On May 11, 1996, Al Leiter of the Florida Marlins pitches the first no-hitter in franchise history. Leiter strikes out six and walks two batters in shutting down the Colorado Rockies, 11-0.
On May 10, 1996, New York Yankees ace David Cone undergoes career-threatening surgery to remove an aneurysm from his pitching arm. Although the Yankees don’t know if Cone will ever pitch again, he will return to pitch for the Yankees in the World Series.
For his second straight start, Braves P John Smoltz is backed by 18 hits and he coasts to his 7th straight win, 11 – 0 over the Phils. Javy Lopez leads the Braves with four hits. Smoltz beat the Phils, 11 – 9, on May 5th, when the Braves also collected 18 hits.
1996 – Barry Bonds becomes only the fourth player in major league history to amass 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases when he homers in the 3rd inning in the San Francisco Giants’ 6 – 3 victory over the Florida Marlins. His father, Bobby Bonds, along with godfather Willie Mays and Andre Dawson are the only other players to reach 300-300.
1996 – Greg Myers and Paul Molitor each have five RBI as the Minnesota Twins set a team record for runs and rout the Detroit Tigers, 24 – 11. It is the highest run total against the Tigers in 84 years, matching the mark set in a 24 – 2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18, 1912, in a game in which Detroit did not have its regulars due to a players’ strike.
1996 – Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux ends his major league record for consecutive road victories with a 2 – 1 loss to San Diego. Maddux had been 18-0 with an 0.99 ERA in 20 regular-season road starts since losing at Montreal on June 27, 1994.
On April 7, 1996, the National League grants overweight umpire Eric Gregg a leave of absence in the aftermath of the Opening Day death of fellow umpire John McSherry, who succumbed to a massive heart attack. The NL hopes that Gregg will lose weight and improve his health during the layoff.
On April 6, 1996, Chan Ho Park of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first Korean-born pitcher to win a major league game. Park throws six shutout innings of relief to earn the decision in a 3-1 win over the Chicago Cubs.
With an Opening Day 7-1 victory over the Indians at Jacobs Field, Joe Torre wins the first of his 1,173 victories as the manager of the Yankees. During his 12-year tenure, the Bronx Bombers will reach the postseason each year, winning ten American League East Division titles, six American League pennants, and four World Championships.
1996 – Longtime umpire John McSherry collapses and dies from a heart attack on Opening Day at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium, in the 1st inning of a game between the Reds and Expos, which is cancelled. The 51-year-old McSherry had umpired in the National League for 26 seasons. Reds owner Marge Schott hits a low point with her insensitive remarks, blaming the late umpire for spoiling the team’s opening day celebrations.
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