BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1990 Billy Hatcher, who is in the delivery room with his pregnant wife when the phone rings, is informed by Pirates manager Jim Leyland that he has been traded but doesn't ask which team now has his services. After his daughter Chelsea is born, the former Buc outfielder gets a call at home from Cincinnati general manager Bob Quinn to welcome him to the Reds.

1994 The new season begins with the first Sunday night opener ever played in major league history, with a game not embraced by the local fans or Reds' owner Marge Schott. On a frigid Easter Sunday evening at Riverfront Stadium, the Cardinals beat the Reds in the controversial contest, 6-4, in front of the smallest Opening Day crowd in the ballpark's 24-year history.

2000 With their 8-0 and 21-1 victories over the Clafin Panthers, the Savannah State nine extends its consecutive-game winning streak to 42 games. The Tigers' twin sweep sets an NCAA record, eclipsing the Marietta College of Ohio record of 40 straight wins established by the Division II school last year.

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2000 After missing last season due to undergoing treatments for lymphatic cancer, Braves' first baseman Andres Galarraga makes a dramatic return on Opening Day, homering in the seventh inning to break up a scoreless tie. The 38-year-old first baseman's home run followed by Andruw Jones' back-to-back shot gives Atlanta a 2-0 victory over the Rockies at Turner Field.

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2002 Barry Bonds becomes the second player in baseball history to begin a season with consecutive two-homer games. Eddie Mathews also hit a pair of homers in each of the Braves' first two games against the Pirates to start the 1958 season.

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2005 Alex Sanchez becomes the first major leaguer publicly identified under baseball's new steroid policy. The Tampa Bay outfielder receives a ten-day suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

2006 Seattle's Kenji Johjima becomes the first Japanese catcher to start a major league game. The Mariners' 30-year-old backstop homers in his debut in the team's 5-3 loss to the Angels.

2006 Sportsnet NY, the Mets' new team-owned network, broadcasts its first regular-season baseball game. During the third inning of New York's 3-2 victory over the Nationals, SNY experiences technical difficulties, blacking out the telecast for nearly twenty minutes.

2007 Marcus and Brian Giles bat first and second in San Diego's Opening Day lineup in the Padres' 7-0 victory over the Giants. Skipper Bud Black's batting order marks the first time brothers hit one and two in a game since Matty and Jesus Alou did it for San Francisco in 1965.

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2008 A three-and-a-half pound red-tailed hawk, known to nest at the historic ballpark, attacks a Memorial Boulevard Middle School student during a Fenway Park tour. The 13-year-old from Bristol (CT), treated for a small scratch on her scalp at a local hospital, has a familiar name to Red Sox fans, Alexa Rodriguez, similar to the much detested third baseman of the Yankees, also is 13 (uniform number).

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2008 Twenty minutes before their game, the Dodgers announce reliever Hong-Chih Kuo will start in place of Chad Billingsley, who, in turn, will be in the bullpen. The unusual move, made due to the threat of rain at the start of the contest, is also employed by the Giants, with Merkin Valdez beginning the game with the announced starter and eventual winner, Tim Lincecum entering the game in the fourth inning.

 

2008 At Comerica Park in Detroit, the Royals beat the Tigers, 4-1, completing a season-opening three-game sweep. The victories mark the first time Kansas City had started the year with a sweep on the road since 1977, when the team also won the first three away contests of the season in the Motor City.

2008 In a dazzling debut, Reds right-hander Johnny Cueto fans ten batters in an overpowering seven-inning performance when Cincinnati beats the visiting Diamondbacks, 3-2. Using a 96-mph fastball and devastating changeup, the 22-year-old rookie, who started last season pitching in the low minors, strikes out eight of the first 13 Arizona batters he faces.

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2009 The Mets, obligated only to pay the major league minimum of $400,000, sign Gary Sheffield (.225, 19, 57) in hopes of adding a much-needed right-handed bat to the lineup. The 40-year-old offensively challenged outfielder, who has 499 career home runs, was unexpectedly released by the Tigers earlier in the week despite having $14 million left on his contract.

