BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

April 7 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1873 John McGraw Hall of Fame infielder/manager (manager NY Giants World Series champions 1905, 21-22)


1886 Ed Lafitte pitcher (no-hitter 1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops)


1918 Bobby Doerr Hall of Fame second baseman (9 x MLB All Star; Boston Red Sox)


1944 Bill Stoneman pitcher, 1967-74, All-Star (Montreal Expos and 2 other teams), and team executive (Expos, California Angels)


1969 Ricky Bones, pitcher (Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, NY Yanks)


1972 Joanne Brown softball catcher/1st baseman (Olym-bronze-96)


1973 Brett Tomko


1975 Ronnie Belliard

1979 Adrián Beltré


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This Day in Baseball History
April 7th​

1873 Future Hall of Famer John McGraw, an excellent player best known for managing the Giants for 31 seasons, is born in Truxton (NY), a town named after one of America's first Navy commanding officers. The 5-feet-7 inch fiery 'Little Napoleon' played a vital role as an infielder on the pennant-winning 1890s NL's Baltimore Orioles before winning ten pennants, three World Series championships, with 11 second-place finishes while posting only two losing seasons during his three decades as New York's skipper.

McGraw and "Uncle Robbie"

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1925 During spring training play, Joe Hauser shatters his kneecap, an injury that causes the A's left-handed-hitting first baseman to miss the entire season, effectively derailing his promising career. After batting .323 and blasting 27 homers, second only to Babe Ruth's total last season, he eventually returns to the minor leagues following a three-year comeback, becoming a prodigious home run hitter before a batted ball breaks a kneecap again in 1934.

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1948 The Phillies trade infielder Ralph LaPointe and give the Cardinals $30,000 to obtain first baseman Dick Sisler. The son of Hall of Famer George Sisler will hit .287 during his four-year tenure in Philadelphia, playing a pivotal role in the team's 1950 National League championship.

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1969 Bill Singer becomes the first major league reliever to officially record for a save, a new stat that will be kept starting this season, in the Dodgers' 3-2 win over Cincinnati in the season-opener at Crosley Field. The 'Singer Throwing Machine' does not allow a hit, hurling three scoreless innings en route to saving Don Drysdale's victory

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1969 After throwing just two pitches to start the season, Don Drysdale finds himself and his team trailing by two runs when Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan hit back-to-back homers. The 32-year-old right-hander settles down, and the Dodgers come back to win the Crosley Field contest, 3-2.

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1969 At Washington's RFK Stadium, Ted Williams makes his managerial debut in front of President Nixon and a crowd of 45,113, a franchise attendance record for Opening Day. The Commander-in-Chief throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Yankees' 8-4 defeat of the 'Splendid Splinter's' Senators.

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1970 The team formerly known as the Seattle Pilots plays their first home game in Milwaukee as the Brewers in front of 36,107 enthusiastic fans at County Stadium. Behind Andy Messersmith's four-hit complete game, the Angels rout the transplanted Brew Crew, 12-0

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1970 After eight consecutive Opening Day defeats, the Mets finally win the first game of the season by beating the Pirates at Forbes Field in 11 innings, 5-3. New York becomes the first team to have won a World Series (1969) before prevailing in a season debut.

1973 The Indians break their Opening Day American League attendance record when a crowd of 74,420 watches Gaylord Perry go the distance in the team’s 2-1 victory over the Tigers at Cleveland Stadium. The Tribe had set the previous mark in the 1948 season opener against the Browns.

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1976 The Reds trade utility player Terry Crowley to the Braves in exchange for Mike Thompson, who will never throw another pitch in the major leagues. After appearing in just seven games, Crowley, who Atlanta will release, returns to the Orioles, the team that drafted him, playing seven more seasons in Baltimore as a DH/1B, before finishing his career with Montreal.

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1977 Frank Sinatra keeps his promise to Tommy Lasorda by singing the Star-Spangled Banner on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium. 'Old Blue Eyes' had told the team's new skipper he would perform the National Anthem if his friend ever became the L.A. manager.

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1977 Gary Thomasson starts the game by blasting the first pitch in the Dodgers' opener for a home run off Don Sutton, who had deliberately thrown a gopher ball. Unbeknownst to the Giants' leadoff hitter, the ball, scheduled to be sent to Cooperstown, was to be taken for a pitch and then handed to the home plate umpire to take it out of play.

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1977 In his first major league at-bat, Al Wood becomes the first player to pinch-hit a home run on Opening Day. The round-tripper contributes to the Blue Jays' 9-5 win over the White Sox, giving the team its first victory in franchise history.

