April 3 in Baseball History — Milestones, Debuts, Births & Deaths

This day in baseball ● On this day

April 3

The record for April 3 in baseball history — 2 milestones, 22 debuts, 2 final games, 59 births, 28 deaths and 260 games played.

Featured event · 1998

José Valentín's Three-Home-Run Game, 1998

José Valentín hit three home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers against the Florida Marlins on April 3, 1998.

Apr 3, 1998Milwaukee Brewers @ Florida Marlins

Milestones · April 3

1998

José Valentín's Three-Home-Run Game, 1998

José Valentín hit three home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers against the Florida Marlins on April 3, 1998.

2018

Christian Villanueva's Three-Home-Run Game, 2018

Christian Villanueva hit three home runs for the San Diego Padres against the Colorado Rockies on April 3, 2018.

Major-league debuts · April 3

1989

Steve Finley

Steve Finley made a major-league debut on April 3, 1989.

1989

Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey made a major-league debut on April 3, 1989.

1989

Omar Vizquel

Omar Vizquel made a major-league debut on April 3, 1989.

1996

Sal Fasano

Sal Fasano made a major-league debut on April 3, 1996.

1997

Emil Brown

Emil Brown made a major-league debut on April 3, 1997.

1997

Ricardo Rincón

Ricardo Rincón made a major-league debut on April 3, 1997.

1998

Javier Vázquez

Javier Vázquez made a major-league debut on April 3, 1998.

2000

Johan Santana

Johan Santana made a major-league debut on April 3, 2000.

2001

David Eckstein

David Eckstein made a major-league debut on April 3, 2001.

2001

Brandon Inge

Brandon Inge made a major-league debut on April 3, 2001.

2001

Jack Wilson

Jack Wilson made a major-league debut on April 3, 2001.

2006

Ian Kinsler

Ian Kinsler made a major-league debut on April 3, 2006.

2006

Nick Markakis

Nick Markakis made a major-league debut on April 3, 2006.

2006

Ángel Pagán

Ángel Pagán made a major-league debut on April 3, 2006.

2006

Dan Uggla

Dan Uggla made a major-league debut on April 3, 2006.

2007

Brandon Morrow

Brandon Morrow made a major-league debut on April 3, 2007.

2008

Johnny Cueto

Johnny Cueto made a major-league debut on April 3, 2008.

2011

Zack Britton

Zack Britton made a major-league debut on April 3, 2011.

2014

Tucker Barnhart

Tucker Barnhart made a major-league debut on April 3, 2014.

2014

Tommy Kahnle

Tommy Kahnle made a major-league debut on April 3, 2014.

2017

Yandy Díaz

Yandy Díaz made a major-league debut on April 3, 2017.

2017

Luis Torrens

Luis Torrens made a major-league debut on April 3, 2017.

Final major-league games · April 3

2006

Luis Ordaz

Luis Ordaz played a final major-league game on April 3, 2006.

2019

Troy Tulowitzki

Troy Tulowitzki played a final major-league game on April 3, 2019.

260 regular-season games played on April 3

2024

Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays

Texas Rangers 4, Tampa Bay Rays 1.

2024

Cleveland Guardians at Seattle Mariners

Cleveland Guardians 8, Seattle Mariners 0.

2024

Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics

Boston Red Sox 1, Oakland Athletics 0.

2024

Toronto Blue Jays at Houston Astros

Toronto Blue Jays 0, Houston Astros 8.

2024

Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles

Kansas City Royals 3, Baltimore Orioles 4.

2024

Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Nationals

Pittsburgh Pirates 3, Washington Nationals 5.

2024

St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres

St. Louis Cardinals 2, San Diego Padres 3.

2025

Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Yankees

Arizona Diamondbacks 7, New York Yankees 9.

2025

Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins

Houston Astros 5, Minnesota Twins 2.

2025

Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles

Boston Red Sox 8, Baltimore Orioles 4.

2025

Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies

Colorado Rockies 1, Philadelphia Phillies 3.

2025

Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers

Cincinnati Reds 0, Milwaukee Brewers 1.

These are the 12 most recent of 260 games played on this date. The sections above lead with what made the day matter.

Born on this day

Guy Hecker

b. April 3, 1856 · Pitcher who won 175 games with a 2.93 ERA across three clubs, 1882 to 1890.

Bill Schwartz

b. April 3, 1864 · Catcher across two clubs, 1883 to 1884.

Bert Graham

b. April 3, 1886 · First baseman for the St. Louis Browns, 1910 to 1910.

Harry Kingman

b. April 3, 1892 · First baseman for the New York Yankees, 1914 to 1914.

Gordie Hinkle

b. April 3, 1905 · Catcher for the Boston Red Sox, 1934 to 1934.

