1906 – Johnny Bates of the Boston Beaneaters becomes the first modern player to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, when he connects in the 2nd inning against Brooklyn Superbas pitcher Harry McIntire.
1909 – Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, the first steel-and-concrete structure built for baseball, is dedicated.
1912 – The Chicago Cubs’ famed double play combination of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance makes its final appearance together in an Opening Day game. The triumvirate of shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers and first baseman Frank Chance will be broken up at the end of the season.
1955 – In their first game at Kansas City, the transplanted Athletics defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-2 at Municipal Stadium.
1965 – Richie Allen hit the first home run in the Houston Astrodome, off Bob Bruce, as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Astros 2-0.
1966 – A crowd of 50,671 welcomed the Braves to Atlanta, but Willie Stargell spoiled the opener with a two-run homer in the 13th inning, giving the Pirates a 3-2 victory.
1980 – Cecil Cooper and Don Money each hit grand slams in the second inning of Milwaukee’s 18-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
1992 – Boston’s Matt Young pitched eight no-hit innings at Cleveland but lost 2-1 in the opener of a doubleheader. In the second game, the Indians managed only two hits off Roger Clemens to set a major league record for fewest hits (2) in a doubleheader.
1994 – Scott Cooper hit for the cycle and drove in five runs, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 22-11 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
2010 – The Minnesota Twins inaugurate their new outdoor ballpark, Target Field, with a 5 – 2 win over the Red Sox. A host of former Twins greats, including Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew, joined by Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek and Frank Viola, among others, are on hand to witness the historic game.
2013 – The movie 42, about Jackie Robinson’s first two seasons in organized baseball and his breaking of the color line, opens in theaters across the United States. It will be the top-drawing movie its first weekend.
2022 – Alyssa Nakken, the first female coach in the history of Major League Baseball, sets another milestone as she becomes the first woman to appear in uniform on the field during a game when in the top of the 3rd inning she replaces Antoan Richardson, who has just been ejected, as first base coach of the Giants in a game against the Padres.
