April 21

Events, births and deaths that occurred on April 21.

[edit] Events

• 1880 - George Wright turns down the Providence Grays' final contract offer. Since the club has turned down an offer from the Worcester Ruby Legs, Providence will not allow any other club to negotiate with Wright. He will sit out the entire season (except for one game), becoming the first player victimized by the reserve system.
• 1887 - Joe McCarthy is born in Philadelphia. McCarthy will become the first manager to win pennants with both National and American League teams, and will win nine league titles overall and seven World Series championships. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.
• 1898 - At the Baker Bowl, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Bill Duggleby hits a grand slam in his first major league at-bat. In 1968, Bobby Bonds of the San Francisco Giants will hit one in his first game in his third at-bat, against the Dodgers, but Duggleby's feat will not be matched until August 31, 2005, when Jeremy Hermida of the Florida Marlins goes yard with the bases full against the Cardinals.
• 1900 - At South Side Park, the Chicago American League entry opens with the White Stockings losing to the visiting Brewers, 5 - 4.
• 1910 - The new League Park opens in Cleveland, with a capacity of 21,000. 18,832 watch Detroit and Ed Willett beat the Naps, 5 - 0.
• 1912 - The New York Giants and New York Highlanders stage an exhibition game to benefit survivors of the RMS Titanic. The Giants win the game, 11 - 2.
• 1929 - At Wrigley Field before 45,000, the Cubs top the Cardinals, 4 - 0, with Guy Bush winning over Willie Mitchell. Rogers Hornsby is 4 for 4 with two doubles, but he will go 1 for 13 in his next three games.
• 1934 - Washington Senators catcher Moe Berg sets an American League record by playing in his 117th consecutive game without an error. Berg, a backup catcher who plays sparingly for Washington, started the streak three seasons earlier.
• 1943 - The St. Louis Browns win their seventh consecutive Opening Day game in front of a reduced crowd of 4,000 fans due to war-time travel restrictions. Al Hollingsworth shuts out the Chicago White Sox, 3 - 0.
• 1946 - Frankie Hayes of the Cleveland Indians plays the last of his 312 consecutive games as a catcher. He started his streak on October 12, 1943, while playing for the St. Louis Browns.
• 1951:
  • At Griffith Stadium, Gil Coan of the Washington Senators collects two triples in the 6th inning. The Senators score seven runs in the frame, but that's it as they lose to the Yankees, 8 - 7. Tom Ferrick is the winning pitcher.
  • Led by Gus Bell, who belts a home run, three doubles and a single, the Pirates defeat Cincinnati, 7 - 5, at Crosley Field.
• 1955 - At Ebbets Field, the Brooklyn Dodgers beat Robin Roberts and the Philadelphia Phillies, 14 - 4, for their 10th consecutive victory from the start of the season, setting a major league record that will last until 1981.
• 1957:
  • A power failure stops a major league game for the first time in history. The night game between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium is halted after five innings.
  • Don Hoak of the Cincinnati Redlegs unwittingly brings about a change in the baseball rules. Leading off second base, Hoak intentionally interferes with an apparent double play grounder. Hoak is called out, but the batter is safe. A new rule will result: if a runner willfully interferes with a batted ball that could result in a double play, both the runner and the batter will be called out.
• 1958 - Frank House of the Kansas City Athletics scores two runs as a pinch hitter in an eight-run 8th inning, as the Athletics trim the Cleveland Indians, 9 - 4. House's feat is just only the sixth occurrence in major league history.
• 1959:
  • Don Demeter of the Dodgers hits three home runs, including the game winner in the 11th inning, in a 9 - 7 victory against the Giants at the Los Angeles Coliseum. One of his homers is an inside-the-park home run, as he drives in six runs.
  • Stan Musial breaks up another no-hitter, as his 7th-inning double off Glen Hobbie is the Cardinals' only hit in a 1 - 0 loss to the Cubs.
• 1961 - The Minnesota Twins, formerly known as the Washington Senators, play their first home game in Minnesota at Metropolitan Stadium, losing to the expansion "new" Washington Senators, 5 - 3.
