- 1885 - A lower court in New York decides that playing baseball on Sunday is a crime. This decision will be overturned, but it will be appealed.
- 1945 :
- ---With World War II travel restrictions still in effect, the Brooklyn Dodgers open spring training at Bear Mountain, New York , with 15 players in camp. Seven teams — the St. Louis Browns , Detroit Tigers , Cincinnati Reds , Cleveland Indians , Chicago Cubs , Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox — are training in Indiana , the most of any state. The Boston Red Sox are at Tufts College while the Boston Braves are prepping at the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut .
- --- Bert Shepard , a one-legged Pitcher , begins a successful tryout with the Washington Senators . Shepard’s leg was amputated after a World War II flying mission. Shepard will pitch in only one game for the Senators, but his stint will be impressive. On August 4, he will pitch five and one-third innings of one-run ball against the Boston Red Sox . Also a symbol of wartime baseball, Outfielder Pete Gray of the St. Louis Browns , will field and bat with only one arm.
- 1971 - Bernice Gera , a 39-year-old New York housewife, files a lawsuit against organized baseball, claiming violation of her Civil Rights . Mrs. Gera had completed an Umpire school and signed a contract to work in the New York-Penn League , only to see the deal had been voided six days later with no explanation. Gera will eventually umpire one game before quitting.
- 2006 - Two games were played today in Round Two of the inaugural World Baseball Classic :
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--At Angel Stadium , Chan Ho Park and four relievers combined to pitch a six-hitter, Jong Beom Lee hit a two-run Double in the eighth inning, and South Korea beat Japan , 2–1, to clinch a spot in the semifinals. The United States , who would have been eliminated with a low-scoring win by Japan, can wrap up the other semifinal berth tomorrow with Roger Clemens on the mound by beating Mexico . South Korea went 3-0 in Round 2; the United States is 1-1, Japan finished 1-2, and Mexico is 0-2. The US beat Mexico 2-0 in the first round. South Korea (6-0) still as the only team undefeated in the Classic.
--At Hiram Bithorn Stadium , Cuba earned a berth in semifinals after defeating Puerto Rico , 4–3. After getting pounded 12–2 by Puerto Rico in the first round, Cuba won two of its last three games to advance. Puerto Rico, which won its first four games of the WBC, was eliminated.
- 1860 - Arlie Latham , infielder (d. 1952 )
- 1870 - Doc Casey , infielder (d. 1936 )
- 1898 - Rosy Ryan , pitcher (d. 1980 )
- 1907 - Lou Fette , All-Star pitcher (d. 1981 )
- 1919 - Whitey Wietelmann , infielder (d. 2002 )
- 1919 - Ray Noble , catcher (d. 1998 )
- 1938 - Bob Locker , pitcher
- 1944 - Wayne Granger , pitcher
- 1946 - Bobby Bonds , All-Star outfielder (d. 2003 )
- 1949 - Jim Kern , All-Star pitcher
- 1955 - Mickey Hatcher , OF/ IF
- 1959 - Harold Baines , All-Star OF/ DH
- 1960 - Mike Pagliarulo , infielder
- 1974 - Robert Fick , All-Star IF/ OF
- 1975 - Vladimir Núñez , pitcher
- 1979 - Kevin Youkilis , infielder
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