BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1. 1946 In a game against the Jersey Giants at Roosevelt Stadium, Montreal Royals' on-deck batter George Shuba congratulates Jackie Robinson with a handshake after his teammate hits his first professional home run. The gesture will become known as 'A Handshake for the Century' because the deed marks the first time a white player publicly acknowledges the accomplishment of a black teammate. Photo courtesy of Mike Shuba
   
   
   1947 Dodger president Branch Rickey names 62-year-old Burt Shotton, a team scout, to replace Leo Durocher, suspended by Commissioner Happy Chandler ten days ago for acts "unbecoming to a major league manager." Brooklyn's new skipper, the son of a sailor who operated freighters on Lake Erie, reluctantly takes over the team two games into the season and manages the club for one year in his street clothes while wearing the team's hat and jacket.
   
   1950 Eddie Waitkus, who missed most of last season after being shot in June by a deranged fan in a Chicago hotel room, goes 3-for-5 in the Phillies' Opening Day 9-1 victory over the Dodgers at Shibe Park. The Philadelphia first baseman will be named the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year, scoring a team-high 102 runs while playing every National League Champions game.
   
   1950 The Yankees defeat the Red Sox on Opening Day, 15-10, after trailing 9-0 after five innings. The Bronx Bombers take the lead when they score nine times in the top of the eighth frame at Fenway Park, thanks to eight hits, none being home runs, and three walks surrendered by Boston's starter Mel Parnell and four relievers.
   
   
   1950 In the first Opening Day game scheduled as a night contest, the Cardinals beat the Pirates at Sportsman's Park, 4-2. Gerry Staley wins, and Stan Musial homers in the St. Louis contest.​
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   1950 Former Cleveland Buckeyes star of the Negro American League, Sam Jethroe, becomes the first black player for the Braves. The 33-year-old highly-touted prospect, leading the majors with 35 stolen bases, will be named the National League's Rookie of the Year.
   
   1950 Vin Scully calls the first game of his illustrious 67-year career with the Dodgers, detailing Brooklyn's 9-1 defeat to the Phillies on Opening Day at Philadelphia's Shibe Park. The 22-year-old broadcaster, who will become the team's primary announcer just three seasons later, will be awarded the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award by Bud Selig in 2014.​
   
   
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3. 1950 The Phillies play their first game with the team's name officially changed back from Blue Jays, routing the Dodgers at Shibe Park, 9-1. Skipper Eddie Sawyer has his team wear red pinstriped uniforms, a design reminiscent of the club's look in the early 1900s.​
   
   
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4. 1952 On Opening Day in Brooklyn, Willie Mays is knocked unconscious when he smashes into the Ebbets Field wall after chasing pinch-hitter Bob Morgan's seventh-inning, two-out base-loaded line drive into the gap in left field. All three Dodgers baserunners cross the plate but do not score when the motionless Giants center fielder comes to his feet and jogs into the dugout, apparently unhurt, having held onto the ball after making a fantastic catch for the third out to end the inning.​
   
   
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   1952 In the Pirates' home Opener‚ Bob Friend tosses a five-hitter, blanking the Reds at Forbes Field‚ 3-0. After beating the Cardinals yesterday, Pittsburgh's second consecutive victory is an accomplishment not surpassed when the team does not have a winning streak longer than two games all season‚ setting a twentieth-century mark for futility.
   
   1955 In his first major league appearance, 25-year-old Pirates reliever Al Grunwald, getting just one batter out, gives up a single to Don Mueller, a double to Monte Irvin, a triple to Willie Mays, and a homer to Whitey Lockman. The Giants' fourth-inning 'cycle' contributes to an eight-run frame in the team's eventual 12-3 victory over Pittsburgh at the Polo Grounds.
   
   1956 Third base umpire Ed Rommel becomes the first major league arbitrator to wear glasses during the Yankees' 9-5 victory over Washington at Griffith Stadium. The bespectacled arbitrator, known as the father of the modern knuckleball, played 13 seasons with Philadelphia, compiling an impressive 171-119 record with the A's from 1920 to 1932.
   
   1957 In the Indians' second game of the season, Roger Maris hits a game-winning, grand slam in the top of the 11th inning against Detroit at Briggs Stadium. In his major league debut two days ago, the 22-year-old rookie outfielder went 3-for-5 in the Tribe's 3-2 loss to Chicago at Cleveland Stadium.
   
   1958 In front of a National League record crowd of 78,672, the Dodgers play their first home game on the West Coast. Carl Erskine wins, besting Al Worthington and the Giants, 6-5, in the LA Coliseum contest.
   
   1959 Branch Rickey, former general manager of the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Pirates, is appointed the president of the Continental League. The third potential major league never materializes but helps accelerate the expansion of the existing clubs, including putting a National League team in New York to fill the void created by the departure of the Giants and the Dodgers to the West Coast last season.
   
   1960 Ted Williams becomes the first major leaguer to homer in four different decades when he blasts a pitch from Senators' right-hander Camilo Pascual over the center-field wall for the only run in the Red Sox's 10-1 Opening Day loss at Griffith Stadium. In 1939, as a 20-year-old, the 'Kid' hit the first of his 521 career round-trippers, a first-inning two-run shot off Philadelphia's Bud Thomas at Fenway Park.
   
