In his return to Texas, Alex Rodriguez is roundly booed by fans at the Ballpark in Arlington. The fans continue to show their displeasure as the Yankees third baseman drives a 2-1 pitch over the fence during his 1st-inning at-bat.

In a 5-3 Tampa Bay victory over Cleveland at Tropicana Field, Jose Cruz Jr. ties a franchise record, accumulating ten total bases. The Devil Rays right fielder’s 4-for-4 performance includes three doubles and a home run.

45-year-old Julio Franco breaks his own record for the oldest player in major league history to bat a pinch home run. Franco, who had a pinch-hit homer two weeks earlier against San Diego, hits a two-out, two-run homer to tie the game at 4 – 4 in the 8th inning. Despite Franco’s effort, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Atlanta Braves, 6 – 4, in 11 innings.

Brad Thompson breaks a 97-year-old minor league record set in 1907 by Irvin Wilhelm by hurling 57 consecutive scoreless innings. Thompson sets the mark pitching in the Southern League for the Tennessee Smokies, a Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. He falls just two innings short of the professional mark of 59 established by Orel Hershiser in 1988.

Yankee spokesman Jason Zillo announces Cracker Jack, which has been baseball’s most famous snack for over 100 years, will not be sold at Yankee Stadium and will be replaced by a product known as Crunch ‘n Munch. The change, short-lived due to the fans’ negative reaction, is being made, according to Yankees’ officials, because Crunch ‘n Munch tastes better, but may have been really prompted by Frito-Lay’s decision to package the game’s well-known treat in only bags and not boxes.

Chone Figgins, going 5-for-6, collects a triple, a grand slam, and six RBIs in the Angels’ 10-9 victory over Baltimore at Camden Yards. The Anaheim third baseman/outfielder, who drives in the game’s winning run in the 10th inning with a single, joins Buck Rogers as one of the two players in franchise history to hit their first career round-tripper with the bases loaded.

In Massachusetts, Pittsfield city officials and historians release a bylaw dating back to 1791 which they believe is the earliest written reference to baseball. The 213-year-old document, used to protect the windows in the town’s new meeting house by prohibiting anyone from playing baseball within 80 yards of the building, was uncovered by baseball historian John Thorn while doing research on the origins of baseball.

At Fenway Park, Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox leads his teammates out of the dugout waving an American flag to celebrate his first day as a citizen of the United States. As the 31-year native of the Dominican Republic comes to bat, the song America by Neil Diamond is played over the public address system.