THIS DATE IN BASEBALL: APRIL 10
1913 : President Wilson threw out the first ball as the Senators edged the New York Yankees 2-1 in Washington’s home opener. Walter Johnson allowed an unearned run in the first inning. He did not yield another run for 56 consecutive innings.
1947 : Jackie Robinson became the first black player of the 20th century to sign a major league contract. Robinson agreed a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1959 : Chicago’s Nellie Fox, who went 5-for-7, hit a 14th-inning opening day home run off Don Mossi to beat Detroit, 9-7. The White Sox second baseman did not homer in 623 at-bats the previous season.
1962 : The Houston Colt .45s, in the first major league game played in Texas, beat the Chicago Cubs 11-2 before 25,000. Roman Mejias led Houston’s offense with two three-run homers.
1969 : Tommy Agee of the New York Mets hit a home run into the upper deck in Shea Stadium’s left field. It was the longest home run to reach the seats in the history of the stadium. 1971 : The Phillies opened their new $49.5 million Veterans Stadium by beating Montreal 4-1. Philadelphia’s Don Money hit the first home run.
1973 : The first game at Royals Stadium is played.
John Mayberry hit a home run in Kansas City’s 12-1 rout of Texas. A crowd of 39,476 attended the game at the state-of-the-art ballpark, which features water fountains beyond the outfield fence.
1976 : Don Money had a ninth-inning grand slam taken away. Money’s slam gave the Milwaukee Brewers an apparent 10-9 win over the New York Yankees. The umpires, however, rule that New York first baseman Chris Chambliss had called time out before the pitch. Money returned to the plate and flied out to right and the Brewers suffered a 9-7 loss.
1982 : Under icy conditions, the Cleveland Indians opened the season at Municipal Stadium with an 8-3 loss to the Texas Rangers before 62,443 fans. Five hundred tons of snow had to be removed from the field; the game-time temperature was 38 degrees, with a wind chill of 17. 1989 : Toronto’s Dave Stieb threw a one-hitter for an 8-0 win against the New York Yankees. It was the third one-hitter in Stieb’s last four starts. Stieb, who closed last year with consecutive one-hitters, struck out five, walked four, and gave up a solid single to Jamie Quirk with one out in the fifth inning.
1990 : Boston’s Wade Boggs tied a major league record for a nine-inning game by drawing three intentional walks.
2000 : Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey Jr. became the youngest player to hit 400 career home runs when he connected in the Reds’ 7-5 loss to Colorado. At 30 years, 141 days, Griffey beat the previous mark set by Jimmie Foxx, who was 30 years, 248 days old.
2016 : Rookie Trevor Story capped his amazing first week in the majors by hitting his seventh home run, helping the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 6-3. Story’s homer was one of five solo shots by the Rockies and has driven in 12 runs through six games.
2017 : Wil Myers hit a leadoff triple in the eighth
ultimately, and as we start to get there, that’s gotta be our No. 1 focus.”
Before executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias arrived, Baltimore’s farm system was devoid of much middle infield talent. Adam Hall, a secondround draft pick in 2017, looks at the crop of prospects around him now and is amazed.
Hall, 22, who started in center field Friday despite his middle infield experience, is the 27th-best prospect in Baltimore’s organization, according to Baseball America. Around him in Bowie are more top players in Ortiz (No. 16), Westburg (No. 6) and Henderson (No. 4).
That influx of talent to the farm system in recent years adds pressure on them all. There are only so many positions along the infield, which prompted Hall’s bump to the outfield Friday. Henderson started at short, Ortiz at second and Westburg at third. But those players will all rotate, which Westburg considers a benefit.
“We all have different skill sets,” Westburg said. “We all realize that. We understand that all we can do to make each other better is push each other in practice, try to set the bar high.”
To Westburg, the 20-year-old Henderson is the “young buck” of the group, still gaining experience on the fly. But Henderson might also have the most power between them all. The 23-year-old Ortiz could be the best defender of the group, making plays Westburg admitted he wouldn’t in the same position. And Westburg, despite a few swings and misses, believes his ability to spray the ball to all fields sets him apart.
It’s those different skills that help them remain friends during a push to the big
leagues. They’re all hoping for an infield spot — and only one of them can play shortstop — but that versatility could land them at Oriole Park together.
The Bowie coaches lean into that competition, though, even beyond what Henderson and Ortiz do on their own in the batting cage two to three times a week.
During spring training, the prospects competed for who could have the highest exit velocity on batted balls. They participated in a home run derby using Plyo Balls — a sand-filled ball made with a PVC shell. A foam ball machine threw overly exaggerated breaking pitches to them.
“The infield guys, we’re around each other every day, and it’s great to have that bond,” Ortiz said. “The main thing I always say: Gunnar and Westburg are so good, it’s definitely nice to be able to compete with them, because it only makes me better.”
In a video conference with reporters Thursday, Elias said he believed Baltimore was “close to getting back into the fight.” As he looks around the minors, the prospects cultivated through three 100-loss seasons in four years are nearing the big leagues. Once they arrive, he hopes they’ll be ready to make an immediate impact.
That will be learned down the line, when those players prove themselves and earn those expected call-ups. But at least for now, even if those highly touted infield prospects are playing in Bowie rather than Baltimore, their minds can’t help but wander to the horizon — and what they might accomplish once there.
“We all know we can win a championship together,” Henderson said. “We all have the right mindset going into each game and each season. I feel like the group that’s coming up, we have an excellent chance to turn this thing around and bring a championship back to the Orioles.”