ON THIS DATE

APRIL 3

1923 — Expelled “Black Sox” players Happy Felsch and Swede Risberg sued their former club for back salary and $400,000 in damages. They were among eight members of the Chicago White Sox team charged with fixing the 1919 World Series.

1966 — The New York Mets won the right to sign Southern California pitcher Tom Seaver when Commissioner William Eckert pulled the team’s name out of a hat. Eckert had voided Seaver’s contract with Atlanta, when the Braves signed him during his college season. Cleveland and Philadelphia were the other two teams that had a chance, matching the Braves’ original $40,000 offer.

1985 — The Players’ Association agreed with the owners to expand the 1985 League Championship Series from best-of-five to best-of-seven.

1994 — The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 in the first Sunday night opener, sending baseball into a new era with three divisions and a new playoff format.

1998 — Milwaukee’s Jose Valentin hit three homers and drove in five runs to lead the Brewers to a 7-1 victory over the Florida Marlins.

2000 — Andres Galarraga made a triumphant return to Turner Field. Out all of last season because of a cancerous tumor in his back, Galarraga hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning that lifted the Atlanta Braves over Colorado 2-0.

2000 — Savannah State’s baseball team set an NCAA record for consecutive victories. The Tigers beat Claflin 8-0 and 21-1, extending its streak to 42 and eclipsing the record of 40 by Marietta College of Ohio, a Division II school, last year.

2001 — Houston’s Craig Biggio had five hits to tie a major league record for a season opener, leading the Astros past the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3.

2006 — Seattle’s Kenji Johjima became the first Japanese catcher to start a major league game and also homered for his first hit in the Mariners’ 5-3 loss to Los Angeles.

2008 — Kansas City the Tigers 4-1 at Detroit to complete a season-opening three-game sweep. It was the first time the Royals started the year with a sweep on the road since 1977.

2011 — Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz became the first set of teammates to homer in each of the first three games in a season, and Matt Harrison pitched the Texas Rangers to a 5-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

2015 — Miami Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart was fined an undisclosed amount for violating Major League Rule 21(d)(3), which “prohibits players from placing bets with illegal bookmakers or agents for illegal book makers.”

Today’s birthdays: Blake Swihart, 26