BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

This Day in Baseball History
April 9th​

1912 In the first game ever played at Fenway Park, the Red Sox beat Harvard, 2-0, in an abbreviated exhibition contest played on a cold and snowy afternoon in front of 3,000 hardy fans. Crimson third baseman and captain Dana Wingate, a sophomore from Winchester, Massachusetts, becomes the first batter in the Boston ballpark, taking the first pitch for ball one before being struck out on a fastball thrown by Casey Hageman.

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1913 In front of approximately 10,000 fans, who brave the frigid weather to witness the pitching duel, the Phillies beat the Dodgers, 1-0, spoiling the debut of Ebbets Field. Given special permission, Brooklyn opens the season a day early to properly inaugurate its new $75,000 Brooklyn ballpark, which took a year to build.

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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 $55,000, the most ever paid for a ball player. 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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1947 Dodger skipper Leo Durocher, feuding with the Yankees, is suspended for one year by Happy Chandler for an assortment of actions deemed detrimental to baseball, including association with known gamblers. The commissioner fines Brooklyn and New York clubs $2,000 and orders the teams not to discuss the matter.


1953 For the first time since 1901, big leaguers play baseball in Milwaukee. In the first game ever at County Stadium, the newly-arrived Braves take on their former crosstown rivals, the Boston Red Sox, in a preseason exhibition game, a contest washed out after two innings due to rain with the hometown team trailing, 3-0.


1959 Dr. Creighton Hale recommends Little League pitching mounds be moved back from home plate by 24 inches. The organization's vice president believes a ball thrown by a youngster at 70 mph from 46 feet would give the batter about the same amount of time to swing at a pitch, proportionately, as the major leaguers have.

1959 At Griffith Stadium, the Orioles become the first major league team to turn a triple play on Opening Day when Senators’ catcher Ed FitzGerald lines a Hoyt Wilhelm pitch into a 3-6-3 triple killing. Vice-President Richard Nixon, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch substituting for President Eisenhower, sees the hometown Senators post a 9-2 victory over Baltimore, behind a solid seven-hit, complete-game performance by Pedro Ramos.

 

1962 Keeping a Laotian prince waiting in the White House, President Kennedy opens up Washington's new $23-million D.C. Stadium by tossing the ceremonial first pitch. JFK stays for the entire game despite a rain delay and enjoys seeing Mickey Vernon's Senators beat the Tigers, 4-1.

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1963 As a favor to former Indians infielder Johnny Berardino, now known as John Beradino, who plays Dr. Steve Hardy on General Hospital, Yogi Berra makes a cameo appearance on the popular ABC soap opera. The Yankee legend, known for his paradoxical contradictions, plays the role of Dr. Lawrence Berra, a brain surgeon.

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1964 Much to the chagrin of team executive Branch Rickey, the Cardinals trade Jimmie Coker and Gary Kolb to the Braves for catcher Bob Uecker. After introducing himself, the Redbirds' new backstop is quickly informed by Rickey, "I didn't want you. I wouldn't trade one Gary Kolb for a hundred Bob Ueckers."

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1965 Houston begins playing in the 'Eighth Wonder of the World' when they host an exhibition game against the Yankees at the Astrodome, the first domed sports stadium. Twenty-four astronauts throw 24 ceremonial first pitches during the opening ceremonies as the Colt .45s become the Astros.

NASA Astronaut Anne McClain throws the first pitch​

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1966 After playing at Wrigley Field in 1961 and sharing Dodger Stadium from 1962-65 during their first five seasons in Los Angeles, the Angels move to nearby Anaheim into their own stadium. The team, now known as the California Angels, host the San Francisco Giants in a preseason exhibition game in the first contest ever played at Anaheim Stadium, a 9-3 loss before 40,735 fans.

1968 In Atlanta, Georgia, Bill Veeck, the former owner of the Browns, Indians, and White Sox, is among the crowd of marchers taking part in the funeral procession for civil rights leader Martin Luther King, slain five days ago in Memphis (TN). The WW II veteran, who spent 15 hours standing in line to pay his respect to JFK at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in 1963, walks the entire three-and-a-half-mile route from Ebenezer Baptist Church to Morehouse College on his wooden leg without the aid of crutches.

1969 Billy Williams hits four consecutive doubles, helping the Cubs beat Philadelphia at Wrigley Field, 11-3. The Chicago outfielder's quartet of two-baggers ties the major-league record for doubles, shared by 29 players, and last accomplished in 1963 by Detroit center fielder Billy Bruton.

