March 30
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 30.
Events[edit]
- 1944 - Branch Rickey suggests the pooling of surplus players if major league 4F players are drafted for military service. Nothing comes of the suggestion.
- 1948 - Murry Dickson of the St. Louis Cardinals becomes the first pitcher to throw a nine-inning no-hitter in spring training history. Prior to Dickson, two no-hitters had taken place in the spring, but both were shared by more than one pitcher.
- 1955 - The New York Yankees sell pitcher Ewell Blackwell to the Kansas City Athletics. Blackwell, who was injured in 1954, will pitch in only two games for the Athletics this season before retiring.
- 1966 - Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers end their dual holdout. Both pitchers had stayed away from camp for 32 days, threatening retirement in an effort to acquire pay raises. Koufax signs for $120,000; Drysdale settles for $105,000.
- 1972 - Marvin Miller, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, completes his canvass of players on the strike issue. 663 vote in favor of a strike, ten vote against, and two players abstain.
- 1973 - Miguel Suárez becomes the first native Mexican to collect ten straight hits in Mexican League competition.
- 1978 - The Boston Red Sox acquire pitcher Dennis Eckersley and catcher Fred Kendall from the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Rick Wise and Mike Paxton, catcher Bo Diaz and infielder Ted Cox. Eckersley will win 20 games this year.
- 1979 - Major League Baseball umpires meet in Chicago, IL and vote 50-2 to reject new offers from the American and National leagues. They will be on strike when the season starts in a few days.
- 1988 - Commissioner Peter Ueberroth suspends Cincinnati Reds outfielder Eddie Milner for the season. Milner, who tested positive for use of cocaine, will return to action later in the year, appearing in 23 games for the Reds.
- 1992 - The Chicago Cubs make one of their best trades ever, acquiring outfielder Sammy Sosa and pitcher Ken Patterson from the Chicago White Sox for outfielder George Bell. While Bell's career will last only two more seasons, Sosa will become an All-Star and capture national attention by hitting 66 home runs in 1998. Later with the Cubs, in 2003, Sosa will hit his 500th career home run.
- 1993 - Peanuts character Charlie Brown hits a game-winning home run - his first round tripper in 43 years. Almost ten percent of the nearly 18,000 Peanuts strips created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz focus on baseball.
- 2000
- At the Tokyo Dome, the New York Mets defeat the Chicago Cubs in 11 innings, 5 - 1, on Benny Agbayani's pinch-hit grand slam. Rey Ordóñez commits an error in the game, ending his major league record streak of 101 consecutive errorless games at shortstop. With a swipe of second base, Rickey Henderson joins Ted Williams as the only major league players to steal a base in four different decades. Tim Raines will join the exclusive group next season.
- The Colorado Rockies sign American League stolen base champ Brian Hunter to a contract.
- 2001:
- Pitcher Dwight Gooden announces his retirement. A four-time All-Star and Cy Young Award winner, Gooden posted a 194-112 record with a 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts over a 16-season career.
- The New York Mets' #3 prospect, Brian Cole, aged 22, is killed when the SUV he is driving home to Mississippi from spring training flips over. Cole, who stole 69 bases the previous year, was voted the organization's player of the year in 2000.
- 2006 - Jeff Kent of the Los Angeles Dodgers signs a contract extension for 2007 with an option for 2008, and Grady Sizemore signs a six-year, $23.45 million contract with the Cleveland Indians.
- 2008 - Nationals Park opens for action with the host Nationals beating the Braves, 3 - 2. Odalis Perez pitches a solid game and Jon Rauch gets the historic first win after blowing a save. Nick Johnson drives in a run with a double in his first at-bat in over 18 months. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Ryan Zimmerman hits a walk-off home run off Peter Moylan.
