Braves Franchise History
1969 – The Atlanta Braves trade Joe Torre to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Orlando Cepeda. The trade was the result of a salary dispute between Torre and Braves GM Paul Richards who was angry at Torre for his role as a union official.
MLB History
1911 – Plumbers at work on the drain pipes at Washington’s Griffith Stadium inadvertently start a fire that burns down the grandstand. The stands will be rebuilt in time to play the home opener on schedule.
1921 – Phillies first baseman Gene Paulette is ordered to appear before Commissioner Landis regarding alleged gambling. Paulette elects to retire instead and will later join a semi pro team.
1936 – Joe DiMaggio makes his debut with the Yankees recording four hits, including a triple, in an 8-7 loss to the Cardinals.
1953 – Bill Veeck says that he will sell his 80 percent stake of the St. Louis Browns for $2.475 million.
1965 – Jackie Robinson signs on as a member of ABC’s major league baseball broadcast team becoming the first black broadcaster to receive a network position.
1966 – Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale sign movie contracts showing that they are serious about retiring from baseball if their salary demands are not met by the Dodgers.
1976 – Commissioner Bowie Kuhn orders teams to open spring training camps as soon as possible.
1984 – Ferguson Jenkins announces his retirement.
1992 – The Veterans Committee elects Hal Newhouser and umpire Bill McGowan to the Hall of Fame.
1999 – The Blue Jays fire manager Tim Johnson and replace him with Jim Fregosi. Johnson’s job had been in jeopardy since admitting that he lied about saying he had seen combat duty in the Vietnam War.
2015 – The Cubs come under fire as Scott Boras lashes out accusing the team of manipulating Kris Bryant’s service time by having him begin the season in the minors. Cubs team president Theo Epstein responds that Bryant needs more work on his defense.
Information for this article was found via Baseball Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History.