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2009 On a damp and chilly New York night, both the Mets and Yankees open their new stadiums with exhibition games. The double debut in the Big Apple sees each team come away with a victory when the Amazin's beat the Red Sox, 4-3, and the Bronx Bombers launch three homers to defeat the Cubs, 7-4.

 

2010 Adam Lind (.305, 35, 114) and the Blue Jays agree to an $18 million, four-year contract that includes three additional years with a club option. The 26-year-old outfielder, flanked by several teammates, announces the deal at a press conference held before an exhibition game in Houston.

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2011 Ranger teammates Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz become the first pair of players to homer in each of the first three games in a season playing for the same team. The duo's weekend of round-trippers enabled Texas to sweep their season-opening series against visiting Boston.

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2016 For the first time, teams from the previous World Series play each other on Opening Day when the Mets drop a 4-3 decision to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. In pregame ceremonies, Kansas City, who defeated the Mets in the Fall Classic in five games, hoists the World Champion banner for the first time since the team beat the Cardinals in 1985.

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2016 On Opening Day in Kansas City, with the team's theme "We Are The Champions" playing in the background, over 2,000 fans participate in the Relay the Way event, establishing a new record when they line up to complete the longest first pitch in baseball history. The ball, which is tossed hand to glove for four hours, travels a distance of nine miles and raises over $100,000 for the Royals' Urban Youth Academy charity.

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Today in Baseball History
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On April 3 in Baseball History...

• • 1923 - Two Black Sox sue the White Sox. Swede Risberg and Happy Felsch seek $400,000 damages and $6,750 in back salary for conspiracy and injury to reputation in the aftermath of the scandalous 1919 World Series court case. Their suit will be unsuccessful.
  • 1966 - University of Southern California pitcher Tom Seaver signs with the Mets for a reported $50,000 bonus. A selection of the Braves in the January free-agent draft, Seaver signs with Atlanta's Richmond farm club a month later, after the start of USC's baseball schedule. A ruling on the violation nets Richmond a $500 fine and forbids Atlanta from signing Seaver for three years. However, Seaver is also declared ineligible at the college level, so an unprecedented special draft is held. Three clubs willing to match Richmond's $40,000 contract � the Indians, Phillies, and Mets � participate. New York's name is drawn from a hat as the winner.
    
  • 1985 - The Players' Association agrees to the owners' proposal to expand the 1985 League Championship Series from the best-of-five games to best-of-seven.
  • 1987 - The Cubs trade veteran pitcher Dennis Eckersley and minor leaguer Dan Rohn to the A's for three minor leaguers.
  • 1989 - The Mets win their 11th consecutive home opener, an 8-4 decision over St. Louis at Shea Stadium. They've now won on Opening Day in 18 of the last 20 seasons.

Baseball Birthdays on April 3...

