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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

This Date in Baseball: April 10

Cincinnati Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr., follows through as he hits a solo home run off Colorado Rockies pitcher Rolando Arrojo in the fourth inning of their game at Coors Field in Denver on Monday, April 10, 2000. Griffey Jr. became the youngest player to hit 400 major league home runs. (Ed Andrieski / Associated Press)
Associated Press

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, but did not yield another run for 56 consecutive innings.

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.

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.

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.

2001 – The Dodgers-Diamondbacks game concluded in one hour, 55 minutes, the fastest home game in Arizona history. The Diamondbacks’ Curt Schilling earned his 16th career shutout and 66th complete game in a 2-0 victory. Schilling gave up two hits and struck out 10. Kevin Brown tossed a three-hitter and fanned eight for Los Angeles.