This Date in Baseball-Week Ahead

April 26

1902 — Cleveland’s Addie Joss pitched a one-hitter in his major league debut. Joss allowed a scratch single to Jessie Burkett as the Indians beat the St. Louis Browns 3-0.

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 — Jack McCarthy of the Cubs threw out three runners at the plate, each of whom became the second out of a double play. McCarthy’s defense preserved a 2-1 win over the Pirates.

1907 — Johnny Bates of the Boston Doves hit for the cycle against the Brooklyn Superbas.

1941 — The Chicago Cubs became the first major league team to install an organ at their ballpark. Roy Nelson took to the keyboard and played a pregame program.

1952 — Detroit’s Art Houtteman’s had his no-hit bid broken up on a two-out ninth-inning hit by Harry Simpson but the Tigers routed the Indians 13-0.

1961 — Roger Maris of the New York Yankees began his successful run at Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record with the first of his 61 homers, connecting in the fifth inning against Detroit right-hander Paul Foytack.

1969 — The Baseball Records Committee decides to give Babe Ruth credit for one more home run during his career for a total of 715.

1970 — Willie McCovey and Dick Dietz each hit grand slams as the San Francisco beat Montreal 11-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.

1980 — Steve Carlton of Philadelphia pitched the sixth one-hitter of his career against St. Louis for a National League record. The Phillies beat the Cardinals 7-0. Ted Simmons singled to lead off the second inning. Carlton walked one batter and struck out five.

1982 — Boston Red Sox rookie Wade Boggs collects his first major league hit when he singles against Rich Dotson of the Chicago White Sox.

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 — Nolan Ryan tied Bob Feller’s major league record of 12 one-hitters as the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0. Ryan struck out 16 as he allowed only Ron Kittle’s check-swing single in the second inning.

1994 — Baltimore’s Brady Anderson has four extra-base hits in the Orioles’ 10-4 win over Oakland. Anderson’s two doubles and two homers came while leading off an inning.

1995 — The Colorado Rockies posted an 11-9 victory over the New York Mets in 14 innings, tying the NL record for 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.

2000 — Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos hits his 100th career home run.

2006 — Mike Piazza hits his 400th career home run.

2016 — Andrew McCutchen hit three homers and drove in five runs to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 9-4.

2019 — All eyes are turned on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who makes his major league debut with the Blue Jays.

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April 27

1909 — The Chicago White Sox win their third straight 1-0 game over St. Louis in three days.

1918 — The Brooklyn Dodgers finally win after a major league record 0-9 start, with a 5-3 victory over the New York Giants in the opening game of a doubleheader.

1929 — Brooklyn relief pitcher Clise Dudley homered on the first major league pitch he saw at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl.

1930 — Chicago White Sox first baseman Bud Clancy had no chances in a nine-inning game against St. Louis.

1944 — Jim Tobin of the Braves pitched a no-hitter against the Dodgers in Boston, winning 2-0. He also hit a homer.

1947 — Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium drew a crowd of more than 58,000 to honor the ailing great. In the game, Sid Hudson of the Washington Senators beat Spud Chandler 1-0.

1963 — Two two-sport players pitched in the fourth inning in a game at Fenway park. NBA players, Gene Conley of the Celtics and Red Sox and Dave DeBusschere of the Knicks and White Sox. The Red Sox won 9-5.

1968 — Tom Phoebus of the Orioles no-hit the Boston Red Sox 6-0 at Baltimore.

1973 — Kansas City’s Steve Busby pitched his first of two career no-hitters with a 3-0 victory over the Tigers at Detroit.

1983 — Walter Johnson’s record of 3,508 career strikeouts was eclipsed by Houston’s Nolan Ryan — a record that stood for 56 years. Ryan fanned Montreal pinch-hitter Brad Mills in the eighth inning as the Astros beat the Expos 4-2.

1994 — Scott Erickson, who allowed the most hits in the majors the previous season, pitched Minnesota’s first no-hitter in 27 years as the Twins beat Milwaukee 6-0. Last season Erickson led the majors in losses (19), hits (266) and runs (138).

1996 — Barry Bonds became the fourth major leaguer with 300 homers and 300 steals when he homered in the third inning of the San Francisco Giants’ 6-3 victory over the Florida Marlins. His father, Bobby Bonds, godfather Willie Mays, and Andre Dawson are the only other players to reach 300-300.

