April 16

Events, births and deaths that occurred on April 16.

[edit] Events

• 1928 - Boston Braves pitcher Charlie Robertson has his glove removed from the game by umpire Charlie 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 broadcasters to identify the players more easily.
  • 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 by Detroit Tigers pitcher Earl Whitehill in the Indians' 5 - 4, 11-inning victory.
• 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.
• 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 Eddie 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.
  • On Opening Day at Griffith Stadium, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt throws the ceremonial first pitch as Boston Red Sox pitcher Lefty Grove shuts outs the Washington Senators, 1 - 0.
• 1945 - The Boston Red Sox give tryouts to three Negro League players: Sam Jethroe, Jackie Robinson, and Marvin Williams. The three players work out at Fenway Park, but none are signed to contracts. Later this year, Robinson will sign a minor league contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers and, ironicaally, the Red Sox will be the last major league team to integrate.
• 1946 - On Opening Day at the Polo Grounds, Mel Ott of the New York Giants hits his 511th and final home run in the 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 major league baseball 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.
• 1961 - Beginning his historic chase of Babe Ruth's 60 home run season-record, Roger Maris connects for his first homer in the twelfth game of the season for the Yankees. The 5th-inning solo shot is off Detroit Tigers pitcher Paul Foytack.
• 1962 - Roberto Clemente's 5th-inning, three-run blast out of Wrigley Field makes everyone forget his 1st-inning error, putting Pittsburgh up by one, en route to a 6 - 5 win over Chicago.
• 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 past the Polo Grounds. It is named in honor of William A. Shea, the man who brought National League baseball back to New York.
• 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 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-hits the Philadelphia Phillies, 5 - 0. Less than a year later, his brother Ken, of the Houston Astros, will pitch a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves, making the siblings the only brothers to throw complete game no-hitters in major league baseball.
• 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 hits three home runs, including a grand slam, in his first three at-bats. In total, Kingman drives 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.
• 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 extend 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 1988 Atlanta Braves and the overall 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.
• 2000 - Chuck Finley of the Cleveland Indians, who was already the only pitcher in major league history 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 3rd inning; Finley beats the Texas Rangers, 2 - 1, with the help of back-to-back 9th-inning home runs from Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome.
• 2002 - Lance Berkman hits three home runs in his first three at-bats and drives in five runs to lead the Astros' 8 - 3 victory over Cincinnati.
• 2005:
  • Manny Ramirez hits a two-run home run and a grand slam to knock in all of Boston's runs in a 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 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 ties a major league record by 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 becomes the first player in American League history to hit eight home runs in his team's first 12 games.
  • Albert Pujols belts 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.
  • Richard Orman of the Pioniers wins his 114th game in Hoofdklasse, setting the record for left-handers. Craig McGinnis had previously held the mark. Orman tosses 8 shutout innings against Sparta/Feyenoord in the win, with Dave Draijer getting the save. Orman has previously pitched in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system.
• 2009
  • The Cleveland Indians spoil the opening of New Yankee Stadium with a 10 - 2 win over the New York Yankees. Jhonny Peralta hits a two-run double off Jose Veras to break a 1 - 1 tie, then Grady Sizemore delivers the KO with a grand slam off Damaso Marte. Jorge Posada is the first batter to homer in the Yankees' new ballpark with a solo shot off winning pitcher Cliff Lee in the 5th. New York had won 16 of their final 17 home openers at the old Yankee Stadium.
  • The Washington Nationals finally enter the win column, defeating the Phillies, 8 - 2, at home. Shairon Martis benefits from four home runs to get the win, which comes after the Nats lost seven straight to open the season.
  • The Mariners fall, 5 - 1, to the Angels but Ichiro Suzuki makes history in the losing effort. He collects the 3,086th hit of his pro career, breaking the Japanese record held for decades by Isao Harimoto.
• 2010:
  • Roy Halladay is acclimatizing well to the National League. He earns his third victory of the young season in an 8 - 6 Phillies win in wet conditions over the Florida Marlins. Working quickly, "Doc" allows only two runs in eight innings, but his bullpen makes things interesting as the Marlins collect five hits and four runs against David Herndon in the 9th. In the game, Florida's Jorge Cantu's record streak of games with a hit and RBI from the start of the season ends at 10, as he is unable to collect an RBI.
  • Giants CF Aaron Rowand suffers a fractured cheek and a mild concussion when hit by a pitch thrown by Vicente Padilla in the 5th inning of a game against the Dodgers. Rowand is taken to the hospital, and will be placed on the disabled list two days later. The Giants lose 10 - 8, as Todd Wellemeyer falls to Padilla.
• 2011 - The Mets are swept in a doubleheader for the second time in three days as they go down, 4 - 2 and 4 - 0, to the Atlanta Braves. In the second game, Jair Jurrjens throws seven shutout innings in his return from the disabled list, while Alex Gonzalez is the hero in the opener, hitting two of the Braves' four solo homers in support of Derek Lowe's pitching. The Mets have now lost seven in a row.
• 2012:
  • Kendrys Morales hits his first homer since breaking his ankle celebrating a walk-off grand slam on May 29, 2010. Morales missed the rest of 2010 and all of 2011 recovering from the injury. His three-run blast off Brandon McCarthy in the 1st comes in support of a strong performance by Jered Weaver, who tosses 6 2/3 scoreless innings and records his 1000th career strikeout in the game. Three relievers succeed Weaver to complete the Angels' 6 - 0 combined shutout of the Athletics.
  • Roy Halladay records his first-ever victory over the Giants in Philadelphia's 5 - 2 win, also helping his own cause with an RBI single in the 4th. "Doc" has now recorded wins against 29 of the 30 major league teams, the only one missing from his trophy list being the Phillies.
• 2013:
  • The Rockies battle the elements to sweep the Mets in a doubleheader at home. The opener is delayed by two hours as an 8-inch snowfall has to be removed from the field, with Colorado owner Dick Monfort pitching in by manning a shovel, and the day concludes when Jordan Pacheco singles home the winning run in the 10th inning of the second game, for a 9 - 8 win. The Rockies also win the opener, 8 - 4, as the games are played in frigid conditions and occasional snow flurries. Reporters quip that there are more snowmen than fans at Coors Field.
  • The Braves hit five solo homers to win their 10th straight game, 6 - 3, over Kansas City. Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Dan Uggla all homer to put the Braves ahead in the 8th, following two earlier long balls by Juan Francisco. The final run is driven in by Chris Johnson after the barrage of dingers in the 8th. It is the Braves' longest winning streak since 2000.

