April 291918 — 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 at Braves Field in Boston. George Kelly hit two and Ross Youngs and Dave Bancroft hit the others.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.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... [More]

The Detroit Tigers can feel certain about one thing: They have the No. 1 pick in the draft.What that Major League Baseball draft will look like, when and where it will take place and how the selections will be made still isn't clear.“It’s going to present different challenges, probably," said Scott Pleis, Detroit’s director of amateur scouting. "It’s just going to be different. It’s not going to affect the outcome, it’ll just be a different way of coming to that outcome.”The NFL experienced that last week because of the coronavirus pandemic, conducting a remote draft with video screens, Zoom chats and other tech innovations that made the event popular with fans.Normally, the college baseball season would be in full swing right now, giving major league teams a chance to monitor top prospects in the weeks leading up to the draft. But with college and high school games shelved because of the virus outbreak, front offices can only do so much in what is clearly an abnormal year.Every team faces... [More]

The Detroit Tigers can feel certain about one thing: They have the No. 1 pick in the draft.What that Major League Baseball draft will look like, when and where it will take place and how the selections will be made, still isn't clear.“It’s going to present different challenges, probably," said Scott Pleis, Detroit’s director of amateur scouting. "It’s just going to be different. It’s not going to affect the outcome, it’ll just be a different way of coming to that outcome.”The NFL experienced that last week because of the coronavirus pandemic, conducting a remote draft with video screens, Zoom chats and other tech innovations that made the event popular with fans.Normally, the college baseball season would be in full swing right now, giving major league teams a chance to monitor top prospects in the weeks leading up to the draft. But with college and high school games shelved because of the virus outbreak, front offices can only do so much in what is clearly an abnormal year.Every team faces... [More]

April 281901 — Cleveland pitcher Bock Baker gave up a record 23 singles as the Chicago White Sox beat the Indians 13-1.1930 — 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 4-1.1945 — Chicago’s Hank Wyse pitched a one-hitter over Pittsburgh for a 6-0 win. The only Pirate hit was by Bill Salkeld in the eighth inning.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... [More]

April 271869 — Henry Chadwick published his first annual baseball handbook. The book eventually evolved into Spalding’s Official Baseball Guide.1871 — The Fort Wayne Kekiongas beat the Cleveland Forest Citys, 2-0, in the first game played in the National Association. In the 127 games during the 1871 season, there were a total of four shutouts.1910 — The Browns and Cardinals played home games in St. Louis, and President Taft, not wanting to offend either club, saw parts of each game at Robinson Field and Sportsman’s Park.1963 — Bob Shaw of the Braves set a major league record by committing five balks. In the third inning, Shaw walked Billy Williams and balked him home with three straight balks. Shaw lasted five innings before he was ejected for arguing. The Chicago Cubs beat Milwaukee, 5-3.1969 — The Houston Astros set an NL record by turning seven double plays against the San Francisco Giants. First baseman Curt Blefary participated in all seven.1975 — Bob Watson of the Houston Astros,... [More]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ryan Zimmerman is a two-time All-Star infielder who has played 15 seasons in the majors, all with the Washington Nationals, helping them win the World Series last year. With baseball on hold, Zimmerman is offering his thoughts -- as told to AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich -- in a diary of sorts. In the fourth installment, Zimmerman discusses what it might have been like to be at Nationals Park on Thursday, when Washington was scheduled to host the Los Angeles Dodgers at 1:05 p.m. in a rematch of last season’s NL Division Series.—-For me, especially for day games, you can’t recreate walking through the tunnel -- the sound, the sight, the feel. For a 1 o’clock home game on a weekday — no batting practice — I usually leave my house at around 9:15, so I can get behind traffic. I drive in and get to the field by 9:45 or 10, and then I’m basically inside. A quick breakfast, and I’m right into my routine.Training room -- anything I need to do there -- and weight room. And then... [More]

April 291918 — 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 at Braves Field in Boston. George Kelly hit two and Ross Youngs and Dave Bancroft hit the others.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.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... [More]

April 251901 : In the opener at Detroit’s Bennett Park, the Tigers beat Milwaukee in a great comeback. Trailing 13-4 going into the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers scored 10 runs for a 14-13 victory. Frank Dillon had four doubles.1904 : New York pitcher Jack Chesbro recorded the first of his 41 victories on the season, an American League record that still stands.1933 : Yankees pitcher Russ Van Atta made a spectacular debut, blanking Washington 16-0 and going four for four.1976 : Cubs center fielder Rick Monday rescued the American flag from two trespassers who tried to set it on fire in the outfield of Dodger Stadium. The incident happened in the fourth inning of a 5-4, 10-inning loss to Los Angeles.1977 : The Cincinnati Reds romped to a 23-9 victory over the Braves in Atlanta. The Reds tied a National League record by scoring 12 runs in the fifth inning off three Braves pitchers. George Foster had seven RBIs, five runs scored, two home runs, a double and a single.1995 : Major League Baseball... [More]