   1964 In the top of the third inning, Los Angeles southpaw Sandy Koufax throws the second immaculate innings of his two career when he strikes the side out on nine pitches, quickly setting down Leo Cardenas, Johnny Edwards, and Jim Maloney. In the next frame, Cincinnati will score all of the game's runs, thanks to Deron Johnson's three-run homer, beating the Dodgers in the Chavez Ravine contest, 3-0.
   
   1966 Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills becomes the first batter to collect a hit on artificial turf in a major league game when he singles to center off future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts. The Astrodome's new playing surface, initially called Chemgrass by the Monsanto Company, cannot be made quickly enough and will cover only the infield, with the outfield remaining painted dirt until July.
   
   1970 Denny Doyle's first-inning single is the only hit allowed by Nolan Ryan when he blanks the Phillies at Shea Stadium, 7-0. The 23-year-old right-hander ties the Mets' mark established by Jerry Koosman in 1968 with 15 strikeouts, but Tom Seaver will break the short-lived record, whiffing 19 Padres later in the week.
   
   1972 The Yankees play a night game at Yankee Stadium on Opening Day for the first time in franchise history. The Bronx Bombers, behind the three-hitter by thrown Steve Kline, beat the Brewers in the Bronx ballpark, 3-0.
   
   1973 Dave Rader completes an unusual unassisted double play for a catcher in the top of the 11th inning in San Francisco's 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Candlestick Park. After catching an attempted popped-up sacrifice bunt with Braves runners on first and second base, the Giants' backstop races to second base and steps on the bag before Sonny Jackson, who had headed toward third on contact, can get back.
   
   1978 Lyman Bostock, a highly-sought free agent in the offseason who hit .336 for the Twins last year, offers not to accept a salary for April if he doesn't begin producing after going 2-for-39 (.051) to start the season. The 27-year-old outfielder raises his batting average to .296, the club's highest, before being fatally shot near the end of the season as an unintentional victim while riding a passenger in a car.
   
   1978 After getting ahead in the count 3-0, Reggie Jackson, knowing he has a green light to hit away, feigns to be upset by getting a bogus take sign from third base coach Dick Howser. Oriole right-hander Tippy Martinez, deceived by the batter's behavior, grooves a fastball down the middle of the plate that the Yankee slugger promptly puts over the fence, giving the Yankees a 4-3 walk-off victory.
   
   1981 Joining Walter Johnson, Gaylord Perry, Bob Gibson, and Nolan Ryan, Reds' right-hander Tom Seaver becomes the fifth major leaguer to collect 3,000 strikeouts when he whiffs Cardinals' infielder Keith Hernandez in the team's 10-4 loss at Riverfront Stadium. Hernandez is the fourth first baseman to mark a milestone K for the future Hall of Fame hurler, with Donn Clendenon being strikeout victim number 1, followed by Willie Montanez at #1,000 and Dan Driessen at #2,000.
   
   1981 In International League action at McCoy Stadium, the Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings begin the longest professional game ever played. At 4:07 am, the league suspends the 32-inning contest knotted at 2-2, completed later in the season, with the Red Sox scoring the winning run in the 33rd inning.
   
   1982 Joe Torre's Braves set a National League record when they win their 11th straight game to start the season, beating Houston at the Astrodome, 6-5. The eventual NL West Division champs, finishing the campaign with an 89-73 record, will extend the mark to 13-0 when they add two more victories against Cincinnati at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
   
   1987 Mike Schmidt becomes the 14th player in major league history to hit 500 career home runs. The Phillies' third baseman's three-run ninth-inning shot off Don Robinson is cheered by the Pirates fans and his teammates in the team's eventual 8-6 victory at Three Rivers Stadium.
   
   1991 A sellout crowd of 42,191 watches the White Sox play their first game at new Comiskey Park and sees the home team get crushed by the Tigers, 16-0. Jack McDowell gives up the park's first homer to Cecil Fielder.
   
   1997 Rangers' right-hander Roger Pavlik begins the game by walking the first four batters, equalling the dubious feat last accomplished in 1990 by Tiger right-hander Randy Nosek. The Blue Jays take advantage of the All-Star hurler's wildness by scoring five times in the frame en route to a 6-5 victory at the Ballpark in Arlington.
   
   2000 Adam Kennedy ties a franchise mark by driving in eight runs during the Angels' 16-10 rout of Toronto. The Halo infielder's run-producing single, three-run triple, and grand slam account for his RBIs in the SkyDome contest.
   
   2000 After serving a 12-game suspension for disrespectful comments about minorities, John Rocker pitches a scoreless ninth inning against the Phillies in a 4-3, 12-inning home victory. The outspoken Braves' reliever receives a standing ovation as he enters the game.
   
   2000 During the Angels' 16-10 victory over the Blue Jays, a SkyDome promotion becomes a bit too frank when fans get hit with bits of hot dogs when the wieners fall apart after being shot by the 'Hot Dog Blaster.' Undaunted by the fallout, promoters continue to propel the missiles even though the hot dogs repeatedly splatter the onlookers.
   
   2001 After a 4-10 start, former Royals' skipper Hal McRae replaces Larry Rothschild as the manager of the Devil Rays. Rothschild, the only pilot in the four-year existence of the team, finished in last place for three consecutive years, compiling a 205-294 record.
   
   2002 After the Brewers' dismal start of 3-12, GM Dean Taylor releases manager Davey Lopes. The fired skipper, who compiled a 144-195 overall record with Milwaukee, will be replaced on an interim basis by bench coach Jerry Royster.
   