 

1970 "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo), What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson Joltin' Joe has left and gone away, (Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)." - PAUL SIMON, songwriter.
On the Dick Cavett Show, Paul Simon tells Mickey Mantle the lyrics to Mrs. Robinson would have been 'Where have you gone, Mickey Mantle' but explains to his favorite player, "It's about syllables, Mick. It's about how many beats there are." The songwriter's well-known lyrics become, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

1976 Orioles' right-hander Jim Palmer and Boston's Ferguson Jenkins, both future members of the Hall of Fame, stage a classic pitching duel at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium on Opening Day. The Birds, behind the eight-inning, six-hit effort by 'Cakes,' beat the Red Sox and Fergie, who goes the distance, 1-0, thanks to an unearned run scored in the fourth inning.


1976 The White Sox's owner Bill Veeck, known for his promotional genius, surprises the Comiskey Park crowd on Opening Day when he, Rudie Schaffer, and Paul Richards celebrate the nation's bicentennial wearing battered Continental Army uniforms. The trio, carrying a fife, drum, and flag, strike a pose in their tattered garb, reminiscent of Archibald MacNeal Willard's painting The Spirit of '76, a famous piece of art depicting Revolutionary War veterans displayed at Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition 100 years earlier.

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1977 After being informed that teammate Claudel Washington wears his uniform No. 15 number, the A's new slugger Dick Allen asks to wear #60, adding an unusual request. Above the digits, the word Wampum replaces the surname of the 1960 graduate of Wampum High School.

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1977 "I have never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life." - RAY KROC, the Padres owner, addressing the fans on the PA system during the home opener at San Diego Stadium.
During the home opener against Houston at San Diego Stadium, Ray Kroc, the Padres' new owner, uses the ballpark's public address system to thank the fans and criticize the players for their poor play. At the start of the fast-food tycoon's eighth-inning tirade, a streaker jumps over the railing of the stands in left field and runs haphazardly across the outfield.

1980 In the first minor league game played in Durham (NC) since 1972, the Bulls, a name last used in 1967, need to play the home opener wearing their powder blue road uniforms because their home jerseys go missing two days before the start of the season. Atlanta's minor league director, Hank Aaron, sends a set of used Braves uniforms to wear for away contests after the club decides to continue to wear the road uniforms for the Durham Athletic Park contests.

 

1980 Opening Day starter Mike Parrott becomes the winning pitcher when the Mariners beat the Blue Jays at the Kingdome, 8-6. The 25-year-old Californian will not enjoy another victory for the rest of the season, finishing with a 1-16 record.

1981 On Opening Day, Fernando Valenzuela, making his first major league start in place of scheduled starter Jerry Reuss, blanks Houston on five hits at Dodger Stadium, 2-0. During the strike-shortened season, the 20-year-old rookie from Mexico will lead the league in game starts (25), complete games (11), and shutouts (8).

1985 The Mets' offseason acquisition of Gary Carter pays immediate dividends when he connects for a walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning, giving his new team a 6-5 victory over St. Louis on Opening Day at Shea Stadium. The 31-year-old All-Star catcher is the first player to end his first contest with a New York team with a round-tripper.

1985 Tom Seaver establishes a big-league record with his 15th Opening Day assignment, getting the win when the White Sox beat the Brewers at County Stadium, 4-2. The right-hander, who also got the first-day nods from the Mets (1968-77, 1983) and Reds (1978-79, 1981), will extend the mark previously held by Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators to 16 next season.

1986 Inspired by the NFL's Champion Chicago Bears Super Bowl Shuffle, nine Mets players record Get Metsmerized, a rap boasting a title after the team plays just one regular season game. The album, not promoted by the organization, is widely panned by critics, selling only a few thousand copies when released in August.


1987 Phil Niekro records his 312th victory, with Steve Carlton's help, who pitches four shutout innings in relief in the Indians' 14-3 win over the Blue Jays at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. The appearance of the two veteran hurlers marks the first time in modern MLB history two 300-game winners pitched for the same team in the same game.


1989 On a frigid Sunday afternoon, Rick Sutcliffe adds to the wind chill, striking out 11 batters in the Cubs' 8-3 win over Pittsburgh. Despite a temperature of 33 degrees and a stiff breeze making it feel like eight above, 11,387 fans brave the elements to watch the right-hander's complete-game effort at Wrigley Field.

