April 19

Events, births and deaths that occurred on April 19.

[edit] Events

• 1890:
  • The Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who will later be known as the Dodgers, play their first National League game. At South End Grounds, the former American Association club loses to the host Boston Beaneaters, 15 - 9. Brooklyn will become the only team to win a title in one major league in one season, then win the pennant in their first season in a new league the following year.
  • The National League's biggest Opening Day crowd, 6,311 at West Side Park, watches Chicago Colts pitcher Wild Bill Hutchison beat the visiting Cincinnati Reds, 5 - 4, earning the first of his 42 wins and 65 complete games out of 66 starts in the season. Hutchinson will work 603 innings and relieve five times while sporting a 2.70 ERA.
• 1900 - The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Beaneaters, 19 - 17, in 10 innings to set a major league record for most runs scored by two clubs on opening day. The Braves score nine runs in the 9th inning to put the game into extra innings.
• 1920 - Washington Senators pitcher Al Schacht, who will later become the "Clown Prince of Baseball," throws a 7 - 0 shutout against the Philadelphia Athletics.
• 1928 - The New York Yankees are out of first place for the first time since May 1926 as they lose to the Boston Red Sox in the morning Patriots Day game at Fenway Park.
• 1938 - Emmett Mueller of the Philadelphia Phillies and Ernie Koy of the Brooklyn Dodgers each hit a home run in their first major league at-bats as Brooklyn defeats Philadelphia, 12 - 5, at the Baker Bowl.
• 1944 - Mel Ott of the New York Giants hits the first National League home run of the season, the 464th of his career, helping the Giants defeat the Boston Braves, 2 - 1.
• 1945 - Future Hall of Famer Joe Cronin of the Boston Red Sox breaks his leg running the bases. The injury will influence him to retire as a major league player. Cronin will continue to serve the Red Sox as their manager.
• 1948 - Stan Spence, Vern Stephens and Bobby Doerr hit consecutive home runs as the Boston Red Sox set a team record on Opening Day, but the long ball isn't enough as the Philadelphia Athletics beat Boston in 11 innings, 5 - 4.
• 1949 - The New York Yankees unveil a granite monument to Babe Ruth. Monument Park, located in the deep center field region of Yankee Stadium, also includes monuments for Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins.
• 1950 - Sid Gordon of the Boston Braves hits the first National League grand slam of the season, as Boston beats the New York Giants, 10 - 6, at the Polo Grounds. There will be 35 grand slams in the league and 68 in all this year. Both are records but both will later be topped.
• 1960 - Roger Maris makes his New York Yankees debut, batting four hits, including two home runs, against the Boston Red Sox.
• 1965 - At a cost of $20,000, the original Astrodome ceiling is painted because the sun's glare makes fielding fly balls hazardous. This will cause the grass to die and spur the introduction of artificial turf next season.
• 1966 - The California Angels play their first game at Anaheim Stadium. Rick Reichardt of the Angels hits the first home run in the new ballpark, but California loses the game, 3 - 1, to the Chicago White Sox.
• 1971 - Legendary broadcaster Russ Hodges dies from a heart attack in Mill Valley, California, at the age of 61. Hodges announced the Giants games in New York and San Francisco for 22 seasons, after working for four other teams. Hodges was best known for his famed "The Giants win the pennant!" call of Bobby Thomson's home run in 1951. Hodges will be the fourth recipient of the Ford Frick Award, posthumously, in 1980.
• 1979 - Rich Gossage and Cliff Johnson of the New York Yankees brawl in the clubhouse after a 6 - 3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Gossage suffers a sprained ligament in his thumb, which will keep him out of action until July 12th. As "punishment" for injuring the team's ace reliever, the Yankees will trade Johnson to the Cleveland Indians later in the summer.
• 1981 - The Oakland Athletics set a modern-day record for the most consecutive wins to start a season. Billy Martin's charges defeat the Seattle Mariners, 6 - 1, giving them their 11th straight victory. The 1982 Braves will surpass the mark by opening the season with 13 consecutive victories.
• 1984 - The Detroit Tigers suffer their first loss of the season after nine consecutive wins. The Tigers fall to the Kansas City Royals and rookie Bret Saberhagen, who earns his first major league victory.
• 1986 - Oakland Athletics pitcher Jose Rijo sets a club record with 16 strikeouts in eight innings as Oakland beats the Seattle Mariners, 7 - 2. The two clubs combine for 30 strikeouts overall, setting the modern major league record for a nine-inning game.
