Adam Dunn of the White Sox tied the major league record for career Opening Day home runs (eight) as Chicago lost to Texas on April 6. Dunn moved into some powerful company, as he now shares the record with Hall of Farmer Frank Robinson and future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr. Dunn seemed an unlikely record setter, coming off a 2011 season in which he hit .159 with 11 homers and struck out in more than 40% of his at bats (177 strikeouts in 415 at bats in 122 games). 
Dunn’s fast start follows a strong spring, in which his off season regimen seemed to pay off – and which may see the imposing (6’6”, 275) slugger begin to pay dividends on his four-year, $56 million contract with the Chisox. There is good reason to believe in the comeback, as Dunn entered the 2012 season with 365 career roundtrippers and five seasons of forty or more home runs.
So, Dunn is clearly not the most unlikely Opening Day record-setting slugger. That honor goes to Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes, who shares the single game HR record for Opening Day with three dingers for the Cubs on day-one in 1994. Rhodes hit 13 home runs in his six-year career and he hit a season high of 8 HRs in 1994.
Looking deeper into Dunn’s record, he has gone deep in six Opening Day games – and shares the record (at two) for multiple home run openers. Robinson and Griffey each homered in eight openers to earn their share of the record.
Let’s look at some of the Opening Day record holders.
Three HRs in one opener:
George Bell, Toronto Blue Jays, 1988 … Career HRs – 265; Single season high – 47 HRs (24 in 1988).
Karl Rhodes, Chicago Cubs, 1994 … Career HRs – 13; Single season high – 8 HRs (8 in 1994).
Dmitri Young, Detroit Tigers, 2005 … Career HRs – 171; Single season high – 29 (21 in 2005).
Multiple Home Runs (2 HRs in each instance) in a season opener more than once:
Eddie Mathews, Milwaukee Braves, 1954, 1958 … Career HRs – 512; Season high – 47.
Joe Torre, Milwaukee Braves, 1965; Atlanta Braves, 1966 … Career HRs – 252; Season high – 36.
Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers, 1993; Cleveland Indians, 2001 … Career HRs – 434; Season high – 46.
Raul Mondesi, LA Dodgers, 1995, 1999 … Career HRs – 271; Season high – 33.
Adam Dunn, Cincinnatti Reds, 2005, 2007 … Career HRs – 364 (entering 2012 season); Season high – 46.
Xavier Nady, San Diego Padres, 2005; Pittsburgh Pirates, 2008 … Career HR – 97 (entering 2012 season); Season high – 25.
Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals, 2006, 2010 … Career HRs – 445 (entering 2012 season); Season high – 47.