- 2010:
- Pat Venditte, the first ambidextrous pitcher in organized baseball since Greg Harris retired in 1995, gets to show his stuff in an exhibition game for the Yankees against the Braves. The 24-year-old ends the 5th inning by retiring Yunel Escobar on two pitches from the right side; he then moves from one arm to the other as he works his way through the Braves' batting order in the 6th. When switch-hitter Brooks Conrad steps to the plate, home plate umpire Mike Reilly reminds Venditte of rule 8.01 that states that he must commit to one arm, in order to avoid the fiasco of his professional debut with the Staten Island Yankees in 2008, when he and switch-hitter Ralph Henriquez Jr. changed sides repeatedly in a cat-and-mouse game. Venditte choses to face Conrad right-handed, and retires him on a ground ball to end his turn on the mound, Venditte will start the year with the Class-A Tampa Yankees, where he was 2-0, 2.21 in 21 games last year.
- Because of back spasms, heralded Cuban signee Aroldis Chapman will not start the year in the Cincinnati Reds' starting rotation. However, the 22-year-old impressed everyone in spring training with his velocity and command and is expected to make his major league debut sooner rather than later.
- Dontrelle Willis' comeback is on the right track, as he is advised by Tigers manager Jim Leyland that he has made the team as the fifth starter. The Tigers also trade P Nate Robertson to Florida for left-handed pitching prospect Jay Voss.
- The Cubs round out their roster by releasing veteran 1B Kevin Millar and sending OF Micah Hoffpauir and Sam Fuld and C Chris Robinson to the minor leagues. When the dust settles, Chad Tracy has secured a spot on the Cubbies' bench.
- 2011 - Two persons are selected by Major League Baseball from among 10,000 applicants to live the ultimate fan dream this season. 37-year-old Mike O'Hara, a New York Yankees fan from Los Angeles, CA, and 25-year-old ex-actor Ryan Wagner of Baltimore, MD will spend the season in the "MLB Fan Cave" watching every single one of the 2,430 regular-season games and every postseason contest in a room equiped with multiple television screens at 4th and Broadway in New York City. They will blog about the experience for mlb.com and various social networking web sites and be featured on MLB.TV. Their lair will be visible from the street through 14-foot windows, and they will be joined from time to time by visitors, including a large number of major league ballplayers, for parties, interviews and special events.
- 2012:
- On Opening Day in Nippon Pro Baseball, the pitching dominance of 2011 looks to be ready to repeat. Masanori Ishikawa tosses 8 1/3 hitless innings for the Yakult Swallows in a 4 - 0 win over the Yomiuri Giants; Hayato Sakamoto breaks up the no-no bid in the 9th. Meanwhile, Chunichi Dragons star Kazuki Yoshimi goes seven perfect innings in a 4 - 2 victory over the Hiroshima Carp.
- The Braves sign veteran starter Livan Hernandez, a few hours after he was released by the Astros.
- 2014:
- Major League Baseball opens its season stateside, one week after playing a two-game series in Sydney, Australia. The Dodgers, who won both games in Sydney, are again involved, visiting San Diego where they lose, 3 - 1, in front of the biggest crowd in Petco Park history - 45,567. Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu holds the Padres scoreless for seven innings, but Seth Smith ties the game with a pinch homer off Brian Wilson to lead off the 8th. Yasmani Grandal scores the winning run later that inning after stealing the first base of his professional career.
- The 2014 KBO season also kicks off. Foreign batters start off on high notes as Jorge Cantú (Doosan Bears) hits a three-run homer, Yamaico Navarro (Samsung Lions) smacks a two-run shot and Josh Bell (LG Twins) goes 3 for 6 with a two-run homer.
- 2015:
- As had been rumored, the Cubs announce that they have sent top prospect Kris Bryant to their minor league camp, even though he has had an outstanding spring training. Agent Scott Boras expresses outrage, claiming the move is motivated by financial and not baseball reasons, namely to delay Bryant's eligibility for salary arbitration by one year, while the Players' Association threatens some form or retaliation. However, Major League Baseball reminds everyone that teams have the sole right to determine which players end up on their roster, as confirmed under the Basic Agreement. Bryant will be called up on April 17th and will end up winning the Rookie of the Year Award.
