BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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On April 21 in Baseball History...

• • 1904 - Ty Cobb makes his professional debut for Augusta (South Atlantic League), hitting a double and home run in an 8-7 loss to Columbus.
  • 1910 - The new League Park opens in Cleveland with a capacity of 21,000. 18,832 watch Detroit and Ed Willett beat the Naps 5-0.
  • 1934 - Moe Berg, little-used Senators catcher, plays his 117th consecutive errorless game, dating back to 1931. It sets an A.L. record.
  • 1955 - Brooklyn wins its 10th in a row, trouncing Robin Roberts of the Phils 14-2. This sets a new major league record for consecutive wins to start a season (since broken).
  • 1967 - After 737 consecutive games, the Dodgers were rained out for the first time since moving to Los Angeles.
  • 1982 - The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 for their 13th straight victory.
  • 1984 - In only his second start since August 1982, Montreal pitcher David Palmer threw five perfect innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 4-0 victory stopped by rain.
  • 1987 - The White Sox beat the Brewers 7-1, ending their season-opening winning streak at 13 games. Milwaukee's 13-0 start tied the major league record set by the 1982 Braves.
  • 1991 - In the greatest extra-inning comeback in major league history, Pittsburgh scores six in the bottom of the 11th inning to erase a five-run Cubs lead built in the top of the inning on Andre Dawson's grand slam. The Pirates had rallied earlier from a 7-2 deficit to tie the game in the ninth.
  • 1994 - Indians first baseman Eddie Murray hits home runs from both sides of the plate in a game for the 11th time in his career to break Mickey Mantle's record. The two homers also move Murray past Dave Kingman into 20th place on the all-time list with 444.

Baseball Birthdays on April 21...

• • 1845 - Fletcher, George
  • 1855 - Richardson, Hardy
  • 1863 - Smith, Germany
  • 1890 - Reinecker, Wally
  • 1890 - Raleigh, John
  • 1894 - Maisel, Charlie
  • 1902 - Weinert, Lefty
  • 1909 - Chamberlain, Bill
  • 1913 - Hogg, Bert
  • 1919 - Rojek, Stan
  • 1921 - Rinker, Bob
  • 1935 - Burk, Mack
  • 1937 - Peters, Gary
  • 1937 - Haywood, Bill
  • 1940 - Faul, Bill
  • 1941 - Green, Dick
  • 1947 - Bumbry, Al
  • 1950 - Harts, Greg
  • 1951 - Sterling, Randy
  • 1953 - Keener, Joe
  • 1957 - Orosco, Jesse
  • 1960 - Legg, Greg
  • 1962 - Lancaster, Les
  • 1963 - Caminiti, Ken
  • 1966 - Donnels, Chris
  • 1972 - Williams, Keith
  • 1973 - Brown, Kevin
  • 1974 - Brumbaugh, Cliff
  • 1975 - Castillo, Carlos
  • 1977 - Wells, Kip

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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4/22
OTD
BIRTHDAYS
1918 Mickey Vernon first baseman (7 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1960; AL batting champion 1946, 53), born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania (d. 2008)

1936 Takeshi Koba, Japanese Baseball HOF infielder (Hiroshima Carp) and manager (Japan Series Champion 1979, 80, 84 Hiroshima Carp), born in Kumamoto, Japan (d. 2021)

1961 Jimmy Key pitcher (Blue Jays, NY Yanks, Orioles)

1980 Carlos Hernández pitcher

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1876 Three thousand fans attend the Philadelphia Athletics' 6-5 loss to the Boston Red Caps in the first game ever played in the National League. When rain washes out the other scheduled games, the Athletic Park contest becomes the new circuit's inaugural event by default.

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1891 Exposition Park, which opened last year as the home of the Pittsburgh Burghers of the short-lived Players' League, hosts its first Pirates game, a National League contest that the Bucs lose to Chicago, 7-6. The ballpark located on the north side of the Allegheny River, across from Pittsburgh's downtown area, will be the team's home until they move to Forbes Field in 1909.

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1898 Today marks the first time two no-hitters occur on the same day when Orioles (NL) right-hander Jay Hughes and Reds southpaw Theodore Breitenstein keep their opponents hitless, beating the Beaneaters, 8-0, and the Pirates, 11-0, respectively. A double no-no on the same date will not happen again until June 29, 1990, when A's Dave Stewart and Dodger Fernando Valenzuela accomplish the feat with gems against the Blue Jays and Cardinals.

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1903 In the first game of franchise history, the New York Highlanders (later to be renamed Yankees) lose their opener to Washington at American League Park, 3-1. Jack Chesbro takes the loss, but the 28-year-old right-hander will finish the season with a 21-15 record (.583) along with an ERA of 2.77.

