BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1948 At Ebbets Field No. 2, the Dodgers play their first exhibition game at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, which will remain the team's home for 61 years. Amidst much fanfare, including Governor Millard Caldwell throwing the ceremonial first pitch, Jackie Robinson homers in the first inning when Brooklyn beats its top farm club, the Montreal Royals, 5-4.

Jackie & Campy

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1958 Larry Doby returns to the Indians when the Orioles trade him to Cleveland, along with Don Ferrarese, in exchange for Gene Woodling, Dick Williams, and Bud Daley. The 34-year-old veteran outfielder, who broke in with the Tribe in 1947 as the American League's first black player, will have a solid season, hitting .284 in a part-time role with the fourth-place team.

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1961 The Professional Baseball Rules Committee rejects the Pacific Coast League's proposal to use a designated hitter for the pitcher by a vote of 8-1. The first use of the DH will occur in the American League in 1973.

1968 The American League's new franchise in Seattle chooses Pilots as the team's nickname. The name originated from the coastal seaport city's association with the airplane industry and co-owner Dewey Soriano's part-time job as a harbor pilot.

 

1982 The Rangers trade outfielder/first baseman Al Oliver to the Expos for outfielder/third baseman Larry Parrish and minor league first baseman Dave Hostetler. Oliver will capture the National League batting crown, hitting .335, in the first of his two seasons with Montreal.

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1984 On a televised episode of ABC's Sports Beat, Howard Cosell informs interviewee Roger Maris of the Yankees' plan to retire the slugger's number 9 in July at the Old Timers' Game ceremonies. At first, the former Bronx Bombers' reaction is disbelief, followed by a genuine pleasure for the recognition of his achievements during his seven years with the team.

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1993 Bill White, the first black to serve as a league president, resigns from his National League post. The former Cardinal first baseman will remain at the job until next March, being replaced by Leonard S. Coleman, MLB's director of market development.

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1994 The Mets trade hard-luck right-hander Anthony Young to the Cubs for shortstop Jose Vizcaino. While with New York, A-Yo dropped 27 consecutive decisions, 14 as a starter and 13 as a reliever, establishing the major league record for the most consecutive losses by a pitcher.

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1994 The White Sox assign NBA superstar Michael Jordan to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League. Before returning to the NBA, the 31-year-old outfielder, will play just one season of professional baseball, hitting .202 in 134 games for the minor league team.

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1995 A crowd of 47,536 attend the first game ever played at Coors Field. The exhibition contest, played with replacement players due to the strike, ends with the Rockies beating the Yankees, 4-1.

1996 At the Kingdome, the Mariners beat the White Sox in 12 innings, 3-2, marking the first time a season begins with a game played in March. In 2018, except for international openers, Opening Day for all 30 teams will be March 29, becoming the earliest start in major league history.

1998 On Opening Day at Cinergy Field, Pokey Reese, filling in for shortstop Barry Larkin, who is on the DL, makes four errors on his first three chances in the Reds' 10-2 loss to San Diego. The 25-year-old infielder will win the Gold Glove as a second baseman in 1999 and 2000.

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1998 In the longest scoreless opener in National League history, pinch-hitter Alberto Castillo's 14th-inning single with two outs and the bases loaded gives the Mets a 1-0 victory over the Phillies. The most extended Opening Day game in major league history occurred in 1926 when the Senators blanked the Philadelphia A's in 15 innings, 1-0.​

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1998 In front of a sellout crowd of 47,484 at Bank One Ballpark, the Arizona Diamondbacks lose to the Rockies, 9-2. The seven-run difference matches the '62 Mets and the '77 Mariners for the most-lopsided loss by an expansion team in its first game.

 

1998 The Tigers spoil the Devil Rays' major league debut, beating the American League's newest team, 6-2 at Tampa's Tropicana Field. After Hall-of-Famers Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Al Lopez, and Monte Irvin throw out ceremonial first pitches, Wilson Alvarez, the losing pitcher, hurls the first pitch in franchise history - a ball to Detroit's center fielder Brian Hunter.

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1998 With a rare on-the-field appearance, Hank Aaron helps to mark Milwaukee's historic return to the Senior Circuit as the Brewers play their inaugural game as a National League team, losing to the Braves at Turner Field, 2-1. Milwaukee is the first team since the inception of the American League in 1901 to switch leagues.