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1990 Keeping with the team's tradition of having a rookie select the music, Reds' freshman first baseman Hal Morris picks U Can't Touch This, following the Opening Day 8-4 extra-inning victory at the Astrodome. The iconic MC Hammer tune will become the team's mantra and the unofficial theme song for the eventual World Champs.

1990 Glenn Davis is hit by a pitch three times on Opening Day, tying a major league record shared by many major leaguers. The Houston first baseman's body blows do not lead to any runs in the team's 8-4 loss to Cincinnati at the Astrodome.
1990 Delino DeShields, the 21-year-old second baseman of the Expos, goes 4-for-6 to become only the second rookie to collect four hits in an Opening Day debut. Also a second baseman, Forrest Jacobs became the first major league rookie to accomplish the feat in his 1954 Opening Day debut with the Philadelphia A's.

1990 Randy Myers, responding to reporters about the Astros being unhappy about Glenn Davis getting hit three times, replies if there is any retaliation, he and his teammates, Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton, clock at least ninety-five on the radar gun. When the Houston Chronicle beat reporter responds with, "that's pretty nasty," the left-hander counters, "Well, we're pretty nasty guys," giving rise to the trio of hard-throwing Reds relievers being called the 'Nasty Boys.'
1993 "Bo Knew," - Nike's full-page ad in tomorrow's USA Today
In his first at-bat after eighteen months of rehab following his hip replacement surgery, Bo Jackson connects for a home run with his first swing of the season in the team's 11-6 Opening Day loss to New York at Comiskey Park. En route to being named the American League Comeback Player of the Year, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner will hit 16 home runs and collect 45 RBIs in 85 games, contributing to the White Sox's divisional title.

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1993 The Rockies defeat the Expos 11-4 for their first win, thanks to a four-run first inning sparked by Eric Young's leadoff home run. The crowd of 80,227 at Colorado's Mile High Stadium establishes a new major league Opening Day attendance record.

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1993 At 46, Nolan Ryan becomes the oldest pitcher to start and win an Opening Day game when the Rangers win their home opener against the Red Sox, 3-1. Previously, Yankee southpaw Tommy John held the distinction, being 45 years old when he started and beat the Twins in the 1989 opener at the Metrodome.
1997 In a 13-4 Rockies rout of the Reds, Ellis Burks hits two home runs at Coors Field. The homers give the Colorado outfielder four for the season, accounting for all the hits the .154 batter collected in the first eight games.

1999 Just two days after celebrating his 80th birthday, former Orioles owner Jerold C. Hoffberger dies unexpectedly. The philanthropist enjoyed five American League pennants and two World Championships during his 14-year tenure before selling the club to Edward Bennett Williams after the 1979 season.

2000 Indians DH Jim Thome earns the platinum sombrero when he strikes out five times, tying a major league record. Cleveland still prevails in the Tropicana Field tilt, posting a 17-4 victory over Tampa Bay.

2000 Each team hit three consecutive home runs in the same game for the first time in major league history in the Twins' 13-7 victory over the Royals. Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones, and Matt Lecroy connect consecutively in the sixth for Minnesota, and Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye, and Hector Carrasco go back-to-back-to-back for Kansas City in the eighth frame of the Kauffman Stadium contest.

2001 Willie Stargell, the all-time Pirate career leader in home runs, RBIs, and extra-base hits, dies from kidney problems at 61. After leading the Bucs to the 1979 World Championship, 'Pops,' a career .282 hitter, became the oldest player (39) to win an MVP award, sharing the honor with Keith Hernandez.

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2001 Pittsburgh's PNC Park makes its major league debut as hometown product Sean Casey leads the visiting Reds past the Pirates, 8-2. After collecting the first hit at Miller Park three days ago, the Cincinnati first baseman again has the honor of recording the first knock in a major league park's opening game, making history with a two-run home run off Todd Ritchie.

 

2004 The Yankees and Joe Torre agree to a three-year extension. The contract also includes an additional six-year deal in which the 62-year-old manager will serve as a team advisor through the 2013 season.

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2005 Juan Pierre's consecutive innings streak ends at 1700 when his name is not in the starting lineup, but his consecutive game streak stays intact at 340, entering the contest as an eighth-inning defensive replacement. The Marlins' center fielder joins Cal Ripken (Orioles, 1983-86) and Travis Fryman (Tigers, 1995) as the only big leaguers to play every inning for his team during a season.

