1907 – On Opening Day, New York Giants catcher Roger Bresnahan wears shin guards for the first time in a major league game. The leg guards, usually used in cricket, come in handy, protecting Bresnahan from a 5th-inning foul tip. Other catchers will soon follow Bresnahan’s lead and wear similar shin guards.
1912 – Rube Marquard of the New York Giants began a 19-game winning streak with an 18-3 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1917 – Babe Ruth beats the Yankees, pitching a three-hit, 10-3 win for the Red Sox in the opener. He is on the way to a 24-13 record and a league-leading 35 complete games in his best year as a pitcher.
1954 – To make room for promising rookie outfielder Wally Moon, the Cardinals trade longtime great Enos Slaughter to the Yankees. In what turns out to be a good deal for both teams, the Cardinals get center fielder Bill Virdon, pitcher Mel Wright, and outfielder Emil Tellinger in return. Virdon will become the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1955, and Slaughter will help the Yankees win 103 games.
1959 – Don Drysdale hits his second Opening Day home run to become the first pitcher with two career home runs on Opening Day. Unfortunately, his home run is the only Dodgers score as he loses to the Cubs 6-1.
1961 – The Los Angeles Angels won their first major league game, 7-2 over the Orioles in Baltimore. Ted Kluszewski had two homers for the Angels.
1962 – The New York Mets played their first game and lost 11-4 to the Cardinals in St. Louis.
1963 – Warren Spahn’s Opening Day 6-1 victory over the Mets is the 328th win of his career. He thus moves ahead of Eddie Plank as the all-time winningest left-hander. Except for Duke Snider’s home run, no Mets get past second base.
1966 – A crowd of 44,468, including Vice President Hubert Humphrey, attends a historic opener at Washington. Emmett Ashford becomes the major league’s first black umpire in Cleveland’s 5-2 win against the Senators.
1969 – The Seattle Pilots played their first game, with Gary Bell shutting out the White Sox 7-0 at Sicks Stadium.
1975 – In Milwaukee, 48,160 fans brave 37-degree weather to welcome home Hank Aaron. Hank drives in a run as the Brewers whip the Indians 6-2.
1981 – After 15 seasons with the Dodgers, Don Sutton makes his debut with the Astros and is pounded by his former club for six runs in four innings. Los Angeles wins 7-4.
1985 – Seattle’s Gorman Thomas hit three homers and drove in six runs to lead the Mariners to a 14-6 victory over the Oakland A’s.
1990 – California’s Mark Langston and Mike Witt combine to no-hit the Mariners 1-0 for the first combined no-hitter in the major leagues since 1976. It is Langston’s first start for the Angels since signing as a free agent in the off-season.
1991 – Junior Ortiz guns down Rickey Henderson, who is trying to break Lou Brock’s all-time stolen base record. Henderson later leaves the game with a calf injury.
1996 – Greg Maddux loses his first road game since June 27, 1994 in Montreal. Atlanta’s 2-1 loss in San Diego ends a string that saw Maddux go 18-0 with only 17 earned runs allowed in 154.2 innings
2003 – In the first of their “home” games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Montreal Expos rout pitcher David Cone and the New York Mets, 10 – 0. The Montreal franchise, which is now owned by Major League Baseball, will play 22 of its games here this season as a new venue is sought for the poorly-attended Canadian club.
2004 – Mike Mussina collects his 200th career victory in a 5 – 4 Yankees win over the White Sox at Yankee Stadium.
2013 – A bench-clearing brawl in the Dodgers’ 3 – 2 win over the Padres proves costly, as prize free agent signee Zack Greinke breaks his left collarbone in the melee. Greinke plunks Carlos Quentin on the left shoulder with a 6th-inning pitch and the slugger charges the mound and tackles the pitcher to the ground; they end up at the bottom of a huge pile of players from both dugouts. Greinke’s left shoulder takes the brunt of the impact as Quentin first runs into him. Three players are ejected, including Quentin, while Greinke will be out for a number of weeks because of the injury. The Dodgers win the game on Juan Uribe’s pinch homer in the 8th. Quentin will receive an eight-game suspension.
2023 – Luis Arraez becomes the first player in Marlins history to hit for the cycle, 4,700 games after their debut, in an 8 – 4 win over the Phillies.