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1998 Mark McGwire hits the first of his historic seventy home runs when he goes deep off Ramon Martinez in the fifth inning of the Cardinals' 6-0 victory over L.A. at Busch Stadium. The Redbirds' first baseman becomes the first player in franchise history to hit a grand slam on Opening Day.

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2003 On Opening Day for most of the clubs, MLB.com, the website of major league baseball, has more than 10 million hits, setting a new record. The previous mark was set last season on the final day of online voting for All-Star Game starters when 3.6 million visitors were attracted to the site.

2003 Substituting for his son, a former Yale left-handed first baseman named George Bush throws the ceremonial first pitch when the Reds play the first game their new home, Great American Ball Park's. The former president and the sellout crowd of 42,263 flag-waving fans enjoy the patriotic pregame ceremonies and then watch the Pirates rout Cincinnati, 10-1.

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2003 At Shea Stadium, the Mets Opening Day lineup includes the first regular starting double-play combination in major league history featuring natives from Puerto Rico. Second baseman Roberto Alomar and shortstop Rey Sanchez combine to make two twin killings as the Cubs drub New York, 15-2.

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2004 With a 12-1 defeat of the Devil Rays in Tokyo, Kevin Brown becomes the second pitcher in history to have defeated all of the thirty major league teams. The 39-year-old right-hander joins Al Leiter, who accomplished the feat last season pitching for the Mets.

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2005 The Orioles and MLB agree on a deal which will allow the televising Nationals games. A joint venture backed by MLB will let fans in the Baltimore-Washington area enjoy both franchises' telecasts, ensuring the Orioles fans in the nation's capital will still have an opportunity to watch their 'Birds.'

2007 In the MLB's inaugural Civil Rights Game, the Cardinals beat the Indians at AutoZone Park in Memphis, 5-1. The exhibition game, planned to be an annual event, is designed to celebrate and honor baseball's historical role in the nation's civil rights movement.

2008 On Opening Day, the Reds pay tribute to Joe Nuxhall by wearing the number 41 on their uniforms. The team's beloved broadcaster, who spent over 60 years with the organization, including his major debut as a 15-year-old hurler, died during the off-season at the age of 79.

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2008 Outside of Wrigley Field, the Cubs unveil the seven-foot bronze sculpture of Ernie Banks by 46-year-old Lou Cella, a passionate fan who idolized 'Mr. Cub' as a kid. The typographical error on the statue's granite base, "Lets play two," is quickly corrected when the sculptor comes down to the ballpark two days later and carves the needed apostrophe.

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2009 The Tigers unexpectedly release Gary Sheffield despite having $14 million left on the $28 million, two-year contract extension given to the DH/outfielder after being acquired from the Yankees in a trade for prospects. The 40-year-old nine-time All-Star needing one more dinger to become the 25th major league player to hit 500 career home runs reaches the milestone as a pinch-hitter in a Mets uniform on April 17 at Citi Field.

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2010 In the first inning of an exhibition game in Tampa, Denard Span hits a hard foul line drive that strikes his mother while watching him play. The Twins' stunned leadoff batter runs into the crowded stands, staying with his mom while paramedics treat her until she returns to her seat, slightly shaken but intact.

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2011 Down to their final out on Opening Day, Cameron Maybin, acquired by the Padres in the offseason from the Marlins for Edward Mujica and Ryan Webb, hits a game-tying homer off Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin. San Diego wins the game two innings later on three successive two-out hits, including their new centerfielder's knock for the go-ahead run in the team's eventual 5-3 victory at Busch Stadium.

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2013 Shintaro Fujinami, a first-round draft selection, sets a record for players drafted out of high school when he makes his first professional start, a game sooner than Daisuke Matsuzaka (1999) and Hideaki Wakui (2005), pitching for the Hanshin Tigers just three games into the season. The 18-year-old Japanese rookie right-hander will allow two runs in six innings, taking the loss in the team's 2-0 loss against Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Jingu Stadium.

