BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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4/11
BIRTHDAYS
1921 Jim Hearn, born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1998)


1964 Bret Saberhagen (Kansas City Royals), born in Chicago Heights, Illinois


1966 Kara McGaw softball rightfielder (Olympics 1996), born in Toronto, Ontario


1966 Steve Scarsone infielder (SF Giants), born in Anaheim, California


1970 Joe Vitiello, infielder (KC Royals), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts


1970 Sean Bergman pitcher (San Diego Padres), born in Joliet, Illinois


1974 Trot Nixon outfielder, 1996-2008 (Boston Red Sox, and 2 other teams), born in Durham, North Carolina


1978 Josh Hancock born in Cleveland, Mississippi (d. 2007)


1980 Mark Teixeira first baseman, born in Annapolis, Maryland

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1907 The Giants lose their home opener to the Phillies when some Polo Grounds fans flood onto the field, disrupting the game in the top of the ninth inning. After warning the growing crowd of over a thousand patrons, who continue to pour onto the field, home plate umpire Bill Klem decides enough is enough, forfeiting the game to the visiting team, 9-0.

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1907 "Boy, they sure called me lots of names when I tried on those shin guards. They must have been a good idea at that, though, because they tell me catchers still wear them." - ROGER BRESNAHAN, reflecting on being the first major league catcher to wear shin guards. On Opening Day, playing against the Phillies at the Polo Grounds, Giants catcher Roger Bresnahan becomes the first player to wear shin guards in a major league game. The future Hall of Fame receiver's innovative protective device, fastened with straps and hooks, was made of leather.

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1912 Rube Marquard begins a nineteen-game consecutive winning streak by beating the Dodgers, 18-3, in a game that features 13 ground-rule doubles hit by the visitors because of the overflow crowd placed in the outfield and along the foul lines. The future Hall of Fame southpaw's streak will end in July when the Giants lose to Chicago at the West Side Grounds, 7-2.

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1912 Redland Field, the steel and concrete ballpark named to match the team's moniker and hue, debuts with the hometown Reds beating the Cubs, 10-6. In 1934, the Cincinnati ballpark will become known as Crosley Field in honor of the team owner Powel Crosley.

1928 Forty-year-old veteran Ty Cobb and 41-year-old Tris Speaker, who spent last season with the Senators, start in the outfield on Opening Day for the A's, batting second and third, respectively. The 8-3 loss to the Yankees at Philadelphia's Shibe Park marks the first time the future Hall of Famer players have played as teammates in a game.

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1932 The Cardinals trade future Hall of Famer Chick Hafey to the Reds for outfielder/first baseman Harvey Hendrick, right-hander Benny Frey, and cash. The former Redbird outfielder led the National League in hitting last season, batting .349 for the World Series champs.

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1954 The Yankees trade two minor leaguers and rookie right-hander Mel Wright to the Cardinals for 38-year-old right-fielder Enos Slaughter. The future Hall of Fame outfielder will hit only .239 in 79 games during his first tenure with the Bronx Bombers, but Bill Virdon, one of the prospects dealt to the Redbirds, will be named the National League's Rookie of the Year in 1956.

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1961 The upstart Angels, playing their first game in franchise history, defeat a strong Orioles team at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, 7-2. Ted Kluszewski homers twice, and Eli Grba tosses a complete game for Los Angeles.

Klu, Bilko Grba

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1961 Red Sox rookie Carl Yastrzemski, in his major league debut, singles off Kansas City's Ray Herbert in the team's 5-2 Opening Day loss at Fenway Park. The 21-year-old left fielder from Bridgehampton, New York, will amass 3,419 hits during his 23-year Hall of Fame career with Boston.

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1961 On Opening Day, the flag is hung at half-staff at Crosley Field to honor the memory of late owner Powel Crosley, Jr., who passed away two weeks earlier. The Reds, the eventual National League Champions, get off to a good start by beating Chicago, 7-1.

1961 Robin Roberts, in his twelfth-straight Opening Day start, is tagged with the loss when the Phillies lose to the Dodgers in the LA Memorial Coliseum, 6-2. The right-hander's effort ties Grover Cleveland Alexander's National League record for consecutive season openers.

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1962 After being rained out the previous night and with some players getting stuck in an elevator, the Mets make their National League debut in St. Louis, losing to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, 11-4. The defeat will be the first of a record-setting 120 losses the New York expansion team will suffer this season.

