first hit, first run, and the first home run in the team's 5-2 victory over the Padres at the new ballpark. 2017 The White Sox make history starting three fly-chasers with the same surname in the same game when left fielder Willy Garcia, center fielder Leury Garcia, and right fielder Avisail Garcia appear in the Target Field lineup. In the 1960s, the three Alou brothers, Felipe, Jesus, and Matty, patrolled the same outfield on three occasions, but the trio of siblings never started the contest simultaneously. The outfielders combine to collect four in ten at-bats, contributing to the team's 2-1 victory against the Twins.)
2021 When he crouches behind the plate in the Cardinals' 6-0 loss to the Nationals at Busch Stadium, Yadier Molina becomes the first backstop to catch 2000 games with one team and the sixth overall to reach the milestone. The 39-year-old catcher, currently in his 18th major-league season, joins Ivan Rodriguez (2,427), Carlton Fisk (2,226), Bob Boone (2,225), Gary Carter (2,056), and Jason Kendall (2,025) in accomplishing the feat. *********************************** 187,466
Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane began their careers with the Philadelphia Athletics 100 years ago today, and both would arrive in Cooperstown in 1947