Dick Conger

b. April 3, 1921 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1940 to 1943.

Alex Grammas

b. April 3, 1926 · Shortstop who batted .247 across three clubs, 1954 to 1963.

Art Ditmar

b. April 3, 1929 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1954 to 1962.

Wally Moon

b. April 3, 1930 · Left fielder who batted .289 with 142 home runs across two clubs, twice an All-Star.

Don Rowe

b. April 3, 1936 · Pitcher for the New York Mets, 1963 to 1963.

Barry Moore

b. April 3, 1943 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1965 to 1970.

Gomer Hodge

b. April 3, 1944 · First baseman for the Cleveland Indians, 1971 to 1971.

Darrell Jackson

b. April 3, 1956 · Pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, 1978 to 1982.

Gary Pettis

b. April 3, 1958 · Center fielder who batted .236 across four clubs, 1982 to 1992.

Doug Baker

b. April 3, 1961 · Shortstop across two clubs, 1984 to 1990.

Chris Bosio

b. April 3, 1963 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1986 to 1996.

Danny Leon

b. April 3, 1967 · Pitcher for the Texas Rangers, 1992 to 1992.

Bobby Hill

b. April 3, 1978 · Third baseman who batted .262 across two clubs, 2002 to 2005.

Destin Hood

b. April 3, 1990 · Left fielder for the Miami Marlins, 2016 to 2016.

Daniel Wright

b. April 3, 1991 · Pitcher across two clubs, 2016 to 2017.

Blake Swihart

b. April 3, 1992 · Catcher who batted .243 across two clubs, 2015 to 2019.

Andy Ibáñez

b. April 3, 1993 · Second baseman who batted .254 across two clubs, 2021 to 2025.

Andrew Vaughn

b. April 3, 1998 · First baseman who batted .253 across two clubs, 2021 to 2025.

Connelly Early

b. April 3, 2002 · Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, 2025 to 2025.

59 players were born on April 3; these are the 24 best known.

Died on this day

Billy Redmond

d. April 3, 1894 · Shortstop across three clubs, 1875 to 1878.

George Barclay

d. April 3, 1909 · Left fielder who batted .248 across two clubs, 1902 to 1905.

George Bechtel

d. April 3, 1921 · Right fielder who batted .277 across five clubs, 1871 to 1876.

Charlie Brown

d. April 3, 1938 · Pitcher for the Cleveland Spiders, 1897 to 1897.

Count Campau

d. April 3, 1938 · Right fielder who batted .267 across three clubs, 1888 to 1894.

John Rudderham

d. April 3, 1942 · Left fielder for the Boston Reds, 1884 to 1884.

Candy Jim Taylor

d. April 3, 1948 · Third baseman who batted .287 across 18 clubs, 1909 to 1942.

Phenomenal Smith

d. April 3, 1952 · Pitcher across six clubs, 1884 to 1891.

Larry Benton

d. April 3, 1953 · Pitcher who won 127 games with a 4.03 ERA across three clubs, 1923 to 1935.

Charley Stanceu

d. April 3, 1969 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1941 to 1946.

General Crowder

d. April 3, 1972 · Pitcher who won 167 games with a 4.12 ERA across three clubs, 1926 to 1936.

Hank Steinbacher

d. April 3, 1977 · Right fielder who batted .292 for the Chicago White Sox, 1937 to 1939.

Ray French

d. April 3, 1978 · Shortstop across three clubs, 1920 to 1924.

Harry Simpson

d. April 3, 1979 · Right fielder who batted .268 across six clubs, 1946 to 1959.

Bob Linton

d. April 3, 1980 · Catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1929 to 1929.

Bob Trowbridge

d. April 3, 1980 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1956 to 1960.

Clayton Lambert

d. April 3, 1981 · Pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, 1946 to 1947.

Mickey Livingston

d. April 3, 1983 · Catcher who batted .238 across seven clubs, 1938 to 1951.

Joe Casey

d. April 3, 1987 · Pitcher for the St. Louis Giants, 1920 to 1920.

Karl Swanson

d. April 3, 2002 · Second baseman for the Chicago White Sox, 1928 to 1929.

Royce Lint

d. April 3, 2006 · Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1954 to 1954.

Jim Pagliaroni

d. April 3, 2010 · Caught 17 home runs' worth of power for Boston in 1961 and hit .295 with 108 hits for Pittsburgh in 1965.

Roy Sievers

d. April 3, 2017 · Led the American League in home runs and runs batted in for a club that lost 99 games.

Tommy Davis

d. April 3, 2022 · Drove in 153 runs in 1962, which nobody in the National League has matched since.

28 players died on April 3; these are the 24 best known.