1963 Don Leppert, who went deep on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues playing for Pittsburgh, hits three homers in the Senators' 8-0 victory over Boston at D.C. Stadium. The catcher's solo shot in the fourth inning, three-run blast two frames later, and bases-empty blast in the eighth will account for twenty percent of his four-year career total of 15 round-trippers.

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1964 A small plane privately scatters the ashes of former Houston right-hander Jim Umbricht over Colt Stadium, his home ballpark with the Colt .45's for the past two seasons. The popular 33-year-old reliever, the only pitcher to post a winning record during the expansion team's first two seasons, lost his well-publicized battle to a malignant melanoma three days ago.

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1966 Twenty years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, Emmett Ashford becomes the first black major league umpire, working third base when the Senators host the Tigers on Opening Day at D.C. Stadium. The dapper Californian arbitrator will become well-known for his flashy style, which includes sprinting around the infield after foul balls, karate chop strike calls, and pirouetting while dusting off home plate.

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1968 Detroit gets the first of the 103 victories of their World Champion campaign in a dramatic manner. Gates Brown, pinch-hitting for Jon Warden, hits a walk-off home run leading off the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Boston at Tiger Stadium, 4-3.

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1969 The Pilots, who won on Opening Day in Los Angeles against the Angels, are victorious in their first home game in franchise history, blanking the White Sox, 7-0, at Seattle's Sicks Stadium. Gary Bell, called 'Ding Dong' by his teammates, manages to keep Chicago from scoring, although the right-hander yields nine hits and walks four batters en route to the complete-game victory.

1971 Jerry Grote hits a walk-off homer in the 11th inning off Wayne Granger at Shea Stadium. The New York catcher's game-ending round-tripper accounts for the only run scored in the Mets' 1-0 victory over Cincinnati.

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1985 Cal Ripken, nursing a sprained left ankle suffered while covering second base on a pickoff play in yesterday's game against the Rangers, is ordered by the doctor not to play in today's game against the Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. The Orioles shortstop's streak of consecutive games, which would have ended if not for Annapolis's exhibition contest, is in its infancy at 444 games.

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1990 Mark Langston, tossing seven innings in his Angel debut, and Mike Witt, author of a perfect game in 1984, combine to pitch a 1-0 Opening Day no-hitter against the Mariners at Anaheim Stadium. Dante Bichette's seventh-inning walk with the bases loaded accounts for the game's only run.

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1993 When Brewer catcher Dave Nilsson catches for Graeme Lloyd, they become the first all-Australian battery in major league history. The 23-year-old backstop hails from Brisbane, Queensland, with his rookie batterymate calling Geelong, Victoria home.

1994 In the inaugural major league game at The Ballpark in Arlington, Holly Minter, posing for a picture, is seriously injured when she slips and falls 30 feet from the upper deck in right field to the lower section of the new $189-million stadium. The Rangers report a security guard was en route to tell the 26-year-old fan to move away from the railing. The Rangers play their first major league game in The Ballpark in Arlington, losing to Milwaukee, 4-3. Texas leadoff hitter David Hulse gets the stadium's first hit, a first frame single, and Dave Nilsson hits the first home run in the $189-million facility, a solo shot leading off the bottom of the fifth inning.

1996 Greg Maddux's major league record of road victories ends at 18 with a 2-1 loss to the Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium. The Braves right-hander was 18-0 with an ERA under one run per game in 20 regular-season road starts, dating back to July of 1994.

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1997 To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the integration of baseball, Sharon Robinson, Jackie's daughter, and Pumpsie Green each threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park. In 1959, Green became the first black to appear in a Red Sox uniform, making Boston the last major league team to integrate.

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2000 On a cold and snowy afternoon in front of nearly 40,000 fans, the Tigers beat the Mariners, 5–2., in the first major league game at Comerica Park. Giving up two runs in six innings, Brian Moehler gets the ballpark's first victory after being the winning pitcher in the final contest at Tiger Stadium last season.

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2003 In the first of its 'home' games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Expos rout David Cone and the Mets, 10-0. The Montreal franchise, now owned by major league baseball, will play 22 games in the commonwealth this season while exploring possible new venues for the poorly-attended Canadian team.

2003 Although Dale Petroskey still would cancel the 'Bull Durham celebration due to the anti-war criticism espoused by Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, the Hall of Fame president wishes he had called the co-stars rather than just sending a letter. The decision created a firestorm, with Cooperstown receiving over 5000 emails and noted author Roger Kahn canceling his planned August appearance to speak about his new book "October Men," a work chronicling the 1978 World Champion Yankee team, as a protest. Bull Durham

2006 At the home opener at RFK Stadium before the hometown team's 7-1 loss to the Mets, Dick Cheney, wearing a red-and-blue Nationals jacket, becomes the eighth sitting vice president to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. After the veep hears a chorus of boos, he bounces the pitch in front of home plate when throwing the ball from the front of the pitching mound.

