April 16 In Baseball

1800S

1900S

1910S

1920S

1928 - Boston Braves Pitcher Charlie Robertson has his glove removed from the game by Umpire Moran after the Brooklyn Robins complain the ball is acting strangely. The Boston hurler still manages to win, 3–2.

1929 :

---The New York Yankees are the first team in major league baseball to permanently feature numbers on the backs of their uniforms. The numbers correspond to each player’s position in the Batting Order . The numbers also allow fans and Broadcast ers to more easily identify the players.

--- Earl Averill of the Cleveland Indians becomes the first American League player to hit a Home Run in his first major league At-bat when he blasts an 0-and-2 pitch off Detroit Tigers Pitcher Earl Whitehill in the Indians' 5–4, 11-inning victory.

1930S

1935 - Babe Ruth , at age 40, has a sensational National League debut with the Boston Braves as he hits a Single and Home Run off New York Giants legend Carl Hubbell . Although the Braves beat New York, 4–2, the team will go on to win only 37 more games this season.

1938 - The St. Louis Cardinals trade Pitcher Dizzy Dean to the Chicago Cubs for pitchers Curt Davis and Clyde Shoun and $200,000.

1940S

1940 - Working in 47-degree weather, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians hurls the first and only Opening Day No-hitter in major league history. Feller outduels Edgar Smith of the Chicago White Sox in winning a 1–0 decision at Comiskey Park . During one At-bat , White Sox star Luke Appling Fouls Off 15 straight pitches, but fails to get a hit. ''Box Score''

---On Opening Day at Griffith Stadium , U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt threws the ceremonial first pitch as Boston Red Sox Pitcher Lefty Grove Shuts Outs the Washington Senators , 1–0.

, Jackie Robinson , and Marvin Williams . The three players work out at Fenway Park , but none are signed to contracts. Later in the season, Robinson will sign a Minor League contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers .

1946 - On Opening Day at the Polo Grounds , Mel Ott of the New York Giants hits his 511th and final Home Run in the New York Giants 8–4 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies . Ott hits his homer off Phillies left-hander Oscar Judd . The next day Ott will injure his knee diving for a ball and play only occasionally thereafter.

1948 - The super station '' WGN-TV '' televises a MLB game for the first time. With Jack Brickhouse doing the Play-by-play , the White Sox beat the Cubs , 4-1, in the first game of the Windy City Classic played at Wrigley Field .

1950S

1960S

1961 - Beginning his historic Home Run chase of Babe Ruth ’s 60 Home Run season-record, Roger Maris connects for his first homer in the twelfth game of the season. The fifth-inning solo shot is off Detroit Tigers Pitcher Paul Fovtack .

1964 - The Mets new home, Shea Stadium , is christened with Dodgers ' Holy Water from the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn and Giants ' Holy Water from the Harlem River at the location where it flowed passed the Polo Grounds . It was called in honor of William A. Shea , the man who brought National League baseball back to New York .

1970S

1970 - Cincinnati Reds pitching ace Jim Maloney tears his Achilles Tendon while running the bases and is replaced by Rookie left-hander Don Gullett , who Wins his first major league game. Although Maloney will eventually make a comeback from the injury, he will never win another game.

1972 - Chicago Cubs Rookie Burt Hooton hurls a 4–0 No-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field . It is Hooton's fourth major league game over two seasons. He has allowed just eight hits in 30 Innings Pitched with his Knuckle - Curve .

1977 - Regulations force Oakland Athletics Pitcher Vida Blue to discard his old, discolored lucky cap because it is no longer identical in color, trim and style to those of his teammates.

1978 - Bob Forsch of the St. Louis Cardinals No-hit the Philadelphia Phillies , 5–0. Less than a year later, his brother Ken , of the Houston Astros , pitched a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves , making the siblings the only brothers to throw no-hitters in major league baseball.

1980S

1983 - Los Angeles Dodgers First Baseman Steve Garvey appears in his 1,118th straight National League game, breaking the mark held by Billy Williams .

