BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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. Hitting .335 this season, Oliver will capture the National League batting crown, compiling a .315 batting average during his two seasons north of the border.

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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 his genuine pleasure for the recognition of his achievements during his seven years with the team. Yanks also rtire Elston Howard's 32

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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, 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, MLB.com, the Major League Baseball website, has more than 10 million hits, setting a new record. The previous mark, set last season on the final day of online voting for All-Star Game starters, attracted 3.6 million visitors 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 in their new home, Great American Ball Park. 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.

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

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2007 In the MLB's inaugural Civil Rights Game, the Cardinals beat the Indians at AutoZone Park in Memphis, 5-1. The preseason exhibition, becoming a regular season game in 2009, is designed to celebrate and honor baseball's historical role in the nation's civil rights movement.

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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.

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.

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 using MLB's expanded replay system for the first time. 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 in 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 LA's first three contests when he compiled ten hits in his first 14 at-bats of the season.

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Willie Mays signs autographs before the last New York Giants game at the old Polo Grounds! (1957)
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George Brett
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April 1 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1915 Jeff Heath outfielder MLB All Star 1941, 43, 45;Browns, Indians),

(1939-2020) Phil Niekro Hall of Fame pitcher no-hitter 1973; 5 x MLB All Star; 5 x Gold Glove; Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves)


1944 Rusty Staub utility (6 x MLB All Star; Houston Colt .45s / Astros; Montreal Expos; NY Mets; Detroit Tigers) and broadcaster (Mets games 1986-95)


1948 Willie Montañez first baseman MLB All Star 1977; Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves)


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This Day in Baseball History
April 1st​

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, who is 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.

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.

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

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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.

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, including the Cardinals, Giants, and Phillies.

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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 to sell the club 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.

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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, winning 15 games for the team despite missing the season's first two months.

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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, 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.

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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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2001 In the first major league game ever played in Puerto Rico, the Blue Jays defeat the Rangers, 8-1, in the major league season opener. In his debut with Texas, $252 million shortstop Alex Rodriguez collects the season's first hit and first run, but he makes a throwing error on his first chance in the field.

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2002 Cinci Freedom, who evaded capture for ten days after jumping a six-foot fence to avoid slaughter, is excused from her scheduled appearance in the Reds' traditional Opening Day parade. Before the Reds' 5-4 walk-off victory over the Cubs at Cinergy Field, the Charolais cow is deemed too jumpy to participate in the Findlay Market activities after receiving a key to the city.

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2002 With a 6-2 victory over the Bucs at Shea Stadium, the Mets improve their mark for Opening Day victories to 26-15 (.634), a major league record. The New York expansion team didn't win on Opening Day until the ninth year of the franchise's existence.

2005 Appearing in the 21 games, Cardinal slugger Albert Pujols does not strike out during spring training. In his 68 plate appearances, the St. Louis first baseman finishes the exhibition season with a .458 batting average, six homers, and 20 RBI.


2006 A day before the start of the season, the White Sox ink Jose Contreras (15-7, 3.61) to a $29 million, three-year contract extension. The 34-year-old Cuban native was the World Champs' most effective pitcher during the team's stretch run to the AL pennant, posting an 11-2 mark following the All-Star Game.

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2008 Robert Andino's first career round-tripper is memorable as his two-out, tenth-inning walk-off homer to deep left off Matt Wise gives the Marlins a 5-4 victory over the Mets at Dolphin Stadium. The post-game celebration is short-lived when the Miami native takes off for home to meet the police after getting a text message from his wife informing him their house may have an intruder.

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2008 On Opening Day in Los Angeles, Juan Pierre's 434 consecutive game streak, the longest current in the major leagues, ends when the Dodger outfielder does not play in the 3-2 victory over the Giants. New skipper Joe Torre plays Andre Ethier in left field instead of the highly paid but light-hitting fly chaser.

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2009 After tallying a run in the top of the first, Kentucky State finds itself on the short end of a 22-1 score. The Eastern Kentucky University Colonels score 27 more times in the next three frames, prompting the decision to halt the contest in the middle of the fifth, giving EKU a 49-1 triumph over the Thorobreds.

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2011 Doug Glanville becomes a baseball color analyst for the ESPN network, where he contributed to the Baseball Tonight show, ESPN.com, and ESPN - The Magazine. The former major league outfielder, best known for playing with the Phillies, is also a guest columnist for the New York Times, where he writes about sports culture.

2013 On Opening Day, Jackie Bradley Jr. makes a memorable major league debut, walking three times, scoring twice, and robbing Robinson Cano of an extra-base hit with an outstanding defensive play in the Red Sox' 8-2 victory over New York at Yankee Stadium. The 22-year-old Boston rookie outfielder, called JBJ by his teammates, also makes uniform history, becoming the first major leaguer to wear "Jr." on the back of his jersey.

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2013 Bryce Harper, providing all of the offense the Nationals will need, becomes the youngest player to homer twice on Opening Day. The 20-year-old outfielder, playing in his first Opening Day as a major leaguer, hits solo shots in the first and fourth frames in Washington's 2-0 victory over Miami.

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2013 Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino, who will end the day with an 0-1 record when he gives up a walk-off sac fly in an Opening Day loss to Milwaukee, becomes the first big league pitcher to wear the number 0, joining position players Oddibe McDowell (1985-88), Junior Ortiz (1989-2004), and Al Oliver (1978-85). Several players, including hurlers, including Bobo Newsome (1943), Curtis Leskanic (2000-01), Rick White (2005-06), and Brian Wilson (2003-14), have donned a double-zero.

2013 Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers' Opening Day pitcher, hits a leadoff home run off San Francisco's George Kontos in the bottom of the eighth inning to break up a scoreless tie in the team's eventual 4-0 victory. LA's 25-year-old southpaw retires the side in the next frame, completing a 4-0 complete-game shutout against the Giants at Chavez Ravine.

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2015 Auction items featured in Sotheby's "New York Sale" include the 1967 Mets' bullpen cart shaped like a baseball wearing a cap. The electric-powered vehicle, valued between $20,000 and $30,000, fetches a surprisingly high bid of $125,000.

2018 In his much-anticipated pitching debut, Shohei Ohtani, striking out six batters in six innings while allowing three runs, picks up his first big league win when the Angels beat the A's at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 7-4. The 23-year-old Japanese sensation, also touted for his prowess as a hitter, does not have a plate appearance in the American League contest.

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2021 In the longest nine-inning game in franchise history, the Royals set a club record for runs scored on Opening Day, beating the Rangers at Kauffman Stadium, 14-10. The number of Kansas City players crossing the plate in the four-hour and 26-minute contest surpasses the team's 11 tallies against Toronto in 1979.

2021 Nationalpastime.com celebrates the 25th Anniversary of its debut on the internet. The popular almanac-styled baseball history website, the first to display facts for every day of the year, features 12,000 easily-searchable entries, many enhanced with videos, photos, text, and quotations.

2021 The Diamondbacks score six times in the fifth inning when Ketel Marte, Asdrúbal Cabrera, Tim Locastro, and Stephen Vogt all go deep, marking the first time a team hits four home runs in one inning on Opening Day. Arizona's historic offensive output falls short when the team drops an 8-7 decision to the Padres at Petco Park.
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