• 1963 - In the Northwest League, slugger Rico Carty hits two home runs in one at-bat, but only one counts. The Yakima Bears catcher hits a home run, but the blast is negated because time had been called. Carty, a future major league star, proceeds to hit a "legitimate" home run later in the at-bat.
• 1966 - The Chicago Cubs make one of the best trades in franchise history, acquiring future Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins from the Philadelphia Phillies in a five-player deal. The Cubs surrender pitchers Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson for Jenkins, outfielder Adolfo Phillips, and first baseman John Herrnstein. Jenkins, who had made his major league debut in 1965, will win 20 games for the Cubs in 1967.
• 1967 - After 737 consecutive games, the Dodgers are rained out for the first time since moving to Los Angeles. The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled.
• 1968 - Roberto Clemente comes within a hair's breadth of hitting inside-the-park home runs in consecutive innings. Ironically, his 4th-inning home run is basically a single plus the kind of bounce that typically plagues "in-" rather than "out-" fielders in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field. The Sporting News' Les Biederman elaborates: "He hit a 'single' to right-center off Lindy McDaniel but as Ty Cline set himself, the ball took a big bounce over his head and rolled to the wall. Clemente circled the bases standing up." This fluke four-bagger provides a stark contrast to the previous inning's bomb: "His 3rd-inning triple landed on top of the batting cage at the 457-foot sign on the center field wall, a tremendous blast... Clemente said he didn't turn on the gas because he was the leadoff batter and figured if he could get as far as third base, it would be fine. 'With nobody out, I didn't want to take a chance,' he added. 'When I turned second base and saw Alex Grammas give me the green light, I kept going. It had to be a perfect relay to get me.'"
• 1971 - Willie Stargell hits three home runs, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10 - 2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Stargell, who also hit three home runs against Atlanta on April 10th, will set a major league record - since broken - for the most home runs in April with eleven.
• 1972 - The Texas Rangers play the first home game in franchise history. Veteran slugger Frank Howard hits the first home run at Arlington Stadium, as Texas post a 7 - 6 victory over the California Angels. The Rangers, formerly the Washington Senators, moved to Texas after the 1971 season.
• 1982 - The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4 - 3, for their 13th straight victory to begin the season.
• 1984 - In only his second start since August 1982, Montreal Expos pitcher David Palmer throws five perfect innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 4 - 0 victory stopped by rain.
• 1987 - The Milwaukee Brewers' 13-game winning streak from the start of the season ends with a 7 - 1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Milwaukee's 13-0 start tied the major league record set by the the Atlanta Braves in 1982.
• 1991 - In the greatest extra-inning comeback in major league history, the Pittsburgh Pirates score six runs in the bottom of the 11th inning to erase a five-run Cubs lead built in the top of the inning on Andre Dawson's grand slam. The Pirates had rallied earlier from a 7 - 2 deficit to tie the game in the 9th.
• 1994 - Cleveland Indians first baseman Eddie Murray hits home runs from both sides of the plate in a game for the 11th time in his career to break the record set by Mickey Mantle. Cleveland beats the Twins, 10 - 6. The two homers also move Murray past Dave Kingman into 20th place on the all-time list with 444.
• 1996:
  • Gerardo Sánchez plays in his 1,167th consecutive game, setting a new Mexican League record; Rolando Camarero had held the mark for a couple of decades.
  • Brady Anderson leads off the 1st inning with a home run for the fourth straight game for the Baltimore Orioles. The Texas Rangers overcome that homer, beating the Orioles, 9 - 6.
• 2000 - The Anaheim Angels down the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9 - 6. Mo Vaughn and Tim Salmon hit back-to-back home runs for Anaheim in the 4th inning, then repeat the feat in the 9th. Troy Glaus also homers in those same two innings, marking the first time in major league history that three players homer in the same inning twice in the same game. The three players with two home runs in the game ties another major league record.
• 2002:
  • Rafael Furcal hits three triples to tie the modern major league record as the Atlanta Braves defeat the Florida Marlins, 4 - 2. The last player to accomplish the feat was Lance Johnson of the Chicago White Sox in 1995. The last time a Braves player hit three three-baggers in one contest was on June 13, 1956 when Danny O'Connell accomplished the feat.