   2004 At Wrigley Field, Sammy Sosa surpasses Ernie Banks as the Cubs' all-time home run leader when he goes deep off Reds right-hander Paul Wilson in the first frame in the team's 11-10 loss when he slugs his 513th dinger for the franchise. Slammin' Sammy adds another round-tripper in the third inning to bring his current career total to 543 homers en route to finishing with 609 during his 18-year tenure in the majors.
   
   2007 At Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field, Mark Buehrle hurls the 16th no-hitter in White Sox history and the first home no-no since 1967. The South-side southpaw faces the minimum of 27 batters, thanks to picking off Sammy Sosa, who walked in the fifth inning.
   
   2008 In his final season, Braves' right-hander Tom Glavine is put on the disabled list for the first time during his 22-year major league tenure. The 42-year-old southpaw's ailing right hamstring needs more time to heal before going after his 304th and next-to-last career win.
   
   2008 The T-Bones, a minor league team in the independent Northern League, cancel the Michael Vick "Welcome to the Neighborhood Night" after receiving numerous complaints about the promotion. The plans for the event included the teams wearing black and white striped jerseys and orange jumpsuit-style uniforms to mock the former Falcons quarterback, who is serving a 23-month sentence in the nearby Leavenworth prison after pleading guilty to federal charges related to dogfighting.
   
   2008 Conor Jackson, needing only a double to complete the cycle, hustles instead to get his second triple of the game. The Diamondbacks outfielder's unselfish offensive output helps pace the club to a 9-0 win over the Padres.
   
   2008 The Dodgers announce the fans' selection of Joe Beimel in an online poll during spring training as the player whose likeness will appear in an August 12th bobblehead promotion. The 30-year-old southpaw reliever, considered a long shot for the honor, gets the nod due to an intense internet campaign orchestrated by his parents, Ron and Marge.
   
   
   
   2011 Tiger outfielder Ryan Raburn becomes the first player to hit a ball off Seattle's Safeco Field's retractable roof when his first-inning pop fly strikes one of the trusses approximately 175 feet above the playing field. According to the rules, the redirected foul ball, which falls between Mariner catcher Miguel Olivo and third baseman Chone Figgins, would have been the second out of the inning if caught.
   
   2012 Beginning with the second pitch of the fifth inning through the seventh pitch of the eighth frame, A's right-hander Bartolo Colon throws 38 consecutive strikes en route to winning the team's 6-0 decision over the Angels. The Oakland starter faces eleven straight batters who never see a pitch that is called a ball in the Anaheim contest.
   
   2012 A memorable pitching duel between Cliff Lee, who throws ten innings of scoreless ball against San Francisco, and Matt Cain, who doesn't give up a run to the Phillies in his nine innings of work, ends with the Giants beating the Phillies, 1-0, in 11 innings at AT&T Park. The only run in the two-hours and 27-minute extra-inning contest scores thanks to Melky Cabrera's one-out RBI single off Antonio Bastardo.
   
   2021 Shane Bieber becomes the first major leaguer to begin the season with at least ten strikeouts in his first four starts. The Indians' right-hander fans 13 in the team's 6-3 victory over the Reds at the Great American Ball Park.​
   
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102 Years Ago Today: A fan's view of the first game at Yankee Stadium! (April 18, 1923)
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102 Years Ago Today: Babe Ruth crosses home plate after hitting the first home run in the history of Yankee Stadium - The House That Ruth Built! (April 18, 1923)


102 Years Ago Today: An amazing view of the fans getting to their seats during the Grand Opening of Yankee Stadium! A hat on nearly every head!
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April 19 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1915 Harry Craft player and manager
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1948 Rick Miller

1960 Frank Viola pitcher (Twins, Mets/Cy Young-1988


1964 Scott Kamienicki pitcher (NY Yankees)


1968 Brent Mayne catcher (NY Mets)


1977 Dennys Reyes


1983 Alberto Callaspo (Kansas City Royals)

1983 Curtis Thigpen

1983 Joe Mauer (Minnesota Twins)


1983 Zach Duke (Cincinnati Reds)

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This Day in Baseball History
April 19th
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1890 The Brooklyn Bridegrooms, later known as the Dodgers, play their first National League game. The former American Association team loses to the Beaneaters, who will become known as the Braves in 1912, at Boston's South End Grounds, 15-9.

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1900 The Beaneaters score nine runs in the ninth to send the game into extra innings, but the Phillies recover to beat Boston in 10 innings, 19-17. The 36 runs crossing the plate in the South End Grounds set a major league record for most runs scored by two clubs on Opening Day.


1912 Due to a rainout on Opening Day, the Red Sox schedule a two-admission twin bill with games starting at 10:30 am and 3:15 pm to give morning fans a chance to see the end of the Boston Marathon and race watchers the opportunity to attend the afternoon contest. Although a Patriots' Day game will not become an annual event until 1959, the pairing of the holiday and the big crowd gathered for the 26.2-mile run almost occurred half a century sooner if inclement weather hadn't also washed away today's Fenway Park doubleheader.

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1912 At Griffith Stadium, before the Senators' 6-0 victory over the A's, James S. Sherman becomes the first U.S. Vice President to throw the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day. William Howard Taft does not attend the game due to the death of Archibald Butt, a friend lost in the sinking of the Titanic.