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1912 Similar to the looks of the Pirates, the Yankee uniforms feature pinstripes for the first time. The Bronx Bombers will abandon the fashion statement for the next two seasons, returning to the style for good in 1915, changing the color from black to navy blue.
1914 Babe Ruth, in his first pro game, blanks Providence to give Baltimore a 6-0 International League victory. Eighteen of the 94 major league victories thrown by the future 'Sultan of Swat' will be shutouts.

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1922 With George Sisler aboard each time, Browns' left fielder Ken Williams hits three home runs, becoming the first American League player to accomplish the feat in a game. The outfielder's three round-trippers lead St. Louis to a 10-7 victory over Chicago at Sportsman's Park.

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1925 In their home opener against Cincinnati at Sportsman's Park, Branch Rickey's Cardinals collect 12 hits in the first frame to establish a National League mark. The batting barrage accounts for 11 runs scoring in the inning en route to the Redbirds' 12-3 rout of the Reds.

 

1947 The Phillies players, inspired by their Alabama-born racist skipper Ben Chapman, repeatedly shout racial epitaphs, throw beanballs, and intentionally spike Brooklyn's rookie first baseman, the first African-American to play major league baseball in the 20th century. The incident is so severe that Philadelphia's infielder Jeep Handley will later publicly apologize, and baseball commissioner Happy Chandler will chastise the team's manager for his bigoted leadership.

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1956 New York starter Don Larsen hits a grand-slam off Frank Sullivan in the Yankees' 13-6 victory over Boston at Yankee Stadium. The 26-year-old right-hander, a good-hitting pitcher, will finish his 14-year career with 14 home runs and a .242 average.

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1957 Entering the game as a pinch-runner, John Kennedy becomes the first black to play with the Phillies, the last National League team to integrate. The former shortstop for the Birmingham Black Barons and Kansas City Monarchs will bat only twice in the major leagues, striking out and reaching on an error.

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1959 Although it takes extra innings, Whitey Ford ties the Yankees' record for strikeouts, fanning 15 batters when he beats the Senators in 14 innings, 1-0. 'Slick' equals the mark established by Bob Shawkey in 1919, when the right-hander defeated Philadelphia in a nine-inning game, 9-2.

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1959 Bill Skowron homers to deep left field off Chuck Stobbs in the top of the 14th inning, accounting for the lone run in the Yankees' victory over the Senators at Griffith Stadium. Whitey Ford goes the distance for the win in the longest American League 1-0 game to be decided by a home run.

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1959 In the seventh inning of a 20-6 rout of Kansas City, the White Sox score 11 runs on just one hit. The other Municipal Stadium baserunners get on thanks to two errors, ten walks, and one hit batsman.

 

1969 Rollie Fingers, best known as a reliever with the Athletics, Padres, and Brewers, throws a complete-game shutout in his third major league mound appearance, his first as a starter. The 22-year-old future Hall of Fame right-hander, who will compile two shutouts and have four complete games in 37 career starts, limits the Twins' to five hits in Oakland's 7-0 victory at Metropolitan Stadium.

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1970 On the day he is presented with his Cy Young Award, Mets' fireballer Tom Seaver whiffs 19 batters, tying the major league mark set last season by Cardinals' southpaw Steve Carlton. Tom Terrific's dominant performance includes striking out the last ten Padres he faces, establishing a new major league record in the team's 2-1 win at Shea Stadium.

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1973 Designated hitter Ron Lolich, Mickey's cousin, hits the third of his four career home runs, a two-out walk-off grand slam, giving the Indians an 8-7 comeback victory. Boston had scored three runs in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 deadlock.
1976 Taking two days to accomplish the feat, Tim Foli becomes the first Expo to hit for the cycle when he homers in the eighth inning of a suspended game. Before the umps halted the Wrigley Field contest yesterday because of darkness, the Montreal shortstop had stroked a single, double, and triple in the club's eventual 12-6 victory over Chicago, in that order, for a rare 'natural cycle.'

1988 Two weeks into the season, the World Champion Twins deal their reliable right fielder Tom Brunansky to the Cardinals for second baseman Tommy Herr. Minnesota had hoped their newly acquired switch-hitting infielder would be an ideal No. 2 hitter in front of Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek, but the 32 year-old will hit .263, playing in only 86 games due to injuries.

 

1991 During the first night game in the new ballpark, Frank Thomas hits the first White Sox home run in Comiskey Park, contributing to Chicago's 8-7 victory over Baltimore. In the south-side stadium debut three days ago, Jack McDowell surrendered the park's first homer to Cecil Fielder in a 16-0 rout of the home team by Detroit.