1984 - Dave Kingman of the Oakland Athletics hit three Home Run s, including a Grand Slam , in his first three At-bat s. In total, Kingman Drove In eight runs in a 9–6 victory over the Seattle Mariners .

1987 - Hall Of Fame Umpire Jocko Conlan dies in Scottsdale, Arizona , at the age of 89. Conlan served as an American League arbiter from 1941 to 1965 after a brief major league playing career with the Chicago White Sox . He also umpired in five World Series . He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1974.

1990S

1990 - Kelly Gruber becomes the first player in Toronto Blue Jays history to Hit For The Cycle in a 15–8 victory against the Kansas City Royals . His teammates buy him a Tricycle in recognition of the accomplishment.

1997 - The Chicago Cubs set the mark for worst start in National League history, making three more Errors as they extended their losing streak to 12 with a 4–0 loss to the Colorado Rockies . Chicago broke the modern NL record of 0-10 set by the Atlanta Braves in 1988 and the overall NL record of 0-11 by the 1884 Detroit Wolverines .

1999 - Beating the San Diego Padres , 6–4, Jim Leyland of the Colorado Rockies becomes the 45th Manager to win 1,000 games.

2000S

2000 - Chuck Finley of the Cleveland Indians , who was already the only pitcher in MLB to Strike Out four batters in one inning twice, does it for the third time as he strikes out Tom Evans , Royce Clayton , Chad Curtis (who takes first base on a Passed Ball ) and Rafael Palmeiro in the third inning; Finley beats the Texas Rangers , 2–1, with the help of back-to-back ninth-inning Home Run s from Manny Ramírez and Jim Thome .

2002 - Lance Berkman hits three Home Run s in his first three At-bat s and Drove In five runs to lead the Astros ' 8–3 victory over Cincinnati .

2005 :

--- Manny Ramírez hits a two-run Home Run and a Grand Slam to knocks in all Boston Red Sox runs in the 6–2 victory against Tampa Bay . Matt Clement Wins in his Fenway Park debut. It is Ramirez's 18th career grand slam, most among active players. The blast ties him for third on the all-time grand slam list with Willie McCovey and Robin Ventura , behind only Eddie Murray (19) and Lou Gehrig (23). It is Ramirez's 40th career multi-homer game (38 two-homer games, two three-homer games).

--- Reed Johnson of the Toronto Blue Jays tied a major league record for being Hit By Pitches three times in a game, two with the Bases Loaded , in the Blue Jays' 8-0 victory over Texas .

2006 :

--- Chris Shelton of the Detroit Tigers became the first player in American League history to hit eight Home Run s in his team's first 12 games, according to historian David Vincent and the '' Elias Sports Bureau ''.

--- Albert Pujols belted three home runs, including a game winning two-run blast, to power the St Louis Cardinals to an 8–7 decision over the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium .

BIRTHS

1903 - Paul Waner , Hall of Fame outfielder (d. 1965 )

1916 - Pete Suder , infielder

1938 - Rich Rollins , All-Star infielder

1939 - Bernie Allen , infielder

1940 - Garry Roggenburk , pitcher

1942 - Jim Lonborg , All-Star pitcher

1944 - Bob Montgomery , catcher

1955 - Bruce Bochy , player and manager

1960 - Curt Young , pitcher

1969 - Fernando Viña , All-Star infielder

1972 - Antonio Alfonseca , pitcher

1975 - Kelly Dransfeldt , infielder

1979 - Justin Wayne , pitcher

DEATHS

1910 - Tom Loftus , manager (b. 1856 )

1944 - Pop Foster , outfielder (b. 1878 )

1945 - Chick Fewster , infielder (b. 1895 )

1953 - Dolly Gray , pitcher (b. 1897 )

1971 - Ron Northey , outfielder (b. 1920 )

1989 - Jocko Conlan , Hall of Fame umpire (b. 1899 )

2001 - Hank Riebe , pitcher (b. 1921 )

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April 16 In Baseball