  • The Arizona Diamondbacks trounce the Colorado Rockies, 7 - 1, as Randy Johnson strikes out 17 batters in becoming the first pitcher this year to win five games. It is the sixth time Johnson has fanned 17 or more in a game.
  • Making his first appearance in almost seven years, Jose Rijo allows one unearned run in five innings as the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Chicago Cubs, 5 - 3. It is Rijo's first win since July 13, 1995.
• 2006:
  • At Rogers Centre, Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox hits two home runs in the 12-inning, 7 - 6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Ramirez's first homer is his 200th with the Red Sox and 436th for his career. He also hit 236 homers with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the fourth major leaguer to hit 200 homers with two different teams, after Jimmie Foxx, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro.
  • Alfonso Soriano hits three home runs and matches his career high with five RBI to lead the Washington Nationals to a 7 - 3 victory over John Smoltz and the Atlanta Braves at RFK Stadium.
  • Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, last year's National League batting champion and a two-time Gold Glove winner, will be sidelined at least two months with two broken bones above his right wrist. His glove hand was bent backward in a collision with Rafael Furcal of the Dodgers on April 19th.
  • Morgan Ensberg of the Houston Astros homers in his franchise-record sixth straight game, hitting a two-run shot to lead Houston over Pittsburgh, 3 - 2.
• 2008 - Santiago de Cuba completes a four-game sweep in the 2007-2008 Serie Nacional finals. The fourth game is the closest, a 2 - 1 win, with the deciding run not coming until the 8th. Héctor Olivera Jr. is driven in by an Alexei Bell single in that frame; on the mound for the losing Pinar del Rio is Pedro Luis Lazo, Cuba's all-time leader in wins.
• 2009:
  • Andy Pettitte picks up the win and Mariano Rivera gets the save when New York defeats Oakland, 5 - 3, in the first night game played at New Yankee Stadium. It is the 57th time that Rivera has saved a Pettitte win, tying the Oakland Athletics duo of Bob Welch and Dennis Eckersley of the late 1980s and early 1990s for the highest total in major league history.
  • The Cleveland Indians turn double plays in six straight innings in disposing of the Kansas City Royals, 8 - 7. Aaron Laffey is the beneficiary of this sparkling defensive performance, helped by Grady Sizemore's three-run homer in the 4th inning. Kansas City rallies for 4 runs in the 8th, until Jensen Lewis forces Miguel Olivo to hit into the club-record-tying sixth twin killing of the night. Kerry Wood allows a two-run homer to David DeJesus in the 9th, but still picks up the save.
• 2010:
  • Philip Hughes of the Yankees justifies the decision to return him to the starting rotation, pitching a no-hitter for 7 innings before Eric Chavez of the Athletics bounces a ground ball towards the mound to open the 8th. The ball hits Hughes's left forearm and lands for a single in front of the pitcher. The Yankees win the game, 3 - 1.
  • Roy Halladay continues to be outstanding for the Phillies. Today, he pitches his first shutout in the National League, disposing of the Braves, 2 - 0. He is now 4-0, 0.82 for the season.
  • The Dodgers let their bats do the talking in pounding the Reds, 14 - 6 in Cincinnati. Los Angeles bangs out 18 hits, with Rafael Furcal leading the way with a 3 for 5 performance; Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier add homers for the benefit of Hiroki Kuroda. Reds pitcher Aaron Harang benefits from a rare reversal of a call by the umpiring crew in the 4th. Batting with the bases loaded and 2 outs, he hits a low liner to Ethier in right field. Ethier traps the ball, but first base umpire Tim McClelland declares a catch and the inning over. After protests from manager Dusty Baker and first base coach Billy Hatcher, the umpires confer and reverse the call, giving Harang an RBI single that ties the game 4 - 4 at that point.
• 2011:
  • Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association come to an agreement on paying pensions for major league players active from 1947 to 1979 who failed to qualify for a pension at the time. Until 1979, players needed to have completed four full years of major league service to qualify for a pension, leaving hundreds short. Since 1980, pension benefits accrue from the first day a player spends in the majors. 904 players will receive benefits thanks to the agreement.