2006 Cory Sullivan becomes the 11th player in big-league history to hit two triples in the same inning and the first since Gil Coan of the Senators accomplished the feat in 1951. The Colorado leadoff hitter's two seventh-inning three-baggers contribute to the Rockies' 10-4 win over the Padres.
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2009 Just hours after pitching six shutout innings against the A's, Nick Adenhart dies in a hit-and-run car accident. In memory of the 22-year-old right-handed rookie, the Angels postpone tonight's game with Oakland.

2012 Joining Roy Oswalt, Barry Zito becomes only the second opposing pitcher to whitewash the Rockies at Coors Field, posting a 7-0 victory. The shutout is the Giants' left-hander's first in 274 starts, the longest span in major league history without one.
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2016 The Twins, suffering a 7-0 loss to Kansas City, start the season 0-5 for the first time in franchise history, including the three times the team was winless after four attempts when they played as the Washington Senators before the 1961 season. The eventual nine-game losing streak will be extended to 0-6 with a heartbreaking loss tomorrow when the Royals score two runs in the bottom of the ninth before securing a 4-3 walk-off victory in the tenth inning at Kauffman Stadium.

2017 At Angel Stadium, the Halos, trailing 9-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, stun Seattle by scoring seven times in their 10-9 victory in Anaheim. Cliff Pennington's single into right field scores Mike Trout with the winning run, resulting in the fans reacting to their team's incredible comeback with a deafening roar.

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Dizzy Dean, Frankie Frisch, Rogers Hornsby, George Sisler, Stan Musial, Marty Marion, Terry Moore, Jesse Haines, Ken Williams, Jack Tobin, Hank Severeid, and Bob O’Farrell

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April 10 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1897 Ross Youngs HOF right fielder (World Series 1921, 22; NY Giants)


1921 Chuck Connors


1946 Bob Watson (MLB All Star 1973, 75; Houston Astros) and sports executive (GM NY Yankees, World Series 1996)


1950 Ken Griffey Sr., American baseball outfielder (3 x MLB All Star; Cincinnati Reds, NY Yankees)


1963 Mike Devereaux outfielder (Baltimore Orioles)


1982 Andre Ethier baseball player

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This Day in Baseball History
April 10th​

1913 In a game that features President Woodrow Wilson throwing out the first pitch, Washington's Walter Johnson gives up an unearned run in the first inning of the home opener, but the 'Big Train' will not yield another tally for 56 innings. The Senators beat the Yankees, formerly the Highlanders, since the franchise moved in 1903 from Baltimore to New York, 2-1.

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1947 During the sixth inning of an exhibition game against their minor league team at Ebbets Field, the Montreal Royals, Dodgers' president Branch Rickey issues a brief statement to the press. The two sentences will forever change the game when the team announces, "The Brooklyn Dodgers today purchased Jackie Roosevelt Robinson's contract from the Montreal Royals. He will report immediately."

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1959 On Opening Day, Nellie Fox, who goes 5-for-7, hits an unlikely two-run homer off Don Mossi in the top of the 14th inning to beat Detroit at Briggs Stadium, 9-7. The White Sox second baseman, called 'Mighty Mite' by his teammates, did not homer in 623 at-bats the last season.

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1961 In the last opener ever to be played at Griffith Stadium, rookie the longest and hardest thrown ceremonial first pitch in history as the ball sails over the heads of the players lined up in front of the presidential box. The newly elected Commander in Chief, an avid Red Sox fan, stays for the entire game and sees the 'new' Washington Senators, the former team having moved to Minnesota, play their first game, losing to the White Sox, 4-3.

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1962 Wally Post hits the first home run in Dodger Stadium history, a two-out, three-run shot in the seventh inning over the center-field fence off Johnny Podres that proves to be the difference in Cincinnati's 6-3 victory. The left fielder's homer is a fair ball, unlike some others hit in Chavez Ravine, with the discovery the foul poles are positioned in foul territory, requiring special permission from the National League for balls down the line to be recognized as fair

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1962 In front of 52,564 fans, Reds infielder Eddie Kasko doubles off Johnny Podres in the first-ever at-bat at Dodger Stadium, and Duke Snider's single in the bottom of the second accounts for the home team's first hit. After the first four seasons at the LA Memorial Coliseum, the team drops a 6-3 decision to the Reds in the debut of the new $22-million ballpark in Chavez Ravine, financed with a two-percent interest loan from the Union Oil Company in exchange for exclusive rights to advertise within the stadium.


