TODAY IN BASEBALL courtesy of National Pastime
1912 – After two days of rain, the first major league game is finally played at Fenway Park. The inaugural game is memorable with the Red Sox staging an eleven-inning walk-off victory over the New York Highlanders (Yankees), 7-6.
1973 – Four months after his death, Roberto Clemente, in a special election, is inducted into the Hall of Fame. On New Year’s Eve, the Pirates outfielder was tragically killed when a cargo plane crashes during a relief effort to bring supplies to victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake.
2006 – At Petco Park in his first at-bat of the season, Kaz Matsui hits an inside-the-park round tripper, making it the third successive season in which the Mets second baseman has hit a home run in his initial plate appearance of the year. Ken Griffey Jr. also accomplished the feat starting in 1997 with the Mariners, but had walked prior to going deep.
And finally…in 2013, after flying from Los Angeles, Neil Diamond shows up unannounced at Fenway Park to ask the Red Sox if he can sing Sweet Caroline at the first game at ballpark since the bombing at the Boston Marathon. The crowd and the rest of the nation is truly ‘Boston Strong’ after his eighth-inning performance of the team’s anthem.
PLAYERS BORN TODAY
Dave Bancroft (1891), Milt Wilcox (1950), Don Mattingly (1961), Todd Hollandsworth (1973) and Brandon Belt (1988)
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