Ted Williams was one of ten future Hall of Fame players to take the field at Yankee Stadium on this day in 1939 (his major league debut). The other nine:
• Joe Cronin
• Bill Dickey
• Joe DiMaggio
• Bobby Doerr
• Jimmie Foxx
• Lou Gehrig
• Joe Gordon
• Lefty Grove
• Red Ruffing
Sam Crawford refines his tools of the trade in his basement during the off-season doldrums.
4/18/1880: Hall of Famer Sam Crawford is born. Wahoo Sam belted an MLB-record 309 career triples — a player making their big league debut in 2026 could record 15 triples for 20 seasons and not eclipse Crawford’s mark. Corbin Carroll (17; 2025) is the only active player with at least one such season.
Nolan Ryan poses for the camera. Circa 1970.
4/18/1970: Nolan Ryan records his first of 61 career shutouts, striking out 15 in the process.
The Ryan Express would notch a total of 43 shutouts with 10 or more strikeouts; since 1901, Randy Johnson (27) and Roger Clemens (22) are the only other pitchers with 20 or more.
Photo of Roberto Clemente, circa 1955. A quote attributed to the Great One is included: “I am convinced that God wanted me to be a baseball player. I was born to play baseball.”
4/17/1955: Roberto Clemente makes his major league debut against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He plays in both games of a doubleheader, recording the first three of his 3000 career hits.
Jackie Robinson in front of Ebbets Field on the day of his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
4/15/1947: Jackie Robinson leaves Ebbets Field after debuting for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He would claim Rookie of the Year honors at season’s end; the beginning of a Hall of Fame career both on and off the field.
Nearly 80 years later, we continue to honor his distinguished legacy.
Hall of Fame pitcher Addie Joss.
Lowest WHIP among pitchers in major league history (min 2000 IP):
• 0.968 - Addie Joss*
• 1.000 - Ed Walsh
• 1.018 - Clayton Kershaw
• 1.043 - John Ward
• 1.044 - Chris Sale+
• 1.054 - Pedro Martínez
• 1.058 - Christy Mathewson
• 1.061 - Walter Johnson
* Born on this day in 1880
+ Active
Dennis Eckersley (sans mustache) with the Cleveland Indians. Circa 1975.
4/12/1975: Dennis Eckersley makes his major league debut in a relief effort against the Milwaukee Brewers, recording his first strikeout (against Robin Yount). Eck would notch 19 punchouts against Yount in his career — no batter struck out more against the Hall of Famer.
Carl Yastrzemski at the University of Notre Dame. Late 1950s.
4/11/1961: A former basketball scholarship student from the University of Notre Dame makes his big league debut for the Boston Red Sox.
Things work out.
Hall of Fame hurler Pedro Martínez pitching for the Boston Red Sox. Circa 1998.
4/11/1998: Pedro Martínez makes his Fenway Park debut, spinning a two-hit shutout against the Mariners while striking out 12.
Martínez’s career 2.74 ERA, 0.985 WHIP, 10.91 K/9 and .212 BAA at Fenway rank lowest among all pitchers with 500 or more innings recorded at the park since 1920.
MLB rankings since 2021:
OPS+ (min 2000 PA)
1) Aaron Judge (195)
2) SHOHEI OHTANI (171)
3) Juan Soto (163)
4) Yordan Alvarez (163)
ERA+ (min 475 IP)
1) SHOHEI OHTANI (154)
2) Max Fried (148)
3) Zack Wheeler (145)
4) Brandon Woodruff (145)
Ohtani (236) trails only Judge (252) in home runs.
Juan Marichal showcasing his patented leg kick.
4/6/1971: Juan Marichal goes the distance, recording one of six Opening Day complete games in his Hall of Fame career (tied for most among MLB pitchers since 1961).
No major league pitcher has more than five complete games since 2023.
Photo of Barry Bonds (an active player at the time) with his godfather, Willie Mays.
4/6/1971: 30 days prior to his 40th birthday, Willie Mays becomes the oldest Giant since at least 1901 to hit a home run on Opening Day. In 2004 his godson comes close (39 years and 256 days) when he belts an Opening Day dinger.
Reds manager Sparky Anderson in the dugout at Riverfront Stadium.
4/6/1970: 36 year-old rookie manager Sparky Anderson picks up his first big league victory — 101 more will follow, along with a National League pennant. Pretty solid debut.
4/5/1993: Greg Maddux makes his first start for the Atlanta Braves, one of 55 career scoreless games with at least eight innings pitched (a span of 740 starts). Since 2002, the Colorado Rockies have recorded 51 such player games (a span of 3795 starts).
