The record for May 4 in baseball history — 9 milestones, 27 debuts, 20 final games, 55 births, 31 deaths and 1,268 games played.
Albert Pujols singles twice in Seattle for his 3,000th hit, joining Hank Aaron and Willie Mays in reaching both 3,000 hits and 600 home runs.
The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Lou Gehrig hit three home runs for the New York Yankees against the Chicago White Sox on May 4, 1929.
Román Mejías hit three home runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the San Francisco Giants on May 4, 1958.
Otto Vélez hit three home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Cleveland Indians on May 4, 1980.
Candy Maldonado hit for the cycle for the San Francisco Giants against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 4, 1987.
Tim Wallach hit three home runs for the Montreal Expos against the Atlanta Braves on May 4, 1987.
Albert Pujols singles twice in Seattle for his 3,000th hit, joining Hank Aaron and Willie Mays in reaching both 3,000 hits and 600 home runs.
Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Yimi García and Adam Liberatore threw a combined no-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres on May 4, 2018, winning 4–0.
Max Muncy hit three home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Atlanta Braves on May 4, 2024.
Bobby Mathews made a major-league debut on May 4, 1871.
Ezra Sutton made a major-league debut on May 4, 1871.
Deacon White made a major-league debut on May 4, 1871.
George Bradley made a major-league debut on May 4, 1875.
Silver Flint made a major-league debut on May 4, 1875.
Charlie Hautz made a major-league debut on May 4, 1875.
Charley Jones made a major-league debut on May 4, 1875.
George Mullin made a major-league debut on May 4, 1902.
Eddie Phillips made a major-league debut on May 4, 1924.
Billy Jurges made a major-league debut on May 4, 1931.
Jake Early made a major-league debut on May 4, 1939.
Bill Baker made a major-league debut on May 4, 1940.
Floyd Baker made a major-league debut on May 4, 1943.
Juan Pizarro made a major-league debut on May 4, 1957.
Jim Gosger made a major-league debut on May 4, 1963.
Bill Melton made a major-league debut on May 4, 1968.
Rick Burleson made a major-league debut on May 4, 1974.
Champ Summers made a major-league debut on May 4, 1974.
Barry Bonnell made a major-league debut on May 4, 1977.
Gene Nelson made a major-league debut on May 4, 1981.
Jeff Fassero made a major-league debut on May 4, 1991.
Fernando Rodney made a major-league debut on May 4, 2002.
Chris Capuano made a major-league debut on May 4, 2003.
Mike Napoli made a major-league debut on May 4, 2006.
Logan Forsythe made a major-league debut on May 4, 2011.
Marcus Stroman made a major-league debut on May 4, 2014.
Austin Hedges made a major-league debut on May 4, 2015.
Dick Padden played a final major-league game on May 4, 1905.
George Moriarty played a final major-league game on May 4, 1916.
Earl Hamilton played a final major-league game on May 4, 1924.
Doc Lavan played a final major-league game on May 4, 1924.
Carmen Hill played a final major-league game on May 4, 1930.
Bobby Burke played a final major-league game on May 4, 1937.
Les McCrabb played a final major-league game on May 4, 1950.
Hal White played a final major-league game on May 4, 1954.
Luke Easter played a final major-league game on May 4, 1954.
Floyd Baker played a final major-league game on May 4, 1955.
Herb Score played a final major-league game on May 4, 1962.
Art Fowler played a final major-league game on May 4, 1964.
Phil Ortega played a final major-league game on May 4, 1969.
John Lowenstein played a final major-league game on May 4, 1985.
Jeff Reardon played a final major-league game on May 4, 1994.
Jimmy Haynes played a final major-league game on May 4, 2004.
Xavier Nady played a final major-league game on May 4, 2014.
Kris Medlen played a final major-league game on May 4, 2018.
Alexi Ogando played a final major-league game on May 4, 2018.
Peter Bourjos played a final major-league game on May 4, 2019.
Cleveland Guardians 5, Toronto Blue Jays 4.
Seattle Mariners 1, Texas Rangers 8.
Tampa Bay Rays 7, New York Yankees 5.
Houston Astros 4, Chicago White Sox 5.
Minnesota Twins 5, Boston Red Sox 4.
Kansas City Royals 11, Baltimore Orioles 6.
Detroit Tigers 13, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1.
New York Mets 4, St. Louis Cardinals 5.
New York Mets 5, St. Louis Cardinals 6.
Colorado Rockies 3, San Francisco Giants 9.
San Diego Padres 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 0.
Arizona Diamondbacks 11, Philadelphia Phillies 9.
These are the 12 most recent of 1,268 games played on this date. The sections above lead with what made the day matter.
55 players were born on May 4; these are the 24 best known.
31 players died on May 4; these are the 24 best known.