Portal:Baseball/Anniversaries/April 8

Events

• 1922 – At Sportsman's Park, the St. Louis Cardinals wear their new uniforms (two red birds on a bat with the words "Cardinals" across the front) for the first time in an exhibition contest with the St. Louis Browns.
• 1954 – New York Giants pitcher Dave Koslo is purchased by the Baltimore Orioles.
• 1963 – Cincinnati Reds rookie Pete Rose walks in his first Major League at bat off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Earl Francis.
• 1963 – The Detroit Tigers claim pitcher Denny McLain on waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
• 1966 – At the Astrodome, the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers play Major League Baseball's first game on synthetic grass, AstroTurf.
• 1968 – The Major League Baseball postpones Opening Day because of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr..
• 1969 – Expansion teams Kansas City Royals, Seattle Pilots, Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres make their debuts, each one winning their inaugural game.
• 1974 – Atlanta Brave Hank Aaron hits his 715th lifetime home run at Fulton County Stadium off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, breaking Babe Ruth's record.
• 1975 – Cleveland Indian Frank Robinson debuts as Major League Baseball's first African American manager, hitting a home run in his first at bat, and leading his team to a 5 -3 victory.
• 1977 – The Seattle Mariners record their first win by defeating the California Angels, 7–6, at the Kingdome.
• 1985 – 46-year-old New York Yankees pitcher Phil Niekro becomes the second oldest pitcher to start on Opening Day, behind Jack Quinn who was 47 years old in his 1931 start with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• 1986 – San Francisco Giants rookie Will Clark hit a home run in his first Major League at bat; it was off Houston Astro Nolan Ryan.
• 1987 – Cleveland Indians pitchers Phil Niekro and Steve Carlton combine to beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 14 – 3, marking the first time in Major League history that two 300-game winners pitched for the same team in the same game.
• 1987 – The Los Angeles Dodgers vice-president Al Campanis is fired after he made racial remarks on national TV two days earlier.
• 1989 – One-handed pitcher Jim Abbott makes his major league debut for the California Angels.
• 1993 – Cleveland Indians infielder Carlos Baerga becomes the first player in Major League history to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same inning.
• 1994 – Atlanta Braves pitcher Kent Mercker no-hits the Dodgers, 6 – 0. In the same game Dodger rookie Chan Ho Park pitches in the ninth inning, becoming the first Korean player to appear in a Major League game.
• 2008 – Philadelphia Phillies infielder Chase Utley ties a Major League record by being hit by pitch three times in a game.
• 2008 – Detroit Tigers infielder Plácido Polanco's Major League record of 186 consecutive errorless games and 911 consecutive errorless chances at second base ends in a throwing error.

Births

• 1850 – John Peters, infielder (d. 1924)
• 1856 – George Radbourn, pitcher (d. 1904)
• 1857 – Bill Crowley, outfielder (d. 1891)
• 1859 – Lady Baldwin, pitcher (d. 1937)
• 1866 – Henry Lynch, outfielder (d. 1925)
• 1873 – Henry Blauvelt, pitcher (d. 1926)
• 1873 – Pete Cassidy, infielder (d. 1929)
• 1874 – Bert Myers, infielder (d. 1915)
• 1877 – Frank Foutz, infielder (d. 1961)
• 1883 – Shag Shaughnessy, outfielder (d. 1969)
• 1888 – Hap Myers, infielder (d. 1967)
• 1897 – Dick Attreau, infielder (d. 1964)
• 1899 – Ted Kleinhans, pitcher (d. 1985)
• 1903 – Frank Mulroney, pitcher (d. 1985)
• 1914 – Andy Karl, pitcher (d. 1989)
• 1915 – Kirby Higbe, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1985)
• 1920 – Dick Adams, infielder
• 1921 – Dee Sanders, pitcher (d. 2007)
• 1927 – Charlie Maxwell, outfielder; All-Star
• 1934 – Turk Farrell, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1977)
• 1942 – José Herrera, outfielder
• 1943 – John Hiller, pitcher; All-Star
• 1946 – Catfish Hunter, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1999)
• 1949 – Randy Marsh, umpire
• 1949 – Mac Scarce, pitcher
• 1954 – Gary Carter, catcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
• 1956 – Roger Holt, infielder
• 1966 – Alex Sanchez, pitcher
• 1967 – Rich Batchelor, pitcher
• 1969 – Kirk Dressendorfer, pitcher
• 1969 – Pete Walker, pitcher
• 1973 – Alex Gonzalez, infielder
• 1975 – Jeremy Fikac, pitcher
• 1975 – Timo Perez, outfielder
• 1979 – Jeremy Guthrie, pitcher
• 1979 – Dane Sardinha, catcher
• 1981 – Brian Burres, pitcher
• 1981 – Matt Ford, pitcher
• 1982 – Kason Gabbard, pitcher
• 1983 – Chris Iannetta, catcher
• 1983 – Eric Patterson, outfielder
• 1983 – Bobby Wilson, catcher
• 1985 – Matt Antonelli, infielder
• 1986 – Félix Hernández, pitcher
• 1986 – Eddie Kunz, pitcher

Deaths

• 1924 – Jimmy Macullar, infielder, manager (b. 1855)
• 1940 – Bill Abstein, infielder (b. 1883)
• 1961 – Fred Brickell, outfielder (b. 1906)
• 1964 – George Moriarty, infielder, manager (b. 1884)
• 1964 – Mickey O'Neil, catcher (b. 1900)
• 1964 – Jim Umbricht, pitcher (b. 1930)
• 1969 – Win Noyes, pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1970 – Lee Handley, infielder (b. 1913)
• 1972 – Gus Fisher, catcher (b. 1885)
• 1978 – Ford Frick Hall of Famer (b. 1894)
• 1985 – Joe Sullivan, pitcher (b. 1910)
• 1989 – Andy Karl, pitcher (b. 1914)
• 1990 – Bill Kelly, infielder (b. 1898)
• 1997 – Bob Cain, pitcher (b. 1924)
• 1997 – Homer Peel, outfielder (b. 1902)
• 2005 – Al Gettel, pitcher (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Eddie Miksis, infielder (b. 1926)
• 2008 – Hersh Lyons, pitcher (b. 1915)