• 1987 - Rob Deer hits a three-run home run to tie the score and Dale Sveum wins the game with a two-run shot as the Milwaukee Brewers rally for five runs in the 9th inning to beat the Texas Rangers, 6 - 4, and set an American League record with their 12th straight victory to start the season.
• 1996 - Juan Gonzalez hits a home run and drives in six runs as Texas beats Baltimore, 26 - 7. Texas scores 16 runs in the 8th inning - one short of the modern major league mark - and scores the most runs by an American League team in 41 years. Jesse Orosco's ERA rises from an ugly 9.82 to an almost unfathomable 27.00. Orosco is relieved by infielder Manny Alexander, who gets the last two outs but walks off the mound with a 67.50 ERA.
• 1997 - A major league game is played in Hawaii for the first time. The San Diego Padres, who gave up three home games to further baseball relations and to allow renovations at Jack Murphy Stadium, play host for a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals at spacious Aloha Stadium. The Cardinals win both games, 1 - 0 and 2 - 1.
• 2000 - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser ties a major league mark, equaled by 19 others, hitting four batters in one game. Richard Hidalgo of the Houston Astros also ties a modern major league record by getting hit three times in the game, twice by Hershiser and a third time by Dodgers reliever Matt Herges.
• 2002 - Jeff Cirillo of the Seattle Mariners ties a major league record with 99 consecutive errorless games played at third base. The mark took previous holder John Wehner more than eight seasons to establish playing as a utility player with the Dodgers, Pirates and Marlins.
• 2005 - The New York Mets establish a club record for most home runs hit in a game with seven. At Citizens Bank Park, the Mets go deep with Jose Reyes (2), Victor Diaz (2) David Wright (grand slam), Mike Piazza and Doug Mientkiewicz connecting as they rout the Phillies, 16 - 4.
• 2006:
  • Ramón Hernandez of the Baltimore Orioles hits a home run with four RBI in an 18 - 9 win over the Cleveland Indians. Victor Martinez homers for Cleveland, extending his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest in the majors this season.
  • Curt Schilling opens a season with four straight winning starts for the first time, breezing through six innings and striking out seven to lead Boston over Tampa Bay, 9 - 1, at Fenway Park. Schilling ties Jim Bunning for 15th on the strikeouts list at 2,855.
  • The Kansas City Royals drop their 10th straight game, losing 4 - 0 to the Chicago White Sox. The reeling Royals, whose starting pitchers are 0-9 this season, have managed but one run and 11 hits in the three-game series against Chicago. Their 2-12 start is their second-slowest after 1992, when they lost 16 of their first 17.
  • Kenny Rogers improves to 24-4 at the Oakland Coliseum, leading Detroit to an 11 - 4 victory over the Athletics. Rogers is 22-1 in Oakland since 1995.
• 2009 - Randy Johnson takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning and combines with Bobby Howry and Brian Wilson for a 2 - 0 victory over the Diamondbacks. It is Johnson's 296th win, but his first with the San Francisco Giants.
• 2010:
  • The Mets' youngsters are in evidence in a 6 - 1 win over the Cubs. Jonathon Niese picks up the win with a solid effort over 5 2/3 innings; Jenrry Mejia, the youngest player in the National League, pitches the final two innings; and 1B Ike Davis goes 2 for 4 with an RBI in his major league debut. Angel Pagan adds a homer off James Russell, who suffers his first major league loss for Chicago.
  • Two young pitchers carry no-hitters deep into their starts today. Brandon Morrow of the Blue Jays does not give up a hit to the Royals until Yuniesky Betancourt singles with two out in the 6th. Jose Bautista hits two homers and drives in five runs in an 8 - 1 win. Morrow is the third Blue Jays pitcher to start a game with five or more hitless innings this season, after Shaun Marcum on opening day and Ricky Romero a week ago. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Doug Fister of the Mariners gives up his first hit to Nick Markakis, the first batter in the 7th inning, as Seattle jumps on Brad Bergesen to defeat the Orioles, 8 - 2.
  • The Padres get a walk-off home run from an unexpected source, 5-foot-7 infielder David Eckstein, who wraps a ball around the left-field foul pole in the 10th inning for a 3 - 2 win over Jeremy Affeldt and the San Francisco Giants.
• 2011:
  • The Orioles snap an 8-game losing streak with an 11 - 0 shellacking of the Twins at Camden Yards. Matt Wieters and Brian Roberts combine for 7 RBI, Vladimir Guerrero homers, and Jake Arrieta pitches 7 scoreless innings as Carl Pavano is victimized.