April 251901 : In the opener at Detroit’s Bennett Park, the Tigers beat Milwaukee in a great comeback. Trailing 13-4 going into the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers scored 10 runs for a 14-13 victory. Frank Dillon had four doubles.1904 : New York pitcher Jack Chesbro recorded the first of his 41 victories on the season, an American League record that still stands.1933 : Yankees pitcher Russ Van Atta made a spectacular debut, blanking Washington 16-0 and going four for four.1976 : Cubs center fielder Rick Monday rescued the American flag from two trespassers who tried to set it on fire in the outfield of Dodger Stadium. The incident happened in the fourth inning of a 5-4, 10-inning loss to Los Angeles.1977 : The Cincinnati Reds romped to a 23-9 victory over the Braves in Atlanta. The Reds tied a National League record by scoring 12 runs in the fifth inning off three Braves pitchers. George Foster had seven RBIs, five runs scored, two home runs, a double and a single.1995 : Major League Baseball... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — When the coronavirus pandemic stopped spring training last month, Ian Happ offered Nico Hoerner, Zack Short and Dakota Mekkes a place to stay if they wanted to remain in Arizona.That's how “The Compound” was born.Happ, Hoerner, Short and Mekkes — four players from the Cubs' organization — are living together while they await word on the baseball season. In addition to their workouts and tennis matches, they also are doing a podcast and posting videos of their day-to-day life at the house.“I think it just helps to have camaraderie in this time,” Happ said. “A lot of guys are at home, away from the team and kind of missing that element. So for us, just to be around teammates, around guys that understand the uncertainty, understand what each other are going through, yeah, it's definitely nice.”Major League Baseball is looking at several different scenarios while trying to play as many games as possible this summer. One of the possibilities is holding every game at facilities... [More]

APRIL 221914 — Babe Ruth, in his professional debut, blanks Providence to give Boston a 6-0 victory over Providence.1922 — With George Sisler on board each time, Brown’s left fielder Ken Williams hits three home runs becoming the first American League hitter to accomplish the feat.1959 — In the seventh inning of a 20-6 rout of Kansas City, the Chicago White Sox score 11 runs on just one hit.1970 — Tom Seaver, New York Mets, ties a major league record by striking out 19 batters.1993 — Mariner pitcher Chris Bosio throws the second franchise history no-hitter.2007 — The Boston Red Sox become the fifth team in major league history to hit four consecutive home runs in a single inning.2008 — John Smoltz becomes the 16th pitcher in major league history to achieve 3,000 strike outs.2018 — Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants, works the most extended at-bat in major league history when he sees 21 first inning pitches.

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball players are upset over the prospect teams may seek additional pay cuts if games are played in empty ballparks due to the coronavirus outbreak.Their anger was stoked last week when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was told by Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon that the union would have to agree to lower salaries if games are played without fans.A March 26 deal between the sides stated “the Office of the Commissioner and Players Association will discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators or at appropriate substitute neutral sites." The union points to another passage covering salaries in which players agree to give up 1/162nd of base pay for each regular season game lost.“Players recently reached an agreement with Major League Baseball that outlines economic terms for resumption of play, which included significant salary adjustments and a number of other compromises. That negotiation is over,”... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball players are upset over the prospect teams may seek additional pay cuts if games are played in empty ballparks due to the coronavirus outbreak.Their anger was stoked last week when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was told by Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon that the union would have to agree to lower salaries if games are played without fans.A March 26 deal between the sides stated “the Office of the Commissioner and Players Association will discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators or at appropriate substitute neutral sites." The union points to another passage covering salaries in which players agree to give up 1/162nd of base pay for each regular season game lost.“Players recently reached an agreement with Major League Baseball that outlines economic terms for resumption of play, which included significant salary adjustments and a number of other compromises. That negotiation is over,”... [More]

April 211910 — The Cleveland Indians played their first game at League Park and lost to the Detroit Tigers 5-0, in front of 19,867.1955 — The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 14-4 at Ebbets Field for their 10th consecutive victory from the start of the season — a major league record that lasted until 1981.1967 — After 737 consecutive games, the Dodgers were rained out for the first time since moving to Los Angeles. The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled.1982 — The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 for their 13th straight victory.1984 — In his second start since August 1982, Montreal pitcher David Palmer threw five perfect innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 4-0 victory stopped by rain.1987 — The Milwaukee Brewers’ 13-game winning streak from the start of the season ended with a 7-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Milwaukee shared the major league streak of 13 straight, set by the Atlanta Braves in 1982.1994 — Eddie Murray set a major league record with his... [More]