 

1927 Calling the play-by-play in the Tigers' 8-5 victory over the Indians, Edwin Tyson becomes the first person in club history to broadcast a game. The radio personality will begin the game by saying, "Good afternoon, boys and girls, this is Ty Tyson speaking to you from Navin Field," which will become his familiar refrain on WWJ.

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1938 During the first inning, both Dodgers' Ernie Koy and Phillies' Heinie Mueller homer in their first major league at-bats. The rookies will collectively hit 53 home runs during their nine seasons in the major leagues.


1939 At an informal press conference arranged by Universal Pictures, actress Dorothy Arnold tells wire service reporters that she and Joe DiMaggio are engaged and plan to marry sometime this summer. Upon hearing the news, the somewhat surprised Yankee center fielder clarifies that no ceremony will occur during the baseball season, but the couple will exchange vows in November.

 

1944 Mel Ott hits the first National League round-tripper of the season, the 464th of his career, helping the Giants defeat the Braves, 2-1. Next season, Master Melvin will become the first National Leaguer to amass 500 career home runs.

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1948 Believing the Senators are trying to trick him, Yankee starter Allie Reynolds refuses to leave second base after hitting his first and only career home run, which is unbeknownst to him because he did not see the ball clear the left-field fence. In front of an amused President Truman, New York skipper Bucky Harris convinces the skeptical baserunner to round the bases to continue the Opening Day contest at Griffith Stadium.

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1948 The Pirates, wearing their black and gold color scheme for the first time, lose baseball's traditional opener in Cincinnati, 4-1, in a game that features scuffles between opposing players, an ump, a photographer, a fan who jumps on the field, and the police. Becoming the first team to change their original colors permanently, the Bucs abandoned the familiar patriotic red, white, and blue look, using hues that match the Flag of Pittsburgh.

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1948 The Red Sox become the first team to hit three consecutive homers on Opening Day when Stan Spence, Vern Stephens, and Bobby Doerr go deep in the second frame. The long ball isn't enough to win when the A's beat the team in 11 innings, 5-4.

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1949 In front of 53,000 fans on Opening Day, Johnny Groth hits home runs in two of his first three at-bats at Tiger Stadium. The 22-year-old rookie's performance enables Hal Newhowser and Detroit to beat Chicago, 5-1.


1949 On Opening Day, the Yankees unveil a monument in centerfield in memory of Babe Ruth eight months after his death. The legendary "Bambino" joins Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins, also honored posthumously with cenotaphs, the team's highest honor.

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1949 Pirates right-hander Rip Sewell establishes a National League record when he throws his third Opening Day shutout, blanking the Cubs, 1-0, at Wrigley Field.
Rick Mahler (Braves, 1982, 1985,1987) and Chris Short (Phillies, 1965, 1968, 1970) will match the record of the 42-year-old veteran hurler, who also threw zeros to start the 1943 and 1947 seasons.

Working on his revised pitching motion in practice sessions, Sewell discovered he could throw a pitch about 25 feet high and make it drop across the strike zone.

“I’d been fooling around with the pitch in the bullpen and Al Lopez, our catcher, kept egging me on to try it in a game,” Sewell recalled to Joe Falls of the Detroit Free Press.

He unveiled the pitch in a 1943 spring training game against the Tigers. “I was working three innings this day and I had two out in my last inning and Dick Wakefield was the batter,” Sewell said to Falls. “I decided, well, what the heck, I’ll give it a try.”

As Falls described it, “The pitch went almost straight into the air like a kid losing his balloon at the circus.”

Wakefield swung from the heels and missed the pitch by at least two feet.

After the game, reporters asked Sewell what kind of pitch he threw Wakefield. Seated nearby, Sewell’s teammate, Maurice Van Robays, piped up and said, “It’s an eephus pitch.”

“What’s an eephus?”

“It ain’t nothing,” replied Van Robays, “and that’s what that pitch is _ nothing.”

Also known as the blooper, the dew drop, the parachute, the rainbow and the balloon, the pitch was used by Sewell for the rest of his career.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Joe Browne described it as “the craziest pitch in the history of baseball _ and one of the most effective.”
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1956 In the first major league game ever played in New Jersey, the Dodgers begin their Jersey City home game experiment with a 10-inning 5-4 victory over the Phillies at Roosevelt Stadium. A sparse crowd of 12,214, limited by inclement weather, sees Brooklyn backstop Roy Campanella tie the score in the tenth inning with his 1000th career hit, a double down the left-field line.

 

1960 A record Opening Day crowd at Chicago's Comiskey Park enthusiastically greets their American League champs and welcomes Minnie Minoso to the team after his three-year exile to Cleveland. The 34-year-old outfielder doesn't disappoint the South Side fans when, besides hitting a grand slam in the fourth, he blasts a ninth-inning walk-off home run, giving the White Sox a 10-9 victory over Kansas City.

1960 Roger Maris, obtained from the A's in the offseason, goes 4-for-5 batting leadoff in his first game as a Yankee. The 25-year-old right fielder's 11 total bases, including two home runs and a double, contribute to the Bronx Bombers' Opening Day 8-4 victory over Boston at Fenway Park.

1961 At Comiskey Park, Bill Veeck employs eight Little People to work in the stands during the White Sox home opener against Washington. The Chicago owner's hiring decision responds to complaints that fans sitting in the box seats couldn't see over the vendors.

