April 5 in Baseball History — Milestones, Debuts, Births & Deaths

This day in baseball ● On this day

April 5

The record for April 5 in baseball history — 2 milestones, 23 debuts, 2 final games, 42 births, 31 deaths and 398 games played.

Featured event · 2019

Jorge Polanco Hits for the Cycle, 2019

Jorge Polanco hit for the cycle for the Minnesota Twins against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 5, 2019.

Apr 5, 2019Minnesota Twins @ Philadelphia Phillies

Milestones · April 5

1997

Larry Walker's Three-Home-Run Game, 1997

Larry Walker hit three home runs for the Colorado Rockies against the Montreal Expos on April 5, 1997.

2019

Jorge Polanco Hits for the Cycle, 2019

Jorge Polanco hit for the cycle for the Minnesota Twins against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 5, 2019.

Major-league debuts · April 5

1974

Robin Yount

Robin Yount made a major-league debut on April 5, 1974.

1979

Jesse Orosco

Jesse Orosco made a major-league debut on April 5, 1979.

1984

Henry Cotto

Henry Cotto made a major-league debut on April 5, 1984.

1984

Jeff Reed

Jeff Reed made a major-league debut on April 5, 1984.

1984

José Rijo

José Rijo made a major-league debut on April 5, 1984.

1989

Gerónimo Berroa

Gerónimo Berroa made a major-league debut on April 5, 1989.

1993

Benji Gil

Benji Gil made a major-league debut on April 5, 1993.

1994

Keith Lockhart

Keith Lockhart made a major-league debut on April 5, 1994.

1994

Kelly Stinnett

Kelly Stinnett made a major-league debut on April 5, 1994.

1996

Keith Osik

Keith Osik made a major-league debut on April 5, 1996.

1997

Shigetoshi Hasegawa

Shigetoshi Hasegawa made a major-league debut on April 5, 1997.

1998

Eric Milton

Eric Milton made a major-league debut on April 5, 1998.

1999

Scott Williamson

Scott Williamson made a major-league debut on April 5, 1999.

2000

Kazuhiro Sasaki

Kazuhiro Sasaki made a major-league debut on April 5, 2000.

2001

Ben Sheets

Ben Sheets made a major-league debut on April 5, 2001.

2004

Shawn Camp

Shawn Camp made a major-league debut on April 5, 2004.

2004

Joe Mauer

Joe Mauer made a major-league debut on April 5, 2004.

2006

Ricky Nolasco

Ricky Nolasco made a major-league debut on April 5, 2006.

2010

Jason Heyward

Jason Heyward made a major-league debut on April 5, 2010.

2011

Michael Pineda

Michael Pineda made a major-league debut on April 5, 2011.

2012

Freddy Galvis

Freddy Galvis made a major-league debut on April 5, 2012.

2014

Nick Martínez

Nick Martínez made a major-league debut on April 5, 2014.

2016

Aledmys Díaz

Aledmys Díaz made a major-league debut on April 5, 2016.

Final major-league games · April 5

1997

Sid Fernandez

Sid Fernandez played a final major-league game on April 5, 1997.

2018

Miguel Montero

Miguel Montero played a final major-league game on April 5, 2018.

398 regular-season games played on April 5

2025

Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers

Tampa Bay Rays 4, Texas Rangers 6.

2025

Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins

Houston Astros 1, Minnesota Twins 6.

2025

Baltimore Orioles at Kansas City Royals

Baltimore Orioles 8, Kansas City Royals 1.

2025

Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers

Chicago White Sox 2, Detroit Tigers 7.

2025

Cleveland Guardians at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Cleveland Guardians 4, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 10.

2025

Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals

Arizona Diamondbacks 3, Washington Nationals 4.

2025

Seattle Mariners at San Francisco Giants

Seattle Mariners 1, San Francisco Giants 4.

2025

New York Yankees at Pittsburgh Pirates

New York Yankees 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 4.

2025

Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies

Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Philadelphia Phillies 1.

2025

Toronto Blue Jays at New York Mets

Toronto Blue Jays 2, New York Mets 3.

2025

Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers

Cincinnati Reds 11, Milwaukee Brewers 7.

2025

Athletics at Colorado Rockies

Athletics 7, Colorado Rockies 4.

These are the 12 most recent of 398 games played on this date. The sections above lead with what made the day matter.

Born on this day

Ed Andrews

b. April 5, 1859 · Center fielder who batted .257 across four clubs, 1884 to 1891.

David Jones

b. April 5, 1861 · Catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, 1882 to 1882.

Ed Kennedy

b. April 5, 1861 · Third baseman for the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds, 1884 to 1884.

Chuck Lauer

b. April 5, 1865 · Right fielder across two clubs, 1884 to 1890.

