3/18/1953: National League owners vote unanimously to allow the Boston Braves to move to Milwaukee. County Stadium will draw 1.8M fans in its first year as home to the Braves (an NL best); Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field will rank a distant second with 1.1M through the turnstiles.

3/19/1961: It’s a changing of the guard, as the Boston Red Sox announce that 21 year-old rookie Carl Yastrzemski will succeed the illustrious Ted Williams. The Legacy in Left is born.

Left-handed pitchers in major league history with at least 1000 strikeouts, an ERA below 2.80 and a win probability added (WPA) of 25 or greater: • Whitey Ford* • Sandy Koufax* • Billy Wagner* • Clayton Kershaw 🎂 * HOF 🎂 Happy 37th Birthday!

3/20/1937: Future Hall of Fame inductees Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson are acquired by the Homestead Grays. Over his first 112 games with the club (502 PA), Gibson belts 44 long balls and records 173 RBI. He’ll slash 395/485/839 over that span, good for an OPS+ of 243.

Left-handed batters in Red Sox franchise history to record multiple home runs with zero strikeouts on Opening Day: • Carl Yastrzemski (4/10/1968) • Wilyer Abreu (3/27/2025)

3/28/1986: Four days shy of his 47th birthday, Phil Niekro is waived by the Yankees. He’ll sign with Cleveland days later and carve out a 210.1 inning campaign with 5 complete games. In 2024 no major league pitcher eclipsed 210 innings; no MLB team had more than 5 complete games.

Left-handed pitchers in Red Sox franchise history to record a game of at least eight scoreless innings with eight or more strikeouts within the first six games of a given season: • Dutch Leonard (4/18/1917) • Garrett Crochet (4/2/2025) That’s the list.

Left-handed batters in Red Sox franchise history to record at least three home runs and six walks within the first eight games of a given season: • Ted Williams (1947/48; 1951/57) • Carl Yastrzemski (1968) • Fred Lynn (1979) • David Ortiz (2004/06) • Wilyer Abreu (2025)

Most multi-hit games among left-handed batters before turning 29 — Red Sox franchise history: 405 - Tris Speaker 355 - Carl Yastrzemski 318 - Ted Williams 313 - Wade Boggs 308 - Harry Hooper 302 - Rafael Devers* 301 - Billy Goodman * including today

Most extra-base hits before turning 29 — Red Sox franchise history: 471 - Rafael Devers 471 - Carl Yastrzemski 462 - Ted Williams 458 - Jim Rice 428 - Bobby Doerr 426 - Xander Bogaerts Devers will turn 29 after the conclusion of the 2025 regular season.

First 5 Games Last 5 Games .000 BA .526 19-0 AB-H 19-10 0 HR 1 1 RBI 7

4/20/1912: Fenway Park plays host to 24,000 fans for its inaugural Opening Day. A select few travel to the ballpark via automobile, two years before the first electric traffic signal is installed in the United States.

Wade Boggs posted an on-base percentage above .410 against NINE teams in his major league career (min 700 PA/team). 134 batters have recorded 700+ plate appearances since 2024 — only Aaron Judge (.464) has an OBP above .410 over that span. Chicken Man turns 67 today.

Rafael Devers is the first Red Sox batter in franchise history to record 500 or more extra-base hits before turning 29. Carl Yastrzemski (471), Ted Williams (462) and Jim Rice (458) are the only other players with more than 450 extra-base hits over that span.

Good morning! 😃

I had the good fortune to see the Billy Wagner exhibit at his new home in Cooperstown. Can’t wait for the induction ceremony this afternoon! Congratulations, Billy!

“A kid in a candy store.” - Hall of Fame pitcher Billy Wagner, reflecting on his induction

Officially official!! Thank you everyone that has followed along and supported Billy with us! G’night from Cooperstown.

The Kid preparing for his MLB Network interview. #HOFWKND

Greetings from the Friendly Confines!