1963 Willie Mays becomes the all-time National League right-handed home run leader when he connects for his 371st career round-tripper, a fourth-inning solo shot off Chicago's Larry Jackson in the Giants' 5-1 victory at Candlestick Park. The San Francisco center fielder surpasses Gil Hodges, who established the mark last season.

1963 Willie & Casey
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1968 Nolan Ryan makes quick work of the Dodgers when he strikes out the side on nine pitches in the top of the third inning of the Mets' 3-2 loss at Shea Stadium. The 21-year-old New York fireballer, who will also accomplish the feat with the Angels in 1972, strikes out 11 batters in 7.1 frames, including Claude Osteen, Wes Parker, and Zoilo Versalles, the victims of his immaculate inning.

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1969 Along with Dick Ellsworth and Juan Pizarro, Ken Harrelson is traded by the Red Sox to the Indians for Joe Azcue, Vicente Romo, and Sonny Siebert. The 27-year-old 'Hawk' decides to retire but reluctantly returns to the game after a conversation with commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who will later say, "the loss of Ken Harrelson would be a tragedy for baseball.

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1972 The demolition of Crosley Field begins when two-year-old Pete Rose, Jr. pulls a lever that sends a wrecking ball into the side of the former home of the Reds. The left-field terrace area will become a parking lot but is still distinguishable due to its slope and proximity to York Street.


1972 Sparky Lyle becomes the first reliever to come into a game with a signature entrance song when the Yankee Stadium PA system plays Pomp and Circumstance as the closer approaches the mound. Although the southpaw secures the last out of the team's 3-2 victory over Milwaukee, the reliever believes the Edward Elgar's march, selected by PR man Marty Appel, adds more pressure to his closer role, asking the public relations department to put the tradition on hold.

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1979 The Mets trade Tim Foli and minor league prospect Greg Field to the Pirates for second baseman Frank Taveras. Foli, appearing in 133 games, will play a significant role in the club's world championship this season, batting .291 and providing solid defense at shortstop for the Bucs.

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1979 Goose Gossage sustained a sprained ligament in his left thumb after a 6-3 loss to the Orioles in New York due to a clubhouse brawl with Yankee teammate Cliff Johnson. Due to the altercation, the reliever will be out of action until mid-July, and Johnson will be traded to the Indians in June for southpaw Don Hood.

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1987 In the 4000th game in franchise history, the Mets drop a 4-2 decision to St. Louis at Busch Stadium. The reigning World Champs, who started as an expansion team in 1962, have won exactly half of their last 1000 games, posting a 500-498-2 record during the span that began on July 19, 1980.

1987 Thanks to Rob Deer's three-run homer to tie the score and Dale Sveum's two-run winning shot, the Brewers rallied for five runs in the ninth inning, beating the Rangers, 6-4. The Milwaukee victory sets an American League record as they win their 12th straight game to start the season.

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1996 In the eighth, the Rangers fall one run short of setting a modern major-league mark, scoring 16 runs in one inning in their 26-7 rout of the Orioles. In 1952, the Red Sox tallied 17 times in the seventh frame in a 23-3 rout of Detroit at Fenway Park.

1997 The Cubs lose their 13th consecutive game to match the longest losing streak in their 122-year history. Reliever Turk Wendell, wearing #13, is tagged with the loss when Chicago drops a 6-3 decision to the Mets at Shea Stadium.

1997 In the first major league game ever played in Hawaii, the Cardinals edge the Padres, 1-0, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The three-game set, known as Padres Paradise Series, find the hosts dropping two of three contests to the Redbirds.

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1998 Equaling their largest margin of victory when keeping an opponent scoreless, the Mets rout Cincinnati at Cinergy Field, 14-0. Outfielder Bernard Gilkey crosses the plate in the first, third, fifth, seventh, and eighth inning, becoming only one of four players in franchise history to score five runs in one game.
1998 The Devil Rays, en route to finishing last in the AL East, improve their record to 10-6, beating the Angels at Anaheim, 6-0, becoming the first expansion team to be four games over .500 at any point in their inaugural season. In contrast, the 1962 Mets posted a 3-13 mark in their first 16 games.
1999 A sore back puts Oriole third baseman Cal Ripken, Jr. on the disabled list for 22 games. The injury marks the first time the Iron Man, who, in 1995, broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive game record by playing in 2,131 straight games, has been placed on the DL during his 19-year career.

 

2000 Veteran hurler Orel Hershiser ties a major league mark, equaled by 19 others, hitting four batters in one game. Astro outfielder Richard Hidalgo also ties a modern major league record when hit three times, twice by the 41-year-old Dodger starter and a third time by reliever Matt Herges.

2002 Mariners' third baseman Jeff Cirillo ties the major league record for consecutive errorless games at the hot corner by playing his 99th contest without a miscue. John Wehner, a journeyman infielder with the Dodgers, Pirates, and Marlins, established the mark during eight-plus seasons.

2004 Umps Paul Emmel and Mike DiMuro call for a balk after A's right-hander Justin Duchscherer, faking a throw to third base before throwing to first, steps toward home plate before beginning his pick-off move. The Oakland hurler's mound miscue ends the 14-inning contest, giving the Mariners a 2-1 balk-off victory at Safeco Field.