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1977 After a lengthy snow delay on Opening Day at Exhibition Stadium, Doug Ault, acquired in the expansion draft, hits two home runs in his first two at-bats in a Blue Jay uniform. The rookie first baseman's pair of round-trippers, the first two of only the 17 he will hit during his four-year big league career, helps Toronto beat Chicago, 9-5, giving the franchise a victory in the first game it plays in its history.

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1979 Ken Forsch, who almost didn't make the start due to swelling in his right arm caused by an insect bite, holds the Braves hitless, throwing the earliest no-hitter in baseball history. The Astros hurler's no-no makes the Forsch brothers the first siblings to accomplish the feat, with Bob, as a member of the Cardinals, throwing a no-hitter against the Phillies last season.

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1984 On NBC's nationally televised Game of the Week, Detroit right-hander Jack Morris throws a no-hitter, blanking the White Sox at Comiskey Park, 4-0. The 29 -year-old becomes the first Tiger hurler to accomplish the feat since Jim Bunning held Boston hitless at Fenway Park in 1958.

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1984 Dwight Gooden gives up three hits and one run in five innings in his major league debut, earning the victory when the Mets beat Houston, 5-3. The 19-year-old rookie right-hander, anxious to get to the Astrodome before his start, arrives so early that he had to jump a fence to gain entry into the closed ballpark.

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1986 Boston outfielder Dwight Evans becomes the first player to hit the first pitch of the season for a home run when he goes deep on Opening Day. Jack Morris throws the gopher ball but gets the win when Detroit edges the Red Sox at Tiger Stadium, 6-5.

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1986 Tom Seaver, extending his major league record, makes his 16th Opening Day start when he gets the honor for the second time with the White Sox. The 41-year-old future Hall of Fame right-hander has also pitched the first game of the season for the Mets (11) and Reds (3).

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1987 Rick Mahler blanks the Phillies, 6-0, for his third Opening Day shutout. The Braves' right-hander ties a National League record with his trio of whitewashes, shared by Rip Sewell (Pirates, 1943, 1947, 1949) and Chris Short (Phillies - 1965, 1968, 1970).

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1988 Chris Sabo ties a major league record in his second big-league game, handling eleven assists at third base in the Reds' 8-1 victory over the Cardinals at Riverfront Stadium. The Cincinnati freshman infielder will beat out Chicago's Mark Grace for Rookie of the Year this season.

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1993 The Phillies sweep the season's opening series against Houston with a ten-inning 6-3 victory at the Astrodome. The comeback victory, which will become a trademark of the eventual National League champs, marks the first time the franchise had won its first three away games since 1915, when Pat Moran's men won their first six games on the road, playing in Boston and New York.

1997 The Brewers' home opener has two lengthy delays as the ground crew needs to clear baseballs thrown by fans from the playing field. The promotion marks the last time the team will give away souvenir baseballs.

 

1999 Bob Cranmer, chairman of the Allegheny County Commissioners, announces the Sixth Street Bridge, which joins downtown Pittsburgh to the North Side at Federal Street by crossing the Allegheny River, will now be known as the Roberto Clemente Bridge. During home games at PNC Park, the 995-foot suspension bridge, constructed in
1928, will serve as a pedestrian walkway, allowing Pirates fans to enter the new ballpark directly from the span.

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2000 In 15 games, a record total of 57 home runs is hit in the major leagues - two more than the August 13th, 1999 mark established in 17 games. The 36 American League homers set the one-day record, surpassing the previous mark by six.

2000 Houston hosts a regular-season game outdoors at home for the first time since 1964 when the team played in Colt Stadium as the .45s, losing the Enron Field debut to the Phillies, 4-1. The 19th-century replica locomotive atop the left-field wall makes its maiden voyage when Richard Hidalgo hits the Astros' first home run in their new ballpark.

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2000 Berley W. Visgar is sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $1,000 by Circuit Judge Michael Brennan for jumping onto the back of Astros' outfielder Bill Spiers last season after going onto the field at County Stadium. Although the 23-year-old has no prior criminal record, the judge believes the harsh sentence will discourage other fans from similar actions in the future.

2000 In a ceremony before the team's home opener, the Devil Rays retire Wade Boggs' uniform number 12. Although the former Red Sox and Yankees infielder spent only two years with Tampa Bay, he hit the first home run in franchise history and collected his 3000th hit with the team.

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2002 ESPN becomes the first network to ask players, coaches, and umpires to wear a microphone during a game. During the nationally televised Sunday night contest, the innovative concept starts with micing A's catcher Ramon Hernandez during a 6-5 Oakland victory over Seattle at Safeco Field.

