April 12

From BR Bullpen


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Stats of players who were born this day
Stats of players who died on this day
Standings on this day
Permanent link to Today's Entry
Sources
Baseball Library Chronology
Today in Baseball History

Events, births and deaths that occurred on April 12.

[edit] Events

1906 - Johnny Bates of the Boston Beaneaters became the first modern player to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, when he connects in the second inning against Brooklyn Superbas pitcher Harry McIntire. Pitcher Irv Young allowed only one hit, a double by Harry Lumley, as Boston beat Brooklyn 2 - 0.
1909 - With Christy Mathewson sidelined with diphtheria, Red Ames pitches the opener for the New York Giants, a 3 - 2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at the Baker Bowl.
1912 - The Chicago Cubs famed double play combination of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance makes its final appearance together in a 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.
1916 - The Cleveland Indians acquire outfielder Tris Speaker from the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Sad Sam Jones, minor league infielder Fred Thomas, and $55,000 cash. In 1916 Speaker will lead the American League in batting (.386), slugging (.502), on-base percentage (.470), hits (211), doubles (41), and total bases (287).
1922 - There are no playing managers in the National League for the first time since 1900. Long considered an economic necessity, the dual role is no longer essential. It will be 1930 before the American League has a year with all bench managers.
1928 - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander opens his 18th season by shutting out the Pittsburgh Pirates 5 - 0.
1955:
- After a big civic parade, the transplanted Athletics open their first season in Kansas City with a victory over the Tigers, 6 - 2, at Municipal Stadium. The standing-room crowd of 32,147 is the largest paid crowd for any event in Kansas City.
- In a 4 - 2 win over the Reds, Milwaukee Braves rookie Chuck Tanner hits an eighth-inning pinch-homer in his first major league at-bat.
1960:
- With 42,269 fans in attendance, the San Francisco Giants edge the St. Louis Cardinals, 3 - 1, in the first game played at Candlestick Park. Giants pitcher Sam Jones throws a three-hitter, and Cardinals outfielder Leon Wagner hits the first home run in the $15 million stadium. In the third inning, the umpires protest that the foul poles are several inches in fair territory, rather than on the foul lines: the Giants will make the correction after the season.
- Chuck Essegian's 11th-inning pinch-hit home run beats the Chicago Cubs, 3 - 2, before a record Opening Day crowd (67,550) at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The home run is Essegian's third straight as a pinch hitter, including two in the 1959 World Series. Don Drysdale pitches a complete game for the Dodgers, striking out 14 Cubs.
- The Detroit Tigers make one of their best trades ever, acquiring Norm Cash from the Cleveland Indians for Steve Demeter. In 1961, Cash will lead the American League with a .361 batting average, and will go on to hit 373 home runs for the Tigers in 14 seasons.
1962 - Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Pete Richert makes his major league debut and strikes out the first six batters he faces. Richert ties a record originally set by Karl Spooner in 1954.
1965 - Richie Allen of the Philadelphia Phillies hits the first regular season home run in the history of the Astrodome. Allen connects against Houston Astros pitcher Bob Bruce in the Phillies' 2 - 0 victory. Previously, Mickey Mantle had hit the first overall home run in the Astrodome in an exhibition game between the Astros and the New York Yankees.
1966 - Before a crowd of 50,671 at Fulton County Stadium, the Braves play their first game in Atlanta after moving from Milwaukee. Joe Torre hits two home runs for the Braves, but Willie Stargell spoils the occasion with a two-run homer in the 13th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3 - 2 victory.
1970 - Plaques honoring Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle are dedicated at Yankee Stadium. The plaques are located in center field and will eventually be moved to "Monument Park" beyond the left field fence when the stadium is renovated in the mid-1970s.
1980
- At County Stadium, Cecil Cooper and Don Money of the Milwaukee Brewers each hit second inning grand slams against the Boston Red Sox. The base-clearing home runs lead the Brewers to an 18 - 1 win, which includes a two-run homer by Gorman Thomas and a solo shot by Robin Yount.
- After eight years with the California Angels, Nolan Ryan makes his debut with the Houston Astros. Ryan, who did not come to bat the previous seven seasons, hits a 3-run homer in the 4th inning. The Astros lose to the Dodgers in 17 innings, 6 - 5.
1992 - At Cleveland Stadium, Boston Red Sox left-hander Matt Young pitches eight no-hit innings, but loses a 2 - 1 decision to the Cleveland Indians in the first game of a doubleheader. In the second game, Roger Clemens shut outs Cleveland as the Indians manage only two hits against him, setting a major league club-record for fewest hits (2) in a twinbill.
1994 - Scott Cooper hits for the cycle and drives in five runs to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 22 - 11 rout of the Kansas City Royals.
2003 - The Detroit Tigers win for the first time this season, getting a three-run home run from Shane Halter to beat the Chicago White Sox, 4 - 3. The Tigers (1-9), the only team since 1900 to start back-to-back seasons with nine straight losses, started 0-11 in 2002.
2004 - Bobby Abreu of the Philadelphia Phillies hits the first home run in the new Citizens Bank Park. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will display the bat used by Abreu.
2008:
- Fausto Álvarez becomes the oldest player in Hoofdklasse history. In a 13 - 2 opening day win for Amsterdam, the slugger who is 47 years and 5 months old, shows no signs of age. He goes 4 for 4 with a home run. Álvarez breaks Stan Bahnsen's record; Bahnsen had been 47 years and 4 months when he had last played in the Netherlands.
- Tomoaki Kanemoto lines a single for his 2,000th hit in Nippon Pro Baseball. He becomes the 37th Japanese professional player to reach that level and earns entry into the meikyukai with the hit. He had been mired in an 0-for-15 slump after his 1,999th hit.
- Mike Hartley becomes perhaps the first former major leaguer to play in the Bundesliga. The 46-year-old player-coach throws two relief innings (the 7th and 8th), walking two, striking out two and allowing one unearned run in a 10 - 8 win for the Heidenheim Heideköpfe over the Mainz Athletics. Simon Gühring, a former Brewers minor leaguer, gets 3 hits to lead Heidenheim's offense.
2009:
- Aaron Harang of the Cincinnati Reds pitches the first shutout of the season when he disposes of the Pirates 2 - 0 on three hits. Brandon Phillips hits a two-run homer for the Reds. Pittsburgh pulls off a triple play in the 8th inning in going down in defeat. It is the first triple play by Pittsburgh in 16 years and their first triple play on the road since 1968, when Gene Alley and Bill Mazeroski teamed with Donn Clendenon on one, also against Cincinnati.
- In St. Louis, Kyle Lohse of the Cardinals joins Harang with a three-hit shutout of his own in beating Houston. After giving up a single to leadoff hitter Kazuo Matsui, Lohse sets down the next 24 batters in order on his way to a 3 - 0 victory.
- For the second time in a week, a team draws four bases-loaded walks in one inning. This time, it's the Chicago Cubs who profit, in a game in which four Brewer pitchers issue 10 free passes and hit two batters. The Cubs score 4 runs in the top of the 4th inning thanks to Milwaukee's generosity, but the key play in the 9 - 5 victory happens in the bottom of the fifth when Reed Johnson robs Prince Fielder of a grand slam by climbing over the right field fence at Miller Park. Ryan Dempster is the winner in the nationally-televized contest. On April 8, the Phillies had also drawn four bases-loaded walks in an inning.