April 26

Events, births and deaths that occurred on April 26.

[edit] Events

• 1901 - After two days of rain at Columbia Park, 10,547 fans witness the Philadelphia Athletics of Connie Mack make the their American League debut, losing to the visiting Washington Senators, 5 - 1.
• 1902 - At Sportsman's Park, Addie Joss of the Cleveland Bronchos pitches a one-hit shutout in his major league debut, beating the hometown St. Louis Browns, 3 - 0. The lone hit is a scratch single by Jesse Burkett.
• 1904 - Ty Cobb, making his pro baseball debut at the age of seventeen, hits a home run and double for the Augusta Tourists in the South Atlantic League.
• 1905 - Chicago Cubs outfielder Jack McCarthy throws out three runners at home plate, each time completing a double play, during a 2 - 1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. McCarthy becomes only the second outfielder in major league history to record three double plays in a single game.
• 1931 - At Griffith Stadium, a walk to Lyn Lary is followed by a Lou Gehrig home run, a smash which clears the fence, but bounces back into the hands of Senators center fielder Harry Rice. The baserunner Lary thinks the ball has been caught on the fly for the third out and returns to the dugout without crossing home plate; Gehrig, running with his head down, is ruled out for passing a runner in front of him, costing the Yankees a possible victory (they lose by two runs), the 1931 home run crown (he ties Babe Ruth with 46) and two RBI to add to his record-setting 184 for the season.
• 1941 - Wrigley Field becomes the first ballpark to install an organ to entertain fans, with Roy Nelson manning the keyboard. But Nelson's successful pregame serenade doesn't help the Chicago Cubs as they fall to pitcher Max Lanier and the rival St. Louis Cardinals, 6 - 2.
• 1946 - New York Giants pitchers Harry Feldman and Ace Adams defect to the outlaw Mexican League.
• 1955 - Bob Turley pitches a one-hit shutout and strikes out 10 to lead the New York Yankees to a 5 - 0 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
• 1957 - Don Bessent's quick pitch vs. Roberto Clemente's quick wrists? No contest. The Bucs' 7 - 1 trouncing of Brooklyn knocks the "Bums" out of first place and pulls Pittsburgh out of the cellar while Clemente's 7th-inning double, which drives the final nail in the 7 - 1 coffin, results from Bessent's ill-advised attempt to quick-pitch the whippet-wristed Roberto, as he will later recall.
• 1959:
  • Sadaharu Oh hits the first home run of his Nippon Pro Baseball career. Oh will go on to hit 868 home runs during his stellar career in Japan, setting a record for the most documented home runs in professional baseball history.
  • At Crosley Field, Cincinnati Redlegs pitcher Willard Schmidt becomes the first major leaguer to be hit by a pitch twice in one inning. Schmidt is the 3rd-inning target of Bob Rush and Lew Burdette as Cincinnati beats the Milwaukee Braves, 11 - 10.
• 1961 - At Tiger Stadium, Roger Maris hits his first home run of the season off Paul Foytack, and Mickey Mantle adds home runs from both sides of the plate for the eighth time in his career as New York defeat Detroit, 13 - 10.
• 1969 - The Baseball Records Committee decides to give Babe Ruth credit for one more home run during his career for a total of 715. The committee rules that one of Ruth's home runs had been incorrectly ruled a triple. The committee will later reverse its decision, returning Ruth to a total of 714 home runs.
• 1980 - Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies sets a modern day National League record by pitching his sixth career one-hitter. Carlton shuts out his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, 7 - 0.
• 1982 - Boston Red Sox rookie Wade Boggs collects his first major league hit when he singles against Rich Dotson of the Chicago White Sox. Boston wins, 3 - 2. Boggs will go on to win five American League batting championships.
• 1986 - The game between the California Angels and Minnesota Twins is delayed for nine minutes when strong winds tear a hole in the Metrodome roof, causing suspended lights and speakers to sag toward the field. The roof is reinflated and California rallies for six runs in the 9th inning to win, 7 - 6.
