Opening Day is the most hopeful and optimistic day of each year. At least for this one day, every team is a contender, every rookie a potential “phenom,” every fading veteran a potential “Comeback Player of the Year,” and every new face in the lineup or on the bench a welcome addition.
Baseball Roundtable, March 26, 2013
MLB’s 2016 Opening Day is nearly upon us and, in honor of this annual rite of spring, BBRT would like to revisit some Opening Day targets that players and teams will be “working for” or “working to avoid.” (Unfortunately, my Twins open on the road, but I will be attending the May 11 home opener.)
OPENING DAY TARGETS TO SHOOT FOR
An Opening Day No-Hitter – ONE for the Ages.
On April 16, 1940, 21-year-old Bob Feller (already in his fifth MLB season) threw what is still the only Opening Day no-hitter in MLB history – topping the White Sox 1-0 in Chicago. It was the first no-hitter (of an eventual three) for Feller, who walked five and struck out eight. During the season, Feller would go on to lead the AL in wins (27), ERA (2.61), strikeouts (261), games pitched (43), games started (37), complete games (31), innings pitched (320 1/3) and shutouts (4).
Longest Opening Day Pitching Performance – 15 Shutout Innings.
On April 13, 1926, the Senators’ Walter Johnson pitched a 15-inning, complete game shutout (six hits, three walks, nine strikeouts) as Washington topped the Philadelphia Athletics. The opposing starter, Eddie Rommel tossed the second-most innings in an Opening Day appearance – going 14 1/3, as Washington scored the winning run with one out in the 15th.
Fifteen Strikeouts on Opening Day – Tossing the Hitters a Curve.
On April 18, 1960, Camilo Pascual (known for his sweeping curve ball) took the mound at Griffith Stadium for the Washington Senators (against the Boston Red Sox). In 1959, the Senators had finished in last place in the AL, but Pascual had gone 17-10, 2.64, and led the league with 17 complete games and six shutouts. As the Senators’ Opening Day starter in 1960, Pascual picked up right where he left off – tossing a complete game three-hitter, walking three and striking out an Opening Day record 15 batters in a 10-1 win over the Red Sox.
Two-Squared is Four – Most Doubles in an Opener.
On April 13, 1954, the Reds’ LF Jim Greengrass (there’s a great baseball name), tied the record for doubles on Opening Day with four (in five at bats) as the Reds topped the Braves 9-8. Frank “Pop” Dillon also hit four two-baggers in an Opening Day tilt (for the Tigers) back on April 25, 1901 – as Detroit topped the Milwaukee Brewers 14-13. The Tigers scored ten runs in the bottom of the ninth (coming back from a 13-4 deficit) and Dillon’s final double drove in the tying and winning runs.
Emilio Bonafacio – Off to a FAST start in 2009.
On April 6, 2009, Florida Marlins’ third baseman and lead-off hitter Emilio Bonafacio got his season off to a fast start. In the Marlins’ Opening Day win over the Nationals (12-6), Bonafacio went four-for-five, with four runs scored, three stolen bases, two RBI and an inside-the-park home run. It was Bonafacio’s first career home run and came in his first game as a Marlin (he was traded to the Marlins by, ironically, the Nationals). Bonafacio’s four runs scored tied the Opening Day record, as did his three stolen bases. Bonafacio finished the season hitting .252, with just the one home run, 27 RBI, 72 runs scored and 27 steals.
Most Triples – Just Takes a Pair to Win this Hand.
The most triples in an Opening Day game is two – accomplished by six players, most recently Royals’ SS Tony Pena on April 2, 2007, as KC topped the Red Sox 7-1. Pena, batting ninth, went two-for-three, scoring twice and driving in a run. In his “non-tripling” plate appearances he drew a walk and struck out.
Lucky Number Three – Most Home Runs in an Opening Day Game.
Three players – the Blue Jays’ George Bell, Cubs’ Tuffy Rhodes and Tigers’ Dmitri Young share the record for home runs in an opening day game with three.
On April 4, 1988, George Bell – batting clean-up and serving as the DH – became the first major leaguer to hit three home runs in an Opening Day game as his Blue Jays topped the Royals 5-3 in Kansas City. Bell’s power outburst was no surprise. He was coming off a 1987 season in which he hit 47 homers, drove in 134 runs and was the AL MVP. Bell went three-for-four with three runs scored and four RBI, hitting all three home runs off Royals’ starter Brett Saberhagen.
On a windy April 4, 1994, Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes (leading off and playing CF for the Cubs in Chicago) hit three solo shots off Mets’ starter Dwight Gooden. Rhodes also had a single and a walk in five plate appearances. Despite Rhodes’ record-tying performance, the Cubs lost to the visiting Mets 12-8. At the time, Rhodes had played 107 MLB games in four seasons – hitting a total of five home runs. His MLB career consisted of 225 games in six seasons, with a .224 average and just 13 round trippers (with a high of eight in 1994). Rhodes did go on to hit 474 home runs in eleven seasons in Japan.
