2001 – As thousands cheer, Three Rivers Stadium, 30-year-old home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, is imploded. Roberto Clemente’s 3,000th hit as well as Mike Schmidt’s 500th career home run are part of the historic park’s legacy.
The Brewers play the last game at Milwaukee County Stadium, bowing to the Reds, 8-1, as Warren Spahn throws the ceremonial first pitch to Del Crandall, his batterymate on Opening Day 47 years ago in 1953 when Spahn and the Braves beat the Cardinals in 10 innings, 3-2.
2000 – Enron Field’s first regular-season opener goes much the same way as the Astrodome – a 4-1 loss to Philadelphia. Craig Biggio leads off the season with a single but it isn’t until Richard Hidalgo homers in the seventh that the sellout crowd has more to cheer. For trivia buffs, Randy Wolf gets to howl as Enron’s first winning pitcher much like Chris Short 35 years before.
Enron Field officially opens with a 6-5 exhibition win over the A.L. Champion New York Yankees, paralleling the feat that occured when the Astrodome opened in 1965. Daryle Ward’s two-run homer caps a four-run eighth-inning rally to open up the Astros’ new home in style.
With each of the Tigers wearing the uniform numbers of all-time great Detroit players at their position (OF Gabe Kapler, standing in for Ty Cobb, wears no number) the Tigers defeat the Royals, 8 – 2, in the last game ever played at Tiger Stadium. Robert Fick’s grand slam in the 8th brings the capacity crowd of 43,356 to its feet. Luis Polonia and Karim Garcia also homer as Brian Moehler beats Jeff Suppan.
A crowd of 37,317 fans enjoys a 3-2 victory over the Braves when LA surpasses the 100 million mark in attendance at Dodger Stadium. The ballpark opened in 1962, four seasons after the franchise moved from Brooklyn to the west coast.
1999 – Architects for the new downtown ballpark propose to Astros owner Drayton McLane a train engine to be placed upon the left field wall. Builders announce the new field is almost halfway complete.
1997 – The last parcels of land for a new downtown ballpark near the old Union Station terminal are acquired by the H.S.A. The largest sale is from a man named Billy Marlin. Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (HOK) are already on board with a stadium design and Brown and Root will serve as project managers for stadium construction. In other news, the Astros sign outfielder Dave Clark to a free agent contract. Clark bats .206 in 93 games during one disappointing season in Houston.
A crowd of 47,536 fans flocks to the first baseball game ever played at Coors Field. The exhibition game, played with replacement players due to the strike, ends with the Rockies beating the Yankees, 4-1.
On April 4, 1994, The Cleveland Indians inaugurate Jacobs Field with a 4 – 3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Eddie Murray hits a home run for the Indians, who played their last game at Cleveland Stadium in 1993. Murray becomes baseball’s all-time leader in games played at first base, manning the position in 2,369 major…
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