Braves Franchise History
1958 – The Milwaukee Braves acquire veteran Dick Littlefield from the Chicago Cubs for cash.
1959 – The Milwaukee Braves acquire catcher Stan Lopata, shortstop Ted Kazanski and infielder Johnny O’Brien from the Phillies in exchange for pitcher Gene Conley and infielders Joe Koppe and Harry Hanebrink.
1962 – The Milwaukee Braves acquire pitchers Moe Drabowsky and Seth Moreland from the Cubs in exchange for infielders Andre Rodgers and Daryl Robertson.
1998 – The Atlanta Braves defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Turner Field. It is the Brewers first game as a National League team as they are the first team since the inception of the American League in 1901 to switch leagues.
2008 – The Braves almost pull off a big comeback on Opening Day against the Pirates. Pittsburgh led 9-4 going into the bottom of the 9th but Damaso Marte and Matt Capps blew the lead after a fly ball fell between outfielders Jason Bay and Nate McLouth with two outs. Pittsburgh retakes the lead with three runs in the 12th. Atlanta scores two in the bottom half of the inning but comes up short in a 12-11 loss.
2017 – SunTrust Park opens with an exhibition game between the Braves and the Yankees. The game is played despite the collapse of a span of Interstate 85, which creates huge traffic problems.
MLB History
1909 – The National Commission rules that players who jump contracts will be suspended for five years. Players joining outlaw organizations will be suspended for three years as punishment for going outside organized baseball.
1968 – The American League’s newest franchise in Seattle chose the “Pilots” as its nickname. The team will last just one season in Seattle before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers.
1971 – The Mets trade 1969 World Series hero Ron Swoboda to the Montreal Expos. Swoboda will go to the Yankees in June.
1993 – Bill White resigns as president of the National league. He remained in the job until March of 1994.
1994 – The Chicago White Sox assign Michael Jordan to the Double A Birmingham Barons.
1995 – A U.S. District court order forbids owners form implementing new financial working conditions in the wake of the impasse in strike negotiations. The court decides that conditions will revert to the old rules from the previous season. Because of the timing of the court order, 18 games will have to be trimmed from the major league schedule.
2001 – After playing at Three Rivers Stadium for 31 years, the Pittsburgh Pirates move into their new home at PNC Park where they lose to the Mets, 4-3 in an exhibition game.
2009 – The Detroit Tigers release Gary Sheffield, who is one home run shy of 500 for his career.
2014 – Don Baylor suffers a freak injury while catching the ceremonial first pitch before the Angels home opener. Vladimir Guerrero throws the pitch after signing a one-day contract to retire as an Angel. Baylor twists his leg catching the soft toss and suffers a broken femur. Baylor and Guerrero are the only two players to this point to win the MVP Award in franchise history.
Information for this article was found via Baseball Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History.