Let’s go back in time for a moment
MLB History
1921: First baseman Gene Paulette is barred from organized baseball for life for taking part in throwing games. He played in 500 games with the New York Giants, St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Phillies.
1931: The Chicago White Sox and the New York Giants become the first teams from the AL or NL to meet in a night game. They collect 23 hits in a ten-inning exhibition game played at Buff Stadium in Houston, TX.
1957: Television Age reports that Major League Baseball will get $9.3 million for TV-Radio rights this year.
2006: Second baseman Alfonso Soriano refuses to play the outfield for the Washington Nationals in what was supposed to be his first exhibition game with the team. General manager Jim Bowden says his biggest offseason acquisition could go on the disqualified list if he doesn’t agree to switch positions this week.
2011: The perjury trial of Barry Bonds, officially named “USA vs. Bonds”, begins in San Francisco, CA with jury selection. The past few weeks have been spent arguing over what evidence would be admissible as the prosecution seeks to demonstrate that Bonds lied to a grand jury in 2003 during the BALCO investigation when he stated that he had never knowingly used steroids. Bonds also faces a charge of obstruction of justice.
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2019: The Mariners complete a season-opening two-game sweep of their opening series against the Athletics at the Tokyo Dome with a 5 – 4 win in 12 innings in the second game. Domingo Santana, whose grand slam was the decisive blow in the first game yesterday, beats out a potential double play grounder to drive in the winning run. Ichiro Suzuki goes 0 for 4 as Seattle’s right fielder, then leaves after the 8th inning. He announces after the game that he will now retire from baseball for good.
2021: Shohei Ohtani does something unseen in ages in North American baseball, as he is both the lead-off hitter and the starting pitcher in the Angels’ Cactus League game against the Padres. Given the last opportunity this year to prove he can succeed as a two-way player, he goes 2-for-2 with a walk at the plate, and strikes out five batters in four innings. He is hitting an unbelievable .636 at this point, with plenty of power, and is regularly throwing pitches at 100 mph or more as well. “The dude’s a freak”, comments his opponent, Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell
Information for this article was found via Baseball Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History.