  • Chad Huffman has a career day with the Columbus Clippers in a 19 - 3 rout of the Louisville Bats in the International League. Huffman belts three homers and drives in 10 runs in the contest, setting a team record for runs driven in in a game; he drives in at least one run in each of his six plate appearances, including a bases-loaded walk, a run-scoring ground ball out and a single off Johnny Cueto. On a rehabilitation assignment from the Reds, Cueto is the starter and loser, giving up 8 runs in 1 2/3 innings, but the three homers come off three different relievers who succeed him on the mound.
• 2012:
  • Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox throws a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field, a 4 - 0 victory for the ChiSox. A.J. Pierzynski becomes only the second catcher ever to be behind the plate for two perfectos.
  • With no sense of history, the Red Sox continue to have a highly embarassing week while celebrating Fenway Park's centenary. Today, they take a 9 - 0 lead over the Yankees, only to collapse totally, coughing up 15 unanswered runs to lose the game. 14 of the runs come courtesy of a bullpen that has been horrendous since the season started. With his team trailing 9 - 1 in the 7th, Nick Swisher gets the Bronx Bombers rolling with a grand slam off Vicente Padilla; Mark Teixeira adds a three-run shot before the inning ends. But that only serves to set up a nightmarish 8th inning, during which three other relievers give up 7 more runs as manager Bobby Valentine is booed heartily every time he comes out of the dugout to make a pitching change. With two-thirds of their starting outfield on the disabled list, the reeling Sox make a trade after the game, acquiring CF Marlon Byrd from the Cubs in return for P Michael Bowden and a player to be named later.
  • Colby Rasmus hits a pair of homers to help Drew Hutchison register a 9 - 5 win for the Blue Jays in his major league debut against the Royals. For Kansas City, it is a 9th straight loss.

[edit] Births

• 1845 - George Fletcher, outfielder (d. 1879)
• 1855 - Hardy Richardson, infielder (d. 1931)
• 1863 - Germany Smith, infielder (d. 1927)
• 1887 - Joe McCarthy, catcher (d. 1978)
• 1887 - John Raleigh, pitcher (d. 1955)
• 1890 - Wally Reinecker, infielder (d. 1957)
• 1894 - Charlie Maisel, catcher (d. 1953)
• 1902 - Lefty Weinert, pitcher (d. 1973)
• 1906 - Ken Strong, minor league outfielder (d. 1978)
• 1909 - Jim Boyer, umpire (d. 1959)
• 1909 - Bill Chamberlain, pitcher (d. 1994)
• 1913 - Bert Hogg, infielder (d. 1973)
• 1918 - Jack Brewer, pitcher (d. 2003)
• 1919 - John Britton, Negro League and NPB infielder
• 1919 - Stan Rojek, infielder (d. 1997)
• 1921 - Vivian Anderson, AAGPBL infielder (d. 2012)
• 1921 - Bob Rinker, catcher (d. 2002)
• 1930 - Belasco Bossard, minor league infielder (d. 2000)
• 1931 - Patricia Brown, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2012)
• 1935 - Mack Burk, catcher
• 1935 - Tom D'Armi, college coach (d. 2010)
• 1937 - Bill Haywood, pitcher
• 1937 - Gary Peters, pitcher; All-Star
• 1938 - Bill Berrier, minor league outfielder
• 1940 - Bill Faul, pitcher (d. 2002)
• 1941 - Dick Green, infielder
• 1947 - Al Bumbry, outfielder; All-Star
• 1950 - Greg Harts, pinch hitter
• 1951 - Randy Sterling, pitcher
• 1953 - Joe Keener, pitcher
• 1953 - Claude Westmoreland, minor league outfielder
• 1957 - Jesse Orosco, pitcher; All-Star
• 1960 - Greg Legg, infielder
• 1962 - Les Lancaster, pitcher