• 1988 - New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez hits a pair of home runs and drives in seven runs during a 13 - 4 rout of the Atlanta Braves. The seven RBI give Hernandez 1,000 for his major league career.
• 1990 - Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan ties Bob Feller's major league record by hurling his 12th career one-hitter. Ryan strikes out 16 batters in shutting down the Chicago White Sox, 1 - 0. The only hit allowed is Ron Kittle's 2nd-inning check-swing single to right field. The victory is the 293rd in Ryan's career.
• 1995 - A number of Major League Baseball teams open their season, reduced to 144 games because of the strike. Coors Field, the National League's first new baseball-only park in 23 years, opens in dramatic fashion in Denver, Colorado, as Dante Bichette of the Rockies hits a three-run home run to defeat the visiting Mets in 14 innings, 11 - 9, tying the National League record for most innings played in a season opener.
• 1997 - Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs breaks the major league record for most home runs by a second baseman as Chicago beats Pittsburgh, 7 - 6. His 267th career home run surpasses the old mark set by Joe Morgan from 1965 to 1984. Sandberg hit the first five home runs of his career as a third baseman before moving over to second.
• 2000:
  • Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos hits his 100th career home run to help Montreal beat Colorado, 9 - 2.
  • The St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record by hitting 50 home runs in April. Homers by Rick Ankiel, Jim Edmonds and Fernando Tatis in the 7 - 0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers help to break the mark established by the 1997 Cleveland Indians with 49.
• 2001:
  • Hideo Nomo of the Boston Red Sox just misses becoming the fifth pitcher since 1900 to hurl two no-hitters in a single season as former Gold Glove right fielder Darren Lewis just misses catching Torii Hunter's blooper in the top of the 7th inning. The hit, which many consider a questionable call by the official scorer, is the only one given up by Nomo in the 2 - 0 victory over the Twins. Nomo pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore on April 4th. He will miss another no-hitter on May 25th against Toronto.
  • Kevin Malone resigns as the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers after 2 1/2 years in the post. Despite having the National League's largest payroll, Los Angeles has failed to make the playoffs during his tenure.
• 2002:
  • Odalis Perez is perfect for six innings as the Dodgers beat the Cubs, 10 - 0, at Wrigley Field, but he winds up with a one-hitter after speedy Corey Patterson beats out a bad-hop infield single leading off the 7th. Perez faces the minimum 27 batters in his first career shutout.
  • Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd dismisses manager Buddy Bell. The 6-16 club will now be piloted by Clint Hurdle, Colorado's hitting coach for the past six seasons.
• 2005 - At Yankee Stadium, Alex Rodriguez slugs his way to the best performance of his career, hitting three home runs in his first three at-bats off Angels pitcher Bartolo Colón. The Yankees win, 12 - 4, as Rodriguez becomes only the 11th player in major league history to collect 10 or more RBI in a game. He is one RBI shy of the American League record of 11 set in 1936 by Hall of Famer and former Yankee Tony Lazzeri, and two short of the major league mark of 12 shared by Jim Bottomley (1924) and Mark Whiten (1993), both of the Cardinals.
• 2006:
  • Mike Piazza hits his 400th career home run in San Diego's 3 - 2 loss to Arizona at PETCO Park. Piazza is the 41st player in major league history to reach the 400-homer plateau, and one of nine active players to do it.
  • Kevin Mench sets a Texas Rangers record by homering in his sixth straight game, a 6 - 4, 10-inning loss to Oakland. Mench's grand slam in the 4th inning is his second during the streak and the third of his career. He has 20 RBI this season, all in the last seven games.
  • At Yankee Stadium, Tampa Bay beats New York, 4 - 2, despite setting a team record by walking 14 batters. It is the first time a team walks 14 and wins the game in 10 innings or less since this day in 1993, when Philadelphia did it over 10 innings against San Francisco.
