April 6, 1973, 50 years ago: A new baseball season begins. In the American League, but not in the National League, a new phenomenon makes its regular-season debut: The designated hitter.
The idea of a player who would be in a game only to bat for the pitcher -- a position whose practitioners had traditionally spent so much time focusing on their craft that they allowed themselves to become terrible hitters -- was first brought up in 1906, by the manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, Connie Mack. His idea went nowhere. In 1929, it was John Heydler, with retroactive irony the President of the National League, who came close to convincing his team owners to try it during Spring Training.
The idea lay dormant until 1968, "The Year of the Pitcher." Batting statistics were so weak that year that attendance fell. Both major leagues figured that increased hitting meant increased attendance, so, for some Spring Training games in 1969, they experimented with what was then called a "designated pinch hitter," or DPH. It was an option, and most AL teams were willing to try it -- but most NL teams were not.
Four minor leagues, including the Class AAA International League, started using it in 1969. With its success, the AL tried it again during Spring Training in 1971. Again, the NL didn't. On January 11, 1973, the AL team owners voted 8-4 to approve it for 3 years, on a trial basis.
The season began on April 6, and, the way things worked out, by a few minutes, the 1st player to be a DH in a regular-season game was Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees. They opened the season on the road, against their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, at Fenway Park.
A 24-year-old Jewish native of Atlanta, wearing Number 12, and normally a 1st baseman, he came to bat against Luis Tiant in the top of the 1st inning, with the bases loaded and 2 out: Matty Alou had doubled, and Bobby Murcer and Graig Nettles had drawn walks. Blomberg also drew a walk, forcing Alou home. So, while it wasn't an official at-bat, he was awarded a run batted in, and the Yankees took a 1-0 lead.
Matty's brother, Felipe Alou, batted next, and doubled home Murcer and Nettles. (The 3rd Alou brother to make the major leagues, Jesús Alou, never played for the Yankees.) That gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead. But that would be the peak of the game for them. In the bottom of the 1st, Carl Yastrzemski hit a home run off Mel Stottlemyre. In the 2nd, Carlton Fisk hit a home run, and a Nettles error led to a 5-3 Boston lead. Although Nettles would become one of the greatest fielding 3rd basemen of all time, he was off to a difficult start with the Yankees.
In the top of the 3rd, Nettles hit a home run, and Blomberg beat out an infield single. But the Yankee rally stalled. The Sox scored 3 more runs in the bottom of the inning. Fisk hit another home run, a grand slam off Lindy McDaniel, in the bottom of the 4th. Blomberg lined out to 2nd to end the top of the 5th, and flew out to left in the top of the 8th, to end the day 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Orlando Cepeda, the former star 1st baseman for the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, had been suffering from a bad knee for a few years, and the DH gave him the chance to hit without having to play the field. He had been the 1st player signed specifically to take the function. In spite of his team's win, he did not do well that day, going 0-for-6.
When the damage was done, and the final out was in the books, it was Red Sox 15, Yankees 5. A nice Opening Day for New England; for the New York Tri-State Area, not so much.
Here's how the other original DHs, and their teams, did that day:
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Terry Crowley of the Orioles went 2-for-4. Ollie Brown of the Brewers went 0-for-3. Brooks Robinson, by this point regarded as the greatest 3rd baseman of all time, hit 2 home runs.
* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Anaheim Stadium. (It's now named Angel Stadium of Anaheim.) For the Royals, Ed Kirkpatrick went 1-for-3. For the Angels, Tommy McCraw went 1-for-4.
However, when Frank Robinson was injured, McCraw was shifted to his position in left field. As a result, the Angels became the 1st team to forfeit the DH, and have their pitcher bat anyway. Nolan Ryan thus became the 1st pitcher who could have had to bat in a game despite having had a DH, although his spot in the order did not come up. He went on to have one of the greatest seasons any pitcher has ever had.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-3 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. For the Twins, Tony Oliva went 2-for-4, including the 1st home run by a DH, off Jim "Catfish" Hunter, and 3 RBIs. For the A's, Bill North became the 1st DH to bat leadoff, and went 2-for-5.