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2013 In their American League debut, the Astros beat the Rangers, 8-3, victory in a nationally televised game at Minute Maid Park. After 51 years of playing in the National League, Houston agreed to move from the NL Central to the AL West to give each league 15 teams with an equal number of teams in each division, as a condition for the approval of the sale of the team to Jim Crane.

 

2014 Pittsburgh native Neil Walker sends the largest regular-season crowd in the 14-year history of PNC Park home happy when he hits a Carlos Villanueva change up over the fence, giving the Pirates a 1-0 walk-off victory over the Cubs. The tenth-inning homer marks the first time since 1965 when Bob Bailey went deep off Giants' right-hander Juan Marichal that a Buc player ended a scoreless Opening Day contest with a solo round-trip.

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2014 A video review overturns an umpire's decision for the first time using MLB's expanded replay system. Brewers' outfielder Ryan Braun, initially called safe by first base by ump Greg Gibson, on a sixth-inning leadoff infield single, is ruled out after the Braves manager Freddi Gonzalez challenges the play.


2014 On Opening Day, Anaheim's hitting coach Don Baylor suffers a freak accident, fracturing his right femur while backhanding the low and away ceremonial first pitch from Vladimir Guerrero, the team's former outfielder who had just signed a one-day contract on the field much to crowd's delight. Guerrero spent six seasons of his 16 major league tenure with the Halos and was named the AL MVP in 2004, his first year with the team, joining Baylor (1979) as the only other player to win the award franchise history.

2018 Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who goes 3-for-4 in the team's 3-2 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field, becomes the first American Leaguer to have multiple extra-base hits in the first three games of the season. In 2015, Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also accomplished the feat, collecting at least two safeties in each of LA's first three contests when he compiled ten hits his first 14 at-bats of the season.

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Today in Baseball History
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On March 31 in Baseball History...

• • 1909 - The National Commission rules that players who jump contracts will be suspended for five years. Players joining outlaw organizations will be suspended for three years as punishment for going outside organized baseball.
    
  • 1968 - The name for Seattle's A.L. expansion club is the Pilots.
    
  • 1969 - Veteran utility infielder Chico Salmon is traded from the expansion Seattle Pilots to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Gene Brabender and infielder Gordy Lund. Salmon will play for three consecutive pennant winners in Baltimore from 1969 to 1971, while the Pilots last only one season in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee.
    
  • 1995 - The longest strike in sports history ends � in a courtroom. A U.S. District court order forbids owners from implementing new financial working conditions in the wake of the negotiations impasse. The court decides that conditions will revert to the old rules from the previous season. Because of the timing of the court order, 18 games will have to be trimmed from the major league schedule.
    
  • 1996 - The first ever March Opening Day takes place in Seattle.
    
  • 1998 - Expansion teams get a rude entry into major league baseball. The Tigers rip Wilson Alvarez for six runs and nine hits in 2.1 innings in an 11-6 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the first-ever game at Tropicana Field. Wade Boggs, just 200 hits shy of 3,000 at the start of the season, hits the first home run in Tampa Bay history. Meanwhile in Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks fall to the Rockies, 7-2, as Bank One Ballpark opens its doors and its retractable roof. Travis Lee gets both the first hit and later, the first home run, in Arizona history.

Baseball Birthdays on March 31...

• • 1852 - Evers, Tom
  • 1853 - Pirie, Jim
  • 1862 - Benedict, Art
  • 1867 - Hallman, Bill
  • 1868 - Stivetts, Jack
  • 1880 - Ross, Ernie
  • 1882 - Pfeffer, Big Jeff
  • 1884 - Truesdale, Frank
  • 1885 - Bronkie, Herman
  • 1886 - Kommers, Fred
  • 1887 - Brandom, Chick
  • 1891 - Couch, Johnny
  • 1894 - Mallonee, Ben
  • 1894 - Sheehan, Tom
  • 1895 - Bigbee, Carson
  • 1897 - Brown, Jim
  • 1899 - Johnson, Ed
  • 1904 - Dailey, Sam
  • 1918 - Grissom, Marv "One of my favorite recollections occurred in 1961, during the Angels' first spring training in Palm Springs. Relief pitcher Ryne Duren decided to cap off a night of closing bars by chipping golf balls off his pitching coach's motel windows at 3 a.m. Finally, (Marv) Grissom opened the door and shouted, 'Hey, Ryno, got sort of an early tee time don't you?' " - Los Angeles Times Writer Ross Newhan in The Sun News
  • 1920 - Koslo, Dave
  • 1931 - Snyder, Gene
  • 1938 - Herrnstein, John
  • 1938 - Stubing, Moose "The Brooklyn-born Moose is one of the most popular athletes in El Paso's (Sun Kings) sports history. So well liked by everyone in fact that Dave Garcia, former Sun Kings manager, suggested that he would make a good umpire because not even an irascible opposing manager could hate him." - El Paso Herald-Post (01/17/1970, 'Moose Hangs Em Up',
  • 1946 - Denehy, Bill
  • 1946 - Marquez, Gonzalo
  • 1953 - Hausman, Tom
  • 1961 - Jones, Tracy
  • 1964 - Montalvo, Rafael
  • 1964 - Cron, Chris
  • 1964 - Galvez, Balvino
  • 1975 - Christman, Tim
  • 1975 - Rupe, Ryan