2005 David Wright's seventh-inning grand slam at Citizens Bank Park establishes a club record for home runs hit in a game. The Mets go deep seven times (Reyes-2, Diaz-2, Piazza, Wright, and Mientkiewicz) when they rout the Phillies, 16-4.

2009 Daniel Cabrera puts the ball in play when he grounds out to first and then reaches base safely for the first time in his six-year career when he walks on four straight balls thrown by Marlins' Hayden Penn. The Diamondbacks' right-hander had previously struck out in all his 18 major league at-bats, including one in today's game, setting a major-league mark for consecutive strikeouts.

2009 For the third successive day, the Marlins rally in the top of the ninth, completing a three-game sweep against the Nationals. The last team to win three consecutive times after trailing in the ninth inning was the 1998 Tigers, coming back dramatically in a trio of mid-September contests to beat Toronto and Minnesota.

2012 Jose Altuve, Brian Bogusevic, and Matt Downs hit three-baggers in Houston's five-run first frame, marking the first time the Astros collect three triples in one inning. The triple-triple helps Houston coast to an easy 11-4 victory over the Nationals in Washington. Matt Downs's three-base hit is the only triple in the 254 games of his major league career.-LP)

 

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April 20 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1891 Dave Bancroft, HOF shortstop (World Series 1921, 22 NY Giants) and manager (Boston Braves)


1961 Don Mattingly 1st baseman (6 x MLB All-Star; AL MVP 1985; 9 x Gold Glove; 3 x Silver Slugger; AL batting champion 1984; NY Yankees) and manager (LA Dodgers, Miami Marlins), born in Evansville, Indiana


1973 Todd Hollandsworth outfielder (World Series 2003 Florida Marlins; NL Rookie of the Year 1996 LA Dodgers),

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This Day in Baseball History
April 20th​

1903 On Opening Day, before 8,376 fans at Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds, the Americans defeat the A's in the morning game of a Patriot's Day twin bill, 9-4. In front of 27,658 spectators, Connie Mack's Athletics split the twin bill, winning the matinee match-up, 10-7, featuring two future Hall of Fame hurlers, Eddie Plank and Cy Young.


1910 Indians hurler Addie Joss throws his second career no-hitter, beating the White Sox, 1-0. Two seasons ago, facing fellow future Hall of Fame pitcher Ed Walsh, the right-hander tossed a perfect game against the Pale Hose.

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1912 After two days of rain, the first major league game finally occurs at Fenway Park in front of 27,000 enthusiastic fans, the largest crowd in Boston to attend a game. The inaugural contest is memorable, with the Red Sox staging an eleven-inning 7-6 walk-off victory over the Highlanders when Tris Speaker, following a game-saving catch in the top of the frame, singles, plates Steve Yerkes, who reached base on an error and advanced on a passed ball.

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1912 In Detroit, the Tigers play their first game in Navin Field, later known as Tiger Stadium, defeating Cleveland, 6-5. The ballpark at the corner of Trumbull and Michigan, which will serve as the team's home for the next 87 years, replaces Bennett Park on the same site since 1896.

1916 In Chicago, the Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park, beating the Reds in 11 innings, 7-6. In 1926, the ballpark becomes known as Wrigley Field in honor of William Wrigley, the chewing gum mogul who gained full ownership of the team seven seasons ago.


1920 Phillies player-manager Gavvy Cravath calls upon himself to pinch-hit against the Giants. The Philadelphia slugger responds with a three-run homer, the last round-tripper of his career, to beat New York, 3-0.

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1927 The Indians spoil the White Sox debut at the newly-expanded Comiskey Park, edging the Pale Hose, 5-4. The new upper deck in the outfield allows 23,200 additional fans to enjoy the game.

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1937 Gee Walker strokes a homer, triple, double, and a single to become the first player to hit for the cycle on Opening Day. The 29-year-old Tigers outfielder's performance helps Detroit beat the Indians at Navin Field, 4-3.

 

1938 Throwing the first of his twelve career one-hitters, 19-year-old Indians right-hander Bob Feller beats the Browns on Opening Day, 9-0. The only St. Louis hit in the League Park contest is a sixth-inning bunt laid down by backstop Bill Sullivan, who is called safe by rookie ump Ed Rommell on a close play at first base.

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1939 The A's wear numbers on their uniforms for the first time in club history. Connie Mack, the owner/ manager of the team, believed the sale of scorecards would suffer because their jerseys could identify players.

1939 In the only game he'll ever play with Lou Gehrig in the field, Ted Williams strikes out in his first major league at-bat. The 20-year-old Red Sox rookie, last season's American Association Triple Crown winner, will finish the day 1-for-4 with the first hit of 2,654 he will collect during his 19-year career, a 400-foot double in a 2-0 loss at Yankee Stadium.

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1944 During a World War II mission, Elmer Gedeon is killed when his plane is shot down over France, becoming the first of two major leaguers to die in World War II. The B-26 bomber pilot, who played five major league games as an outfielder for the Senators at the end of the 1939 season, will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.


1946 The Cubs are shut out by Cardinal southpaw Harry Brecheen in their home opener at Wrigley Field, 2-0. The game is the first in the club's history to be televised, with 'Whispering' Joe Wilson doing the play-by-play on Chicago's WBKB.

Most identified with the Cubs in his unparalleled Chicago broadcasting career from 1940 through the mid-1980s, Jack Brickhouse couldn’t be classified as anything else but a “homer” in the Wrigley Field booth. A most exciting homer, at that.

