Opening Day was finally upon us, and it was an Opening Day for the ages. If you forgot how much you loved baseball over the seemingly never-ending offseason, then Thursday reminded you that it is the greatest sport in the world.
Paul Skenes became the fastest No. 1 overall pick to make an Opening Day start. The Marlins enjoyed their first-ever Opening Day walk-off win. Forgotten men like Wilmer Flores and Gavin Sheets became heroes, and up-and-comers like Cam Smith and Kristian Campbell made their MLB debuts.
Let’s take a look at seven players who had an Opening Day they will not forget.
The unstoppable Opening Day home run machine continued his unprecedented streak by homering for his sixth straight Opening Day. The Orioles outfielder launched a three-run homer off José Berríos as the Orioles destroyed the Blue Jays 12-2 in Toronto.
Remember 2024 when the Guardians’ closer converted 47 save opportunities and finished the year with a minuscule 0.61 ERA? Well, that counted for nothing as the 27-year-old blew his first save chance, allowing a 4-3 advantage to slip in the ninth inning against the Royals. The Guardians regained the lead in extra-innings to gift Clase the win. Sometimes baseball is weird.
When speculation over Torkelson’s future was in overdrive, MLB Trade Rumors conducted a poll in January. Only 17% of the respondents thought the 25-year-old would be in the Tigers starting lineup on Opening Day. Playing at designated hitter, Torkelson took four walks and launched a solo homer off Alex Vesia. His OPS is 5.000
The 23-year-old first baseman went deep twice at T-Mobile Park as the Athletics fell 2-4 to the Mariners. Is it too late to pick Soderstrom as a breakout candidate? Last year, the first baseman hit nine homers (82 OPS+) in one-third of a season, so this fast start was exactly what he needed. The rest of the Athletics’ lineup went 1-for-26, which either reflects well on Mariners’ pitching or poorly on the Athletics hitters.
Some people laughed at the prospect of Austin Wells leading off for a legitimate contender, but the Yankees catcher repaid Aaron Boone‘s faith by despatching a first-inning homer into the stands. The fact that it would not have been a home run in any of the other major league parks is irrelevant, as it was a homer in the only ballpark that mattered.
The Nationals’ left-handed starter looked imperious as he rolled through the potent Philadelphia lineup with 13 strikeouts without walking a batter and giving up just one hit. The Phillies hitters grabbed their opportunity when Gore was replaced in the seventh inning, with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber both homering to give the visitors a lead. The Phillies took the win 7-3.
Sean Burke / Andrew Benintendi / Austin Slater / Lenyn Sosa
If, like me, you picked the White Sox to be even worse than their 41-win season last year, then an Opening Day 8-1 destruction of the Angels wasn’t in the plans. Sean Burke‘s six scoreless innings and home runs from Benintendi, Slater, and Sosa suggest credibility to Adam Nicolson’s bold prediction that some team other than the White Sox will lose the most games.
Featured image photo of Tyler Soderstrom by Rod Mar/MLB Photos via Getty Images
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