Opening Day is almost upon us, and BBRT can hardly wait.
Opening Day … the most optimistic day of the year.
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.
There are flyovers, team introductions, and ceremonial first pitches in ballparks adorned with red, white and blue bunting across the nation. As the game time approaches, the sun seems a little brighter, the sky a little bluer, the grass a shade greener. Once the game begins, the ball hops off the bat with an especially sharp crack, the pitches seem to have more zip and whir-r-r than ever and the fielders move with a unique combination of grace and energy. In the stands, the beer is crisp and cold and the hot dogs steam in the cool of early spring. The fans cheer on their old and new heroes and follow this opening contest with pennant race intensity – the most intense among them logging each play in the new season’s first scorecard. Baseball is back!
Ted Williams hit the round ball squarely … every Opening Day … to the tune of a .449 average.
As much as BBRT loves the return of the national pastime (see the YILBB page, just click the link at the top of the page), perhaps no one looked forward to Opening Day more than Ted Williams. “Teddy Ballgame,” a .344 lifetime hitter, outdid himself on Opening Day. Williams played in fourteen “openers” and was NEVER held hitless. He finished his career with a .449 Opening Day average (22 hits in 49 at bats), with 3 home runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 9 runs scored, 14 RBI and 11 walks. His Opening Day on-base percentage was .550 and his season-opener slugging percentage was .837.
The Washington Senators’ Walter Johnson also was always ready for an Opening Day assignment. 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. Note: President William Howard Taft, on that day, became the first President to toss out the season’s ceremonial first pitch – caught by Johnson. 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.
Adam Dunn – already has a share of the Opening Day HR record.
As BBRT follows Opening Day 2013 (going to the Twins Target Field opener), I’ll be keeping an eye on the White Sox. On April 6, 2012, Chicago White Sox DH Adam Dunn hit a sixth-inning solo homer in a 3-2 loss at Texas. While it was just one of forty-one 2012 round trippers for Dunn, it earned Dunn a spot on BBRT’s Opening Day “watch list.” By going yard on Opening Day 2012, Dunn tied Ken Griffey, Jr. and Frank Robinson for the most career Opening Day home runs at eight (six in the NL for the Reds and two in the AL with the White Sox.) Dunn has homered in six “openers” – twice starting the season with a two-homer game. BBRT will be watching to see if Dunn can move into sole possession of the Opening Day Dinger record.
For trivia buffs, while Griffey, Jr., Robinson and Dunn share the overall record, the American League-only record belongs to Griffey, Jr., who hit all his Opening Day shots for the Mariners. Robinson hit Opening Day homers for the most teams: the Orioles, Angels and Indians in the AL and the Reds in the NL. The National League-only record (7 Opening Day Shots) is shared by a couple of Hall of Famers: Willie Mays (all for the Giants – in New York and San Francisco) and Eddie Mathews (all for the Braves in Milwaukee.)
Here are a few other Opening Day factoids:
– The most home runs in a single Opener is three: The Blue Jays’ George Bell (1988); Cubs’ Karl “Tuffy” Rhodes (1994); and Tigers’ Dmitri Young (2005).
– On April 16, 1940, Bob Feller threw the only (to date) Opening Day no-hitter – a 1-0 win over the White Sox at Chicago (5 walks, 8 strikeouts).
– Tom Seaver was the starting pitcher for his team on Opening Day a record sixteen times (Mets, Reds, White Sox) – going 7-2 with 7 no-decisions.
– Sixto Lezcano (Brewers) holds the record for Opening Day grand slams at two (1978, 1980).
– The longest-ever Opener took place on August 5, 2012, with Jays topping the Indians 7-4 in 16 innings at Cleveland.
Can’t wait to see what 2013’s Opening Day will hold.
LAST SEASON, BBRT’S OPENING DAY GIFT WAS A VIDEO OF ABBOTT AND COSTELLO’S FAMOUS “WHO’S ON FIRST?” ROUTINE. WATCH THIS MARCH 31 FOR THE VIDEO OF A SPECIAL BASEBALL SONG THAT WILL TAKE YOU BACK TO THE SANDLOT.