2006 Bob Sheppard misses his first Yankee Stadium home opener since 1951 after sustaining a hip injury at his home yesterday. The long-time public address announcer will return to the microphone during the team's next homestand.

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2006 Jeromy Burnitz, Ryan Doumit, Jack Wilson, and Craig Wilson hit solo home runs in the Pirates' 7-6 victory over the Dodgers at PNC Park. The quartet of round-trippers blasted by the Buc sluggers is each player's second homer of the season.

2008 At Minute Maid Park, the Marlins set a club record, blasting six home runs en route to a 10-6 win against the Astros. Jeremy Hermida hit a pair of round-trippers, and teammates Mike Jacobs, Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu, and Mike Rabelo contributed solo homers in Florida's fourth straight victory, matching the team's longest winning streak last season.

 

2010 Mike Leake becomes the first pitcher since Ariel Prieto in 1995 to make his big league debut without ever spending a day in the minor leagues. The 22-year-old Reds' right-handed starter gives up four hits in 6.2 innings, getting a no-decision in the Reds' eventual 3-1 victory over Chicago at the Great American Ball Park.

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2010 The Diamondbacks score a team-record 13 runs in the fourth inning of a 15-6 victory over Pittsburgh at Chase Field. The infamous frame features eight hits, including a trio of home runs hit by Chris Young, Kelly Johnson, and starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, which also ties a franchise mark for a regular-season game.

2016 Rookie first baseman Tyler White, who set an Astro record for total hits in the first five games played with the team, is named the American League Player of the Week. The 25-year-old thirty-third-round pick out of Western Carolina batted .556, scored three runs, blasted three home runs, and collected nine RBIs to cop the prestigious honor in the first week of his major league career.

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2022 Taylor Rogers earns the save when he pitches a scoreless ninth inning in the Padres' 4-2 victory over the Giants, and his twin brother, Tyler, gives up the decisive run in the seventh to get tagged with the San Francisco loss. The 31-year-old siblings, who exchanged lineup cards at home plate before the Oracle Park contest, become the tenth set of twins to play in the majors and the fifth to play in the same game.
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Today in Baseball History
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On April 11 in Baseball History...

• • 1912 - Rube Marquard of the New York Giants began a 19-game winning streak with an 18-3 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
    
  • 1917 - Babe Ruth beats the Yankees, pitching a three-hit, 10-3 win for the Red Sox in the opener. He is on the way to a 24-13 record and a league-leading 35 complete games in his best year as a pitcher.
  • 1954 - To make room for promising rookie outfielder Wally Moon, the Cardinals trade longtime great Enos Slaughter to the Yankees. In what turns out to be a good deal for both teams, the Cardinals get center fielder Bill Virdon, pitcher Mel Wright, and outfielder Emil Tellinger in return. Virdon will become the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1955, and Slaughter will help the Yankees win 103 games.
  • 1959 - Don Drysdale hits his second Opening Day home run to become the first pitcher with two career home runs on Opening Day. Unfortunately, his home run is the only Dodgers score as he loses to the Cubs 6-1.
  • 1961 - The Los Angeles Angels won their first major league game, 7-2 over the Orioles in Baltimore. Ted Kluszewski had two homers for the Angels.
    
  • 1962 - The New York Mets played their first game and lost 11-4 to the Cardinals in St. Louis.
    
  • 1963 - Warren Spahn's Opening Day 6-1 victory over the Mets is the 328th win of his career. He thus moves ahead of Eddie Plank as the all-time winningest left-hander. Except for Duke Snider's home run, no Mets get past second base.
    
  • 1966 - A crowd of 44,468, including Vice President Hubert Humphrey, attends a historic opener at Washington. Emmett Ashford becomes the major league's first black umpire in Cleveland's 5-2 win against the Senators.
    
  • 1969 - The Seattle Pilots played their first game, with Gary Bell shutting out the White Sox 7-0 at Sicks Stadium.
  • 1975 - In Milwaukee, 48,160 fans brave 37-degree weather to welcome home Hank Aaron. Hank drives in a run as the Brewers whip the Indians 6-2.
    
  • 1981 - After 15 seasons with the Dodgers, Don Sutton makes his debut with the Astros and is pounded by his former club for six runs in four innings. Los Angeles wins 7-4.
    