April 201910 — Addie Joss of Cleveland pitched the second no-hitter of his career, a 1-0 win over the White Sox in Chicago.1912 — Fenway Park was opened in Boston and the Red Sox defeated the visiting New York Yankees 7-6 in 11 innings. Tiger Stadium in Detroit also opened its doors as the Tigers defeated the Cleveland Indians 6-5.1916 — The Chicago Cubs played their first game at Weeghman Park — renamed Wrigley Field in 1926 — defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.1920 — Manager Gavvy Cravath of the Philadelphia Phillies inserted himself as a pinch hitter and beat the New York Giants with a three-run homer, 3-0. It was his last home run in the majors.1937 — Gee Walker hit for the cycle on opening day to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 win over Cleveland. Walker hit the cycle in reverse order: home run, triple, double, single.1938 — Cleveland’s Bob Feller pitched the first of 12 career one-hitters, beating the St. Louis Browns 9-0.1939 — In his first major league game, Ted Williams... [More]

April 191900 — The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves 19-17 in 10 innings to set a major league record for most runs scored by two clubs on opening day. The Braves scored nine runs in the ninth inning to put the game into extra innings.1920 — Al Schacht, who later became the “Clown Prince of Baseball,” was all business as he pitched the Senators to a 7-0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.1938 — Emmett Mueller of the Phillies and Ernie Koy of the visiting Dodgers each homered in their first major league at-bats as Brooklyn defeated Philadelphia 12-5.1956 — The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 in 10 innings at Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium, the first major league game held in New Jersey.1981 — In an International League night game, the Rochester Red Wings and Pawtucket Red Sox played to a 2-2 tie through 32 innings before play was suspended at 4:07 a.m. The game was completed later in the season with Pawtucket scoring the winning run in the 33rd inning... [More]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ryan Zimmerman is a two-time All-Star infielder who has played 15 years in the majors, all with the Washington Nationals. He holds most of the team’s career hitting records, and his two homers and seven RBIs last postseason helped the Nationals win their first World Series championship. With baseball on hold, Zimmerman is offering his thoughts -- as told to AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich -- while waiting for the 2020 season to begin. This is the third installment; Zimmerman discusses the Pros for Heroes fundraiser he and his wife, Heather, are using to support medical professionals during the coronavirus pandemic.—-Heather and I were at home, like, ‘We’re just sitting here. What can we do over the next weeks or months -- or however long this thing lasts, where people are really battling at the hospital -- so we can help out?’We realized there are a lot of athletes who can give money or use their social media reach to give this a boost. We wanted to start a fund to give... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo came up with a curveball to spice up the regular video conferences he’s been holding with his Toronto coaches while baseball is shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.“We’re having so many Zoom conference calls and stuff, I changed it up a bit and we even did a Happy Hour conference call so we can have fun with it,” Montoyo said Thursday.Montoyo’s chat session led to another idea: a conference call exclusively for Blue Jays players to check in on each other and keep their spirits lifted during the shutdown. The first such call is expected to happen before the end of the week“We had great momentum going into the season,” Montoyo said of his young team’s performance in Florida before baseball was put on pause. “Our culture was great, spring training was awesome, and we don’t want to stop that.”An optimist by nature, Montoyo remains focused on finding silver linings amid the confusion and anxiety created by this crisis.“There’s a saying that when things go bad, there’s going to be something good that comes from it,” Montoyo said. “I don’t know if I made that up or it’s a saying, but I think I heard it before.”NOTES: Montoyo said LHP Ryan Borucki has resumed throwing in Florida after being shut down in February because of lingering pain from surgery last August to remove bone spurs from his left elbow. “He’s building intensity and volume and he feels great, no setbacks,” Montoyo said.

APRIL 171892: In the first Sunday game in National League history, Cincinnati defeated St. Louis 5-1.1932: New York first baseman Bill Terry tied an NL record with 21 putouts as the Giants beat Boston 5-0 behind Hal Schumacher’s two-hitter.1951: In his first major-league game, Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4 as the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-0.1953: Mickey Mantle cleared the bleachers at Griffith Stadium with a 565-foot home run off Chuck Stobbs. The shot came in the fifth inning of a 7-3 win over the Senators.1964: The New York Mets lost their first game at Shea Stadium to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3. Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell hit the first homer at Shea.1969: Bill Stoneman of Montreal pitched a 7-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 10th game of the Expos’ existence.1976: Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies hit four consecutive home runs and a single in an 18-16, 10-inning victory over the Cubs in Wrigley Field. Hitting .167 going into the game,... [More]

Houston manager Dusty Baker celebrated Jackie Robinson’s legacy on the 73rd anniversary of the fall of the major league color barrier and lamented the lack of African Americans in today’s game. “It’s frustrating because we’ve talked about it forever ... but it seems like the numbers are dwindling instead of increasing," Baker said Wednesday.Only 7.7% of big league players on opening day rosters last year were African American, down from 17% in 1990. Baker and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts are the only two African American managers in the majors.Baker appreciates that the league is making a “conscious effort" to get more young African Americans involved in baseball through programs like Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities and is optimistic there can be a turnaround in the upcoming years. “Hopefully in this decade and the next decade there will be more guys that get a chance,” Baker said. “All they need is a chance. A lot of guys have been bypassed and overlooked.”Robinson broke the color barrier... [More]