April 15

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 15.

[edit] Events

1876 - The Alleghenies bring professional baseball to what is now Pittsburgh playing their first game at Union Park. Next year, the team will be accepted into the minor-league International Association but will disband in 1878.
1909 - Before an Opening Day crowd of 30,000 at the Polo Grounds, Red Ames of the New York Giants pitches a no-hitter for nine innings against the Brooklyn Superbas, surrenders a hit with one out in the tenth, then loses the game 3 - 0 in the 13th. The Giants outfield has no putouts.
1915 - Rube Marquard of the New York Giants no-hit the Brooklyn Robins, winning 2 - 0.
1918 - The American League season opens with Babe Ruth pitching a four-hit 7 - 1 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics. Boston Red Sox manager Ed Barrow will start Ruth's conversion to slugger by working him into 72 games in the outfield and first base.
1942 - At Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Hiram "˜Hi' Bithorn becomes the first Puerto Rican to play in major league baseball. The Cubs right handed pitcher from Santurce makes a relief appearance in the 4 - 2 loss to the Cardinals.
1947 - 28-year-old Jackie Robinson makes a historic debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American to play major league baseball in the 20th century. Robinson goes 0-for-3 in his debut, but scored the deciding run in a 5 - 3 victory over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. He handles 11 chances at first base, a new position for him. Coach Clyde Sukeforth, interim manager and the man credited with first scouting Robinson, guides the Dodgers to two victories before stepping down. Robinson is the first black player to appear in the majors since 1884.
1954:
- After a 51-year absence, big league ball returns to Baltimore as a crowd of 46,354 watch the Orioles beat the White Sox, 3 - 1, in the first game played at Memorial Stadium. Clint Courtney of the Orioles hits the first major league home run in the ballpark. A Baltimore ownership group, which included Clarence Mills, Jim Keelty, Jerry Hoffberger and Zanvyl Krieger, bought the former St. Louis Browns and brought the franchise to the Charm City.
- Hank Aaron collects the first hit of his major league career. The Milwaukee Braves' rookie goes 2-for-5 in a 7 - 6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
1957 - U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower officially opened the 1956 season by tossing out the first ball at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. The ball was the 10 millionth Spalding baseball to be used in major league play.
1958 - Major league baseball came to California as the transplanted Giants and Dodgers played the first game on the Pacific Coast. The Californian contest at San Francisco's Seals Stadium sees Ruben Gómez blanking Los Angeles and Don Drysdale. Daryl Spencer hit the first home run and Orlando Cepeda also homers in the Giants' 8 - 0 victory in front of 23,448 fans.
1968 At the Astrodome, the New York Mets and Houston Astros play the longest game in National League history. The six hour and six-minute contest, in which each team had 79 at-bats and 11 hits, ends in the 24th inning when Bob Aspromonte's grounder goes through the legs of shortstop Al Weis as the Astros win 1 - 0. It sets the mark as the longest NL game played to completion, the longest major league night game, and the first 23 innings are the longest major league scoreless game. The game ties the American League's longest complete game (Philadelphia Athletics 4, Boston Red Sox 1 in 24 innings on September 1, 1906).
1972 - Reggie Jackson sports a mustache as the Oakland Athletics top the Minnesota Twins, 4 - 3, in 11 innings. Jackson is the first major league player with facial hair since Frenchy Bordagaray in 1936. Jackson starts a trend with Oakland, as owner Charlie Finley eventually encourages all of his players to grow mustaches. By the end of the season, the Athletics will become known as the "Mustache Gang" .
1976 - The New York Yankees defeat the Minnesota Twins, 11 - 4, in the first game at the newly renovated Yankee Stadium. Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, and the widows of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth take part in pre-game ceremonies at the Stadium, which had been closed for the 1974 and '75 seasons.
1977 - Hank Aaron becomes the first player to have his uniform number retired by two teams. The Atlanta Braves retire his No. 44 during a pre-game ceremony. The Milwaukee Brewers had previously retired Aaron's number.
1983 - Detroit Tigers pitcher Milt Wilcox is one out away from a perfect game when pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston singles, and Wilcox settles for a 6 - 0 one-hitter over the Chicago White Sox. This is only the third time in major league history a perfect bid has been stopped with one out to go.
1987 - Juan Nieves throws the first no-hitter in Milwaukee Brewers history, winning 7 - 0 against the Baltimore Orioles. Nieves strikes out seven and Glenn Braggs, Greg Brock, and Dale Sveum support him with home runs.
1993:
- Sparky Anderson earned his 2,000th victory as a manager as the Detroit Tigers rallied to beat the Oakland Athletics 3 - 2.
- Andre Dawson became the 25th player to hit 400 home runs as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 4 - 3.
1997 - The 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in major league baseball is celebrated before 54,047 at Shea Stadium during a game between the Mets and the Dodgers. U.S. President Bill Clinton and Jackie's widow, Rachel Robinson, both speak during the 35-minute presentation, but the surprise of the evening occurs when acting Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Robinson's number 42 will be retired in perpetuity for every team. On the field, the Mets beat the Dodgers 5 - 0.
1998 - The first-ever American League-National League doubleheader ends up a good day for New York. The Yankees are forced to come to Shea Stadium after a beam falls into the stands at Yankee Stadium on April 13. The Yankees earn their first victory in Queens in 22 years as they defeat the Angels 6 - 3. Former Mets star Darryl Strawberry, the all-time home run leader at Shea, adds to his total with a shot into the left field bleachers. In the regularly-scheduled night game, the Mets beat the Cubs 2 - 1. The Yankees, who played at Shea in 1974-75 while Yankee Stadium was renovated, drew a crowd of 40,743, a dramatic contrast to the gathering of 16,012 who showed up for the Mets game at night.
2000 - In the 2,800th game of his career, Baltimore Orioles infielder Cal Ripken, Jr. lines a base hit off Minnesota Twins pitcher Hector Carrasco to become the 24th major leaguer to reach the 3,000 career hit milestone. The single also makes Ripken only the seventh player to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs in major league history.
2004 Fifty-seven years after the historic event, major league baseball begins the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration marking the day the color line was broken. At big league parks across the country there are ceremonies honoring the ground-breaking Brooklyn Dodgers rookie second baseman, including commissioner Bud Selig joining his widow, Rachel Robinson, for a Shea Stadium tribute.
2005 - To commemorate the 58th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game in the big leagues, the Los Angeles Dodgers wear replicas of the old road uniforms worn by the 1947 team which played in Brooklyn. Derek Lowe throws a three-hitter blanking the host San Diego Padres, 4 - 0.
2008 - José López makes history by hitting three sacrifice flies in a 11-6 Mariners win over Kansas City. He is the 12th player in major league history to accomplish that feat. He drives in Willie Bloomquist twice and Kenji Johjima once.