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1993 Mariner right-hander Chris Bosio walks the first two batters he faces in the Kingdome but is perfect the rest of the way, throwing the second no-hitter in franchise history when he beats Red Sox, 7-0. The 30-year-old Seattle's no-no is kept intact by several outstanding plays from his infielders, including shortstop Omar Vizquel's barehanded play on a chopper hit by Ernest Riles for the game's final out.

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1996 The Mariners surpass the 1984 White Sox record for home runs hit by a team in April with their 39th round-tripper when Alex Diaz takes Paul Quantrill deep in the team's 11-7 loss at the Kingdome. Seattle will extend the major league mark to 44 homers by month's end.
1996 Although he participates in 4 of the 5 of the team's double plays, Shawon Dunston commits four errors in San Francisco's 11-8 loss to the Astros at 3Com Park. The 33-year-old shortstop's miscues, including an errant throw, is the most by a Giants' fielder since Bob Brenly's infamous game at the hot corner in 1986.
2000 After being hit by a pitch thrown by White Sox starter Jim Parque, Dean Palmer charges the mound, beginning a series of brawls that continue to erupt during the beanball-filled game at Comiskey Park. When the dust settles in Chicago's 14-6 victory over the Tigers, Frank Robinson, baseball's new disciplinary czar, suspends 16 individuals for a total of 82 games, fining 24 different players, coaches, and managers for their roles in the brawl.
2000 Homers by Mark McGwire and Fernando Tatis help establish a National League record for the most team home runs in April when the Cardinals go yard 42 times. Braves hit 41 home runs April '98
2000 Angels Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon, and Troy Glaus all go deep in the fourth inning against Devil Rays' hurler Dwight Gooden, and then they again all homer off Roberto Hernandez in the ninth. It is the first time in major league history that the same three players homered in the same inning twice in a game.
2001 A new number, 455, will be added with 3, 5, 14, 18, 19, 21, and 42 on the second deck in right field. The three-digit number will join the other previously Indian retired numbers to honor the fans for setting a sellout streak record, which lasted for 455 games over five years at Jacobs Field.
2006 Bill Hall, Damian Miller, Brady Clark, J.J. Hardy, and Prince Fielder all go deep in the bottom of the fourth frame at Miller Park, making the Brewers the fifth team to hit five home runs in one inning. Milwaukee joins the 1966 Twins, 1939 Yankees, 1949 Phillies, and the 1961 Giants to establish the major league mark.
2007 The Red Sox become the fifth big-league team to hit four consecutive homers in an inning when Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek go deep with two outs in the third inning at Fenway off Yankee starter Chase Wright. J.D. Drew was also part of the quartet of the 2006 Dodgers, who were the fourth major league team to connect for four straight round-trippers in one frame.

 

2008 In a scheduling oddity, both New York big-league teams play in Chicago, with the Mets playing the Cubs in a matinee and the Yankees taking on the White Sox in an evening tilt. This unusual occurrence marks the first time in 11+ years that two teams from one city have played as visitors in the same town on the same date, a quirk necessitated due to the Pope's appearance at Yankee Stadium two days ago.
2008 Striking out Nationals second baseman Felipe Lopez on his signature split-finger fastball, John Smoltz becomes the 16th pitcher in big league history to achieve 3,000 career strikeouts. In the 6-0 Braves loss to Washington at Turner Field, the Atlanta ace fans ten batters for the 45th time in his 20-year career.

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2010 At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Yankees turn their first triple play in 42 years when Alex Rodriguez steps on third to start a 5-4-3 around-the-horn play that results in three outs in the 4-2 loss to the A's. The team's last triple killing occurred in June of 1968, on a 1-5-3 ground ball hit by Minnesota's John Roseboro, a play started by pitcher Dooley Womack, continued by third baseman Bobby Cox, and finished by Mickey Mantle, who was playing first base.
2010 The Brewers, with a 20-0 rout at PNC Park, hand the Pirates their most-lopsided loss in the 124-year history of the franchise. The victory completes a three-game sweep of the Bucs in which the Brew Crew outscored their opponents, 36-1.
2014 Albert Pujols blasts his 500th career homer, after hitting his 499th, both off right-hander Taylor Jordan, to become the 26th and third-youngest major leaguer, trailing only Alex Rodriguez and Jimmie Foxx, to reach the milestone. The LA slugger’s offensive outburst, which drives five runs, contributes to the Angels’ 7-2 victory over Washington at Nationals Park.

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2018 Brandon Belt works the most extended at-bat in major league history when he sees 21 first-inning pitches from LA’s Jaime Barria in the Giants’ 4-2 victory at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The San Francisco first baseman’s 12 minute and 45-second plate appearance, in which he fouls off 16 balls - including 10 in a row - surpasses the 1998 duel between Indians right-hander Bartolo Colon and Astro infielder Ricky Gutierrez by one pitch.