[edit] Births

• 1866 - Jim Devlin, pitcher (d. 1900)
• 1867 - Piggy Ward, outfielder (d. 1912)
• 1870 - Pop Swett, catcher (d. 1934)
• 1874 - Ira Belden, outfielder (d. 1916)
• 1880 - Crese Heismann, pitcher (d. 1951)
• 1880 - Phil Stremmel, pitcher (d. 1947)
• 1881 - Gene Ford, pitcher (d. 1973)
• 1883 - Ed Gagnier, infielder (d. 1946)
• 1887 - Ichiro Kimishima, author/Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1975)
• 1891 - Ricardo Torres, catcher (d. 1960)
• 1892 - Dutch Leonard, pitcher (d. 1952)
• 1900 - Walt Schulz, pitcher (d. 1928)
• 1903 - Paul Waner, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1965)
• 1905 - Nicholas Jones, umpire (d. 1987)
• 1906 - Tommy Sewell, pinch hitter (d. 1956)
• 1915 - Pete Hughes, minor league star outfielder (d. 2001)
• 1916 - Mary Garber, writer (d. 2008)
• 1916 - Pete Suder, infielder (d. 2006)
• 1922 - Joe Bauman, minor league infielder (d. 2005)
• 1925 - Alton Brown, pitcher
• 1928 - Ronnie King, minor league catcher
• 1929 - Ed Winceniak, infielder
• 1938 - Rich Rollins, infielder; All-Star
• 1939 - Bernie Allen, infielder
• 1940 - Garry Roggenburk, pitcher
• 1942 - Jim Lonborg, pitcher; All-Star
• 1943 - Frank Fernandez, catcher
• 1944 - Bob Montgomery, catcher
• 1945 - Jim Hoff, minor league manager
• 1946 - Sergio Robles, catcher
• 1953 - Don Reynolds, outfielder
• 1953 - Bruce Taylor, pitcher
• 1954 - Bruce Robinson, catcher
• 1955 - Bruce Bochy, catcher, manager
• 1955 - Rick Jones, pitcher
• 1958 - Norm Churchill, minor league pitcher
• 1958 - Rick Grapenthin, pitcher
• 1960 - Toshio Azuma, NPB umpire
• 1960 - Curt Young, pitcher
• 1969 - Ken Suzuki, NPB pitcher
• 1969 - Ken Takahashi, pitcher
• 1969 - Fernando Vina, infielder; All-Star
• 1971 - Ken Carlyle, college coach
• 1971 - Marc Sagmoen, outfielder
• 1972 - Antonio Alfonseca, pitcher
• 1973 - Dan Brabant, minor league pitcher
• 1974 - Michael Leys, First Division pitcher
• 1975 - Kelly Dransfeldt, infielder
• 1975 - David Francia, minor league outfielder
• 1976 - Jason Huisman, college coach
• 1979 - Justin Huisman, pitcher
• 1979 - Justin Wayne, pitcher
• 1980 - Nidia Pineda, Venezuelan womens' national team outfielder
• 1981 - Matt Clanton, minor league pitcher
• 1982 - Hagen Rätz, Bundesliga utility man
• 1983 - Juan Cuevas, Guatemalan national team outfielder
• 1983 - Tommy Manzella, infielder
• 1985 - Luis Alen, minor league catcher
• 1985 - Coraly Ortiz, Puerto Rican womens' national team outfielder
• 1986 - Jessica Kroeskop, Dutch womens' national team pitcher
• 1986 - Jonathan Phillips, minor league infielder
• 1987 - Richard Bleier, minor league pitcher
• 1987 - Roman Lopata, Ukrainian national team infielder
• 1988 - Shogo Akiyama, NPB outfielder
• 1991 - Nolan Arenado, infielder
• 1991 - Paco Rodriguez, pitcher
• 1992 - Jin-young Kim, minor league pitcher
• 1992 - Tsz-Tung Wu, Hong Kong national team pitcher
• 1994 - Albert Almora, minor league outfielder