• • 1854 - Ellick, Joe
  • 1856 - Hecker, Guy
  • 1860 - Lynch, Tom
  • 1864 - Schwartz, Bill
  • 1867 - McSweeney, Paul
  • 1875 - Pappalau, John
  • 1879 - Frill, John
  • 1886 - Graham, Bert
  • 1892 - Kingman, Harry
  • 1896 - Seibold, Socks
  • 1905 - Hinkle, Gordie
  • 1921 - Conger, Dick
  • 1926 - Grammas, Alex
  • 1929 - Ditmar, Art "My pride and joy was that I pitched for the Athletics in the last game they played in Philadelphia (in 1954), and then I won the last game they ever played as the Philadelphia Athletics." - Art Ditmar (Chimelis, Ron. Western Mass. Hall of Famer Art Ditmar's career was about more than one World Series
  • 1930 - Moon, Wally "Wally Moon patrolled the outer garden for Los Angeles for seven years, helping the Alston-men win three World Championship trophies (1959, 1963, 1965) along the way. The native of Bay, Arkansas, played his first three years in L.A. in the infamous Coliseum, with its 250-foot left-field wall surmounted by a 40-foot-high screen. Although the right-field foul pole was only 301 feet from the plate, the field opened up rapidly, to a cavernous 390 feet, just 15 feet inside the foul pole. The right center field fence was 440 feet from the plate, while deep center field was 420 feet away. Right field was death on left-handed hitters. Moon, a lefty, knew his future wasn't toward right field, so he invented the cleverly efficient inside-out stroke that allowed him to hit pop flies over the short left field scree. They were called Moon-shots by the media, and they soon became part of the Dodger baseball lexicon. Wally Moon hit a total of 49 home runs between 1959 and 1961. Thirty-seven of them were hit in the Coliseum." - Author William McNeil in The Dodgers Encyclopedia
  • 1936 - Rowe, Don
  • 1939 - Taylor, Hawk
  • 1940 - Vidal, Jose
  • 1943 - Moore, Barry
  • 1944 - Hodge, Gomer "Mobbed by reporters eager to find out from (Gomer) Hodge how it felt to be 4-for-4 in his career, the affable rookie proclaimed, 'Gollee, I'm hittin' 4,000!'" - Columnist Chuck Murr in Indians Ink
  • 1946 - Gaspar, Rod
  • 1954 - Littleton, Larry
  • 1956 - Jackson, Darrell
  • 1958 - Pettis, Gary
  • 1960 - Conroy, Tim
  • 1961 - Crews, Tim
  • 1961 - Baker, Doug
  • 1962 - Clary, Marty
  • 1963 - Bosio, Chris
  • 1967 - Leon, Danilo
  • 1967 - Garcia, Miguel
  • 1968 - Lansing, Mike
  • 1971 - Veras, Quilvio
  • 1972 - Soderstrom, Steve
  • 1974 - Pittsley, Jim
  • 1978 - Rivera, Juan

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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BIRTHDAYS
Tris Speaker (1888-1958) HOF outfielder (World Series 1912, 15, 20; AL MVP 1912; career batting average .345 [6th all-time]; Cleveland Indians) and manager (Cleveland Indians 1919-26), born in Hubbard, Texas


1916 Mickey Owen (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Nixa, Missouri (d. 2005)


Gil Hodges (1924-1972) HOF 1st baseman (8 x MLB All Star; Brooklyn/LA Dodgers; NY Mets; World Series 1955, 59, 69; Gold Glove Award 1957–59) and manager (Washington Senators, NY Mets), born in Princeton, Indiana


1938 A. Bartlett Giamatti, American MLB commissioner (1989) and President of Yale University (1978-86), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1989)

1947 Ray Fosse catcher (MLB All-Star, Gold Glove Award 1970, 71 Cleveland Indians; World Series Oakland A's 1973, 74) and broadcaster (Oakland A's NBC), born in Marion, Illinois (d. 2021)


1956 Tom Herr born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania


1971 Felipe Lira pitcher, 1995-2001 (Detroit Tigers, and 2 other teams), born in Santa Teresa, Venezuela


1972 Matt Wagner pitcher (Seattle Mariners), born in Cedar Falls, Iowa
1978 Jason Ellison born in Quincy, California

1987 Cameron Maybin born in Asheville, North Carolina

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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1911 The Most Valuable Player award is introduced and sponsored by Hugh Chalmers, an auto manufacturer. The first winners of the MVP, selected by a vote of one baseball writer representing each franchise in the league, will be the Tigers' outfielder Ty Cobb and Frank Schulte of the Cubs.

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1918 The Phillies trade infielder Bert Niehoff (.255, 2, 42) and send cash to the Cardinals for rookie right-hander Mule Watson. Niehoff will play just one more season before retiring, while Watson will pitch two seasons with Philadelphia, posting a 7-11 record before being traded to the Braves.