  • Mariano Rivera is saddled with a rare blown save, allowing the Blue Jays a comeback 6 - 5 win at the Rogers Centre. After homers by Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson turn an early 2 - 2 tie into a 5 - 3 Yankees lead, Yunel Escobar leads off the bottom of the 9th with a double off the all-time great closer, who already has seven saves this year. A wild pitch on a walk to Jose Bautista and a perfectly-executed squeeze bunt by John McDonald tie the game at 5-all. In the 10th, Travis Snider doubles home the winning run against Ivan Nova, pressed into the game as the Yankees' bullpen is depleted; Snider had gone 0 for 5 on the day and had snapped a bat into pieces in frustration after striking out with the bases loaded to end the 6th inning.
• 2012:
  • Curtis Granderson has the first three-homer game of his career, and the first of this major league season, as the Yankees defeat the Twins, 7 - 6. Granderson homers in his first three at-bats, then collects a pair of singles, to help New York overcome a four-run 1st inning by Minnesota. Phil Hughes is credited with his first win of the year and Mark Teixeira also homers for the Bronx Bombers.
  • Houston starts its game with the Nationals with the pedal to the metal, running out three triples in a five-run 1st inning on its way to an 11 - 4 win. Jose Altuve, Brian Bogusevic and Matt Downs leg out the three-base hits against loser Edwin Jackson. Houston bangs out 17 hits in support of Bud Norris, who drives in a pair of runs to help his own cause.
• 2013:
  • Boston's game against the Royals at Fenway Park is postponed as the city is in lockdown while a massive police chase takes place to find the second of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.
  • Jean Segura channels the ghost of Germany Schaefer in a bizarre 8th-inning play in the Brewers' 5 - 4 win over the Cubs. Segura singles and steals second base, and Ryan Braun follows by drawing a walk. Cubs pitcher Shawn Camp then picks Segura off second base, and he is caught in a rundown; Braun moves to second on the play, but Segura manages to escape the pickle and ends up on the base as well. The Cubs tag both runners, and umpire Phil Cuzzi correctly calls Braun out, as the lead runner is entitled to the bag. However, Segura misunderstands the call and, thinking he is out, starts walking back towards the dugout, before the first base coach tells him to stop at first base. As the play was the result of a mistake, and not an attempt sew confusion, Segura is allowed to remain at first base. He then attempts to steal second base again, but is thrown out. Schaefer is of course famous for stealing first base in a game on August 4, 1911.

[edit] Births

• 1845 - Nat Hicks, catcher, manager (d. 1907)
• 1861 - Jim McKeever, catcher (d. 1897)
• 1885 - Roy Mitchell, pitcher (d. 1959)
• 1886 - Scotty Ingerton, infielder (d. 1956)
• 1887 - Jack Martin, infielder (d. 1980)
• 1889 - Otto Jacobs, catcher (d. 1955)
• 1890 - Ralph Mitterling, outfielder (d. 1956)
• 1892 - Dave Black, pitcher (d. 1936)
• 1892 - Bugs Morris, pitcher (d. 1957)
• 1892 - Chick Shorten, outfielder (d. 1965)
• 1894 - John Donahue, outfielder (d. 1949)
• 1901 - Bernie DeViveiros, infielder (d. 1994)
• 1904 - Les Haserot, minor league infielder (d. 1957)
• 1907 - Bill Ferrazzi, pitcher (d. 1993)
• 1908 - Babe Phelps, catcher; All-Star (d. 1992)
• 1909 - Bucky Walters, pitcher, manager; All-Star (d. 1991)
• 1915 - Harry Craft, outfielder, manager (d. 1995)
• 1915 - Pedro Formental, minor league outfielder
• 1915 - Glenn McQuillen, outfielder (d. 1989)