- The Mets make a couple of trades to bolster their bullpen, sending P Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named later to the Padres for Alex Torres, and OF Matt den Dekker to Washington in return for Jerry Blevins. Both pitchers acquired by the Mets are lefthanded.
- 2018 - For the second straight day, the Giants defeat the Dodgers, 1 - 0, thanks to a solo homer by 2B Joe Panik. After pulling the trick against ace Clayton Kershaw on Opening Day yesterday, Panik connects off closer Kenley Jansen in the 9th inning, after starter Alex Wood had limited the Giants to one hit over the first eight frames. The Dodgers manage just one hit off three Giants pitchers, but will get their revenge over the next two days, defeating the Giants by a combined score of 14-0.
- 2019 - In a very rare occurrence, position players take the mound for both teams in the Dodgers' 18 - 5 win over the Diamondbacks. The two teams' bullpens are worn out after playing a 13-inning game the previous night, so with a large deficit in the 7th, Arizona sends back-up catcher John Ryan Murphy to pitch, and he gives up seven more runs in two innings. The Dodgers then ask their own back-up catcher, Russell Martin, to close out the win in the 9th, and he obliges by setting down the side on ten pitches.
- 2023 - For the first time ever, all 30 teams are active on Opening Day as no rainouts affect the schedule. This season marks the introduction of new rules, the most salient being the pitch clock, with Marcus Stroman of the Cubs the first pitcher to be charged with a ball for a violation. Aaron Judge hits the first homer of the season in a 5 - 0 Yankees win over the Giants, while two different batters, Adley Rutschman of the Orioles and George Springer of the Blue Jays, have five-hit games in identical 10 - 9 wins. The White Sox break Houston's streak of ten straight opening day wins by handing them a 3 - 2 loss behind a strong start by Dylan Cease, while in a statistical quirk, the Rockies become the first team to both record 17 hits and strike out 17 times in one game in a 7 - 2 win over the Padres.
- 2024:
- The Orioles are off and running as they defeat the Angels, 13 - 4, after winning their opening game, on March 28th, by a score of 11 - 3. Grayson Rodriguez allows just one run over six inning while striking out nine, while Gunnar Henderson, who has three hits, and Anthony Santander both homer. Santander has seven RBIs over the two games, and the O's run differential is +17.
- Also off to a great start are the Yankees, who defeat the Astros on the road for the third straight game, 5 - 3. Off-season acquisition Juan Soto hits his first homer in pinstripes to lead the charge. The Yanks have come from behind in all three games, a significant difference from the listless team that finished fourth in its division last year.