1948 Before an exhibition game in Orlando, with an ambulance driving the two participants, accompanied by a doctor and a pair of nurses, to the starting line, 84-year-old A's manager Connie Mack challenges Clark Griffith, the 78-year-old owner of the Senators, to a foot race. The sprint from third base to home plate ends in a tie, which Commissioner Happy Chandler, who officiated the affair, describes as "a dead heat."

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1966 On the nationally-televised Hullabaloo, a program that showcases rock and roll groups, host Soupy Sales and his two sons, Tony and Hunt, perform Meet the Mets, with the unlikely tune also accompanied by go-go dancers halfway through the song. The Sales' children appeared on the program as the guest musicians, featuring their rock and roll band, Tony and the Tigers.

1968 Due to today's assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, most major league teams have decided to postpone their Opening Day games until after the reverend's funeral in five days. Surprisingly, at first, the Dodgers are the notable exception, even though the Phillies, their opponents on April 9th, say they will forfeit rather than play on the national day of mourning.

 

1971 The Phillies dedicated the newly constructed Veterans Stadium, a name selected by the Philadelphia City Council to honor United States vets of all wars. The new ballpark will be harshly criticized for its upper deck's height and for many of its seats being so distant from the field that it will be difficult to enjoy the game without binoculars.

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1974 In front of a crowd of 52,000 at Riverfront Stadium on Opening Day in Cincinnati, Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth's all-time home run record of 714 by hitting a first-inning two-run homer off Jack Billingham. The Atlanta front office had considered keeping 'Hammerin' Hank' on the bench during road games so the slugger could try to equal the mark in front of the hometown fans, but commissioner Bowie Kuhn ordered the Braves to put the outfielder into the lineup for at least two of the three games against the Reds.

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1978 The Expos reveal their new mascot named Souki, an odd-looking character wearing an Expos uniform below a giant baseball head with antennae. The Mr. Met-like figure, whose rights sell for fifty dollars, will be released after one season after proving unpopular with the fans due to his strange looks and quirky behavior.

1988 In a 10-6 victory over the Expos, Kevin McReynolds and Darryl Strawberry each hit a pair of home runs, helping the Mets establish an Opening Day record with six homers. The 'Strawman's' second shot, estimated at 525 feet, hits above the dome's light rim and is believed to be the longest dinger ever stroked at Olympic Stadium.

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1988 Blue Jay designated hitter George Bell becomes the first player to hit three home runs on Opening Day, helping Toronto defeat Kansas City at Royals Stadium, 5-3. The second, fourth, and eighth inning round-trippers are all given up by Bret Saberhagen.

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1989 On Opening Day, Tommy John ties a record by playing in 26 seasons. The Yankee veteran hurler beats the Twins, 4-2, for his 287th win, putting him 19th overall in career wins.

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1994 A total of 56,706 fans attend Opening Day, making it the largest crowd ever at the new Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers do not disappoint the faithful when Jimmy Key beats Kevin Brown and the Rangers, 5-3.

1994 In the inaugural game played at Jacobs Field, President Clinton throws out the first ball, and 'El Presidente' Dennis Martinez throws the first pitch when the Indians defeat the Mariners in 11 innings, 4-3. With Bob Feller, the author of the only Opening Day no-hitter game in major league history in attendance, Mariner southpaw Randy Johnson holds the Tribe hitless for the first seven innings.

Martinez Feller Johnson
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1994 Eddie Murray becomes baseball's all-time leader in games played at first base, covering the position in 2,369 major league contests to surpass the mark set by Jake Beckley, a Hall of Famer whose career spanned from 1888 to 1907. After the top of the first inning, the 38-year-old Indian infielder carries the bag off the field, keeping it as a souvenir.

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1994 On Opening Day at Wrigley Field in the Cubs' 12-8 loss to New York, Tuffy Rhodes, who has hit only five round-trippers in his first 280 major league at-bats, hits three home runs on Opening Day, becoming the first player to homer in his first three at-bats of the season. The three solo round-trippers, all off Mets right-hander Dwight Gooden, will account for nearly half of the outfielder's total for the year when he finishes the campaign with only eight round-trippers.

