ON THIS DATE

APRIL 6

1971 : Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants hits a home run on Opening Day, marking the start of a historic streak. Mays will hit home runs in each of the Giants’ first four games.

1972 : For the first time in history, the major leagues failed to open on schedule because of a player strike, which started on April 1. The traditional season opener between Houston and Cincinnati was canceled and a total of 86 games were lost before the strike was settled.

1973 : Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first major league designated hitter. With the bases loaded in the first inning, he was walked by pitcher Luis Tiant, but the Red Sox won 15-5.

1973 : At the Oakland Coliseum, Tony Oliva became the first designated hitter to homer. The Twins DH hit a

two-run shot in the first inning off of Catfish Hunter to Minnesota to an 8-3 win.

1974 : Due to renovations at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees’ home opener took place at Shea Stadium. It was their first home game outside Yankee Stadium since 1922.

1977 : The Seattle Mariners played their first regular-season game and lost 7-0 to the California Angels at the Kingdome.

1982 : A freak storm that brought subfreezing temperatures and dumped heavy snow from the Northeast to the Midwest forced the postponement of American League openers in New York, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and Milwaukee, and National League openers in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

1989 : The consecutive scoreless innings streak of Los Angeles Dodgers ace Orel Hershiser comes to an end at 59.

1992 : The Baltimore Orioles play the first game in Oriole Park at Camden Yards history.

1996 : Chan Ho Park of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first pitcher born in South Korea to win a major league game.

2001 : On Opening Day at Veterans Stadium, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning’s number 14 jersey is retired.

2002 : Highly-touted Japanese pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii makes his major league debut and pitches 5 1/3 scoreless innings’ striking out 10’ in Los Angeles’s 9 - 2 win over the Rockies.

2005 : Brad Wilkerson hit for the cycle to lead Washington over Philadelphia 7-3.

2009 : Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez each homered from both sides of the plate to lead Arizona to a 9-8 victory over Colorado.

2009 : Emilio Bonifacio hit the majors’ first inside-the-park homer on opening day since 1968, swiped three bases and had four hits in Florida’s 12-6 victory over Washington.

2009 : Alfonso Soriano hit his 50th career leadoff home run as Chicago beat Houston 4-2.

2012 : Adam Dunn tied a major league record with his eighth opening-day home run. He led off the sixth inning for the Chicago White Sox when he pulled a ball into the second deck of seats in right field off Texas starter Colby Lewis. Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey Jr. are the other major leaguers who have eight homers in openers.

2014 : Texas P Yu Darvish becomes the fastest starting pitcher to reach 500 strikeouts.

2016 : Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda homered in the second at-bat of his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers and beat the Padres 7-0, making San Diego the first team in major league history to be shut out in its first three games. The Padres were outscored 25-0 in the opening three games by their biggest rivals and set MLB marks for futility.

2016 : Rookie Trevor Story made baseball history by hitting a home run in each of his first three major league games and Colorado beat Arizona 4-3. Story also became the first player in baseball history to hit a home run for each of his first four hits. Story’s two-run homer off Patrick Corbin in the first inning gave him four for the season.

2021 : A few days after withdrawing the organization of the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta, Ga., Major League Baseball identifies Denver, CO’s Coors Field as the game’s new site.

April 7

1925 : Babe Ruth collapsed in a railroad station in Asheville, N.C. He would be hospitalized in New York and operated on 10 days later for an ulcer.

1964 : Shea Stadium in New York opened for the first regular season game. The Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3.

1969 : The Yankees spoiled the managerial debut of Ted Williams by defeating the Senators 8-4 in the opener at Washington’s RFK Stadium. President Nixon and a crowd of 45,000 attended.

1969 : Dodgers relief pitcher Bill Singer was credited with the first official save. Los Angeles beat Cincinnati, 3-2. The game started with Cincinnati’s Pete Rose hitting Don Drysdale’s first pitch for a home run. Drysdale threw his next pitch to Bobby Tolan and Tolan hit it for a home run. After the first two pitches, Drysdale settled down and threw a shutout.

1970 : Three weeks after moving from Seattle to Milwaukee, the former Pilots played their first game as the Brewers and lost 12-0 to the visiting California Angels.

1973 : Cleveland set an attendance record for day games and opening-day games by attracting 74,420 fans. The Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1.

1977 : The expansion Toronto Blue Jays began their major league odyssey with a 9-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium. Al Woods, pinch hitting for Steve Bowling in the fifth inning, became the 11th pinch hitter with a home run in his first at-bat.

1979 : Ken Forsch of the Houston Astros pitched a no-hitter against Atlanta to duplicate the no-hitter tossed by his brother Bob of the Cardinals against the Phillies on April 16, 1978. They are the first brothers to pitch no-hitters.

1984 : Detroit’s Jack Morris pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox despite giving up six walks. It was the first Tigers no-hitter since Jim Bunning’s in 1958.

1987 : Atlanta’s Rick Mahler pitched his third opening day shutout tying an NL record.

1988 : Cincinnati Reds rookie third baseman Chris Sabo ties a major league record with eleven assists in one game.

1998 : On the same day that Major League Baseball returned to Wisconsin 28 years earlier, National League baseball returns to Milwaukee for the first time in 32 years.

2000 : The Tampa Bay Devil Rays retire uniform number 12 in honor of Wade Boggs. Although the former Red Sox and Yankees third baseman only spent two seasons with Tampa Bay, he hit the franchise’s first home run and became the 23rd member of the 3,000-Hit Club as a member of the team.

2003 : Seven months before a November deadline, the Boston Red Sox exercise their 2004 contract option on Pedro Martinez, making him the highest-paid pitcher for a season in major league history.

2012 : J.D. Martinez homered and drove in three runs and Houston beat 49-year-old Jamie Moyer and Colorado 7-3. Moyer became the oldest player to appear in a game since 1980, when 54-year-old Minnie Minoso played in a game for the White Sox. Moyer became the second-oldest pitcher to start a major-league game and was the oldest starting pitcher ever on a team’s opening-day roster.

2013 : Will Middlebrooks hit three home runs and the Boston Red Sox roughed up Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, routing the Toronto Blue Jays 13-0.

2013 : Matt Cain became the first Giants pitcher to allow nine runs in an inning since 1902 when Matt Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals tagged him in a 14-3 romp over San Francisco.

2022 : Opening Day of the 2022 season is finally here, having been delayed by a week by the 2021-2022 lockout.