1977 – The Rangers’ Len Randle, angry for having been benched during spring training, attacks 50-year-old manager Frank Lucchesi, sending him to the hospital with a shattered cheekbone. Lucchesi helped precipitate the incident by calling the usually good-natured Randle a punk.
1978 – The A’s release Dick Allen, ending a stormy 15-year career which produced 351 home runs, 1,119 RBI, a .292 batting average, and a .534 slugging mark.
1985 – The April 1 issue of Sports Illustrated contains a fictitious article about a Mets pitching prospect named Sidd Finch, whose fastball has been timed at 168 miles per hour. Author George Plimpton offers bogus quotes from real-life members of the Mets, as well as several staged photos, and fools readers nationwide.
1988 – Phil Neikro retires, ending his hall-of-fame career.
2012 – Major League Baseball opens its season at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, with a 3 – 1 Seattle win over Oakland.
2014 – Major League Baseball and the Players Association have jointly introduced stricter regulations to enhance the major leagues’ PED policy. A first-time offense now results in an 80-game suspension, players under suspension will be excluded from postseason eligibility and won’t receive a full postseason share.
2014 – Miguel Cabrera, the two-time reigning American League MVP, has secured an eight-year contract extension with the Tigers. When combined with the two years left on his existing contract, this agreement totals $292 million, setting a new record as the largest deal in major league history.