On April 4, 2005 the Tigers’ Dmitri Young joined Bell and Rhodes on the list of batters with three home runs in an Opening Day game – as the Tigers topped the Royals 11-2 in Detroit. Young started at DH and went four-for-four with four runs and five RBI. Young, an All Star in 2003 and 2007, hit a total of 21 home runs in 2005 – and 171 in 13 MLB seasons. He hit a career-high 29 round trippers in 2003.
Seven RBI in an Opener – Some Productive At Bats.
Being a Twins’ fan, one of my favorite Opening Day records is seven RBI in game one of the season – shared by the Twins’ Brant Alyea and the Cubs’ Corey Patterson.
On April 7, 1970 – in his very first game as a Twin – LF Brant Alyea drove in an Opening Day record seven runs as Minnesota topped the White Sox 12-0 in Chicago. Batting fifth, Alyea went four-for-four, with two home runs, two singles and two runs scored. The game, it turned out, would foreshadow a strong April for Alyea. In 17 April games, he hit .415, with seven runs, 23 RBI, four doubles and five home runs.
Thirty-three seasons later – on March 31, 2003 – Cubs’ CF Corey Patterson tied Alyea’s record. In a 15-2 win over the Mets in New York, Patterson, batting seventh, drove in seven runs, going four-for-six with two home runs and two runs scored. Patterson, a career .252 hitter (12 seasons), was an Opening Day All Star. In seven Opening Day appearances, Patterson hit .440, with seven runs, 12 RBI and three home runs.
OPENING DAY TARGETS TO AVOID
Five Whiffs as a hitter – Ouch!
On March 31, 1996, White Sox catcher Ron Karkovice set an MLB Opening Day record by striking out five times as Chicago lost 3-2 in Seattle. Karkovice, however, may have been a victim of circumstance.
First, future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson started on the mound for the Mariners – striking out 14 in seven innings (including Karkovice three times).
Second, the White Sox could muster only two runs on four hits over the first nine innings – taking a slim 2-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth (at that point, Karkovice had fanned just three times).
Third, the Mariners tied the contest in the ninth, and the game went to 12 innings before the Mariners prevailed 3-2. In those three extra innings, Karkovice struck out against Norm Charlton (tenth inning) and Edwin Hurtado (twelfth inning) to set the Opening Day record.
Out of Control – Issuing Eleven Walks on Opening Day.
On April 16, 1957, Cleveland southpaw Herb Score set the Opening Day record for pitcher’s walks, delivering eleven free passes to the visiting White Sox. Despite Score’s wildness, it was a close contest, with Score going the distance in a 3-2, 11-inning loss. Score struck out ten and gave just seven hits and two earned runs – stranding 14 Chicago base runners.
Opening Day Record I’d Like to See Broken.
How about a six-hit Opening Day? The record is five, and the number of players to accomplish that feat is in the double-digits. Let’s see someone collect six safeties in an Opening Day game and thin the field.
The Target? Not to be a Target.
On April 9, 1990, the Astros’ first baseman and cleanup hitter Glenn Davis was hit by a pitch an Opening Day record three times. Davis came to the plate six times and never put the ball in play – but still made only one out. Davis (who led the league in HBP that season with eight) was hit by a pitch three times, walked twice and struck out once as the Astros lost to the visiting Reds 8-4.
BBRT Note: Davis finished Opening Day with a batting average of .000, but an on-base percentage of .833.
TEAM TARGET
Longest Opening Day Game- Shoot For or Avoid. Your Call.
On April 5, 2012, the Blue Jays topped the Indians 7-4 in 16 innings – the longest Opening Day contest ever. Guess the winners would shoot for this, the losers would prefer to avoid working overtime for little reward.
THE KINGS OF OPENING DAY
Perhaps no one looked forward to Opening Day more than Ted Williams – the king of the Opening Day batter’s box. A career .344 hitter, Williams was even better on Opening Day. Teddy Ballgame played in fourteen openers and was never held hitless. He compiled a .449 Opening Day average (22 hits in 49 at bats), with three home runs, eight doubles, one triple, nine runs scored, 14 RBI and eleven walks. His Opening Day on-base percentage was .550 and his season-opener slugging percentage was .837.
The Washington Senators’ Walter Johnson can be crowned king of the Opening Day hill. On his first-ever Opening Day start (April 14, 1910), the 22-year-old Johnson tossed a 3-0 one-hit shutout against the Philadelphia Athletics. Sixteen years (and 13 Opening Day starts) later, a 38-year-old Johnson fulfilled his last Opening Day assignment with a 15-inning, complete-game, 1-0 win (6 hits, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts) over the A’s. Johnson holds the record for Opening Day pitching victories with nine (against five losses) and also threw a record seven Opening Day shutouts.
Finally a little, opening day gift to you – because this kind of thing never gets old.
NOW, LET’S OPEN ANOTHER MLB SEASON!
I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT
Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); The Baseball Reliquary; Baseball Bloggers Alliance.