  • Bronson Arroyo of the Cincinnati Reds strikes out eight over eight innings of one-hit ball to earn his fourth win, a 5 - 0 shutout of Washington.
• 2008 - The Dodgers top the Rockies, 11 - 3. Mark Redman allows 10 1st-inning runs but is left in the contest; such a scenario had not taken place in the major leagues for over a century. Redman throws shutout ball for the next five frames, but still takes the loss. Los Angeles sends 13 batters to the plate in the 1st, with a Matt Kemp grand slam the key blow.
• 2009:
  • In St. Louis, birthday boy Kosuke Fukudome of the Cubs homers and drives in five runs in Chicago's 10 - 3 win over St. Louis. The Japanese right fielder, who lost his starting job late in 2008 because of a prolonged hitting slump, is now batting .371 on the year.
  • Boston completes a three-game sweep with a 4 - 1 victory over the Yankees, Boston's 10th consecutive victory. Jacoby Ellsbury pulls off a straight steal of home against Andy Pettitte in the 5th inning in the game's key play. Justin Masterson has now won both of his starts in place of the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka.
  • The Rangers lose 8 - 5 to the Orioles. When Omar Vizquel comes in as a defensive substitute for Texas, he becomes the third player in major league history to play shortstop at age 42, following Luke Appling (1949) and Honus Wagner (1916).
• 2010:
  • The Phillies sign their star first baseman Ryan Howard to a five-year contract extension worth between $125-138 million. The deal should help set the price-tag for three other first basemen who may become free agents at the end of the season, Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols.
  • The Red Sox win a wild 13 - 12 game over the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Jason Varitek goes 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and Marco Scutaro is also 3 for 5, with 4 runs scored for the winners. But starter Josh Beckett cannot hold an early 5 - 0 lead and is chased after 3 innings, having given up 8 runs. Scott Schoeneweis earns his first win of the year in relief, and Jonathan Papelbon has to be summoned to pitch the 9th for the save. For the Jays, Lyle Overbay is 3 for 5 with a homer and 4 RBI, and Jose Bautista also has a homer and 4 RBI.
  • The Brewers pound the Pirates, 17 - 3, for their 22nd consecutive win over the Bucs at Miller Park, dating back to 2007. They have won all four of their games with Pittsburgh this year by a combined score of 53-5. Pirates OF Ryan Church comments: "There are no words to describe it. It's embarrassing. That about sums it up."
  • Josh Johnson pitches a three-hitter and strikes out 12 as the Marlins beat the Padres, 10 - 1. For good measure, Johnson matches the Padres' hit total by himself and drives in 3 runs.
  • The 2009-2010 Cuban Serie Nacional awards are given out. Alfredo Despaigne of Granma, the batting average and home run leader, is named MVP for the second straight season.
• 2011:
  • The Marlins are quietly off to the best start in franchise history, moving to 15-7 with a 4 - 2 win over the Dodgers. Hanley Ramirez breaks out of a 3 for 28 slump with two hits and two runs scored while Gaby Sanchez homers in support of Chris Volstad. For Los Angeles, Andre Ethier extends his hitting streak to 23 games, the longest-ever in April, with an RBI double in the 1st; teammate James Loney comes into the game hitting .170 but goes 4 for 4 in the first four-hit game of his career.
  • The Cleveland Indians bang five home runs in a 9 - 4 win over the Royals. Jack Hannahan hits two of the long balls, Shin-Soo Choo has a three-run shot, and Grady Sizemore and Matt LaPorta hit the other homers. Justin Masterson is now 5-0 for the first-place Indians.
  • Engel Beltre, an outfielder for the Frisco Rough Riders of the AA Texas League, is caught on tape throwing a trash can into the crowd in response to heckling by fans following manager Steve Buechele's ejection from a game in San Antonio, TX. Beltre will be handed a 15-game suspension and will also face criminal charges of disorderly conduct for his actions. Two fans are also charged for their role in the fracas, although officials are unable to identify which players also threw bats into the stands.