1962 At Houston's Colt Stadium, thanks to a pair of three-run home runs by s defeat the Cubs in their first-ever major league game, 11-2. Former Yankee hurler Bobby Shantz gets the win for the new franchise on owner Judge Hofheinz's 50th birthday.

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1968 In the Red Sox' 7-3 win at Tiger Stadium, Carl Yastrzemski homers twice on the first day of the season, with one being an inside-the-park round-tripper. Marlins' third baseman Emilio Bonifacio will stroke the next Opening Day inside-the-park poke 41 years later when he circles the bases for a four-base hit against the Nationals at Dolphin Stadium.


1969 Tommie Agee hits a monster shot into the stadium's top tier in left field, making the blast the longest home run to reach the seats in Shea Stadium history. The Mets place a disc in the Flushing ballpark's upper deck to commemorate the Mets center fielder's historic homer.


1971 The largest crowd to attend a baseball in Pennsylvania witness the Phillies' first game at Veterans Stadium, despite temperatures in the low 40s. A chilled but enthusiastic 55,352 fans are on hand to see Jim Bunning throw the first pitch and Larry Bowa single for the park's first hit in Philadelphia's 4-1 defeat of the Expos.


1973 A crowd of 39,464 chilly fans watches the first game at Royals Stadium and sees the home team rout the Rangers, 12-1. The ballpark, which will be renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993 to honor the team's beloved owner, is recognized as one of the most beautiful ballparks in baseball.

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1976 With the bases loaded and the Brewers trailing the Yankees by three runs, Don Money blasts Dave Pagan's 1-0 pitch deep into the left-field bleachers, circling the bases for an apparent walk-off grand slam. Billy Martin vehemently insists first base ump Jim McLean called a timeout before the pitch, leading to the play's nullification when the arbitrator admits he had, after denying the skipper's claim at first, in Milwaukee's eventual 9-7 heartbreaking loss.

1976 After being granted his free agency in a landmark case that will forever change baseball, Andy Messersmith becomes one of the first major leaguers to use his new status to sign with a team of his choice. The former Dodger right-hander comes to terms with the Braves, posting a 16-15 record during his two-year tenure for his new club.

back in a while​

1977 At Fenway Park, the Indians (13) and the Red Sox (6) established a major league record for the most runs scored by both teams in one inning. The eighth-inning barrage proves to be too much for Boston as Cleveland beats the home team, 19-9.

1979 After yesterday's 10-2 Opening Day rout by the Blue Jays, White Sox owner Bill Veeck offers free admission to fans for tomorrow's Comiskey Park contest. The outcome will also be disappointing for the Southside fans when the Pale Hose allows six Toronto runs to score in the top of the eighth inning and lose the game, 9-7.

1979 At the Astrodome, J.R. Richard, striking out 13 batters in a complete-game effort, sets the record for most wild pitches in a game, uncorking six in the Astros’ 2-1 victory over a win over the Dodgers. Braves' knuckleballer Phil Niekro will tie the Houston right-hander dubious mark later in the season, each surpassing Tiger rookie Charley Wheatley, who threw five in one frame in 1912.

1980 Jon Matlack and Yankee southpaw Ron Guidry match zeroes for nine innings at Arlington Stadium's season opener. In the 12th, with his 1978 Opening Day nemesis, Richie Zisk, at the plate, Goose Gossage allows Mickey Rivers to score the game's only run from third base when his first and only pitch is wild, giving the Rangers a 1-0 victory.

1981 On Opening Day, White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, playing the first game of his career while not wearing a Red Sox uniform, makes a dramatic return to Fenway, hitting a three-run homer in the eighth to knot the score at 3-3. Chicago will tack on two more runs in the ninth, beating Boston, 5-3.

1982 A crowd of 62,443 fans shows up with a game-time temperature of 38 degrees with a wind chill of 17 to see the Indians drop the season opener to the Rangers, 8-3. Before the game, the team removed five hundred tons of snow from the Municipal Stadium field.

1984 Martha and the Vandellas' iconic hit Dancing in the Streets, recorded a couple of miles north of the ballpark twenty years ago at the Motown Studios, is finally played over the public address system at Tiger Stadium. Jim Campbell, Detroit's GM, who thought the lyrics might cause rowdiness in the stands, finally gives in to the wishes of his younger fans, resulting in a ballpark tradition of the crowd cheering when Martha Reeves belts out the immortal words, "Can't Forget the Motor City."

