March 31
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on March 31.
[edit] Events
- 1880 - The Worcester Ruby Legs offers the Providence Grays the sum of $1,000 for the right to negotiate with George Wright.
- 1883 - The Olympic Town-Ball Club of Philadelphia, the nation's oldest ball club, celebrates its 50th anniversary.
- 1909 - The National Commission rules that players who jump contracts will be suspended for five years. Players joining outlaw organizations will be suspended for three years as punishment for going outside organized baseball.
- 1945 - Vince DiMaggio is sent by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitcher Al Gerheauser.
- 1958:
- The Cleveland Indians trade Gene Woodling, Dick Williams and Bud Daley to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Larry Doby and Don Ferrarese.
- The Milwaukee Braves purchases veteran Dick Littlefield from the Chicago Cubs. The well-traveled pitcher will be wearing his 10th and last ML uniform.
- 1959 - In a trade that helps neither team, Milwaukee Braves send pitcher Gene Conley and infielders Joe Koppe and Harry Hanebrink to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Stan Lopata, shortstop Ted Kazanski and infielder Johnny O'Brien. Conley will go 12 - 7 before going on the disabled list from August to the close of the season.
- 1962:
- The Pacific Coast League proposal to use a designated hitter is voted down by the Professional Baseball Rules Committee 8-1. Prompted by the Cubs' college of coaches, the committee also rules each team must name a manager 30 minutes prior to the game. The DH will not come into major league use until 1973, when it is adopted by the American League.
- The Milwaukee Braves send infielders Andre Rodgers and Daryl Robertson to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitchers Moe Drabowsky and Seth Morehead.
- 1968 The American League new franchise in Seattle chooses Seattle Pilots as its nickname. The Pilots will last only one season in Seattle before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers.
- 1969 - Veteran utility player Chico Salmon is traded from the expansion Seattle Pilots to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitcher Gene Brabender and infielder Gordy Lund. Salmon will play for three consecutive pennant winners in Baltimore from 1969 to 1971, while the Pilots last only one season in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee.
- 1971 - In a four-player trade, the New York Mets send 1969 World Series hero Ron Swoboda to the Montreal Expos. Swoboda will go to the Yankees in June.
- 1980 - The Montreal Expos trade 1B/OF Rusty Staub to the Texas Rangers in exchange for IF Chris Smith and OF LaRue Washington.
- 1982 - The Texas Rangers trade OF/1B Al Oliver to the Montreal Expos in exchange for OF/3B Larry Parrish and minor leaguer Dave Hostetler.
- 1993:
- Bill White, the first black to serve as a league president, resigns from his National League post. He will remain at the job until March of 1994.
- The St. Louis Cardinals send pitcher Mark Clark and a minor leaguer to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for outfielder Mark Whiten. Whiten will have a career season for St. Louis in 1993.
- 1994:
- The New York Mets trade hard-luck right hander Anthony Young to the Chicago Cubs for shortstop Jose Vizcaino. Young holds the major league record for the most consecutive losses by a pitcher.
- The Chicago White Sox assign NBA superstar Michael Jordan to theDouble-A Birmingham Barons of the Southern League.
- 1995 - The longest strike action in sports history ends - in a courtroom. A U.S. District court order forbids owners from implementing new financial working conditions in the wake of the negotiations impasse. The court decides that conditions will revert to the old rules from the previous season. Because of the timing of the court order, 18 games will have to be trimmed from the major league schedule.
- 1996 - For the first time in major league history, the regular season opens in March with the Seattle Mariners beating the Chicago White Sox in 12 innings, 3 - 2 at the Kingdome. Five Mariners pitchers strike out 21 batters, with Randy Johnson strike outs collecting 14 Sox in seven innings. The American League unveiled its new colorful red polo shirts for the umpires, part of the "What a Game" campaign to lure fans back to the parks. The last sartorial change was in the 1970s when AL umps wore red blazers for several years. National League umpires will stick with traditional blue.
- 1998:
- In their first game ever, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays lose to the Detroit Tigers 11 - 6. Pitcher Wilson Alvarez takes the loss for Tampa while third baseman Wade Boggs hit the first home run in team history and drives in three runs.
- The Arizona Diamondbacks drop a 9 - 2 decision to the Colorado Rockies in their first game ever. Andy Benes is tagged with the loss, and rookies Travis Lee, who gets three hits, and Karim Garcia hit home runs. Vinny Castilla drives in five runs for Colorado.
- The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies tie the National League mark for the longest Opening Day game, with New York coming out on top with a 1 - 0 victory in 14 innings on pinch-hitter Alberto Castillo's single. Curt Schilling shuts out the Mets for the first eight innings on only two hits, while strikes out nine.
- Cincinnati Reds shortstop Pokey Reese, starting in place of Barry Larkin who is on the disabled list, commits four errors on his first three chances in the field as the Reds lose their opener, 10 - 2, to the San Diego Padres.
- Florida Marlins catcher Charles Johnson, who had not committed an error in a record 172 consecutive regular season games, is charged with one on a wild throw in the first inning of Florida's opening day 11 - 6 victory over the Cubs. Johnson hits a three - run home run in Florida's six - run first inning to atone for his miscue. The defending champs will lose their next 10 games.
- St. Louis Cardinals rookie pitcher Braden Looper makes an auspicious major league debut in St. Louis' 6 - 0 victory over the Dodgers. Looper enters the game in the ninth inning and strikes out all three batters he faces - Todd Zeile, Raúl Mondesi, and Paul Konerko. The Dodgers are held to three hits by four St. Louis pitchers.
- The Milwaukee Brewers play their inaugural game as a National League team and lose to the Atlanta Braves, at Turner Field, 2-1. Milwaukee is the first team since the inception of the American League in 1901 to switch leagues. All-time home run leader and fan favorite, Hank Aaron, helps to mark Milwaukee's historic return to the NL with a rare on-the-field appearance.
