Portal:Baseball/Anniversaries/April 3
Events
- 1960 - The Baltimore Orioles trade Billy Gardner to the Washington Senators for Clint Courtney and Ron Samford.
- 1966 - The New York Mets sign University of Southern California star Tom Seaver to his first contract, including a $50,000 bonus. eat out the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies in a lottery for Seaver's services.
- 1974 - The Los Angeles Dodgers trade Bruce Ellingsen to the Cleveland Indians for Pedro Guerrero.
- 1987 - The Chicago Cubs trade Dennis Eckersley to the Oakland Athletics for three minor leaguers.
- 1991 - Nolan Ryan and his son Reid pitch against each other as the Texas Rangers take on the University of Texas at Austin.
- 1991 - The Chicago White Sox sign free agent Bo Jackson to a one-year contract worth $700,000.
- 1993 - The Colorado Rockies sign free agent Dale Murphy.
- 1994 - In the first Sunday night Major League season opener, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Ray Lankford hits a home run as the first batter of the 1994 season.
- 1996 - Saint Francis College sets 71 NCAA records with a 71-1, four-inning defeat of Robert Morris University.
- 2000 - Atlanta Braves first baseman Andrés Galarraga hits a home run in his first game back after missing the entire 1999 season following cancer surgery.
- 2002 - San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds hits two home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming the second player in Major League history to begin a season with two consecutive two-home run games, Eddie Mathews being the first.
- 2003 - Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest player in Major League history to hit 300 home runs, 79 days less than Jimmie Foxx.
- 2005 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Alex Sánchez becomes the first Major Leaguer publicly identified under baseball's new steroid policy and is suspended for 10 days for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
- 2006 - Seattle Mariners rookie Kenji Johjima becomes the first catcher from Japan to start a Major League game.
Births
- 1854 - Joe Ellick, outfielder, manager (d. 1923)
- 1856 - Guy Hecker, pitcher, manager (d. 1938)
- 1858 - Ben Holmes, Negro League and minor league infielder (d. ????)
- 1860 - Tom Lynch, outfielder (d. 1955)
- 1864 - Bill Schwartz, catcher (d. 1940)
- 1879 - John Frill, pitcher (d. 1918)
- 1892 - Harry Kingman, infielder (d. 1982)
- 1905 - Gordie Hinkle, catcher (d. 1972)
- 1919 - Larry Shepard, manager
- 1926 - Alex Grammas, infielder, manager
- 1929 - Art Ditmar, pitcher
- 1930 - Wally Moon, outfielder; All-Star
- 1939 - Hawk Taylor, catcher
- 1940 - José Vidal, outfielder
- 1943 - Barry Moore, pitcher
- 1944 - Gomer Hodge, infielder (d. 2007)
- 1946 - Rod Gaspar, outfielder
- 1954 - Larry Littleton, outfielder
- 1956 - Darrell Jackson, pitcher
- 1958 - Gary Pettis, outfielder
- 1960 - Tim Conroy, pitcher
- 1961 - Doug Baker, infielder
- 1961 - Tim Crews, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1962 - Marty Clary, pitcher
- 1962 - Dave Miley, manager
- 1963 - Chris Bosio, pitcher
- 1967 - Miguel García, pitcher
- 1967 - Danilo Leon, pitcher
- 1967 - Mark Shapiro, executive
- 1968 - Mike Lansing, infielder
- 1971 - Quilvio Veras, infielder
- 1972 - Steve Soderstrom, pitcher
- 1974 - Jim Pittsley, pitcher
- 1980 - Justin Christian, outfielder
- 1981 - Ryan Doumit, catcher
- 1987 - Jay Bruce, outfielder
Deaths
- 1900 - Foghorn Bradley, pitcher (b. 1855)
- 1909 - George Barclay, outfielder (b. 1876)
- 1938 - Charlie Brown, pitcher (b. 1871)
- 1938 - Count Campau, outfielder, manager (b. 1863)
- 1942 - John Rudderham, outfielder (b. 1863)
- 1952 - Dick Harley, outfielder (b. 1872)
- 1952 - Phenomenal Smith, pitcher (b. 1864)
- 1953 - Larry Benton, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1969 - Charley Stanceu, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1971 - Jack Boyle, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1972 - Alvin Crowder, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1899)
- 1975 - Sugar Cain, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1977 - Hank Steinbacher, outfielder (b. 1913)
- 1978 - Ray French, infielder (b. 1895)
- 1979 - Harry Simpson, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1925)
- 1980 - Bob Trowbridge, pitcher (b. 1930)
- 1981 - Clayton Lambert, pitcher (b. 1917)
- 1983 - Mickey Livingston, catcher (b. 1914)
- 1991 - Whitey Miller, pitcher (b. 1915)
- 2002 - Roy Nichols, infielder (b. 1921)