• 2012:
  • In his first start since throwing a perfect game on April 21st, the White Sox's Philip Humber comes crashing down to earth. He walks leadoff batter Mike Aviles, then yields a career-high 9 runs in 5 innings of work to be tagged with a 10 - 3 loss to the Red Sox. Kevin Youkilis hits a grand slam, while Jarrod Saltalamacchia homers twice to lead Boston. Humber breaks Catfish Hunter's 44-year-old record of 8 runs allowed in the start after a perfect game. "This game will humble you, man," Humber states after the shelling.
  • Pinch-hitter Brandon Allen hits a walk-off two-run homer off Los Angeles Angels closer Jordan Walden to give Tampa Bay a 4 - 3 win. Allen's first hit of the season extends the Rays' winning streak to five games.
• 2013:
  • Anibal Sanchez sets a new Tigers record by striking out 17 batters in 8 innings in beating the Braves, 10 - 0. Mickey Lolich held the previous record with 16. Sanchez strikes out out the side in the 8th to set the record, but having thrown 121 pitches, is not allowed to go out in the 9th to attempt to tie the all-time record of 20.
  • Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals pitches his first career shutout in defeating the Reds, 1 - 0, on a one-hitter. Xavier Paul's leadoff single in the 3rd is the only safety. Yesterday, Gio Gonzalez had given up only one hit in 8 innings and combined with Rafael Soriano for another one-hitter over the Reds.
  • The injury-plagued Yankees lose two more players, but continue to win. First, catcher Francisco Cervelli breaks his right hand when hit by a foul tip off Rajai Davis's bat on the fifth pitch of the game, then starter Ivan Nova has to leave after two innings with pain in his elbow. David Phelps steps in ably, giving one run in 4 innings and striking out 9, as the Yanks defeat the Blue Jays, 6 - 4. Cervelli's replacement, Chris Stewart, pitches in by throwing out a pair of Jays baserunners.

[edit] Births

• 1855 - Whitey Ritterson, catcher (d. 1917)
• 1869 - Fritz Clausen, pitcher (d. 1960)
• 1873 - Jim Cockman, infielder (d. 1947)
• 1882 - Irv Higginbotham, pitcher (d. 1959)
• 1887 - Jack Barry, infielder, manager (d. 1961)
• 1888 - Ray Caldwell, pitcher (d. 1967)
• 1888 - Olaf Henriksen, outfielder (d. 1962)
• 1895 - Buzz Murphy, outfielder (d. 1938)
• 1897 - Epp Sell, pitcher (d. 1961)
• 1899 - Cletus Dixon, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1986)
• 1900 - Hack Wilson, outfielder; Hall of Famer (d. 1948)
• 1902 - Steve Slayton, pitcher (d. 1984)
• 1903 - Dale Alexander, infielder (d. 1979)
• 1906 - Felipe Montufar, minor league pitcher; Salon de la Fama (d. 1956)
• 1913 - Packy Rogers, infielder (d. 1998)
• 1914 - Bernard Malamud, writer (d. 1986)
• 1917 - Sal Maglie, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1992)
• 1917 - Virgil Trucks, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2013)
• 1918 - Jack Kraus, pitcher (d. 1976)
• 1920 - Ron Northey, outfielder (d. 1971)
• 1921 - Gene Lambert, pitcher (d. 2000)
• 1922 - Sam Dente, infielder (d. 2002)
• 1926 - Merle Anthony, umpire (d. 1993)
• 1927 - Granny Hamner, infielder; All-Star (d. 1993)