Brickhouse knew the Midwestern audience. Cubs fans wanted their announcer to root for their team. His viewership was first amassed in the dozen Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan counties-within the over-the-air signal range of “good ol’ Channel 9.” That audience later multiplied over the multi-state network WGN-TV began for Sunday games and selected weeknight road contests in 1967. Finally, the dawn of WGN’s superstation status in 1978 coincided with Brickhouse’s last few years of play-by-play.


Phil Wrigley charged $300,000 a year less for broadcast rights than the crosstown White Sox, so Jack Brickhouse was careful in his on-air comments, lest he kill WGN’s golden goose.

“He made the game exciting,” said Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams, whose ironman career (1,117 consecutive games played) Brickhouse broadcast from 1959 to 1974.

1948 On Opening Day, George Vico homers on the first pitch he ever sees in the major leagues, becoming only the fifth player to accomplish the feat. The home run, given up by White Sox hurler Joe Haynes, is the first of only a dozen the Tigers rookie first baseman collects in his brief two-year career.





1948 In the first big-league game he ever attends, Richie Ashburn makes his major league debut, going 1-for-5 in the Phillies' Opening Day victory over Boston at Shibe Park. The 21-year-old rookie left fielder replaces holdout Harry Walker, last year's National League batting champ, batting leadoff in the Phillies' lineup.

1951 Nine days after firing the very popular General Douglas MacArthur from his post as Commander of the Far East, U.S. President Harry S. Truman throws out the ceremonial first pitch at the Senators' home opener against New York at Griffith Stadium. The Air Force Band tries to drown out the boos from the crowd directed at the Commander in Chief by loudly playing "Ruffles and Flourishes" and "Hail to the Chief" during the pregame ceremonies.

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1955 Humberto Robinson, a native of Colon, becomes the first player from Panama to appear in a major league game when he comes out of the Braves' bullpen in a 9-5 victory over the Cubs. The 24-year-old right-handed reliever earns a save, striking out Hank Sauer, the only batter he faces in the Wrigley Field contest.

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1967 Tom Seaver, a right-hander the Mets obtained in a lottery drawing that included the Braves, Phillies, and Indians, gets his first major-league win when the team beat the Cubs, 6-1. The 22-year-old rookie, who will become known as the 'Franchise,' goes 7.2 innings, giving up eight hits and one run in the Shea Stadium contest.


1968 Jon Warden, the last man to make the team in spring training, makes his third appearance and wins for the third time in relief when Detroit beats the White Sox at Comiskey Park in 10 innings, 4-1. Due to a torn rotator cuff injury after being selected by the Royals in the expansion draft, the rookie sensation, who will be the only Tiger not to appear in the World Series, will pitch only one season, finishing with a 4-1 win-loss record and a 3.62 ERA.

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1978 Padres' rookie Ozzie Smith, a future Hall of Famer due to his defensive prowess at short, makes what he will rate as his best play ever when he dives to his left to field a grounder hit by Jeff Burroughs of Atlanta. Although the ball takes a bad hop, scooting behind his head, the 'Wizard's' promptly sticks out his bare right hand, snagging the ball before popping to his feet to get the out at first base.

3, member: 1925"]Comiskey Park[/QUOTE]

 

1982 The Braves record their 12th consecutive win, a 4-2 decision over the Reds, to establish a modern major-league record for the most victories from the beginning of the season. The previous mark had been set a year earlier by the Oakland A's.
(Ed. Note: The 1884 New York Giants won 12 straight games in 1884 to establish the all-time record. - LP).

1985 Matt Panetta's timely hitting and outstanding defensive play help Katz defeat MIC, 6-2, in South Meriden Little League action. The 11-year-old is awarded the game ball as a result of his efforts.
Panetta Paces Katz over MIC

1988 The Orioles break a major league record for consecutive losses at the start of a season, a mark the team shared with the 1904 Senators and 1920 Tigers when they lose their 14th straight contest since Opening Day, an 8-6 loss to Milwaukee. The Birds will drop 21 games before registering their first victory of the season.

1988 Yankees outfielder Claudell Washington, appearing as a pinch-hitter, hits the 10,000th round-tripper in franchise history, the most in the major leagues. The historic home run comes off Jeff Reardon in the top of the ninth inning in New York's eventual 7-6 extra-inning victory over the Twins at the Metrodome.

1990 After retiring 26 consecutive A's players, Mariners right-hander Brian Holman gives up a homer to pinch-hitter Ken Phelps, turning his perfect game into the franchise’s ninth one-hitter when he strikes out Rickey Henderson for the final out. Ironically, the round-tripper will be the final one 'Digger' hits in his 11-year major league career.

1997 In the second game of a doubleheader, the Cubs stop their season-opening losing skid at 14 games, beating the Mets, 4-3. By dropping the opener, Chicago set a National League record (0-14) for the most consecutive losses to start a season and has the second-worst mark behind the Orioles, the losers of 21 decisions before winning a game in 1988.

1997 Mark McGwire's 491-foot blast becomes the only fourth home run to bounce over the left-field roof at Tiger Stadium. The A's first baseman joins Harmon Killebrew (1962), Frank Howard (1968), and Cecil Fielder (1990) as the only players to accomplish the feat.

