On this date

April 2

1931: Virne Beatrice “Jackie” Mitchell, the first woman in professional baseball, pitched against the New York Yankees in an exhibition game in Chattanooga. Babe Ruth waved wildly at the first two pitches and took a third strike. Lou Gehrig timed his swing to miss three straight pitches. Tony Lazzeri, after trying to bunt, walked and Mitchell left the game.

1952: Hall of Fame outfielder Monte Irvin of the New York Giants broke his ankle in an exhibition game. Irvin played just 46 games that season.

1976: The Oakland Athletics trade two key members from their recent World Series championship teams, sending OF Reggie Jackson and P Ken Holtzman to the Baltimore Orioles.

1984: The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds 8-1 for their first opening-day defeat in 10 years.

1995: The longest strike in major league history comes to an end. Having the first 23 days of this major league season canceled and 252 games of the last season lost, the owners accept the players’ March 31st unconditional offer to return to work. The players’ decision to return to work is made after a US District Court issued an injunction restoring terms and conditions of the expired agreement. Teams will play 144-game schedules. The strike had begun on August 12, 1994.

1996: St. Francis of Illinois pummeled Robert Morris 71-1, with Robert Morris coach Gerald McNamara ending the after four innings.

1997: For the first time, the salary of one player — Albert Belle — exceeded the payroll of an entire team — the Pittsburgh Pirates. Belle, the game’s highest-paid player for 1997 at $10 million, made $928,333 more than the whole Pirates payroll of $9,071,667.

1998: By hitting a home run at Bank One Ballpark, Ellis Burks sets a major league record by having homered in 33 different stadiums.

2001: For the first time in major league history, a Japanese position player participates in a regular season game. Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, hitless in his first three at-bats, singles in the 7th inning to ignite a two-run rally, and bunts for another single in the 8th in his debut at Safeco Field. He will go on the be both the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP this year.

2001: Roger Clemens became the AL strikeout king, getting five to pass Walter Johnson as the Yankees beat Kansas City 7-3 in their season opener. Clemens fanned Joe Randa for his 3,509th career strikeout.

2003: Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player to hit 300 home runs, connecting for a three-run drive in the Texas Rangers’ 11-5 loss to the Anaheim Angels. Rodriguez at 27 years, 249 days old, surpassed Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (27 years, 328 days).

2007: Tampa Bay’s Elijah Dukes homered in his first big league at-bat in a 9-5 loss to the New York Yankees.