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​

 

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BIRTHDAYS
1915 Jeff Heath outfielder (MLB All Star 1941, 43, 45; Cleveland Indians), born in Fort William, Ontario (d. 1975)


1936 Ron Perranoski pitcher (World Series 1963, 65; LA Dodgers; AL saves leader 1969, 70) and coach (World Series 1981, 88; LAD), born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2020)


1939 Nick Peters Hall of Fame writer (Oakland Tribune, Sacramento Bee, Berkeley Gazette, San Francisco Chronicle), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2015)

(1939-2020) Phil Niekcro Hall of Fame pitcher (knuckleballer; no-hitter 1973; 5 x MLB All Star; 5 x Gold Glove; Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves), born in Blaine, Ohio


1944 Rusty Staub (6 x MLB All Star; Houston Colt .45s / Astros; Montreal Expos; NY Mets; Detroit Tigers) and broadcaster (Mets games 1986-95), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2018)


1948 Willie Montañez first baseman (MLB All Star 1977; Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves), born in Cataño, Puerto Rico


1969 Frank Castillo pitcher, 1991-2005 (Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and 4 other teams), born in El Paso, Texas (d. 2013)

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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1914 Rube Waddell, a southpaw who once struck out a record 349 batters in one season, dies of tuberculosis at 37. The eccentric Hall of Famer compiled a 193-143 (.574) record and a 2.16 ERA during his 13 seasons with the Colonels, A's, Pirates, and Browns.

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1937 The Reds sell Babe Herman to the Tigers. The 34-year-old outfielder, batting .300 for his new team, will appear in only 17 contests with Detroit before retiring from the game, although he will return to play briefly for the war-time Dodgers in 1945

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1938 Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, not a fan of Branch Rickey's farm system, grants free agency to nine Cardinal minor leaguers, including a talented prospect named Pete Reiser. A reported gentlemen's agreement has Brooklyn signing and hiding the 19-year-old outfielder in the minors for a trade back to St. Louis fails when Leo Durocher disobeys orders, allowing the phenom to display his incredible ability in spring training exhibition games.

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1950 At Gilmore Field, the Pacific Coast League Hollywood Stars unveil their new look, wearing shorts and rayon shirts on Opening Day. The team plans to wear the new track-suit-styled uniforms during day games and warm night contests. In 1976, the White Sox will also don shorts in the first game of a doubleheader against Kansas City

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1962 The 21-year-old Dave DeBusschere, a hoop star at the University of Detroit, signs with the White Sox as a pitcher. The 6-6, 225lb right-hander will compile a 3-4 record in 36 appearances with Chicago before moving to the National Basketball Association, becoming one of the fifty greatest players named in the league's history.

1963 Former Brooklyn Dodger Duke Snider returns to New York when the Mets purchase him from LA for $40,000. The 36-year-old outfielder, who will represent New York in the All-Star Game, will be told at the end of the season by Buzzi Bavasi, his former GM, that the Yankees had asked for him to back up Mickey Mantle before he was dealt to the team the across the river.

Gil Hodges Duke Snider Casey Stengel

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1964 During spring training in Tucson (AZ), Cleveland's manager Birdie Tebbetts suffers a heart attack. George Strickland will fill in for three months until the 51-year-old skipper returns to the Indians dugout with limited duties, resigning from the team two seasons later on August 19, again replaced by his third base coach.

