MLB Opening Day: Top 10 Opening Day moments in history!

10. April 14, 1910 – William Howard Taft becomes first President to throw out first pitch of MLB season

It’s been done by a dozen presidents since, but in 1910, rotund William Howard Taft became the first sitting President to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the Major League Baseball season.

At that time, the President would throw the pitch from his designated box near the field to a player in a ceremony to open the game, but as the video above shows, the tradition has now taken the President onto the field of play since Ronald Reagan threw from the field in an unscheduled appearance with the Baltimore Orioles for 1984’s Opening Day. President Bill Clinton made the tradition more of a challenge at an Orioles Opening Day in 1993, when he became the first President to throw from the top of the mound to the catcher.

There have been a few notable moments for Presidents throwing the first pitch. Franklin D. Roosevelt once hit a camera with a first pitch while in office. At Opening Day in 1950, Harry Truman threw out a pitch with both his right and left hands. President George H.W. Bush threw the first Opening Day pitch outside of the United States in Toronto in 1990.

Though it did not occur on an Opening Day, arguably one of the most memorable Presidential first pitches came in the 2001 World Series. It was Game 3 of the World Series, not the first game even, but it was the first World Series game to be played in New York City after 9/11, and the emotions were incredibly high.

Next: Aces Go the Distance

9. April 13, 1926 – Senators and A’s go 15 innings in 1-0 game

It’s not common today to have a starter even complete 9 innings, and early in the season, most starters aren’t in the type of shape with their arms to go deep into a game, even when they’re performing well. Perhaps the modern era has made this 1926 Opening Day game all the more amazing. Both Senators ace Walter Johnson and Athletics ace Eddie Rommel went all 15 innings.

Many know Johnson’s name and think this game would have been certainly weighted in Johnson’s favor, but certainly it was no more in his favor than any other day, and likely less than most, as Rommel was coming off of a 1925 season where he had led the American League in victories with 21, making an incredible 52 appearances and tossing 261 innings.

Johnson and Rommel matched zeroes for 14 innings, though Rommel’s line was certainly more risky, having walked 6 and allowed 6 hits, only striking out 1 while Johnson breezed through the top of the 15th having allowed six hits and three walks, while striking out 9.

The bottom of the 15th started off innocently, as Rommel got future Hall of Famer Sam Rice to ground out to the first baseman. However, that was the end of the good news on the day for Rommel. He allowed a single to Bucky Harris, a double to Goose Goslin, and then a run-scoring single to Joe Harris to give the Senators the 1-0 victory in one of the best-pitched Opening Day games you’ll ever find.

Next: Three-dinger Day

8. Opening the season with power

Before April 4th of 1988, no one had done it in the history of baseball. Coincidentally, it’s been accomplished two more times since, and each were on April 4th!

George Bell was coming off of a magical season in 1987. Bell won the American League’s Most Valuable Player award after hitting .308/.352/.605 with 47 home runs and 134 RBI. He was established as a power-hitter, but he put his name in record books when he opened the season against Kansas City Royals ace Bret Saberhagen. Bell opened the 2nd inning with a crushing home run, then followed up in the 4th inning with a 2-run shot. After a fly ball down the line was snagged to retire him in the 6th, Bell tagged Saberhagen for his 3rd home run of the day off of him in the 8th, another solo shot.

Bell’s accomplishment, while astounding, was not terribly out of place for who he was as a hitter. In 1994, with Mets ace Doc Gooden on the mound, no one walking into Wrigley Field had any idea that a young outfielder was about to etch his name into history.

Tuffy Rhodes played just 225 games in the major leagues, and he hit all of 13 home runs in his career, but on that April 4th, he came to the plate in the 1st inning to lead off the bottom of the inning, and he knocked the ball out for a solo home run. He would follow suit in the 3rd and 5th innings, all three off of Gooden. Rhodes also singled and drew a walk, reaching base all five times he was up to the plate on the day. In spite of his heroics, the Cubs lost the game.

For a decade, Rhodes and Bell were two-of-a-kind until 2005, when Dmitri Young joined their ranks. Facing peculiar Royals starter Jose Lima, Young hit a 2nd inning leadoff home run, then followed with another in the 3rd inning with a runner on base. He would hit his 3rd off of reliever Mike McDougal in the 8th inning, also with a runner on base. All told, Young went 4-4 on the day with a 3 home runs, a single, and was hit by pitch.