Charlie Emig

b. April 5, 1875 · Pitcher for the Louisville Colonels, 1896 to 1896.

Bill Dinneen

b. April 5, 1876 · Pitcher who won 170 games with a 3.01 ERA across four clubs, 1898 to 1909.

Jim Sullivan

b. April 5, 1894 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1921 to 1923.

John Chisum

b. April 5, 1915 · Third baseman for the St. Louis Stars, 1937 to 1937.

Bobby Hogue

b. April 5, 1921 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1948 to 1952.

Gene Crumling

b. April 5, 1922 · Catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1945 to 1945.

Jimmie Schaffer

b. April 5, 1936 · Catcher who batted .223 across six clubs, 1961 to 1968.

Ron Hansen

b. April 5, 1938 · Was Rookie of the Year at twenty-two and made an unassisted triple play eight years later.

Don Prince

b. April 5, 1938 · Pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, 1962 to 1962.

Jim Scranton

b. April 5, 1960 · Shortstop for the Kansas City Royals, 1984 to 1985.

Cris Carpenter

b. April 5, 1965 · Pitcher across four clubs, 1988 to 1996.

Greg Smith

b. April 5, 1967 · Second baseman across two clubs, 1989 to 1991.

Andrés Berumen

b. April 5, 1971 · Pitcher for the San Diego Padres, 1995 to 1996.

Domingo Guzmán

b. April 5, 1975 · Pitcher for the San Diego Padres, 1999 to 2000.

Brandon Backe

b. April 5, 1978 · Pitcher across two clubs, 2002 to 2009.

Jorge De La Rosa

b. April 5, 1981 · Won more games for Colorado than any pitcher in the franchise's history.

Héctor Olivera

b. April 5, 1985 · Third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, 2015 to 2016.

Ian Stewart

b. April 5, 1985 · Third baseman who batted .229 across three clubs, 2007 to 2014.

John Curtiss

b. April 5, 1993 · Pitcher across eight clubs, 2017 to 2025.

Bobby Miller

b. April 5, 1999 · Pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2023 to 2025.

42 players were born on April 5; these are the 24 best known.

Died on this day

Dave Eggler

d. April 5, 1902 · Center fielder of the first professional leagues who scored 491 runs in 576 games.

Frank Hankinson

d. April 5, 1911 · Third baseman who batted .228 across six clubs, 1878 to 1888.

Frank McLaughlin

d. April 5, 1917 · Shortstop across five clubs, 1882 to 1884.

Jack McGeachey

d. April 5, 1930 · Right fielder who batted .245 across six clubs, 1886 to 1891.

Harry Koons

d. April 5, 1932 · Third baseman across two clubs, 1884 to 1884.

Fred Curtis

d. April 5, 1939 · First baseman for the New York Highlanders, 1905 to 1905.

Roy Moore

d. April 5, 1951 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1920 to 1923.

Ray Jacobs

d. April 5, 1952 · Baseball figure for the Chicago Cubs, 1928 to 1928.

Connie Walsh

d. April 5, 1953 · Pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1907 to 1907.

Herb Gorman

d. April 5, 1953 · Baseball figure for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1952 to 1952.

Frank Bruggy

d. April 5, 1959 · Catcher who batted .277 across three clubs, 1921 to 1925.

Bob Clemens

d. April 5, 1964 · Left fielder for the St. Louis Browns, 1914 to 1914.

Mike Pasquella

d. April 5, 1965 · First baseman across two clubs, 1919 to 1919.

Fred Snodgrass

d. April 5, 1974 · Center fielder who batted .275 across two clubs, 1908 to 1916.

Chet Kehn

d. April 5, 1984 · Pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1942 to 1942.

Joe Coscarart

d. April 5, 1993 · Third baseman who batted .241 across two clubs, 1935 to 1936.

Bobby Hofman

d. April 5, 1994 · Second baseman who batted .248 for the New York Giants, 1949 to 1957.

Bill Holland

d. April 5, 1997 · Pitcher for the Washington Senators, 1939 to 1939.

Paul Erickson

d. April 5, 2002 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1941 to 1948.

Walt Masterson

d. April 5, 2008 · Was an All-Star twice for Washington clubs that lost 90 games, and walked nearly as many men as he struck out.

John Cumberland

d. April 5, 2022 · Pitcher across four clubs, 1968 to 1974.

Billy Smith

d. April 5, 2025 · Pitcher for the Houston Astros, 1981 to 1981.

Carl Warwick

d. April 5, 2025 · Center fielder who batted .248 across five clubs, 1961 to 1966.

Nate Oliver

d. April 5, 2025 · Second baseman who batted .226 across four clubs, 1963 to 1969.

31 players died on April 5; these are the 24 best known.