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1994 Before the Cubs' 12-8 Opening Day loss to the Mets at Wrigley Field, First Lady Hillary Clinton becomes the first wife of a sitting president to throw the season's ceremonial first pitch. Bill's spouse then joins Harry Caray in the broadcast booth and sings "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" with the beloved announcer during the seventh-inning stretch.

 

1998 En route to shattering the single-season mark for home runs, Mark McGwire homers in his fourth consecutive game to tie Willie Mays' 1971mark for most homers to start a season. Big Mac's sixth-inning three-run Busch Stadium blast helps the Cardinals beat the Padres, 8-6.

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1999 Opening Day starts in Mexico, making it the first time baseball's first pitch comes outside the U.S. or Canada when the Rockies defeat the National League's defending champs Padres, 8-2. Darryl Kile goes 6.2 innings to get the win in the Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey contest.

2000 At Safeco Field, Darren Lewis plays right field in Boston's 2-0 victory over Seattle. The 32-year-old outfielder is the 13th different Red Sox player to start in that position on Opening Day for the past thirteen years.

2001 For the first time since June 7, 1995, the Indians do not have a sellout crowd at Jacobs Field. The streak of 455 games of consecutive full houses, a major league record, will be broken by the Boston Red Sox in 2008.

2001 Hideo Nomo, throwing the earliest no-hitter in major league history, blanks the Orioles, 3-0 at Camden Yards in his first start in a Red Sox uniform. Second baseman Mike Lansing makes an outstanding play with one out in the ninth to preserve the Japanese-born hurler's second career no-hitter.

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2001 Vinny Castilla launches the longest home run at Tropicana Field when he hits a Joey Hamilton pitch 478 feet over the domed stadium's left-field fence. The Devil Rays' third baseman's third-inning three-run blast isn't enough to overcome the three round-trippers clobbered by Carlos Delgado in the team's 11-8 loss to the Blue Jays.

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2003 At Cincinnati's new Great American Ball Park, Sammy Sosa becomes the first Latin American player and the 18th to hit 500 career home runs. 'Slammin' Sammy' reaches the milestone in the seventh inning when he drives a Scott Sullivan 1-2 pitch into the right-field seats.

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2003 The Coneheads stage a reunion at Shea Stadium as David Cone returns to the mound after taking a year off and hurls an impressive five innings of shutout ball in the Mets' 4-0 victory over the Expos. In memory of one of the founders of this unique group, started in 1988 based on an SNL skit, the group hangs a banner featuring a picture of Scott Saber, killed during the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, wearing his Conehead.

2005 Dmitri Young becomes the third major leaguer to hit three home runs on Opening Day, joining George Bell (Blue Jays, 1988) and Tuffy Rhodes (Cubs, 1994). The 31-year-old Tiger DH's hat trick contributes to the team's 11-2 rout of the Royals at Comerica Park.

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2006 Rain postpones a Padres' home game for the first time since May 12, 1998, a span of 635 consecutive home games, mostly played at Qualcomm Stadium. The 16th rainout in the franchise's 38-year history becomes the first washout at the club's new home, Petco Park, which opened two seasons ago.

2006 Kansas City voters approve a $250 million proposal to renovate Kauffman Stadium. The facelift of the 35-year-old home of the Royals will include the addition of dugout suites, new clubhouses, an exclusive restaurant, and the replacement of the orange seats throughout the stadium with new blue ones.

 

2007 Tuffy Rhodes becomes the first non-Japanese player in Nippon Pro Baseball history to drive in a thousand runs. Only two of the 28 players who have reached the milestone have accomplished the feat in fewer games.