• 1927 - Bob Zick, pitcher
• 1929 - Walt Kellner, pitcher
• 1935 - Nate Smith, catcher
• 1944 - Leon McFadden, infielder
• 1947 - Amos Otis, outfielder; All-Star
• 1949 - Bruce Ellingsen, pitcher
• 1950 - Tom Norton, pitcher
• 1952 - Hiromasa Arai, NPB outfielder
• 1953 - Arturo DeFreitas, infielder
• 1955 - Mike Scott, pitcher; All-Star
• 1958 - Bill Lyons, infielder
• 1960 - Steve Lombardozzi, infielder
• 1961 - Hideki Kuriyama, NPB outfielder and manager
• 1961 - Curtis Wilkerson, infielder
• 1963 - Lou Thornton, outfielder
• 1965 - Félix Cano, Division Honor infielder
• 1967 - Brian Warren, minor league pitcher
• 1969 - Aristides Bustamante, Panamanian national team manager
• 1969 - Ricky Trlicek, pitcher
• 1972 - Brian Anderson, pitcher
• 1972 - Francisco Cordova, pitcher
• 1972 - Felipe Lira, pitcher
• 1973 - Geoff Blum, infielder
• 1975 - Dany Scalabrini, minor league infielder
• 1976 - Scott Strickland, pitcher
• 1977 - Kosuke Fukudome, outfielder; All-Star
• 1977 - Chris Magruder, outfielder
• 1977 - Rick Matsko, minor league pitcher
• 1978 - Joe Crede, infielder; All-Star
• 1980 - Mike Wood, pitcher
• 1982 - Alejandro Machado, outfielder
• 1982 - Thomas Tseronis, Greek national team infielder
• 1983 - Yasushi Iihara, NPB outfielder-infielder
• 1984 - Shawn Kelley, pitcher
• 1984 - Brian Omogrosso, pitcher
• 1985 - Sean Rodriguez, infielder
• 1987 - Ben Orloff, minor league infielder
• 1988 - Hung-Cheng Lai, Taiwan national team pitcher
• 1989 - Kevin Ahrens, minor league infielder
• 1989 - Chad Bettis, minor league pitcher
• 1989 - Colin Kaline, minor league infielder
• 1991 - Takumi Akiyama, NPB pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1909 - Mike Dorgan, outfielder, manager (b. 1853)
• 1909 - Doc Powers, catcher (b. 1870)
• 1916 - Skyrocket Smith, infielder (b. 1868)
• 1924 - Moxie Manuel, pitcher (b. 1881)
• 1927 - Bill Gannon, outfielder (b. 1876)
• 1928 - Zeke Wilson, pitcher (b. 1869)
• 1930 - Jimmy Mace, pitcher (b. 1866)
• 1933 - Roy Graham, catcher (b. 1895)
• 1935 - John Thornton, pitcher (b. 1869)
• 1942 - Al Montgomery, catcher (b. 1920)
• 1942 - Hack Simmons, infielder (b. 1885)
• 1943 - Bob Emslie, pitcher (b. 1859)
• 1943 - Gene McCann, pitcher (b. 1875)
• 1950 - Lee Keyser, minor league executive (b. 1885)
• 1953 - Don Brennan, pitcher (b. 1903)
• 1956 - Cliff Blankenship, catcher (b. 1880)
• 1970 - Yats Wuestling, infielder (b. 1903)
• 1971 - Joe Agler, infielder (b. 1887)
• 1972 - Forrest Twogood, minor league pitcher (b. 1907)
• 1974 - Morrie Silver, minor league executive (b. 1909)
• 1976 - Alex Ferguson, pitcher (b. 1897)
• 1982 - Mike Kelly, pitcher (b. 1902)
• 1991 - Nate Andrews, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1913)
• 1993 - Roger Miller, pitcher (b. 1954)
• 1996 - Milt Gaston, pitcher (b. 1896)
• 1997 - Hideo Fujimoto, NPB pitcher; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1918)
• 1998 - Gabe Paul, general manager
• 1999 - Faye Throneberry, outfielder (b. 1931)
• 2002 - John Davis, infielder, minor league manager (b. 1915)
• 2003 - Danny Napoleon, outfielder (b. 1942)