Next: Ruth opens his house

7. April 18, 1923 – Yankee Stadium opens

Love them or hate them, the New York Yankees iconic original “House that Ruth built” was one of the most historical ball parks in the game’s history.

On April 15th in 1923, the team opened their first season in their new ballpark. The Yankees had lost the last two World Series, in spite of winning 98 and 94 games, so the team had expectations to do well, but there had never been a championship in New York for the Yankees, so those expectations were quite there yet, but the big bat in the middle of the lineup was drawing enough fans that it made the new park a wise investment.

Fittingly, the game was against the Yankees rival, the Red Sox. Over 74,000 fans saw Bob Shawkey for the hometown club take on Howard Ehmke. True to his stature as the one who provided the thrill to warrant building the new home field, Babe Ruth hit a home run, going 1-2 with a pair of walks on the day to open “his” house.

Before it closed following the 1973 season, the original Yankee Stadium saw 20 World Series champions, including one in the first season of the new park, christening the new digs with the organization’s first championship!

Next: Bum's big day

6. April 2, 2017 – Bumgarner goes deep…twice!

Known already for his incredible grit in the playoffs in leading the Giants to 3 titles in 5 seasons, Madison Bumgarner‘s Giants had fallen short in the playoffs against the Cubs in 2016, and he was determined not to be his fault the team didn’t make it back to the postseason in 2017 when he stepped on the hill for Opening Day.

Sure, Bumgarner would pitch himself silly, going 7 strong innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits without a single walk, striking out 11 Diamondbacks hitters. He was at just 88 pitches, but his manager Bruce Bochy chose to pull him for a reliever.

However, it was not just Bumgarner’s work on the mound that had given him a chance to win the ballgame on this day. Instead, he led off the 5th inning with a home run to one of the deepest parts of the field. The Diamondbacks rallied off of Bumgarner in the bottom of the 6th, bringing the score to 3-3 going into the top of the 7th.

Of course, allowing 3 runs only seemed to anger Bumgarner. He crushed another ball to nearly the same part of the park as his first home run, becoming the first-ever pitcher to hit home runs in an Opening Day.

In spite of his hitting heroics, when Bochy pulled Bumgarner, he likely felt his bullpen, one of his strengths in 2016 and having added one of the top closer free agents, would be able to shut the door. Instead new free agent signing Mark Melancon allowed a pair of runs to give the Diamondbacks a 6-5 victory.

Next: Kershaw dominates

5. April 1, 2013 – Kershaw tosses shutout, homers

When Clayton Kershaw takes the mound today for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he will set a franchise record with his eighth Opening Day start. None was as great as this one.

The game may have been played on April Fools, but Kershaw was all business, leaving the hitters looking like fools all day as he went inning for inning with his Giants counterpart Matt Cain. Holding onto a 0-0 tie, Cain was pulled after the 6th inning, allowing no runs, 4 hits, a walk, and struck out 8 Dodger hitters., including Kershaw twice.

However, when that reliever came into the game, it opened a door for Kershaw’s heroics. George Kontos had mowed through Dodger hitters in the 7th inning, retiring the side in order. Kershaw led off the bottom of the 8th inning, and he took the first pitch he saw from Kontos and hit it to deep center field and out for a home run.

The Dodgers would score 3 more runs on the inning, but Kershaw had just given himself the only run support he would need. He polished off the Giants on 9 pitches in the top of the 9th to secure an Opening Day complete game shutout, allowing 4 hits and not walking a single hitter, striking out 7.

Next: History on the bench

4. April 8, 1975 – Robinson becomes first black manager

By the time 1975 came around, Frank Robinson was wrapping up his playing career, but he already knew where he wanted his baseball career to take him, and the Cleveland Indians gave him that shot, hiring him as a player/manager for the 1975 season.

This was historic because no AFrican-American had ever managed a game in the major leagues. A week shy of the 28th anniversary of the color barrier being broken in the game, Robinson broke through another barrier in the game.

Robinson decided to ensure he could trust his lineup, batting himself second, and he wanted to ensure a victory, so he took opposing starter Doc Medich deep to left field in the first inning to give himself an early 1-0 lead.

The Yankees would rally for 3 runs in the top of the 2nd, but the Indians were able to come back and rally for a 5-3 victory. Robinson would hit 9 home runs that season, his second to last of his MLB career, playing less than 50 games.