• 1918 - Whitey Kurowski, infielder; All-Star (d. 1999)
• 1918 - Vidal López, minor league pitcher (d. 1972)
• 1920 - John O'Neil, infielder (d. 2012)
• 1935 - Don Gile, infielder
• 1935 - Hector Maestri, pitcher
• 1935 - John Wyatt, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1998)
• 1936 - Jorge Trigoura, Cuban league infielder and manager
• 1937 - Renato Vega, Mexican executive (d. 2009)
• 1939 - Gus Gil, infielder
• 1942 - Aaron Pointer, outfielder
• 1945 - Franklyn Aspillaga, Cuban league pitcher
• 1945 - Tommy Gramly, pitcher
• 1948 - Bob Jones, umpire
• 1948 - Rick Miller, outfielder
• 1949 - Gabriel Lugo, minor league infielder; Salon de la Fama
• 1951 - Dean Taylor, general manager
• 1955 - Mike Colbern, catcher
• 1955 - Kazuhiko Endo, NPB pitcher
• 1956 - Grady Fuson, scout
• 1958 - Ed Hodge, pitcher
• 1959 - R.J. Reynolds, outfielder
• 1960 - Frank Viola, pitcher; All-Star
• 1961 - Spike Owen, infielder
• 1964 - Scott Kamieniecki, pitcher
• 1968 - Bob Filotei, scout
• 1968 - Brent Mayne, catcher
• 1971 - Lars Koehorst, Hoofdklasse infielder
• 1971 - Sean Whiteside, pitcher
• 1973 - Heath Murray, pitcher
• 1973 - Willis Otanez, infielder
• 1974 - Jose Cruz, outfielder
• 1974 - Mike Drumright, minor league pitcher
• 1975 - Brent Billingsley, pitcher
• 1975 - John Leroy, pitcher (d. 2001)
• 1976 - Satoru Kanemura, NPB pitcher
• 1977 - Joe Beimel, pitcher
• 1977 - Dennys Reyes, pitcher
• 1977 - George Sherrill, pitcher; All-Star
• 1978 - Mayque Quintero, minor league pitcher
• 1979 - Nick Gorneault, outfielder
• 1982 - Ryan Ketchner, minor league pitcher
• 1983 - Alberto Callaspo, infielder
• 1983 - Zach Duke, pitcher; All-Star
• 1983 - Joe Mauer, catcher; All-Star
• 1983 - Curtis Thigpen, catcher
• 1984 - Ambiorix Burgos, pitcher
• 1984 - Jesus Delgado, pitcher
• 1984 - Joiset Feliciano, Puerto Rican national team outfielder
• 1987 - Hiroshi Katayama, NPB pitcher
• 1988 - Kevin Heijstek, Hoofdklasse pitcher
• 1990 - Jackie Bradley, outfielder
• 1990 - Brian Flynn, minor league pitcher
• 1991 - Yui Xingu, Japanese womens' national team pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1925 - Suter Sullivan, infielder (b. 1872)
• 1928 - Harry McCaffery, outfielder (b. 1858)
• 1934 - Charlie Hickman, infielder (b. 1876)
• 1935 - Jim Donahue, catcher (b. 1862)
• 1937 - Sam Nichol, outfielder (b. 1869)
• 1944 - Neal Pullen, Negro League catcher (b. 1892)
• 1950 - Dusty Miller, outfielder (b. 1876)
• 1954 - Red Gunkel, pitcher (b. 1894)
• 1956 - John Heydler, umpire; executive (b. 1869)
• 1957 - Preston Gray, minor league pitcher and manager (b. ????)
• 1958 - Bobbie Orrison, minor league outfielder (b. 1888)
• 1960 - Vallie Eaves, pitcher (b. 1911)
• 1960 - Bob Osborn, pitcher (b. 1903)
• 1963 - Pryor McBee, pitcher (b. 1901)
• 1965 - Bill Lauterborn, infielder (b. 1879)
• 1966 - Maury Kent, pitcher (b. 1885)
• 1968 - Tommy Bridges, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1906)
• 1968 - Allan Travers, pitcher (b. 1892)
• 1969 - Harry Cassady, outfielder (b. 1880)
• 1969 - Rip Collins, catcher (b. 1909)
• 1975 - Wes Kingdon, infielder (b. 1900)
• 1977 - Fred Carisch, catcher (b. 1881)
• 1980 - Sid Gautreaux, catcher (b. 1912)
• 1987 - Frank McElyea, outfielder (b. 1918)
• 1987 - Roy Partlow, Negro League and minor league pitcher (b. 1911)
• 1989 - Gale Staley, infielder (b. 1899)
• 1995 - Jack Wilson, pitcher (b. 1912)
• 2000 - Buster Haywood, Negro League catcher and manager (b. 1910)
• 2003 - Chris Zachary, pitcher (b. 1944)
• 2004 - Sam Nahem, pitcher (b. 1915)
• 2006 - Oscar Acosta, coach (b. 1957)
• 2008 - John Marzano, catcher (b. 1963)