In case you missed it…

Mike Trout homered in his first at bat – naturally… Yadier Molina‘s solo shot was the only run in a Cardinals victory, and Oakland has lost on opening day for ten straight seasons in a game that featured an umpire review of a collision at home plate using video replay.

Opening Day Injuries:

Jose Reyes has a tight hamstring, so he’s on the 15-day-DL (already).  Reyes had injured the hamstring a week ago and took five days off during spring training, but played over the weekend.  Toronto called up Jonathan Diaz, who played in five games for the Red Sox last season after spending the previous seven seasons in the minors.  He’s never been much of a hitter, but is an impressive fielder.  I wonder if he will still be with the team when Diaz celebrates his 29th birthday on the tenth… [ESPN]

Mets closer Bobby Parnell has a partial MCL tear in his throwing elbow and will be resting for a couple of weeks, with a decision on surgery coming after he tries throwing again.  [MLB]

Wilson Ramos had a tough swing, injuring his hand, and was removed from opening day.  The catcher had an MRI on his hand that found no structural damage and is considered day-to-day.  [ESPN]

The worst injury was to Angels coach Don Baylor, who leaned to catch an opening pitch throw from Vlad Guerrero and somehow, in transferring his weight to his right leg, broke his femur.  Baylor is a survivor of multiple myeloma, a cancer that attacks plasma cells in the bone marrow, something he acquired in 2003.  Baylor needed assistance to get up and hobble off the field and could be out as much as six months. [MLB]

From Baseball 365:

Arrivals:

(1912)  Whistling Jake Wade

(1915)  Jeff Heath – fine outfielder, not as pleasant a teammate, had a couple of good years in the late 1930s and 1940s.  His 1938 and 1941 seasons, where he hit .340 or better with power and a fair eye at the plate are great seasons.  He just didn’t have that many of them and mixed in a year where he hit .219.

(1936)  Ron Perranoski – Dodger arm and long-time pitching coach.

(1939)  Phil Niekro – greatest knuckler of all time.

(1944)  Rusty Staub – Le Grande Orange…  Fantastic hitter until he was as round as an orange, too.

(1948)  Willie Montanez – one of my favorite players of the 1970s as he always seemed to be having fun playing baseball.

(1985)  Daniel Murphy – Mets infielder…

Departures:

Of the 23 deaths to baseball related people on this date, none had the impact in baseball as that of George Edward “Rube” Waddell.  If you don’t believe me – read my book!!!  Rube died in a sanitarium in San Antonio, TX on this day 100 years ago, his once great physical strength sapped by the plague of the period, Tuberculosis.  He was 37.

Umpire John McSherry died of a heart attack just as the Reds were starting its opening day game with the Expos.  I can still picture the video of McSherry running off the field in distress before collapsing.  The game was cancelled, but not without Marge Schott blaming McSherry for ruining opening day…

Transactions:

1962:  The Tigers sign pitcher Dave DeBusschere.  A good pitcher for a couple of years with the White Sox, DeBusschere becomes more famous playing basketball for the Knicks.

1963:  The Mets bring back to NYC the silver-haired outfielder, Duke Snider, after buying him from the Dodgers.

1969:  Seattle trades Lou Piniella to the Royals – a minor deal at the time, until Piniella won the Rookie of the Year award…

1970:  Bud Selig buys the Pilots and moves them to Milwaukee…

1982:  Lee Mazzilli is traded from Mets to Texas for pitchers Ron Darling and Walt Terrell.  Fans were sad, but it worked out okay…

 

And then there was that fantastic article about Sidd Finch in Sports Illustrated back in 1985 (pictures if you want, too).  He could throw really hard…