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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On April 22 in Baseball History...

• • 1876 - In the first National League game ever played, Joe Borden of Boston beat the hometown Philadelphia 5-4.
  • 1898 - Ted Breitenstein of the Cincinnati Reds and James Hughes of Baltimore each pitched no-hit ball games. Breitenstein no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0 and Hughes no-hit the Boston Braves 8-0.
  • 1906 - A new rule puts the umpire in sole charge of all game balls. The home team manager previously had some say as to when a new ball was introduced.
  • 1914 - At age 19, Babe Ruth's first professional game (as a pitcher) is a six hit 6-0 win for Baltimore (International League) over Buffalo. The second batter he faces is Joe McCarthy, the manager he will play for 17 years later with New York. At the plate, Ruth has two hits.
  • 1915 - Pinstripes first appeared on the Yankees uniforms.
  • 1955 - The Athletics won their major league debut in Kansas City with a 6-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers before a standing-room crowd of 32,147 � the largest paid crowd for any event in Kansas City.
  • 1957 - John Kennedy becomes the first black to play for the Philadelphia Phillies, making them the last N.L. team to integrate. Kennedy pinch runs for Solly Hemus in the 5-1 loss to Brooklyn. He will play only briefly in five games and goes hitless.
  • 1959 - The Chicago White Sox scored 11 runs with only one hit in the seventh inning of a 20-6 rout of the Kansas City A's. Johnny Callison had the hit � a single. In the inning, Chicago was the recipients of 10 walks � five with the bases loaded � three Kansas City errors and one hit batsman.
  • 1962 - The Pirates win their tenth straight game, matching the major league record to start a season, while the Mets tie a N.L. record by opening 0-9.
  • 1966 - The Braves won their first game in Atlanta by beating the New York Mets 8-4.
  • 1970 - Tom Seaver strikes out 19 Padres, including the last ten in succession, in winning 2-1 for the Mets. To date, only Steve Carlton has struck out this many in a game in the twentieth century. No one had ever struck out ten in a row.
  • 1981 - Dodgers rookie Fernando Valenzuela tosses his third shutout in four starts, strikes out 11, and drives in the game's only run with a single in a 1-0 win over Houston.
  • 1982 - After opening the season with 13 straight wins, the Braves finally lose 2-1 to the Reds.
  • 1991 - Frank Thomas is the first White Sox player to homer at the new Comiskey Park. Chicago is an 8-7 winner over Baltimore.
  • 1993 - Chris Bosio, a $16 million free agent acquisition of the Mariners, pays immediate dividends with a no-hitter against Boston. Bosio fans four and walks two in his 97-pitch gem.
  • 1996 - John Franco becomes the first lefthander to reach the 300-save plateau with a scoreless ninth inning in a 3-2 Mets win over the Expos at foggy Shea Stadium.
  • 1997 - After months of on-again, off-again negotiations, the Yankees and Padres agree on a trade for the rights to Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu. The Padres had worked out a deal in January for Irabu through his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, but Irabu refused to report to the Padres and insisted he would only play for the Yankees. Finally, with minor leaguers Ruben Rivera and Rafael Medina plus $3 million heading to San Diego, Irabu gets his wish.

Baseball Birthdays on April 22..

• • 1865 - Stellberger, Bill
  • 1874 - Figgemeier, Frank
  • 1881 - Ball, Neal
  • 1883 - Vandagrift, Carl
  • 1884 - Schwartz, Bill
  • 1887 - Burk, Sandy
  • 1891 - Orr, Billy
  • 1892 - Eunick, Fred
  • 1894 - Pitler, Jake
  • 1895 - Smith, Bob
  • 1898 - Long, Tom
  • 1900 - Florence, Paul
  • 1901 - Mahady, Jim
  • 1901 - Douthit, Taylor
  • 1902 - Benge, Ray
  • 1907 - Lanning, Tom
  • 1908 - Kowalik, Fabian
  • 1910 - Riggs, Lew
  • 1911 - Daniel, Jake
  • 1912 - Center, Pete
  • 1918 - Vernon, Mickey
  • 1933 - Schmidt, Bob
  • 1938 - Orsino, John
  • 1941 - Jones, Steve
  • 1954 - O'Brien, Dan
  • 1954 - Paschall, Bill
  • 1955 - Clyde, David
  • 1956 - Haas, Moose
  • 1957 - Schmidt, Dave
  • 1958 - Wever, Stefan
  • 1959 - Francona, Terry
  • 1961 - Key, Jimmy
  • 1964 - Savage, Jack
  • 1966 - Morandini, Mickey
  • 1968 - Bell, Mike
  • 1969 - Williams, George
  • 1980 - Hernandez, Carlos

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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