2000 — Chicago White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin hit for the cycle and drove in five runs in a 13-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Valentin hit the cycle in order: single, double, triple, home run.

2002 — Derek Lowe, who struggled to keep his job as a closer last season, pitched a no-hitter against Tampa Bay. Brent Abernathy was the only baserunner Lowe allowed in Boston’s 10-0 victory.

2003 — Kevin Millwood pitched a no-hitter to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the San Francisco Giants 1-0. Millwood struck out 10 and walked three.

2004 — Chad Moeller of the Milwaukee Brewers hit for the cycle in a 9-8 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

2005 — Mark Grudzielanek hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats in St. Louis’ 6-3 victory over Milwaukee.

2009 — West Virginia State’s Bo Darby hit home runs in five consecutive at-bats over two games, including four in one contest. The sophomore outfielder homered in his first four trips to the plate against Salem International. He also connected in his final at-bat two days earlier against the University of Charleston. Darby homered twice more in the second game of the doubleheader, giving him six for the day with 14 RBIs.

2011 — Chipper Jones drives in three runs in Atlanta’s 7-0 win over San Diego, moving past Mickey Mantle on the all-time RBI list with 1,512.

2012 — Scott Hairston of the New York Mets hit for the cycle in an 18-9 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

2014 — José Abreu sets a record for most RBIs by a rookie in April when he drives in 4 runs in a 9 - 2 win over the Rays, giving him 31 ribbies for the month.

2015 — Today’s scheduled game between the Orioles and the White Sox is postponed because of violent protests in downtown Baltimore, MD, following the death of a black man in police custody a week earlier.

2016 — Trevor Story of the Rockies sets a new National League rookie mark with his 9th homer of April, breaking the record of 8 set by Albert Pujols in 2001.

2021 — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has the first three-homer game of his career and drives in 7 runs in the Blue Jays’ 9-5 win over the Nationals.

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April 28

1901 — Cleveland pitcher Bock Baker gave up a record 23 singles as the Chicago White Sox beat the Indians 13-1.

1915 — The Detroit Tigers trim the St. Louis Browns, 12 - 3, with Ty Cobb stealing home in the 3rd inning. Cobb will steal home six times this season.

1930 — The first night game in organized baseball was played in Independence, Kan. In a Western Association game, Muskogee defeated Independence 13-3.

1934 — Detroit’s Goose Goslin hit into four double plays, but the Tigers still beat Cleveland 4-1.

1956 — Cincinnati rookie Frank Robinson hit the first home run of his 586 lifetime homers in a 9-1 win over Chicago. Robinson homer came off Paul Minner in Crosley Field.

1961 — Warren Spahn, at the age of 40, no-hit the San Francisco Giants 1-0 at Milwaukee.

1966 — Cleveland’s Sonny Siebert defeated the Angels 2-1 as the Indians tie the modern major league record with its 10th straight win since opening day.

1971 — Hank Aaron connected off Gaylord Perry for his 600th career home run in the Atlanta Braves’ 10-inning, 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

1982 — Philadelphia’s Pete Rose went 5-for-5 to tie Max Carey for the NL record with nine career 5-hit games. The Phillies scored six runs in the top of the ninth to beat Los Angeles 9-3.

1985 — The New York Yankees hire Billy Martin as their manager for a fourth time. The fiery Martin, one of George Steinbrenner’s favorite managers, replaces Yogi Berra, who is fired just 16 games into the season.

1988 — The winless Baltimore Orioles set an American League record by losing their 21st straight, falling to the Minnesota Twins 4-2.

1989 — Rickey Henderson of the New York Yankees set a major league record when he led off a game with a home run for the 36th time in his career, breaking a tie with Bobby Bonds.

1999 — Colorado’s Larry Walker hit three home runs and drove in eight runs to lead the Rockies to a 9-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

2001 — The Seattle Mariners defeat the Chicago White Sox, 8 - 5, for their 20th win this month, setting a new major league record for April.

2001 — Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals ties the major league record for home runs in April by a rookie with 8.

2006 — Barry Bonds hits a bases-clearing double to tie Babe Ruth for third on the all-time career list with 1,356 extra-base hits.

2006 — St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hits his 13th home run in April to tie the major league record, matching the mark shared by Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1997 with Seattle and Luis Gonzalez in 2001 with Arizona.

2007 — Trevor Hoffman pitches in his 803rd game for the San Diego Padres, breaking the record for games pitched with one club.

