AH, OPENING DAY
By Mike Attiyeh, author of the newly released Ichiro, Satchel and The Babe
The phrase "opening day" is as refreshing as an iced tea on a hot summer afternoon and as warmly welcomed as the sight of a beautiful woman knocking on a bachelor's door. Just say the words "opening day" and you'll likely open a floodgate of memories that will put a smile on your face and erase all worries for the time being.
When the Texas Rangers and defending champion Angels meet in Anaheim this Sunday to start the 2003 season, the game will mark the 128th opening day in major league history.
Opening day officially brings to an end long winters and exhibition baseball, ushering in a new wave of excitement that can only be compared with opening an unexpected gift. Although each major league season brings about unforeseen events, opening day itself is as unpredictable as an earthquake - but charged with the thrill of anticipation. Even cynics have hope that maybe, just maybe, this is their team's year. "Hey, remember what everyone thought of the 1969 Mets on Opening Day?" they reason.
Throughout major league history, opening day has produced many great moments and, like the World Series and All-Star Games, may at any time produce unique and exciting additions to the baseball legend.
Major League Baseball's first Opening Day took place in Philadelphia, where the Boston Red Caps defeated the Athletics, 6-5, on April 22, 1876 before just over 3,000 fans. In that first-ever major league game, outfielder Jim O'Rourke collected the first hit, and pitcher Joseph Borden earned the inaugural win.
In 2001, the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays kicked off the major league schedule in San Juan, Puerto Rico, marking the third straight season the major league campaign commenced outside of the United States. (The Padres in 1999 made history by hosting the first-ever season-opening game outside the United States or Canada, against the Colorado Rockies in Monterrey. The 2000 season began with a season-opening series between the Mets and Cubs at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, where this year's opener was originally scheduled before the war in Iraq nixed such plans.)
In between, a jewel of memories and achievements helped build the aura of Opening Day to its current exalted stature.
In 2000, six players enjoyed multi-homer games to establish a new opening day record. Shannon Stewart, Tony Batista, Jason Giambi, Gabe Kapler, Ivan Rodriguez and Vladimir Guerrero each connected twice for their respective teams.
On April 16, 1940, a 21-year-old Indians fireballer by the name of Bob Feller no-hit the White Sox. It remains the only opening day no-hitter thrown in 125 years. And historians will tell you Chicago's Luke Appling made Feller sweat out his gem by fouling off 15 straight pitches during a particular plate appearance.
Even less predictable was the power display put on by the Cubs' leadoff hitter Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes who entered opening day, 1994 with four career home runs. Rhodes, who retired with 13 roundtrippers, hit three homers off Dwight Gooden that afternoon, joining George Bell as the only players in major league history to homer thrice on Opening Day. Bell accomplished the feat six years earlier for Toronto against Kansas City's Bret Saberhagen.
Who could have predicted the bang the 1986 season opened with? Boston Red Sox right fielder Dwight Evans that year became, and remains, the only batter ever to hit the major league season's first pitch out for a homer. Evans timed Detroit's Jack Morris just perfectly.
Regarding opening day home runs, keep an eye on Cincinnati's Ken Griffey, Jr. Monday against Pittsburgh. Griffey has a chance to tie Frank Robinson's record of eight career opening day home runs. Like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski and Eddie Mathews, the 33-year-old Griffey owns seven such homers. In case you're wondering, Barry Bonds has five.
Incidentally, Robinson's eighth opening day homer came in his first at-bat as a player-manager for the Cleveland Indians in 1976. Another manager, Joe Torre, remains the only player to homer twice on opening day two straight years, doing so in 1965-66. So watch as Minnesota's Jacque Jones attempts to join that exclusive membership this Monday, against Detroit.
Detroit Tigers' Gerald Walker on April 20, 1937 became, and remains, the only player to ever record a cycle on Opening Day. Against the Cleveland Indians, Walker achieved the feat in descending order, homering, tripling, doubling and then singling.
The Milwaukee Brewers' Sixto Lezcano is the only player in major league history to hit two career grand slams on opening day. Lezcano first accomplished the feat in 1978 as part of the team's record barrage that included a slam in each of the team's first three games against Baltimore. Lezcano came through again in 1980, clubbing a walk-off bases-loaded homer with two out in the ninth for a 9-5 win against the Red Sox.
The first opening day of the 20th century produced perhaps the most exciting game in the annals of season openers. The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves in the most offensive-minded opener in history. The Phillies won this April 19 contest to open the 1900 season in 10 innings, 19-17, after the Braves had scored nine runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Opening day is such a prestigious event, bordering on a national holiday, that United States Presidents have made a habit out of throwing out the "first pitch." President William Howard Taft threw the "first pitch" for the first time on April 14, 1910 during the Washington Senators' season-opening win over the Philadelphia Athletics. Franklin D. Roosevelt enjoyed opening day so much, he tossed the first pitch eight times during his tenure as the Chief Officer of the United States. Incumbent President George W. Bush has done so as well, although we would understand if he decided against such a toss this year.
Another tremendous aspect of opening day is the assurance of seeing each team's best pitcher. Tom Seaver, for example, was given an opening day assignment a record 16 times. Walter Johnson, the pitcher many consider the best ever, was given such an honor 14 times. Aces Jack Morris and Robin Roberts each started 14 and 12 consecutive Opening Days, respectively.
Check out the records of Cy Young, the winningest pitcher of all time, and you'll see that pitching on opening day can produce random results. Young's record on season-openers was 5-7. Otherwise, he was a majestic 506-309. Phil Niekro, a 318-game winner, was 0-7 on opening days. Steve Carlton, a four-time Cy Young Award winner and owner of 329 victories, was a befuddling 3-9, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.
Aside from generating random results, opening day can produce tough luck as was the case for New York Giants pitcher Leon "Red" Ames. On opening day 1909, Ames held Brooklyn hitless through 9 1/3 innings before losing a tough, 3-0 decision in 13 innings. Unbelievably, Ames encountered a similar fate in each of the following two opening days. He threw seven hitless innings before losing 3-2 to Boston in 1910, and hurled six hitless frames before going down, 2-0, to Philadelphia in 1911.
Opening day represents the introduction of another major league season. It's a day when a Hall of Famer can falter and an eighth-place hitter can prosper, just like any other day. But it's a day with unique conditions and a distinctive atmosphere. It may not reveal much about the remainder of the season, but trying to predict the end from the beginning can be incredibly intriguing.
Mike Attiyeh, author of Ichiro, Satchel and The Babe and Who Was Traded for Lefty Grove?, is a baseball historian and poet whose works have appeared in numerous publications. He is also a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.
