IN THE NEWS: Cincinnati opens the season with an 11-inning, 7–6 victory over the Pirates. The Reds offense was sparked by CF Dain Clay, who cracks a 5th inning grand slam: it will be his only home run this year in 645 at bats. Also in the 5th, with the Pirates leading 2–0 with two runners on, the Bucs runner at 2B, Frankie Zak, calls time to tie his shoe lace. The ump Ziggy Sears waves his arms, but Reds pitcher Bucky Walters doesn't see him and fires a pitch that Jim Russell hits for an apparent home run. The hit is disallowed, and the Bucs fail to score in the frame. Forty-six year old Hod Lisenbee, who had not appeared in the majors in nine years, works two innings of hitless relief to earn the win, the 37th and last of his career.
Steady rain holds the crowd at Yankee Stadium to 13,923 as Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia throws out the first ball for the opener against the Red Sox. The Yanks' lone score until the 7th inning is a homer by rookie Russ Derry in the 3rd off Rex Cecil. Meanwhile the Red Sox jump on Atley Donald for three runs in the 1st inning and another in the 7th on Ben Steiner's solo homer. But helped by four Boston errors, and another homer by Russ Derry—this one a grand slam, New York scores seven runs in the 7th inning to finish the scoring at 8–4. Sox first baseman George Metkovich makes a record three errors in the frame on a missed tag, bad throw, and fumble. Forty-one-year old Jim Turner pitches the last two innings for New York.
Pete Gray, the one-armed OF, plays his ML debut game with the St. Louis Browns. He singles once, off Les Mueller, in four at bats, and handles no chances in the outfield. St. Louis beats the Tigers 7–1, for their 9th straight Opening Day win, a major-league record that the 1975-83 Mets will tie.
In Boston, Giants player-manager Mel Ott has a field day by setting six records in his team's 11–6 win. Ott collects a double, two walks and three runs. His records for a player with one team include 1,026 extra-base hits, 2076 total bases, 1,778 RBIs, 1,787 runs, 1,631 walks, and 20 years with one team.
IN THE NEWS: Joe Cronin of the Red Sox, catches his spikes at 2B and fractures his right leg in a 4–3 loss to the Yankees. The 39-year-old will retire but continues as manager. Mike Ryba decides the game by hitting Johnny Lindell on the wrist with the bases full in the 9th.
IN THE NEWS: In the delayed presidential opener in Washington, tribute is paid to the late FDR before Speaker Sam Rayburn tosses out the first ball. The Yankees win their 4th straight, pounding three pitchers for a 6–3 win.
Mickey Grasso, future ML catcher, escapes from a German prisoner-of-war camp. He was captured in February 1942.
IN THE NEWS: At a meeting of owners in Cleveland a list of possible successors to Judge Landis is cut to 6: Ford Frick, president of the National League, and five politicians, Jim Farley, Carl Vinson, Robert Patterson, Bob Hannegan, and Frank Lausche. Larry MacPhail suggests adding the name of Albert "Happy" Chandler, a Kentucky senator. The list then narrows to Chandler and Hannegan. On the first ballot Chandler leads 11-5, short of the required three-fourths. One vote switches over, and the owners unanimously approve the selection. Also approved is the Malaney Plan for interleague play, first brought up at the February meeting. Besides the same-city games, Cincinnati will play at Cleveland, Brooklyn at Washington, and Detroit at Pittsburgh. The latter contest will later be scrapped when the ODT refused to grant the Tigers permission to detour 62 miles to get to Pittsburgh. The seven benefit games will held on July nine and 10.
Hitting a 9th inning home run for the 3rd time in four games, Butch Nieman poles a 3-run homer, giving him five RBIs as the Braves defeat the Dodgers, 8–6. Nieman's 3-run home run on April 20 beat the Phils, 6–5, and his 9th inning home run on the 22nd tied the Phils.
IN THE NEWS: At the Stadium, George Myatt leads the Senators to a 6–4 win over the Yankees. Myatt has a walk, four hits, three stolen bases, two runs and two RBIs to back Mickey Haefner's pitching. Frank Crosetti has a pinch homer with two on in the 8th for New York.
The first-place Cubs win their 5th straight, as Paul Derringer shoots down the Pirates, 7–3. Rip Sewell allows four hits in four innings, but four errors hand him the loss.
Behind Ed Heusser's 4-hit pitching, the Reds edge the visiting Cards, 2–1. In St. Louis, Mort Cooper announces he is willing to pitch tomorrow against the Reds, even though he and his brother Walker are in a pay dispute with the Cards. Walker is awaiting induction into the armed services. The Coopers quit the team two weeks ago after learning that SS Marty Marion had received a new contract for $13,500. The brothers want $15,000 each.
The Giants Bill Voiselle, first citizen of Ninety Six, NC, shuts out the Dodgers, 5–0. Backing him are Mel Ott and Steve Filipowitz, who belt homers in the 6th inning. Filipowitz's drive, which apparently hits the low screen in front of the LF boxes, is first ruled a double by ump George Magerkurth. Home plate ump Bill Stewart overrules him, calling it a homer.
New Commissioner Happy Chandler says that Cincinnati is under "strong consideration" as the new location for headquarters for organized ball. The current headquarters is in Chicago.
IN THE NEWS: In his first ML appearance, Boo Ferriss of the Red Sox survives a first inning. in which he throws 17 balls and loads the bases, to blank the A's 2–0. At bat, he is 3-for-3. The Sox also take the nitecap in 13 innings, winning 6–3.
The Yankees split a pair with the Senators, losing the nitecap, 2–1 after winning the lidlifter, 13–4. Russ Derry hits a pair of homers—including his 2nd slam of the season—in the opener, and has Joe McCarthy wondering if he has another Ruth.
IN THE NEWS: P Dixie Howell, briefly with Cleveland in 1940, is liberated from a prison camp in Germany.
The Tigers swap outfielder-3B Don Ross and 2B Dutch Meyer to the Indians for Roy Cullenbine, one of the Detroit players freed by Judge Landis in 1940. Landis had specified that none of the new free agents could play for the Tigers for three years.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
