TODAY IN BASEBALL: April 5

april 5

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TODAY IN BASEBALL courtesy of National Pastime

1925  – Babe Ruth collapses at a railroad station in Asheville, North Carolina. The “bellyache heard round the world,” so dubbed when a writer suggests that illness was caused by a hot dogs and soda binge, will require hospitalization and an operation, keeping the Yankees slugger out of the lineup until May.

1993 – At Camden Yards, William Jefferson Clinton becomes the first U.S. president to successfully throw the first pitch of the season from the pitcher’s mound. Orioles starter Rick Sutcliffe doesn’t fare as well when the Birds lose to the Rangers, 7-4.

2010 – Matt Stairs plays for his twelfth major league organization, equaling Deacon McGuire’s record (1884 to 1912) for the most teams ever played with by a position player. The 18-year veteran, who also joins pitchers Mike Morgan and Ron Villone for being on a dozen different clubs, flies out in a pinch-hitting role for the Padres in a 6-3 loss to Arizona at Chase Field.

And finally…in 2010, receiving mostly cheers from the standing-room-only crowd at Nationals Stadium, President Barack Obama, wearing a White Sox cap and a Nats jacket, continues a 100-year tradition when he throws the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Washington’s home opener against Philadelphia. The Commander-in-Chief’s toss is high and wide, but third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is able to make a lunging grab of the ball.

PLAYERS BORN TODAY

Reggie Stennett (1951), Ross Gload (1976), Jorge De La Rosa (1981), Lastings Milledge (1985) and Jung Ho Kang (1987)

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