[edit] Deaths

• 1893 - John Fox, pitcher (b. 1859)
• 1895 - Jack McQuaid, umpire (b. 1859)
• 1907 - Bill Zies, catcher (b. 1867)
• 1910 - Bill Kienzle, outfielder (b. 1862)
• 1910 - Tom Loftus, outfielder, manager (b. 1856)
• 1913 - Jerry Harrington, catcher (b. 1869)
• 1914 - Podge Weihe, outfielder (b. 1862)
• 1916 - Jim McTamany, outfielder (b. 1863)
• 1924 - Buster Hoover, outfielder (b. 1863)
• 1931 - Bucky Veil, pitcher (b. 1881)
• 1941 - Howard Wakefield, catcher (b. 1884)
• 1944 - Pop Foster, outfielder (b. 1878)
• 1945 - Chick Fewster, infielder (b. 1895)
• 1946 - Pete Allen, catcher (b. 1868)
• 1948 - Dick Kauffman, infielder (b. 1888)
• 1953 - Dolly Gray, pitcher (b. 1897)
• 1955 - Louis Graff, catcher (b. 1866)
• 1956 - George Puccinelli, outfielder (b. 1907)
• 1964 - Charlie Case, pitcher (b. 1879)
• 1964 - Gus Williams, outfielder (b. 1888)
• 1965 - Chick Tolson, infielder (b. 1898)
• 1967 - Jim Tennant, pitcher (b. 1907)
• 1968 - John Michaelson, pitcher (b. 1893)
• 1970 - Mal Eason, pitcher (b. 1879)
• 1971 - William Eckert, commissioner (b. 1909)
• 1971 - Ron Northey, outfielder (b. 1920)
• 1972 - Lou Perini, owner (b. 1903)
• 1975 - Frank Wayenberg, pitcher (b. 1898)
• 1980 - Jerry Conway, pitcher (b. 1901)
• 1981 - Effa Manley, Negro League owner; Hall of Famer (b. 1897)
• 1985 - Benny Zientara, infielder (b. 1918)
• 1989 - Jocko Conlan, outfielder; Hall of Famer (b. 1899)
• 1991 - Al Verdel, pitcher (b. 1921)
• 1999 - Kaoru Betto, Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1920)
• 2001 - Hank Riebe, catcher (b. 1921)
• 2007 - Jean Marlowe, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1929)
• 2011 - Bill Kinnamon, umpire (b. 1919)
• 2013 - Jack Daniels, outfielder (b. 1927)