1899 – John McGraw, only 26, made his managerial debut with the Orioles. He led them to a 5-3 victory over the New York Giants, a team he would later manage for more than 30 years.
1923 – The debut of Yankee Stadium is a huge success with an announced attendance of 74,217. Bob Shawkey, aided by Babe Ruth’s three-run home run, beats Howard Ehmke and the Red Sox 4-1.
1925 – Charles Ebbets, Dodgers president, dies on the morning of the opener at Ebbets Field, won by New York 7-1. No N.L. games will be played on the April 21, the day of his funeral. Ed McKeever, the new club president, will catch a cold that turns into pneumonia and die on May 27.
1945 – In his major league debut, one-armed outfielder Pete Gray got one hit in four at-bats in the St. Louis Browns’ 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
1946 – Jackie Robinson debuts as second baseman for the Montreal Royals (International League) and is the first recognized black to play in organized ball this century. A home run and three singles against Jersey City start off the season in which he will win the IL batting championship at .349.
1947 – Dodger scout Burt Shotton is the surprise choice to replace Leo Durocher on the third day of the season. Taken to the stadium in a taxi, Shotton manages the club from the dugout in street clothes, a la Connie Mack.
1950 – Sam Jethroe becomes the first black to play for the Boston Braves. He has two hits in his major league debut, including a home run. He will go on to become N.L. Rookie of the Year.
1950 – The first opening-night game was held in St. Louis. The Cardinals, behind a complete game by Gerry Staley and home runs from Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2.
1951 – Mickey Mantle goes 1-for-4 in his first game as Yankee southpaw Ed Lopat two-hits the Red Sox, winning 6-1.
1955 – Roberto Clemente’s first major league home run arrives three games into his big league career, an inside-the-park home run off Giants southpaw Don Liddle.
1958 – Following a downtown parade in the morning, the Giants-Dodgers game in Los Angeles sets an N.L. single-game record with 78,682 fans in attendance, as the Dodgers prevail 6-5. Hank Sauer hits two home runs for the Giants, including the first at the Los Angeles Coliseum. After he scores what would have been the tying run in the ninth, Giants infielder Jim Davenport is called out for failing to touch third base.
1964 – Sandy Koufax fans the side on nine pitches in the third inning, becoming the first pitcher to do it twice, but Cincinnati wins 3-0.
1965 – California Angels rookie Rudy May has a no-hitter ruined in the eighth inning of his major league debut by Jake Wood’s double. The Angels lift him after nine innings of one-hit ball, and Detroit wins in 13 innings.
1966 – At the Astrodome, the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers play the first regular season game on Astroturf as the Dodgers defeat the Astros, 6 – 3. Don Sutton earns his first major league victory while fellow future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts takes the loss.
1970 – Nolan Ryan strikes out 15 batters and pitches a one-hitter as the New York Mets defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7 – 0, at Shea Stadium. It is the first shutout of Ryan’s career.
1981 – Reds pitcher Tom Seaver strikes out Keith Hernandez in the fourth inning of a 10-4 loss to the Cardinals, becoming the fifth pitcher in major league history to register 3,000 career strikeouts.
1982 – The Atlanta Braves defeated the Astros 6-5 in Houston to set a National League record as they won their 11th straight game to start the season.
1986 – Despite allowing no hits (and only three fair balls hit) with ten strikeouts in five innings, Texas rookie Bobby Witt is lifted in a game in Milwaukee. Why? Witt walks eight, and throws four wild pitches, allowing two runs. Texas rallies for three runs in the ninth to win 7-5.
1987 – Mike Schmidt hits his 500th career home run, a three-run shot off Pittsburgh’s Don Robinson in the top of the ninth inning, to give the Phillies an 8-6 win. Schmidt is the 15th major league player to reach 500 home runs.
1991 – New Comiskey Park opens with fanfare and a rout. The Tigers are the stars of the day as Detroit mauls the White Sox 16-0
2012 – Bartolo Colon displays a rare mastery of the strike zone in shutting out the Angels, 6 – 0. At one point, Colon throws 38 consecutive strikes, the longest such streak since all pitches were first recorded in 1988.
2023 – Clayton Kershaw records the 200th win of his career with a typical performance, holding the Mets scoreless over seven innings while racking up nine strikeouts in a 5 – 0 Dodgers win. At 200-88, Kershaw is just the fourth pitcher of the modern era to record his 200th win before having 100 losses, following Whitey Ford, Lefty Grove and Pedro Martinez.
2023 – The Atlantic League, which is now a partner league of Major League Baseball, will test out a number of potential rule changes this season, including: a designated pinch-runner, who can freely substitute for any baserunner at any point of the game without either player losing the ability to re-enter the game at a later time; limiting pitchers to a single disengagement from the mound per at-bat, instead of the current two; and tying the presence of the designated hitter in the game to that of the starting pitcher (i.e., after the starting pitcher leaves the game, the subsequent pitcher or a pinch-hitter must come to bat when the spot previously occupied by the DH comes up).