1999 A crowd of 37,317 fans enjoys a 3-2 victory over the Braves when LA surpasses the 100 million mark in attendance at Dodger Stadium. The ballpark opened in 1962, four seasons after the franchise moved from Brooklyn to the west coast.

2001 Blue Jays' first baseman Carlos Delgado hits three homers for the second time this month, accounting for four of the runs in the team's 12-4 victory over Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium. In the season's third game, the Toronto clean-up hitter also turned the homer hat trick in Tampa Bay.

2006 At Petco Park, Kaz Matsui hits an inside-the-park round-tripper in his first at-bat of the season, making it the third successive season in which the Mets' second baseman has hit a home run in his initial plate appearance of the year. Ken Griffey Jr. also accomplished the feat starting in 1997 with the Mariners but had walked before going deep.

2006 Appearing as a pinch-hitter at Petco Park, Julio Franco becomes the oldest major leaguer to hit a home run. The 47-year and 240 days-old eighth-inning blast, which put the Mets ahead in their 7-2 victory over the Padres, surpasses Jack Quinn, who accomplished the feat as a pitcher for the Philadelphia A's at the age of 46 years, 357 days.

2006 As the Nationals beat the Phillies, 10-4, Frank Robinson becomes the 53rd manager to win 1000 big-league games. The first black skipper, who has also been the dugout leader for the Indians, Giants, Orioles, and Expos, has compiled a 1,000-1,095 record in 16 seasons.

2007 Alex Rodriguez becomes the second player to hit twelve home runs in the first fifteen games at the start of the season when he goes deep twice in the Yankees' 7-6 loss to Boston at Fenway Park. Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt also accomplished the feat, hitting a dozen for the Phillies in 1976.

2007 The first Virginia Tech home athletic event, a game against Miami, since the campus massacre, which claimed 32 lives of students and staff, draws 3,132 fans. The overflow crowd is the largest ever recorded in the 18-year history of English Field, home of the Hokies college baseball team.

2007 In honor of their hard-playing center fielder, the first 10,000 adult fans attending the Great American Ball Park game receive a Ryan Freel Dirty T-shirt giveaway from the Reds. The Cincinnati leadoff hitter, known to finish games wearing a filthy uniform, doesn't disappoint when he raises lots of dust by getting on base twice, including a key single in the tenth inning of the Reds' 2-1 victory over the Phillies.

2008 The Blue Jays release Frank Thomas a day after the slugger became angry for not being in the lineup. After a clubhouse meeting, Toronto G.M. J.P. Ricciardi and the designated hitter reach a "mutual agreement," allowing the disgruntled player to remain a full-time player on another team.

2010 In the first five innings of a 7-6 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Rangers swipe nine bases, including a club record of five in one inning, to establish a franchise mark. The number of stolen bases allowed by the Boston backstops ties the dubious distinction for the most ever yielded by the team in one game established in 1913.

2010 Rockies president Keli McGregor, while on a business trip for the club, is found dead in his hotel room in downtown Salt Lake City. The 48-year-old baseball executive, believed to have died of natural causes, spent 17 years with Colorado.

2011 Bud Selig announces MLB's take-over of the Dodgers operations because of concerns with team finances and the ability of Frank McCourt to run the franchise. The owner plans to pay off substantial debt with funding from the club's new $2.5 billion, 20-year media rights deal with Fox Sports, pending the Commissioner's approval of the agreement between the News Corp.'s media company and the team.

2012 The Reds become the fifth major league team to record their 10,000th franchise victory with a 9-4 win over Chicago at Wrigley Field. Cincinnati joins the Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, and Braves in reaching the milestone.

2012 With more than 200 former players in attendance, including team icons Johnny Pesky, Luis Tiant, Carl Yastrzemski, Bill Buckner, and Pedro Martinez joining the celebration, the Red Sox commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of Fenway Park. Caroline Kennedy, the great-granddaughter of Boston's former mayor, Honey Fitz, who threw out the first pitch on Opening Day in 1912, tosses one of the three ceremonial first pitches.

2012 Ivan Nova wins his 15th straight decision when the Yankees beat Boston at Fenway Park, 6-2. The victory moves the right-hander ahead of Whitey Ford (1961) and Steve Sundra (1938-39) and one shy of the franchise record of 16 consecutive wins, established last season by Roger Clemens.

2013 After flying from Los Angeles, Neil Diamond shows up unannounced at Fenway Park to ask the Red Sox if he can sing Sweet Caroline at the first game at the ballpark since the Boston Marathon bombing. After his eighth-inning performance of the team's anthem, the crowd and the rest of the nation are truly 'Boston Strong.'

2013 In an emotional ceremony before the team's first game at Fenway Park since the bombing at the Boston Marathon, the Red Sox recognize the victims and the heroes of the tragedy. David Ortiz sums up the city's mood when he tells the capacity crowd, "This jersey that we wear today, it doesn't say Red Sox. It says Boston. This is our f'***ng city, and nobody's going to dictate our freedom. Stay Strong."

2014 Ian Kinsler scores from first on a bases-on-ball due to the Angels committing three errors on the same play in the first inning of the Tigers' 2-1 victory over the Angels at Comerica Park. The second baseman's trip begins when backstop Hank Conger throws ball four into centerfield, where Mike Trout makes an error trying to nail him advancing to third, scoring on pitcher Hector Santiago's errant toss to the plate.
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