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2008 Carried by his momentum trying to avoid the pitch, Astros catcher J.R. Towles does a handstand at home plate after getting hit above the knee during the second inning in Houston's 4-3 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. In his next at-bat, the 24-year-old-backstop from Crosby (TX) hits a two-run homer, a feat he accomplishes standing on his feet.

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2008 Before their home opener, the Blue Jays announce reaching agreements with outfielder Alex Rios (.297, 24, 85) and second baseman Aaron Hill (.291, 17, 78). With the contract extension that begins next season, the 26-year-old Toronto fly-catcher will earn nearly $70 million over the next seven years, the second richest deal in franchise history, and the club's newly signed infielder, also 26, inks a four-year contract worth $12 million.

2008 With fans chanting "Robbie, Robbie" before the home opener against Boston, the Blue Jays honor Roberto Alomar by inducting their former All-Star second baseman into Toronto's Level of Excellence. After the team plays a video montage of his career highlights in a darkened Rogers Centre, the dramatic pregame ceremony continues when a spotlight shines on second base revealing the honoree.

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2012 Joey Votto and the Reds agree to the longest guaranteed contract in major league history, a $251.5 million, 12-year deal. Second, only to A-Rod's $275 million and $252 million pacts with the Rangers and Yankees, the dollar amount easily surpasses Ken Griffey Jr.'s nine-year, $116.5 million deal signed in 2000 as the richest in franchise history.

2014 Charlie Blackmon ties a team record established by Andres Galarraga in 1995, collecting six hits in the Rockies' 12-2 rout of Arizona in the team's home opener at Coors Field. The 27-year-old platoon outfielder is the first major leaguer to collect three doubles, two singles, and a home run in a major league game.

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2016 The Dodgers hand the Padres the worst Opening Day shutout loss since at least 1913, and most likely in the history of the game, blanking the Friars at Petco Park, 15-0. The contest marked both skippers' managerial debut, with LA's Dave Roberts and San Diego's Padres Andy Green piloting their first major league game.

2016 Although Felix Hernandez limits the Rangers to just one hit, the Mariner right-hander loses for the first time on Opening Day, snapping a streak of six victories to start his team's season. Seattle had the opportunity to become the first franchise in modern baseball history to win ten consecutive season openers, but sloppy defense allows three fifth-inning runs in the club's 3-2 defeat to Texas at Globe Life Park.

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2016 Trevor Story becomes the first player to hit two home runs in his first regular-season game on Opening Day and the fifth rookie to accomplish the feat in his major league debut. The 23-year-old Rockies shortstop hit both round-trippers off Diamondbacks' ace Zack Greinke, a three-run home run in the third and a solo shot in the following frame of the team's 10-5 victory over Arizona at Chase Field.

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2017 Stephen Piscotty's dangerous journey around the base paths ends when he crosses the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring the Cardinals' only run in the team's 2-1 loss to the Cubs at Busch Stadium. After reaching first due to being hit by a pitch, the outfielder, attempting to take second on a wild pitch, gets nailed in the elbow by the catcher's throw, and he is struck on the helmet, sliding into home plate with an errant throw by the second baseman.

2021 In his major league debut, southpaw-swinging Akil Baddoo hits the first pitch he sees for a home run, becoming the ninth player in Tiger history to homer in his first at-bat. The 22-year-old rookie outfielder joins Hack Miller (1944), Sam Vico (1948), Gates Brown (1963), Bill Rowan (1964), Gene Lamont (1970), Reggie Sanders (1974), Daniel Norris (2015), and Sergio Alcantara (2020), with only Vico also going deep on the first pitch to accomplish the feat.

2021 Angels' right-hander Shohei Ohtani hits and pitches in the same game for the first time in his major league career, striking out seven White Sox players over 4.2 innings and blasting a 451-foot home run on the first pitch he sees in the opening frame. The 25-year-old Oshu (JP) native, the first hurler to bat second in the lineup since 1903, becomes the first starter to go yard against an American League opponent since the final day of the 1972 season, the Junior Circuit's last day without a designated hitter.
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