1985 Cal Ripken sprains his left ankle during a pick-off play in the third inning of a game (444 of the streak) against the Rangers. The 'Iron man' does not leave the game, and X-rays taken later in the day will reveal no fractures.

1989 Ken Griffey Jr., the youngest player in the majors, hits his first career homer on the first pitch he sees at his home ballpark, the Kingdome. The 19-year-old son of the Reds outfielder with the same name takes White Sox right-hander Eric King's offering deep on his father's 39th birthday.

1989 Dave Stieb pitches his third one-hitter in his past four starts when the Blue Jays beat the Yankees in the Bronx, 8-0. The 30-year-old right-hander had also limited Baltimore and Cleveland to a lone hit during his last two starts the previous season.

1990 At the SkyDome in Toronto, George Bush becomes the first U.S. president to throw the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day in Canada. After the international toss, the Blue Jays beat the visiting Rangers, 2-1.

1990 Detroit skipper Sparky Anderson decides to walk Wade Boggs intentionally three times, tying a major league mark for a nine-inning game. The Tigers' strategy pays off in preventing additional runs from scoring, but the team still drops a 4-2 decision to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

1992 Dave Eiland hits his only big-league home run in his first major league at-bat, becoming the first hurler to accomplish the feat while allowing a homer to the first batter he faced in the major leagues. In 1988, as a rookie for the Yankees, the Padres right-hander gave up a round-tripper to Paul Molitor, the first batter he faced in his big league debut.

1997 Alex Fernandez, making his first appearance in Chicago since leaving the White Sox after signing with the Marlins as a free agent in the offseason, comes within two outs from pitching a no-hitter at Wrigley Field. Cubs' pinch-hitter Dave Hansen's infield hit off the pitcher's glove breaks up the no-no, but the right-hander's one-hitter hands the Northsiders a 1-0 loss, with the team falling to 0-8, the worst start in the club's 122-year history.
1998

"Well I love that dirty water
Oh, Boston, you're my home (Oh, you're the number one place)."

Following the lead of the NHL's Bruins and the NFL's Patriots, the Red Sox begin playing Ed Cobb's Dirty Water, a song by the Standells known for its iconic lyrics, 'Boston you're my home,' after the home team wins. The tune's debut at Fenway Park is memorable when the team's victory anthem plays with Mo Vaughn circling the bases following his walk-off grand slam, giving the BoSox, who had entered the frame trailing by five runs, an improbable 9-7 walk-off victory over Seattle.


1998 Trailing Arizona 4-2 at Qualcomm Stadium with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Steve Finley erases the two-run deficit with a walk-off grand slam. The Padres' center fielder, who will accomplish the feat again in 2004, hits the game-ending round-tripper off Felix Rodriguez.

2000 Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the youngest player in major league history to hit 400 home runs when he goes deep into the left-field seats off Rolando Arrojo in the fourth inning of the Reds' 7-5 loss to Colorado at Coors Field. Thirty-year-old Junior reaches the milestone 107 days younger than Jimmie Foxx, who accomplished the feat in 1938 playing with the Red Sox.

2003 Astros' outfielder Craig Biggio breaks Bobby Bonds' National League record when he hits his 31st career leadoff homer, a shot off Cincinnati's Danny Graves in Houston's 4-2 victory at Minute Maid Park. Rickey Henderson holds the major league mark, homering 80 times as the first batter for his team.

2003 In a 7-6 victory over the Cardinals at Coors Field, the Rockies turned the first triple play in club history. With Scott Rolen on second base and Tino Martinez on first, Colorado's first baseman Todd Helton catches Orlando Palmeiro's soft liner for the first out and then throws the ball to shortstop Jose Hernandez, who steps on second for the second out and then tags Martinez to complete the triple killing.

2006 During the Devil Rays' home opener, a snippet of More Cowbell, a skit from Saturday Night Live, originally aired in the spring of 2000, is shown at Tropicana Field. The video clip, suggested by the team's new principal owner Stuart Sternberg, will inspire the Tampa Bay fans to start the tradition of clanging bells at the ballpark during games.

2006 Rather than exploit the free-agent market next season, David Ortiz agrees to a $52 million, four-year contract extension with the Red Sox. The deal, which keeps the popular designated hitter in Boston until 2010, also contains a team option for 2011.