  • 1985 - Seattle's Gorman Thomas hit three homers and drove in six runs to lead the Mariners to a 14-6 victory over the Oakland A's.
    
  • 1990 - California's Mark Langston and Mike Witt combine to no-hit the Mariners 1-0 for the first combined no-hitter in the major leagues since 1976. It is Langston's first start for the Angels since signing as a free agent in the off-season.
    
  • 1991 - Junior Ortiz guns down Rickey Henderson, who is trying to break Lou Brock's all-time stolen base record. Henderson later leaves the game with a calf injury.
    
  • 1996 - Greg Maddux loses his first road game since June 27, 1994 in Montreal. Atlanta's 2-1 loss in San Diego ends a string that saw Maddux go 18-0 with only 17 earned runs allowed in 154.2 innings.

Baseball Birthdays on April 11...

• • 1852 - Anson, Cap "The very name 'Cap Anson' is synonymous with 19th century baseball. The slugging first baseman-manager of the Chicago White Stockings batted better than .300 19 times in his 22-year major league career." - National Baseball Hall of Fame
  • 1858 - Corkhill, Pop
  • 1875 - Clark, Win
  • 1875 - Schreckengost, Ossee
  • 1876 - Kellum, Win
  • 1880 - Grossart, George
  • 1882 - McCarthy, Bill
  • 1886 - Nixon, Al
  • 1892 - Smith, Red
  • 1892 - Gordinier, Ray
  • 1893 - Pumpelly, Spencer
  • 1893 - Deviney, Hal
  • 1895 - Sharman, Ralph
  • 1900 - Middleton, John
  • 1904 - Ussat, Dutch
  • 1916 - Chapman, Sam
  • 1916 - Antolick, Joe
  • 1917 - McCosky, Barney
  • 1919 - Schenz, Hank
  • 1921 - Hearn, Jim After signing with the Cardinals as a third baseman out of Georgia Tech, Jim Hearn switched to the mound in the minor leagues before spending three years in the Army during World War II. He came up with St. Louis in 1947 going 12-7 as a rookie. But two years later he was back in the minors and released on waivers in July of 1950. He was then signed by the New York Giants. Hearn then turned his career around and was called the 'bargain basement beauty,' going 11-3 the rest of the 1950 season while leading the N.L. in shutouts with five and ERA at 2.49. The big right-hander played a key role for the 1951 miracle pennant winners, winning 17 games including a 3-1 victory over the Dodgers in the first game in the best two out of three playoff series for the N.L. flag. He then beat the Yankees 6-2 in Game Three of the World Series." - Marazzi, Richard. Author. Baseball Players of the 1950
  • 1923 - Cary, Scott
  • 1925 - Spicer, Bob
  • 1927 - Faszholz, Jack
  • 1938 - Quirk, Art
  • 1940 - Wantz, Dick
  • 1945 - Kilkenny, Mike
  • 1951 - Monge, Sid
  • 1954 - Royster, Willie
  • 1956 - Martin, John
  • 1958 - Calhoun, Jeff
  • 1962 - Fortugno, Tim
  • 1964 - Carreno, Amalio
  • 1964 - Saberhagen, Bret "Looking back, it was a dream season. Winning a World Series. Winning a World Series MVP Award. My son being born [the day of] Game 6 of the World Series. It was a magical year for me. I was young at the time, but it was a lot of fun. You get to the big leagues at 19 years old for the first week in 1984. You turn 20 the week after. Can't go into the bars with the other guys, because I'm not old enough. What I'm getting at is just growing up very quickly and everything coming at me so quickly. I really didn't get a chance to digest a whole lot. We make the playoffs my first year in the big leagues. We don't win against Detroit. They go on to win the World Series. My following year, 1985, we have the same nucleus of guys. We added a few guys here and there. Just a great ballclub. After my second year, it was 'OK, cool. Playoffs, no problem.' Needless to say after that it was very tough for me to get back to the playoffs with any ballclub. For me, out of all the individual awards -- nothing even comes close to winning that championship. 'Cause it takes an entire team." - Saberhagen, Bret. Bret Saberhagen's Series to remember. Fish, Mike. ESPN Staff Writer
  • 1964 - Whitehurst, Wally
  • 1965 - Ward, Turner
  • 1966 - Scarsone, Steve
  • 1970 - Bergman, Sean
  • 1970 - Vitiello, Joe
  • 1972 - Varitek, Jason
  • 1972 - Jennings, Robin
  • 1972 - Jones, Bobby
  • 1974 - Nixon, Trot
  • 1975 - Dunwoody, Todd
  • 1976 - Escobar, Kelvim