2010 — Major League Baseball announces a number of changes to the rules that govern the All-Star Game that have been agreed with the Players’ union: the designated hitter will now be used in all games, not just those played in American League parks; a pitcher who started a game on the last Sunday before the All-Star break will not be eligible to play in the game and will be replaced on the roster, although he will still be recognized as an All-Star (this will become known as the Sunday Starter rule); rosters are expanded to 34 players, adding one position player; one of the position players will be designated as being able to re-enter the game in case of injury - catchers are already allowed to do so in those circumstances.

2011 — Ben Zobrist set a Tampa Bay record with eight RBIs, hitting a home run and two doubles as the Rays routed the Minnesota Twins 15-3 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.

2012 — Bryce Harper makes his much-anticipated major league debut for the Nationals.

2016 — Marlins 2B Dee Gordon, the defending National League batting champion, is suspended for 80 games for testing positive for PEDs.

2019 — The Nationals do something unprecedented as three players all 21 or younger - Juan Soto, Victor Robles and Carter Kieboom - all homer against the Padres.

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April 29

1902 — Baltimore Orioles infielder John McGraw is hit by pitches five times, but home plate umpire Jack Sheridan refuses to allow him to take first base. In the 9th inning, McGraw is hit for the last time and sits down in the batter’s box in protest. American League president Ban Johnson will suspend McGraw for five games.

1918 — Center fielder Tris Speaker executed the fourth unassisted double play of his career in the Cleveland Indians’ 8-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

1922 — The New York Giants hit four inside-the-park home runs in a 15-4 win at Braves Field in Boston. George Kelly hit two and Ross Youngs and Dave Bancroft hit the others. Youngs also hit for the cycle and added a double while going 5-for-5 and driving in five runs.

1931 — Wes Ferrell of the Cleveland Indians pitched a 7-0 no-hitter over the St. Louis Browns, including his brother Rick. Wes also knocked in four runs with a homer and a double.

1933 — In a strange play at home plate, catcher Luke Sewell of the Washington Senators tagged out two Yankees runners on the same play. Lou Gehrig had held up, thinking a fly ball would be caught. Dixie Walker closed up on him, and both were tagged out trying to score.

1958 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox becomes the tenth major league player to get 1,000 extra-base hits.

1981 — Steve Carlton struck out Montreal’s Tim Wallach in the first inning of the Philadelphia Phillies’ 6-2 victory over the visiting Expos to become the sixth major league pitcher — and first left-hander — to strike out 3,000 batters.

1986 — Roger Clemens set a major league record by striking out 20 batters as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-1.

1987 — Andre Dawson had five hits and hit for the cycle to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 8-4 victory the San Francisco Giants.

1988 — The Baltimore Orioles ended their 21-game losing streak by winning their first game of the season, 9-0 over the Chicago White Sox on a combined four-hitter by Mark Williamson and Dave Schmidt.

1994 — Kirk Rueter of the Montreal Expos becomes the first major league pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 to start his career with a 10-0 record.

1996 — New York Mets closer John Franco becomes the first left-hander in major league history to record 300 saves.

1997 — Chili Davis of the Kansas City Royals becomes the 75th major leaguer to hit 300 home runs.

2005 — In the first matchup between 300-game winners in almost 18 years, the Cubs’ Greg Maddux outdueled the Astros’ Roger Clemens in Chicago’s 3-2 win over Houston. Maddux earned his first win of season and 306th of his career, allowing two runs on seven hits over six innings.

2006 — Albert Pujols sets a major league record with his 14th home run in April.

2007 — Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had an unassisted triple play in the seventh inning of the Rockies’ 9-7 win over Atlanta.

2015 — In what was believed to be the first major league game played without fans in attendance, Chris Davis hit a three-run homer in a six-run first inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2. After a pair of postponements caused by rioting in Baltimore, the Orioles and Chicago White Sox played at Camden Yards. The gates at Camden Yards were locked because of concern for fan safety following recent rioting in Baltimore after a 25-year-old black man died in police custody.

2017 — Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle for the second time and Rougned Odor hit a tiebreaking two-run homer to help the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3.

2017 — Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner hit consecutive homers off Hector Neris in the ninth, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers rally for a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Los Angeles trailed 5-2 before the three straight homers.

2020 — The Hall of Fame announces the cancellation of its annual induction ceremony in Cooperstown, NY, scheduled for the last week-end of July, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the ceremony will be combined one year later with the one for the Class of 2021.

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