2007 After four days of weather-induced postponements, including blinding snow and sub-freezing temperatures, the Cleveland Indians play their home opener on the road, beating the Angels at Miller Park in Milwaukee, 7-6. The last time a series changed venues, the games were played in U.S. Cellular Field when the Marlins hosted the Expos in Chicago due to Hurricane Ivan hitting Miami in September of 2004.

2012 After praising Fidel Castro in a magazine interview, the Marlins suspends their manager Ozzie Guillen for five games. The comments of the outspoken skipper deeply offended the large Cuban exile community living in Miami, many of them victimized by the dictator.

2012 The Indians announce Carlos Santana has signed a five-year extension, with a club option for a sixth year, reportedly worth $21 million. The 26-year-old catcher joins the team's shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who signed a two-year extension last week with the Tribe, as a player with less than three years of service locked up through their arbitration-eligible years.

2012 Vin Scully misses the Dodgers' home opener for the first time in 35 years when doctors order the 84-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster to rest as he recovers from a bad cold. The last time the team's play-by-play announcer was absent from the season's first home game, he was on assignment, calling the first round of the Masters in 1977.

2013 The Red Sox regular-season span of 794 sellouts ends when a less-than-capacity crowd attends the team's 8-5 loss to the Orioles at Fenway Park, easily surpassing the previous baseball record of 455 full houses at Jacobs Field, established by the Indians from 1995 to 2001. The addition of postseason games brings the total to 820, surpassing the Portland Trailblazers' mark of 814 consecutive sold-out contests, making Boston's stretch the longest in major professional sports history.

2014 For the first time since 1914, a starting pitcher whiffed ten batters without finishing the fourth frame when 24-year-old sophomore hurler Danny Salazar strikes out ten White Sox batters in 3.2 innings in the Indians' loss at U.S. Cellular Field. The right-hander gives up five earned runs and six hits and gets all his outs via the strikeout, except for Adam Eaton, who is thrown out at second base, trying to stretch a single into a double for the first out in the third inning.

2015 Cubs Travis Wood and Tyler Matzek of the Rockies hit eighth in their team's lineup, marking just the 12th time in major league history that mound opponents have not batted ninth in the same game. The last occurrence happened in
2008 when the Cardinals, led by Tony La Russa, who frequently employed his hurler in that slot, played the Pirates.


2015 Mark Buehrle becomes the 113th pitcher in major league history to win 200 games when he hurls six solid innings in Toronto's 12-5 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards. The 36-year-old southpaw, who has also played for the White Sox and Marlins, is the second pitcher to reach the milestone while wearing a Blue Jays uniform, joining Roger Clemens, who accomplished the feat in 1997.

2015 At Great American Ball Park, Reds closer Aroldis Chapman throws a 101 mph fastball by Matt Holliday to get the last out in the team's 5-4 victory over St. Louis, making the fireballer the leader in saves by a Cuban-born player with 115. The 27-year-old Holguin native surpasses Pinar del Rio's Danys Baez, who, beginning in 2001, closed for six teams during his ten-year tenure in the major leagues.

2015 The Red Sox need six hours and 49 minutes to beat New York at Yankee Stadium, making the contest the longest game in franchise history. The 19-inning victory lasted 14 minutes longer than a 2001 loss to the Rangers in Texas.

2017 Wil Myers completes the second cycle in Padres' history when he triples in the top of the 8th inning of the team's 5-3 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field. The 26-year-old first baseman joins Matt Kemp, who accomplished the feat two seasons ago after the franchise had gone 35 years without one.

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Whitey Ford and Sandy Koufax share a moment before Game 1 in the Bronx. Yankees vs. Dodgers, October 2, 1963

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With the Yankees down 5-0 to the Tigers in fourth inning, outfielder Rocky Colavito was called on to pitch off the bench. Not only did he throw 2.2 scoreless innings, but New York rallied to score six runs with Colavito on the mound, earning him the win in a 6-5 Yankees victory.


Al Kaline robs Roger Maris of a HR, 1963
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Arron Brothers
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Joe DiMaggio joins his brother Dom for a workout with the San Francisco Seals​

 

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Ken Griffey Jr. set the birthday present bar pretty high 25 years ago today. His father’s gift for turning 50: A milestone home run, as Junior became the youngest player in MLB history to hit 400 home runs
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