2003 With the team exercising Pedro Martinez's option for the 2004 season seven months before a November deadline, the Red Sox make the Dominican hurler the highest-paid pitcher for a season in major league history. The 31-year-old three-time Cy Young winner will earn $17.5 million playing for Boston next year.

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2004 At the main entrance of their fields in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, the Soo Minor Baseball Association unveils the world's largest baseball. The 8,620-pound ( 3,910 kg) double-walled steel sphere with a diameter of ten feet ( 3.0 m) is proportional to the bat at the Louisville Bat Company in Kentucky, being almost 2000 times larger than a real baseball.

2004 Adam LaRoche collects the first two hits of his career in one inning. En route to an 18-10 win over the Mets, the rookie first baseman singles and doubles during the Braves' thirty-three minute, 11-run fourth inning.


2006 The Mets beat Washington at Shea Stadium, 10-5, in the 7,000th game in franchise history. The Amazins' have compiled a 3,314-3,678 record (.474) and eight ties during their 42 years of existence.

2009 Ninety-seven years after his grandfather, Boston mayor 'Honey Fitz' Fitzgerald, threw the first pitch at the first major league game played at Fenway Park, Ted Kennedy tosses the ceremonial first pitch for the Red Sox at a season opener. The sellout crowd enthusiastically cheers the 77-year-old long-time U.S. Senator, diagnosed last spring with a malignant brain tumor, when he tosses the ball from in front of the mound to a nearby Jim Rice, a newly elected member of the Hall of Fame.

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2010 According to its annual report, Forbes Magazine estimates the Yankees' value to be worth approximately $1.6 billion, nearly twice as much as any other major league franchise. The World Champs, who moved into a new ballpark last season, made $441 million in net revenue after adjustments for its payment to baseball's revenue-sharing program and the costs of financing its new stadium.

2012 In his 1,000th major league game, Prince Fielder, with his two homers off Josh Beckett in the Tigers' 10-0 rout of Boston at Comerica Park, ends the day with 232 career round-trippers. The Detroit first baseman's dad, Cecil, also had the exact total of big-league home runs after playing in the same number of games.

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2012 Octavio Dotel, playing for his 13th team, breaks a major league record he previously shared with Mike Morgan, Matt Stairs, and Ron Villone. The 39-year-old Tiger reliever, who throws 1⅓ scoreless innings against Boston, has also appeared with the Mets, Astros, A's, Yankees, Royals, Braves, White Sox, Pirates, Dodgers, Rockies, Blue Jays, and Cardinals.

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2015 Tyler Olson's first big league outing takes only five seconds when he throws just one pitch, inducing Erick Aybar to ground into a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play in the top of the ninth in the Mariners' 2-0 loss to the Angels at Safeco Field. The 25-year-old rookie southpaw is most likely the first hurler in history to retire two hitters throwing only one pitch in his major league debut.

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Babe Ruth hitting a HR during a Boston #Braves vs. Newark Bears exhibition game in New Jersey!

 

Today In 1970: The Milwaukee #Brewers play their first official game at County Stadium

 

Today In 1977: View of the first Toronto #BlueJays game at snowy Exhibition Stadium!

 

April 8 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1946 Jim "Catfish" Hunter Hall of Fame pitcher (MLB All-Star 1966, 67, 70, 72–1976; World Series 1972–74, 77, 78; AL Cy Young Award 1974; Oakland A's, NY Yankees)


1949 Jim Lampley broadcaster (Monday Night Baseball)

(1954-2012) Gary Carter Hall of Fame catcher (11 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1986; Gold Glove Award 1980–82; Montreal Expos, NY Mets)


1973 Alex Gonzalez infielder (Toronto Blue Jays)


1979 Jeremy Guthrie pitcher, 2004-17 (Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and 3 other teams)


1981 Brian Burres Pitcher Orioles


1986 Félix Hernández (Seattle Mariners)


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This Day in Baseball History​

April 8th​

1934 At Shibe Park, 15,000 fans witness the first legal baseball game between major league teams played on a Sunday in the city of Philadelphia. The Phillies beat the A's in a hometown exhibition game, 8-1.

1947 In an exhibition game against the Indians in Sheffield (AL), second-year player Whitey Lockman breaks his leg while sliding into the second base attempting to break up a double play. Except for two September appearances as a pinch-hitter, including getting a hit in his first at-bat, the Giants' sophomore outfielder misses the rest of the season.

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1953 Bernice Lombardi finds her husband Ernie lying on the bed after the former major league catcher slits his throat with a razor he found in a relative's bathroom. The former Reds' backstop, battling a similar bout of depression that caused his teammate Willard Hershberger to commit suicide in 1940, is given little hope to live but manages to survive his horrific self-inflicted wound.

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