April 3
1923 — “Black Sox” sue White Sox (unsuccessfully) for back salary.
1966 — Pitcher Tom Seaver signs with the NY Mets.
1987 — Chicago Cubs trade Dennis Eckersley to Oakland A’s.
1991 — Bo Jackson signs 1-year contract with Chicago White Sox.
1996 — St Francis Fighting Saints scores college baseball run record with 71.
April 4
1974 — Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth’s home-run record by hitting his 714th.
1989 — NY Yankee Tommy John ties record of playing 26 seasons.
1997 — The Atlanta Braves officially open Turner Field and win their first game against the Chicago Cubs.
1998 — Mark McGwire ties Willie Mays’ National League record by hitting a home run in each of his first four games. McGwire launches a towering three-run shot in the sixth inning of an 8-6 victory over the San Diego
2001 — Hideo Nomo becomes the fourth pitcher in major league history to throw a no-hitter in both leagues in Boston’s 3-0 victory over Baltimore.
2003 — Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs becomes the 18th player to hit 500 career homers, connecting for a solo shot in a 10-9 loss to Cincinnati.
April 5
1972 — Major League Baseball for the first time fails to open because of a player strike, which started April 1 and would be settled April 13.
1989 — LA Dodgers Orel Hershiser’s consecutive scoreless streak of 59 innings ends.
1993 — MLB expansion teams Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies make their MLB debuts.
2005 — The Washington Nationals lose their inaugural season opener, 8-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies; first team to represent the nation’s capital since the Washington Senators left after the 1971 season.
April 6
1973 — Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first major league designated hitter, in an opening-day game against Boston.
1973 — Roberto Clemente Day, Pittsburgh Pirates retire his #21.
1979 — Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver wins his 1,000th game.
1982 — Largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in Minnesota 52,279.
2024 — Hoboken, NJ native Maria Pepe, age 64, is honored at the Peter Stuyvesant Little League Opening Day Parade for her 1974 victory in the landmark case over 50 years earlier that allowed girls like her to play in Little League, influencing the broader acceptance of women in sports.
April 7
1969 — Ted Williams begins managing the Washington Senators.
1995 — Baseball exhibition season begins late due to strike.
2000 — 1st regular season MLB game at Enron Field (now Minute Maid Park) in Houston.
April 8
1968 — Major League Baseball decides to postpone Opening Day because of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
1969 — MLB expansion teams Royals, Expos, Padres & Pilots win their 1st games
1974 — On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th career home run in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record that had stood since 1935. (Aaron would go on to hit 755 career home runs, only to be surpassed in 2007 by Barry Bonds, who finished his career with a record 762 that still stands).
1975 — Frank Robinson, the first black manager in the majors, debuts as player-manager for the Cleveland Indians. Robinson hits a home run in his first at-bat — as a designated hitter — to help beat the New York Yankees 5-3.
1989 — One-handed pitcher Jim Abbott makes MLB debut.
1991 — Major league umpires & baseball reach a 4-year agreement after strike.
April 9
1912 — 1st exhibition baseball game at Fenway Park.
1947 — Leo Durocher, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is suspended for one year by Commissioner A.B. “Happy” Chandler for “conduct detrimental to baseball.” Durocher is linked to gambling interests.
1966 — Anaheim Stadium for California Angels opens.
1981 — LA Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela’s 1st start.
2021 — San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove no-hits the Texas Rangers.
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