Births[edit]
- 1854 - Stanley Robison, manager (d. 1911)
- 1857 - Tom Burns, infielder, manager (d. 1902)
- 1858 - Dennis Casey, outfielder (d. 1909)
- 1860 - Frank Pearce, pitcher (d. 1926)
- 1864 - Frank Brill, pitcher (d. 1944)
- 1866 - George Van Haltren, outfielder, manager (d. 1945)
- 1874 - Ed Gremminger, infielder (d. 1942)
- 1875 - Larry Gilboy, minor league outfielder (d. 1924)
- 1878 - Charles Fuller, catcher (d. 1937)
- 1879 - Dutch Meier, outfielder (d. 1948)
- 1885 - Herman Bronkie, infielder (d. 1968)
- 1886 - George Johnson, pitcher (d. 1922)
- 1888 - Sam Ferraris, minor league pitcher (d. 1957)
- 1897 - Ed Sicking, infielder (d. 1978)
- 1899 - Bill Evans, outfielder (d. 1986)
- 1899 - Hal Rhyne, infielder (d. 1971)
- 1904 - Ripper Collins, infielder; All-Star (d. 1970)
- 1906 - Tom Dixon, catcher (d. 1982)
- 1908 - Toshiharu Inokawa, NPB catcher and manager (d. 1976)
- 1909 - Bernard Cobb, minor league infielder (d. 1962)
- 1914 - Paul Gannatal, college coach (d. 2015)
- 1919 - Bud Sketchley, outfielder (d. 1979)
- 1920 - Irene Ruhnke, AAGPBL utility player (d. 1999)
- 1921 - Dick Fowler, pitcher (d. 1972)
- 1924 - Shigeru Tokuami, NPB catcher (d. 1976)
- 1926 - Dick Koecher, pitcher (d. 2020)
- 1926 - George Kress, minor league outfielder (d. 2011)
- 1928 - Jake Crawford, outfielder (d. 2008)
- 1928 - Ron Voerman, Hoofdklasse umpire (d. 2020)
- 1932 - John DiMartino, minor league pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1934 - Jorge Fitch, minor league infielder (d. 2021)
- 1935 - Irv Brown, college coach (d. 2019)
- 1938 - Dave Baldwin, pitcher
- 1942 - Conrad Cardinal, pitcher
- 1942 - Yozaburo Chihara, NPB infielder
- 1944 - Ikuo Shimano, NPB outfielder and manager (d. 2007)
- 1945 - Dick Woodson, pitcher
- 1949 - Terry Cox, pitcher
- 1950 - Grady Little, manager
- 1950 - Steve McFarland, scout
- 1953 - Mike Miley, infielder (d. 1977)
- 1955 - Darrell Turner, minor league pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1956 - Jack Lazorko, pitcher
- 1964 - Steve Rousey, college coach
- 1965 - Juan Damborenea, Spanish national team pitcher
- 1966 - Terry Bross, pitcher
- 1967 - Gil Martinez, minor league outfielder
- 1969 - Chris Gardner, pitcher
- 1969 - Roman Rodriguez, minor league catcher
- 1972 - Jay Alexander, college coach
- 1972 - Juan Ballara, minor league catcher and manager
- 1972 - Wilson Heredia, pitcher
- 1972 - John Salamon, minor league pitcher (d. 2009)
- 1973 - Jason Dickson, pitcher; All-Star
- 1974 - Greg Wooten, minor league pitcher
- 1977 - Kevin Eberwein, minor league infielder
- 1977 - Jeriome Robertson, pitcher (d. 2010)
- 1977 - Chris Rojas, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Josh Bard, catcher
- 1979 - Mike Johnston, pitcher
- 1980 - Caleb Brock, minor league catcher
- 1981 - Takahito Kudoh, NPB outfielder
- 1982 - Leslie Anderson, NPB infielder
- 1982 - Bret Underwood, college coach
- 1983 - Davis Romero, pitcher
- 1984 - Patrick Carlson, French national team pitcher
- 1984 - Samuel Felman, Ecuadorian national team outfielder
- 1984 - Jim Heuser, NPB pitcher
- 1984 - Carlos Martinez, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Skyler Stromsmoe, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Carlos Arrieche, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Mike Bell, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Dan Runzler, pitcher
- 1986 - Barry Enright, pitcher
- 1986 - Nariaki Kawasaki, NPB outfielder
- 1987 - Mike Broadway, pitcher
- 1987 - Sue Douthwright, Canadian women's national team infielder
- 1987 - Shairon Martis, pitcher
- 1988 - Chris Adamson, minor league manager
- 1988 - Suthikiat Bunnam, Thai national team pitcher
- 1988 - Agustin Rivero, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Drew Bailey, college coach