These were the National League games played that day:
* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 at Shea Stadium. Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton each allowed only 5 hits, but Seaver allowed no runs, while Carlton allowed 3. Willie Mays went 0-for-3 for the Mets. Mike Schmidt started the season in the minor leagues, so it was Jose Pagan at 3rd base for the Phils.
* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-1 at Atlanta Stadium. (It would be renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) César Cedeño doubled home the winning run in the top of the 13th inning. Hank Aaron, who entered the game with 673 career home runs, and would finish his career with a record 755 after 2 seasons as a DH with the Milwaukee Brewers, went 0-for-5 on the day.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Pirates retired the Number 21 of Roberto Clemente, who had been killed in a plane crash in the off-season, and took the field wearing patches with the number on their sleeves for the rest of the season.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Cubs trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, but bases-loaded walks by Randy Hundley and Rick Monday won it for them. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at San Diego Stadium.
* And, observing Cincinnati's tradition of being the 1st NL team to play, because of the original Cincinnati Red Stockings' status as the 1st openly professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants played the day before, with the Giants winning, 4-1, then taking a day off (in case Opening Day was rained out), then playing again on April 7.
In 1973, the AL as a whole had a higher batting average than the NL. That was the case every single season, from 1973 to 2021, including 2020 when, due to COVID instituting travel restrictions and a temporary emergency realignment, both Leagues had to use the DH.
The 2022 season was the 1st with both Leagues using the DH, leaving the Central League in Japan as the last top-flight league, anywhere in the world, not using it. All those people complaining that the DH is "not real baseball" -- well, that argument went out the window 7 years before the DH came, in 1966, when artificial turf was first used. In 2022, for the 1st time in the DH Era, the NL had a higher overall batting average than the AL -- barely: .243 to .242.
There were 3 games played that day in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Baltimore Bullets, 97-89 at the Baltimore Civic Center. (It's now named the CFG Bank Arena.) Elvin Hayes had 34 points for the Bullets, who moved to the Washington area the next season.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics, 118-105 at the Boston Garden. Lou Hudson scored 37 for the Hawks.
* And the Chicago Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 96-86 at the Chicago Stadium.
There were 2 games in the ABA. The New York Nets lost to the Carolina Cougars, 136-113 at the Greensboro Coliseum. And the Kentucky Colonels beat the Virginia Squires, 108-90 at The Scope in Norfolk.
There were no games scheduled in the NHL, which had begun the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There was 1 Playoff game in the World Hockey Association, concluding its 1st season: The Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Fighting Saints, 3-1 at the Winnipeg Arena.
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Ron Blomberg would be the Yankees' main DH for the 1973 and '74 seasons. But injuries ruined his career: He played in only 34 games in 1975, just 1 in 1976, and none in 1977. He enjoyed a brief revival in 1978 with the Chicago White Sox, but that was it. He finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .293.
He continues to identify as a Yankee, and usually returns for Old-Timers' Day. I once saw him hit a home run in an Old-Timers' Game.
On April 7, 1973, the DH debuts continued. The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Gates Brown of the Tigers and John Ellis of the Indians both went 0-for-4. (Gates was no relation to Ollie Brown, but Ollie was the brother of Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Willie Brown.)
And the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 3-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Dick Allen hit a home run for the ChiSox, but he was not their DH. Mike Andrews -- perhaps foreshadowing his difficulties in that season's World Series -- was, and he went 1-for-3. For the Rangers, Rico Carty went 1-for-4.
Ron Blomberg, Orlando Cepeda, Terry Crowley, Tommy McCraw, Tony Oliva, Bill North, Mike Andrews and Rico Carty entered the 2022 season still alive. Ed Kirkpatrick died in 2010, Gates Brown in 2013, Ollie Brown in 2015, and John Ellis just yesterday.
Cepeda was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but as a 1st baseman. Elected with their main "position" being DH have been Paul Molitor, Edgar Martinez, and, most dubiously of all, the steroid cheat David Ortiz.