Tris Speaker takes a hack at the plate. Circa 1912.
A player making their MLB debut in 2026 could record 50 doubles over the next 15 seasons and still be 42 short of tying Tris Speaker’s record (792). No active player has more than one season with at least 50 doubles (there are 7 such seasons combined).
The Grey Eagle was born on this day in 1888.
Most complete games since 2022:
11 - Miami Marlins
11 - Philadelphia Phillies
10 - Sandy Alcantara*
10 - Houston Astros
8 - San Francisco Giants
8 - Boston Red Sox
8 - Framber Valdez
*missed the 2024 season due to injury
Most home runs through the first six games of a given season — Athletics franchise history:
5 - Shea Langeliers (2026)*
5 - Mark McGwire (1992)
4 - Khris Davis (2019)
4 - Jimmie Foxx (1932)
* including today
Hall of Fame knuckleballer Phil Niekro - from the windup - donning the powder blue for Atlanta.
Born on this day was Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro. Knucksie would log 3490.1 innings and 145 complete games…from the age of 35 on.
Consider:
• No MLB pitcher has 3400 or more career innings pitched since 2007.
• No MLB team features more than 140 complete games since 2000.
Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax warm up at Dodger Stadium.
3/30/1966: Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax settle on financial terms for the 1966 season — the Hall of Fame duo combine for 81 starts and 596.2 innings.
In 2025 the top five White Sox pitchers (in terms of games started) combined for *checks notes* 594 innings pitched.
Shea Langeliers’ seven multi-home run games are most among catchers in Athletics franchise history, despite ranking 16th in games played at the position.
Youngest batters in Red Sox franchise history to record three or more hits on Opening Day:
• Bobby Doerr (19 years 13 days)
• Tony Conigliaro (20y 95d)
• Roman Anthony (21y 317d)*
• Milt Bolling (22y 250d)
• Jose Iglesias (23y 86d)
• Ted Williams (23y 227d)
• Rico Petrocelli (23y 289d)
* today
Jacob Misiorowski (23 years 357 days) joins a distinguished list of pitchers — younger than 24 — to record 10 or more strikeouts on Opening Day (AL/NL history).
In his 2025 campaign Paul Skenes allowed three or fewer earned runs in the months of July (2) and September (3), amassing 47.2 innings pitched in those games.
Interior look at Milwaukee County Stadium prior to opening day in 1953.
3/18/1953: National League owners vote unanimously to allow the Boston Braves to move to Milwaukee. County Stadium will draw 1.8M fans in its first year as home to the Braves (an NL best); Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field will rank a distant second with 1.1M through the turnstiles.
Honus Wagner takes a mighty hack.
3/16/1908: 34 year-old Honus Wagner announces his retirement. It doesn’t last, as the Flying Dutchman plays another 10 big league seasons — over that span Wagner tallies 113 triples (4843 AB).
The Arizona Diamondbacks (119; 16438 AB) are the only MLB team with more three-baggers since 2023.
Red Sox batters in their age 28 through 31 seasons with at least 20 bWAR, 200 extra-base hits and an on-base percentage ≥ .400:
• Jimmie Foxx
• Ted Williams
• Carl Yastrzemski
• Wade Boggs
• David Ortiz
• Kevin Youkilis 🎂
🎂 Happy 47th Birthday!
Gaylord Perry is the only pitcher in MLB history with exactly 314 wins.
Reggie Smith is the only hitter in MLB history with exactly 314 home runs.
In his career against Perry, Smith recorded:
• 3 doubles
• 1 home run
• 4 RBI
Happy Pi Day to those who observe.
Hall of Famer Dick Allen juggling baseballs while smoking a cigarette in the White Sox dugout.
Born on this day in 1942 was Hall of Famer Dick Allen. The Wampum Walloper was a perennial leader among major league players in both swagger and general badassery.
Infielders in major league history with at least 300 HR, 500 2B and 1500 RBI — fewer than 2800 career games played:
• Lou Gehrig (2164 GP)
• Rogers Hornsby (2259)
• Jeff Kent (2298) 🎂
• Chipper Jones (2499)
• George Brett (2707)
• Tony Pérez (2777)
🎂 Happy 58th Birthday!
Ted Williams in a cast for his broken collarbone.
3/1/1954: Ted Williams fractures his collarbone during the first day of Spring Training. The undaunted slugger will make his first starts that season in a May 16th doubleheader, going 8 for 9 with 2 HR and 7 RBI. That season Ted would lead the league in walks, OBP, SLG + OPS…because Ted.