It was, however, the first win of what would become an illustrious managing career that would see him win 1,065 games over 16 seasons. Oddly enough, in spite of nearly a .500 record over his career, he never once made the playoffs as a manager for any of his four organizations that he managed.

Next: Rapid Robert's No-No

3. April 16, 1940 – Feller tosses no-hitter

Bob Feller, also known as “Rapid Robert”, among a number of other nicknames, opened the 1940 season just about as well as any player could when he recorded a no-hitter on Opening Day.

Feller was opposed on the mound that day by knuckler Eddie Smith. After 8 innings, Smith was pulled with just one run allowed. Feller, on the other hand, went all 9 innings, allowing no hits on 5 walks and 8 strikeouts.

The excellent pitching performance got the game moving in a hurry, as time of game was just 2 hours and 24 minutes.

The funny thing was just how he went about the game. Feller was known for his blazing fastball, able to toss it by hitters nearly any time he would please. However, he was able to get to the 9th inning due to the fact that he kept getting the White Sox hitters to pound the ball into the ground, coaxing 7 ground outs over the last four innings.

Feller would go on to lead the major leagues in wins, innings, and strikeouts in 1940 at just age 21. He also led the American League in 2.61 and shutouts, with his first coming with his incredible Opening Day performance.

Next: Hank meet Babe

2. April 4, 1974 – Aaron hits #714

One of the most consistent home run hitters that has ever played the game, Hank Aaron made his major league debut in 1954. by the time the 1974 season rolled around, he was an “old man” in baseball standards, having turned 40 just two months prior.

However, the consistent Aaron, who never hit more than 47 home runs in his career, had worked his way to finishing the 1973 season with 713 home runs. It led to an offseason of terrible behavior on the part of sports fans throughout the country and the world who felt than a “colored man” was about to take one of the most hallowed records in the game away from one of its most legendary players.

Aaron spent the offseason opening piles of mail that included all sorts of vile comments toward him all due to the color of his skin. When it came time to open the 1974 season, the Braves were to be on the road in Cincinnati before a home stand. Aaron desperately wanted to sit out the first few games of the season in order to ensure he would hit the record-breaking home run in front of his home fans.

A fight with the commissioner’s office led to Aaron being in the Opening Day lineup, and he made the most of it, crushing a pitch of Reds starter Jack Billingham in the 1st inning with 2 runners on to give the Braves an early 3-run lead.

He would be removed for a defensive replacement in the two games in Cincinnati that he played, leaving Cincinnati with 714 home runs, and setting up this dramatic home run call by Milo Hamilton:

Next: Jackie

1. April 15, 1947 – Barrier broken

Looking back, it’s hard to understand why it didn’t happen sooner. It’s hard to fathom the talent that was never given a chance to compete all because of the color of skin.

However, also looking back, Opening Day 1947 for the Brooklyn Dodgers would not have been possible with so many of the incredibly talented players in the Negro Leagues who had come before him. Not that they didn’t have the talent, mind you, but they didn’t have the demeanor, tenacity, and, frankly, the stubbornness of Jackie Robinson.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

There’s a legitimate discussion about whether Jackie Robinson’s raw numbers merit his inclusion in the Hall of Fame. That is a discussion that could extend into a few other players who have received enshrinement for sure, not just Jackie. While he hit .311 for his career, he did just play 10 big league seasons and collect just over 1,500 hits.

Jackie Robinson is not in Cooperstown because of numbers, though. He is in Cooperstown because before he stepped on the field on April 15, 1947, no black man had been allowed to play in Major League Baseball. He’s in Cooperstown because of the door that was flung wide open upon his arrival, though he certainly endured the difficulties of being the first down the path.

On his historic debut, Jackie did not collect a hit, going 0-3 at the plate, but he did reach on an error and score a run as the Brooklyn Dodgers won the game over the Boston Braves 5-3. Whether he went 0-3 or 3-3 was not important, however. The importance of that game has to do with a man walking out onto the field to take position at first base in the top of the first inning.

Baseball’s never been the same, and thank goodness for it!

Next: Each team's Opening Day top lineup

These are the top 10 moments as viewed by this writer for Opening Day. Would you add in any different ones? Change the order? Comment below!

Enjoy Opening Day!