Birdie & Sonny Siebert

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1968 The Braves purchase Orioles right-handed reliever Stu Miller, best remembered for committing a balk in the 1961 All-Star Game when a gust of wind pushed him off the mound at Candlestick Park. The 40-year-old Northampton (MA) native will throw only 1.2 innings in two appearances for Atlanta before retiring from baseball, having compiled a 105-103 record and 153 saves during his 16-year major league tenure with five teams.

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1969 After acquiring Lou Piniella from the Indians in the expansion draft, the Seattle Pilots trade him to the Royals in exchange for Steve Whitaker and John Gelnar. The 25-year-old outfielder will have a stellar season in Kansas City, copping the league's Rookie of the Year Award.

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1970 Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney Volinn, after ruling the team is insolvent, orders the Seattle Pilots be sold to a group headed by mid-western businessman Bud Selig. The American League expansion team's tenure in the Northwest is over after just one season when the club is hastily moved to Milwaukee to start the new season as the Brewers.

1976 After being released by the Padres, Bobby Tolan (.255, 5, 48) signs as a free agent with the Phillies. In June, the outfielder-first baseman, who plays only 15 games for Philadelphia, will ink a deal with the Pirates.

 

1982 The Mets send fan-favorite Lee Mazzilli to Texas for rookie starters Ron Darling and Walt Terrell. The deal, not well-received at the time, turns out to be a steal for New York when the two right-handers combine for 118 victories during their tenure with the team, with their departed outfielder playing a total of 58 games with Texas before being traded to the Yankees for Bucky Dent.

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1987 The Pirates trade Tony Pena, a three-time Gold Glove catcher, to the Cardinals in exchange for three youngsters, Mike LaValliere, Mike Dunne, and Andy Van Slyke, who thinks the deal is an April Fool's Day joke. The former Pittsburgh backstop cries at a news conference with Bucs' skipper Jim Leyland present when the team announces the swap with the Redbirds.

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1987 Mets phenom pitcher Dwight Gooden avoids suspension for substance abuse by agreeing to enter a drug rehab facility. The talented 22-year-old right-hander will make his first start on June 5 and wins 15 games for the team despite missing the first two months of the season.

1989 Former Yale University and National League president Bart Giamatti becomes the seventh commissioner of Major League Baseball. Baseball's new leader, a lifelong Red Sox fan, is the author of The Green Fields of the Mind, an essay that laments the end of a season in Boston.

 

1996 Nationalpastime.com appears for the first time on the internet. The popular website is the first to feature baseball history on a daily basis.

1996 The postponement of Cincinnati's Opening Day game becomes necessary after home plate ump John McSherry, working his 26th season in the major leagues, suffers a fatal heart attack after calling the first seven pitches of the contest. The respected but noticeably overweight veteran arbitrator's death prompts Major League Baseball to compel its umpires to be more physically fit.

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1996 The Mets rally overcome a 6-0 deficit, beating the Cardinals at Shea Stadium, 7-6, in the century's biggest Opening Day comeback. The decisive run scores due to an unusual 9-3-6-3-6 double play when Bernard Gilkey, the baserunner on first, is doubled up on Rico Brogna's short sac fly to right field (RF-1B-SS-1B-SS), allowing Lance Johnson to cross home plate on the play.

1996 Only 7,296 fans show up at Cashman Field to watch the A's lose their season opener to the Blue Jays, 9-6. Due to the renovations at the Oakland Coliseum, the first six home games take place in Las Vegas, marking the first time since the White Sox participated in 11 home contests in Milwaukee's County Stadium in 1969 that a major league game takes place in a neutral site.

1997 Setting a record for the most runs scored in one inning of an Opening Day contest this century, the Padres score 11 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to a 12-5 rout of the Mets. Chris Gomez, Rickey Henderson, and Quilvio Veras lead the attack with back-to-back-to-back home runs.

1998 At Camden Yards, the Orioles rock the Royals, 10-1, as Scott Erickson records his 100th major league victory. O's skipper Ray Miller, who hadn't won a game since managing the Twins in 1986, enjoys his first win with Baltimore.

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