• 1962 - Sang-kun Lee, KBO pitcher
• 1963 - Ken Caminiti, infielder; All-Star (d. 2004)
• 1966 - Chris Donnels, infielder
• 1971 - Brian O'Connor, college coach
• 1972 - Keith Williams, outfielder
• 1973 - Kevin Brown, catcher
• 1974 - Cliff Brumbaugh, outfielder
• 1975 - Carlos Castillo, pitcher
• 1975 - Masafumi Hirai, NPB pitcher
• 1975 - Aquilino Lopez, pitcher
• 1975 - Dean Rovinelli, Italian Baseball League infielder
• 1977 - Kip Wells, pitcher
• 1978 - Jack Taschner, pitcher
• 1979 - Yong-taik Park, KBO outfielder
• 1979 - Johnny Peerens, First Division infielder
• 1979 - Terry Tiffee, infielder
• 1980 - Mussdiq Hanif, Pakistani national team infielder
• 1980 - Jeff Keppinger, infielder
• 1980 - Juan Carlos Urbina, Nicaraguan national team outfielder
• 1981 - Ryan Christianson, minor league catcher
• 1981 - Tim McIlvaine, scout
• 1981 - Ronny Paulino, catcher
• 1981 - Evaldo Yamaoka, Brazilian national team infielder
• 1982 - Wayne Lundgren, minor league pitcher
• 1982 - Maximo Nelson, NPB pitcher
• 1983 - Kyle Wilson, minor league pitcher
• 1984 - Zach Kroenke, pitcher
• 1984 - Robert Marcial, minor league infielder
• 1984 - Gus Milner, minor league outfielder
• 1985 - Adam White, minor league player
• 1986 - Ed Kahovec, college coach
• 1987 - Ryan Adams, infielder
• 1987 - Brent Morel, infielder
• 1988 - Dominik Loffler, Austrian national team infielder
• 1988 - Muhammad Sumair Zawar, Pakistani national team outfielder
• 1989 - Josh Rutledge, infielder
• 1992 - Joc Pederson, minor league outfielder
• 1994 - Shaq Thompson, minor league outfielder

[edit] Deaths

• 1881 - Josh Snyder, outfielder (b. 1844)
• 1895 - Jim Tipper, outfielder (b. 1849)
• 1907 - Nat Hicks, catcher, manager (b. 1845)
• 1915 - Jack Allen, infielder (b. 1855)
• 1917 - Cooney Snyder, catcher (b. 1873)
• 1918 - Pete Woodruff, outfielder (b. 1874)
• 1921 - Tom O'Brien, infielder (b. 1860)
• 1923 - Joe Ellick, outfielder, manager (b. 1854)
• 1947 - Steamer Flanagan, outfielder (b. 1881)
• 1949 - Harry Morelock, infielder (b. 1869)
• 1950 - Ed Kizziar, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1892)
• 1952 - Larry LeJeune, outfielder (b. 1885)
• 1956 - Chick Doak, college coach (b. 1884)
• 1959 - Don Black, pitcher (b. 1916)
• 1961 - Lum Davenport, pitcher (b. 1900)
• 1962 - Bill Norman, outfielder, manager (b. 1910)
• 1965 - Steve Biras, infielder (b. 1922)
• 1965 - Jock Somerlott, infielder (b. 1882)
• 1968 - Fred Applegate, pitcher (b. 1879)
• 1971 - Epitacio Torres, minor league outfielder; Salon de la Fama (b. 1921)
• 1979 - Cliff Bolton, catcher (b. 1907)
• 1980 - Ray Dobens, pitcher (b. 1906)
• 1980 - Joe Page, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1917)
• 1987 - Haruyasu Nakajima, NPB outfielder; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1910)
• 1990 - Johnny Beazley, pitcher (b. 1918)
• 1991 - Dick Weik, pitcher (b. 1927)
• 1993 - Hal Schumacher, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1910)
• 1994 - Charles Pagliarulo, minor league infielder (b. 1935)
• 1996 - Walker Cress, pitcher (b. 1917)
• 2001 - Sandy Ullrich, pitcher (b. 1921)
• 2001 - Hal White, pitcher (b. 1919)
• 2002 - Sam Dente, infielder (b. 1922)
• 2005 - Ed Butka, infielder (b. 1916)
• 2007 - Don Ramsay, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1920)
• 2012 - Jack Balestreri, minor league player (b. 1916)
• 2012 - Harry Heslet, minor league catcher (b. 1920)
• 2012 - George Tesnow, minor league player and manager (b. 1924)