7th

Louisville's Pete Cassidy becomes the first baseball player in history to be X-rayed, as a splinter of bone is removed from his wrist.

13th

Organized baseball celebrates Harry Wright Day in honor of the baseball pioneer who had died last October. Veterans of the 1860s play an exhibition game in Rockford, IL, using 1860s rules. In Cincinnati, the 1896 Reds defeat the 1892 Reds 7-3. Other games are played in New York, Philadelphia, Louisville, Washington, and Indianapolis.

16th

The 12-team NL season opens, with no franchise changes from last year. The largest Opening Day crowd in the 19th century, 24,500, sees the opener in Philadelphia.

Veteran Cincinnati Reds 2B Bid McPhee opens the season wearing a glove for the first time, and survives several weeks of good-natured ribbing by opponents. He is the last to convert.

20th

An overflow crowd of 18,033 at Boston necessitates a ground rule of one base on a hit into the standing crowd. The Beaneaters then pound out 28 singles (and a double) in an 8-inning 21-8 win over Baltimore. This outburst equals the ML record for singles in one game set by Philadelphia against Louisville on August 17, 1894.

29th

The Cleveland Spiders score 2 runs in the 2nd inning to break a 22-inning scoreless streak by Pittsburgh Pirate pitchers, but fail to score again and lose 9-2.