1820 – Alexander Cartwright, considered by many the father of the national pastime, is born in New York City. This pioneer banker, who is given credit for establishing three strikes for an out and three outs for each half inning, will be elected into the Hall of Fame in 1938 after a review of his journals reveals his many contributions in developing and promoting the sport of baseball.
1892 – In the first Sunday game in National League history, Cincinnati defeated St. Louis 5-1.
1929 – Babe Ruth and actress Claire Hodgson are married at 5:00 AM to avoid crowds. The next day, in his first at bat against Red Ruffing, the Babe will hit a home run. Rounding second base, he’ll doff his cap to Claire in the stands.
1934 – At Ebbets Field, Casey Stengel makes his managerial debut, but his Dodgers lose 8-7 to the Braves.
1947 – The Dodgers win 12-6 over the Braves at home as Jackie Robinson gets his first major league hit � off Glenn Elliot.
1951 – In his first major league game, Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4 as the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-0.
1953 – Mickey Mantle hits the longest home run in Griffith Stadium history, a 565-feet shot off of Chuck Stobbs of the Washington Senators. The Yanks win 7-3.
1955 – At Forbes Field, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 20-year-old rookie Roberto Clemente makes his major league debut, playing both ends of a doubleheader, ironically but perhaps fittingly, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team that first signed him but left him unprotected in the 1954 Rule V draft.
1960 – On Easter Sunday, Frank Lane brings A.L. batting champ Harvey Kuenn to Cleveland and sends co-home run champ Rocky Colavito to Detroit. Colavito, an unparalleled fan favorite in Cleveland, will hit 173 home runs before returning to the Tribe on January 20, 1965. Kuenn will be traded to the Giants after one season.
1964 – The New York Mets lost their first game at Shea Stadium, 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell hit the first homer at Shea.
1968 – The A’s debut at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum by losing 4-1 to Baltimore. During the game, the dirt covering a shallow metal dome under the pitching mound, is kicked aside exposing the steel frame, so the mound is covered between innings.
1969 – Bill Stoneman of Montreal pitched a 7-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies in only the 10th game of the Expos’ existence.
1976 – Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies hit four consecutive home runs and added a single in an 18-6, 10-inning victory over the Cubs in Wrigley Field. Hitting .167 going into the game, Schmidt connected twice off Rick Reuschel, once off Rick’s brother, Paul, and once off Mike Garman. He drove in eight runs. (Box Score)
1979 – At Oakland, only 653 fans show up to watch the A’s beat the Mariners 6-5.
1983 – Nolan Ryan fans seven Expos in a 6-3 Houston win to become only the second pitcher to record 3,500 career strikeouts.
1988 – After ten consecutive losses the Braves win their first game of the season 3-1 over the Dodgers.
1989 – Kent Tekulve pitches two shutout innings in the Reds 3-2, ten-inning win over the Dodgers to pass Hoyt Wilhelm as the major leagues’ all-time leader in relief appearances with 1,019.
1993 – Three Orioles end up on third base after Chad Curtis traps a line drive in center with the bases loaded. Angels catcher John Orton walks over to the bag and tags all three runners. Only one is entitled to the bag and the double play ends the inning. California third baseman Rene Gonzales observes, Harry’s Radiator was the last team I was on where I saw something stupid like that happen.
2000 – Major League Baseball owners vote to approve the $96 million sale of the Kansas City Royals to team chairman David Glass.
2001 – Barry Bonds becomes the 17th major leaguer, as well as the fourth Giant, to join the 500 home run club. Bonds’ two-run, 8th-inning homer off Terry Adams goes into San Francisco Bay to lead the Giants over the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3 – 2. Bonds is joined at home plate by two other members of the elite fraternity, Willie Mays (660) and Willie McCovey (521), for a brief ceremony.
2009 – Gary Sheffield becomes the 25th member of the 500 home run club. He delivers a pinch-hit homer off the Brewers’ Mitch Stetter in the 7th inning of a game at Citi Field.
2019 – In a 3 – 2 win over the Reds, the Dodgers homer in a 32nd consecutive home game at Dodger Stadium, dating back to August 21st last season, courtesy of A.J. Pollock. This ties the all-time record set by the 1999 Rockies.