- The San Francisco Giants win their opener against the Houston Astros, 9 - 4, as Jeff Kent gets five hits, including a double and home run, and collects four RBI. Houston second baseman Craig Biggio, who last year became only the third player in major league history to go an entire season without grounding into a double play, hits into a twin - killing in his second at-bat this year.
- 1999 - Commissioner Bud Selig confirms that discussions are underway which could lead to advertising space being sold on the sleeves of players uniforms.
- 2001 - After 31 years in Three Rivers Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates move into their new $262 million home at PNC Park, losing to the New York Mets, 4 - 3, in an exhibition game. The 38,000 seat stadium is nestled at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers with a spectacular view of the city.
- 2005 - The Orioles and MLB agree on a deal which will allow Nationals games to be televised. A joint venture backed by MLB will allow fans in the Baltimore-Washington area to enjoy telecasts of both franchises and will ensure the Orioles fans in the nation's capitol will still have an opportunity to watch their "˜Birds'.
- 2008:
- In one of the wildest Opening Days in Pittsburgh Pirates franchise history, Pittsburgh beats the Braves 12-11 in 12 innings. They led 9-4 entering the bottom of the 9th but their top two relief pitchers, Damaso Marte and Matt Capps, blew the lead with a fly ball falling between LF Jason Bay and CF Nate McLouth with two outs. Pittsburgh scored three in the 12th on a Xavier Nady home run, but Atlanta almost tied it again with two runs in the bottom of the frame.
- The Chicago Cubs unveil a statue of Ernie Banks outside of Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, sculptor Lou Cella engraved "Lets play two" on the sculpture instead of "Let's play two."
[edit] Births
- 1842 - Al Wright, manager (d. 1905)
- 1852 - Tom Evers, infielder (d. 1925)
- 1853 - Jim Pirie, infielder (d. 1934)
- 1862 - Art Benedict, infielder (d. 1948)
- 1867 - Bill Hallman, infielder, manager (d. 1920)
- 1868 - Jack Stivetts, pitcher (d. 1930)
- 1880 - Ernie Ross, pitcher (d. 1950)
- 1882 - Big Jeff Pfeffer, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1884 - Frank Truesdale, infielder (d. 1943)
- 1885 - Herman Bronkie, infielder (d. 1968)
- 1885 - Brick Owens, umpire (d. 1949)
- 1886 - Fred Kommers, outfielder (d. 1943)
- 1887 - Chick Brandom, pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1891 - Johnny Couch, pitcher (d. 1975)
- 1894 - Ben Mallonee, outfielder (d. 1978)
- 1894 - Tom Sheehan, pitcher, manager (d. 1982)
- 1895 - Carson Bigbee, outfielder (d. 1964)
- 1897 - Jim Brown, outfielder
- 1899 - Ed Johnson, outfielder (d. 1975)
- 1900 - Mule Suttles, Negro League infielder; Hall of Fame (d. 1966)
- 1904 - Sam Dailey, pitcher (d. 1979)
- 1911 - Ralph DiLullo, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1999)
- 1918 - Marv Grissom, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2005)
- 1920 - Dave Koslo, pitcher (d. 1975)
- 1931 - Gene Snyder, pitcher (d. 1996)
- 1932 - Moises Camacho, minor league infielder and manager
- 1938 - John Herrnstein, outfielder
- 1938 - Moose Stubing, pinch hitter, manager
- 1946 - Bill Denehy, pitcher
- 1946 - Gonzalo Marquez, infielder (d. 1984)
- 1953 - Tom Hausman, pitcher
- 1961 - Tracy Jones, outfielder
- 1964 - Chris Cron, infielder
- 1964 - Balvino Galvez, pitcher
- 1964 - Rafael Montalvo, pitcher
- 1964 - Greg Sparks, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1970 - Tim Cossins, minor league catcher and manager
- 1975 - Tim Christman, pitcher
- 1975 - Ryan Rupe, pitcher
- 1977 - Jamie Brown, pitcher
- 1979 - Josh Kinney, pitcher
- 1979 - Charlie Manning, pitcher
- 1980 - Chien-Ming Wang, pitcher
- 1983 - Jeff Mathis, catcher
- 1990 - Nelson Izaguirre, minor league player
[edit] Deaths
- 1878 - Henry Burroughs, outfielder (b. 1845)
- 1901 - George Popplein, infielder/outfielder (b. 1840)
- 1921 - John Fitzgerald, pitcher (b. 1870)
- 1929 - Oran Dodd, minor league outfielder (b. 1889)
- 1935 - Steve Libby, infielder (b. 1853)
- 1936 - Anton Falch, outfielder (b. 1860)
- 1941 - Kit McKenna, pitcher (b. 1873)
- 1942 - Ray O'Brien, outfielder (b. 1894)
- 1943 - Tex McDonald, outfielder (b. 1891)
- 1957 - Billy Meyer, catcher, manager (b. 1892)
- 1966 - Grady Adkins, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1968 - Grover Lowdermilk, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1971 - Sam Post, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1973 - Roland Howell, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1974 - Doc Bennett, scout (b. 1891)
- 1974 - Bunny Hearn, pitcher (b. 1904)
- 1977 - Johnny Mann, infielder (b. 1898)
- 1979 - Bob Schultz, pitcher (b. 1923)
- 1992 - Ken Silvestri, catcher, manager (b. 1916)
- 1993 - Jimmie Crutchfield, Negro League outfielder (b. 1910)
- 1999 - Ike Kahdot, infielder (b. 1899)
- 2007 - Pat Barringer, AAGPBL infielder (b. 1924)