- 1989 - Jason Daniels, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Chris Sale, pitcher; All-Star
- 1990 - Derek Legg, college coach
- 1991 - Jake Marisnick, outfielder
- 1991 - James Needy, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Daniel Devonshire, minor league designated hitter
- 1992 - Carlos Gomez, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Alex Fernandez Jr., minor league infielder
- 1993 - Krishna Hapurachchige, Sri Lankan national infielder
- 1993 - Chih-Yu Lin, CPBL outfielder
- 1993 - Brennan Nijhof, Hoofdklasse player
- 1994 - Alex Bregman, infielder; All-Star
- 1994 - Patrick McGuff, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Roberto Ayarza, Peruvian national team infielder
- 1996 - Ryan Noda, infielder
- 1996 - Jesús Tona, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Eric Moore, French Division I pitcher
- 1999 - Tzu-Hsuan Chang, CPBL pitcher
- 2001 - Marc Church, pitcher
- 2002 - Nazrey Lazuardi, Indonesian national team outfielder
- 2002 - Will Sanders, minor league pitcher
- 2002 - Jacob Wilson, infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1888 - Frank Bahret, outfielder (b. 1858)
- 1892 - Thomas Zachariah, umpire (b. 1863)
- 1895 - Henry Easterday, infielder (b. 1864)
- 1908 - Charlie Sweasy, infielder, manager (b. 1847)
- 1921 - Frank Bancroft, manager (b. 1846)
- 1929 - Phil Redding, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1936 - Jack Kull, pitcher (b. 1882)
- 1937 - George Barnum, umpire (b. 1853)
- 1938 - Dasher Troy, infielder (b. 1856)
- 1940 - Roy Crabb, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1940 - George McQuillan, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1943 - Tex McDonald, outfielder (b. 1891)
- 1948 - Charlie Krause, infielder (b. 1873)
- 1949 - Bill Bernhard, pitcher (b. 1871)
- 1952 - John Gallagher, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1952 - Deacon Phillippe, pitcher (b. 1872)
- 1953 - Alva Bradley, owner (b. 1884)
- 1953 - Mickey Shader, scout (b. 1891)
- 1960 - Joe Connolly, outfielder (b. 1894)
- 1961 - Alonzo Longware, infielder (b. 1891)
- 1962 - Charlie French, infielder (b. 1883)
- 1962 - Mutt Williams, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1967 - Ivan Howard, infielder (b. 1882)
- 1968 - Bernie Hungling, catcher (b. 1896)
- 1972 - Davy Jones, outfielder (b. 1880)
- 1972 - Johnny Miller, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1974 - Goose Curry, outfielder, manager (b. 1905)
- 1976 - Tokuzo Harada, NPB outfielder (b. 1919)
- 1977 - Barney Olsen, outfielder (b. 1919)
- 1978 - Billy Cox, infielder (b. 1919)
- 1981 - Cornelius Augustus, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1983 - Joe Cicero, outfielder (b. 1910)
- 1983 - Ike Danning, catcher (b. 1905)
- 1983 - Jack Roche, catcher (b. 1890)
- 1984 - Jiro Kanayama, NPB infielder (b. 1922)
- 1986 - Ryuji Suzuki, NPB executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1896)
- 1988 - Jesús Díaz, minor league outfielder (b. 1925)
- 1991 - Sid Schacht, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1997 - Bill Smith, pitcher (b. 1934)
- 1999 - Fermín Laffita, Cuban league outfielder (b. 1946)
- 2008 - Ralph Matherly, college coach (b. 1922)
- 2009 - Herman Franks, catcher, manager (b. 1914)
- 2012 - Janet Perkin, AAGPBL player (b. 1921)
- 2013 - Jesse Rogers, minor league outfielder (b. 1934)
- 2013 - Bob Turley, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1930)
- 2013 - Bob Van Eman, minor league outfielder (b. 1923)
- 2015 - Andy Mogish, college coach (b.1919)
- 2019 - Greg Booker, pitcher (b. 1960)
- 2020 - Hans Schotel, Hoofdklasse umpire (b. 1932)
- 2021 - Chuck Schilling, infielder (b. 1937)
- 2023 - Fred Klages, pitcher (b. 1943)
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