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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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4/12
BIRTHDAYS
1876 Vic Willis HOF pitcher (no-hitter 1899; World Series 1909; MLB ERA leader 1899 & strikeout leader 1902; Boston Beaneaters, Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Cecil County, Maryland (d. 1947)


1880 Addie Joss HOF pitcher (perfect game 1908; no hitters 1908, 10; 1.89 career ERA 2nd-lowest in MLB history; career WHIP 0.968 MLB record; Cleveland Bronchos), born in Woodland, Wisconsin (d. 1911)



1917 Marie Wadlow softball pitcher Hall of Fame 1957, born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 1979)


1930 Johnny Antonelli pitcher (6 × MLB All-Star 1954, 56–59²; World Series, NL ERA leader 1954; SF Giants), born in Rochester, New York (d. 2020)


1940 Woodie Fryman born in Ewing, Kentucky (d. 2011)


1964 Mike Macfarlane catcher (KC Royals), born in Stockton, California


1972 Paul Lo Duca born in Brooklyn, New York


1973 Antonio Osuna pitcher (LA Dodgers), born in Sinaloa, Mexico
1979 Jordan De Jong born in Orange City, Iowa

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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1906 At Brooklyn’s Washington Park, Boston Beaneater rookie Johnny Bates becomes the first modern player to homer in his first major league at-bat. The 23-year-old outfielder connects off Harry McIntire in the top of the second inning in the team’s 2-0 Opening Day victory over the Superbas.

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1909 The 61-year history of Shibe Park begins with the A's defeating the Red Sox, 8-1. The Philadelphia stadium, renamed to honor Connie Mack in 1953, is the first concrete and steel ballpark in major league history.

1916 Due to a salary dispute with Joe Lannin, the Red Sox president, Boston trades Tris Speaker to the Indians for Sam Jones, Fred Thomas, and approximately $50,000. The future Hall of Fame outfielder will spend half of his Hall of Fame career in Cleveland, compiling a .354 batting average during his 11 seasons playing for the Tribe after playing nine outstanding seasons in Boston.

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1916 On Opening Day, the Giants begin the season with a 5-4 loss to the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. The game marks the debut of New York's new purple plaid uniforms, fortunately, a trend that will last only a year.

1927 Giants' first baseman Bill Terry becomes the first major leaguer to hit a grand slam on Opening Day. The New York infielder's four-run round-tripper comes off Phillies' right-hander Hal Carlson in the fifth inning of the team's 15-7 victory at Baker Bowl.

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1931 Former Cubs pilot Joe McCarthy debuts as the Yankee manager, beating Boston at the Bronx ballpark, 6-3. The future Hall of Fame manager, the team's all-time leader in managerial wins with 1460, guides the club to eight pennants and seven World Championships during his 16-year tenure in the Bronx.

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1935 The Yankees name Lou Gehrig to be the fifth captain in team history. The 33-year-old first baseman joins Hal Chase (1912), Roger Peckinpaugh (1914-1921), Babe Ruth (six days in 1922), and Everett Scott (1922-1925) to receive the honor as a player.

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1953 During an exhibition game in Brooklyn, the Ebbets Field PA announcer informs the crowd, including the new dad, when he approaches home plate to bat, "Mickey doesn't know it yet, but he has just become the father of an eight-pound, twelve-ounce baby boy." Mickey Mantle Jr., whose given middle name is Elven in memory of the Yankee slugger's recently deceased dad, is the first of four children, all sons, with his wife, Merlyn.

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1955 Pinch-hitting for Braves' southpaw Warren Spahn, Chuck Tanner, who becomes better known for his managerial skills, hits a home run on the first pitch he sees in the major leagues. The 26-year-old outfielder's eighth-inning round-tripper off Gerry Staley ties the score in Milwaukee's eventual 4-2 victory over Cincinnati at County Stadium.

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1955 At Municipal Stadium, the recently arrived Athletics beat the Tigers, 6-2, in their first game in Kansas City. At first, the franchise's shift from Philadelphia will be warmly received by the Missouri fans as the A's draw 1,393,054 patrons to the ballpark in their first season, second only to the Yankees in the American League.

1955 In front of a standing-room crowd of 32,147 at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium, 70-year-old former US president Harry Truman throws out the ceremonial first pitch as a southpaw before the A's take the field in their first home game in the City of Fountains. The enthusiastic fans support the transplanted team from Philadelphia with a large civic parade before the newcomers take a 6-2 decision from the Tigers.