This Day in Baseball History, April 22nd

[Old Sweater]

1876 - In the first National League game ever played, Joe Borden of Boston beat the hometown Philadelphia 5-4.

1898 - Ted Breitenstein of the Cincinnati Reds and James Hughes of Baltimore each pitched no-hit ball games. Breitenstein no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0 and Hughes no-hit the Boston Braves 8-0.

1906 - A new rule puts the umpire in sole charge of all game balls. The home team manager previously had some say as to when a new ball was introduced.

1914 - At age 19, Babe Ruth's first professional game (as a pitcher) is a six hit 6-0 win for Baltimore (International League) over Buffalo. The second batter he faces is Joe McCarthy, the manager he will play for 17 years later with New York. At the plate, Ruth has two hits.

1915 - Pinstripes first appeared on the Yankees uniforms.

1955 - The Athletics won their major league debut in Kansas City with a 6-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers before a standing-room crowd of 32,147 — the largest paid crowd for any event in Kansas City.

1957 - John Kennedy becomes the first black to play for the Philadelphia Phillies, making them the last N.L. team to integrate. Kennedy pinch runs for Solly Hemus in the 5-1 loss to Brooklyn. He will play only briefly in five games and goes hitless.

1959 - The Chicago White Sox scored 11 runs with only one hit in the seventh inning of a 20-6 rout of the Kansas City A's. Johnny Callison had the hit — a single. In the inning, Chicago was the recipients of 10 walks — five with the bases loaded — three Kansas City errors and one hit batsman.

1962 - The Pirates win their tenth straight game, matching the major league record to start a season, while the Mets tie a N.L. record by opening 0-9.

1966 - The Braves won their first game in Atlanta by beating the New York Mets 8-4.

1970 - Tom Seaver strikes out 19 Padres, including the last ten in succession, in winning 2-1 for the Mets. To date, only Steve Carlton has struck out this many in a game in the twentieth century. No one had ever struck out ten in a row.

1981 - Dodgers rookie Fernando Valenzuela tosses his third shutout in four starts, strikes out 11, and drives in the game's only run with a single in a 1-0 win over Houston.

1982 - After opening the season with 13 straight wins, the Braves finally lose 2-1 to the Reds.

1991 - Frank Thomas is the first White Sox player to homer at the new Comiskey Park. Chicago is an 8-7 winner over Baltimore.

1993 - Chris Bosio, a $16 million free agent acquisition of the Mariners, pays immediate dividends with a no-hitter against Boston. Bosio fans four and walks two in his 97-pitch gem.

1996 - John Franco becomes the first lefthander to reach the 300-save plateau with a scoreless ninth inning in a 3-2 Mets win over the Expos at foggy Shea Stadium.

1997 - After months of on-again, off-again negotiations, the Yankees and Padres agree on a trade for the rights to Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu. The Padres had worked out a deal in January for Irabu through his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, but Irabu refused to report to the Padres and insisted he would only play for the Yankees. Finally, with minor leaguers Ruben Rivera and Rafael Medina plus $3 million heading to San Diego, Irabu gets his wish.

[Mickey Mental]

The Pirates win their tenth straight game

Now there's something you don't read very often.