Baseball’s opening day has been an American holiday of sorts since the Cincinnati Red Stockings threw out the first major league pitch in 1869. To celebrate the start of the 150th season of professional baseball, here are three of the best opening days in baseball history. A NEW BEGINNING On April 15, 1947, an opening-day game changed the course of Major League Baseball. On this day, Jackie Robinson started for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American player to start for a major league baseball team. Robinson’s historic showing was lackluster, going 0-for-3 at the plate and making a solid showing on the infield at first base, but his mere presence in a Dodgers uniform had already broken history. Despite his nationally-recognized skills — Robinson was named MVP of the MLB farm team league in 1946 — the backlash that followed his rise to the pros, both from fans and teammates, was palpable. Still, as well-known sportscaster Howard Cosell said, “Suddenly, it was a new beginning.” LOU, COMBS, AND BABE — OH MY! Considered one of the best teams in baseball history, the 1927 New York Yankees started their historic run
and 25th season by dismantling the Philadelphia Athletics with a score of 8–3. The slugfest was true to form for the 1927 Yankees, whose players would go on to make up baseball’s famous “Murderers’ Row.” With sluggers like Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs, Babe Ruth, Mark Koenig, Bob Meusel, and Tony Lazzeri, it’s no wonder this team went on to win its fifth championship that year. THE HAMMER TIES BAMBINO For decades, no one could match George Herman Ruth. The Great Bambino’s all-time home run record seemed like an impossible feat of strength — that is, until Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron came along. On opening day, April 4, 1974, Aaron smashed his 714th homer, tying Babe Ruth for the most home runs ever hit and extending the Atlanta Braves’ shutout lead over the Cincinnati Reds. A few weeks later, Aaron surpassed Ruth’s record, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd.
REMEMBERING MY FAVORITE BASEBALL TEAM
With baseball season underway, I wanted to take a moment to revisit my favorite season as a Chicago White Sox fan. While the 2005 team understandably gets the lion’s share of Sox fan adulation, the 2008 team had the most exciting regular season in my career as a fan. The White Sox 2008 Season
At the end of the season, the Sox found themselves in a tough situation. In order to make the playoffs, they would have to win three straight games against three different teams. By winning the first two of those games, they forced the famed Game 163 tiebreaker against the Minnesota Twins. Game 163 has to be in the Top 10 moments for any diehard Sox fan. The game devolved into a pitcher’s duel between John Danks and Nick Blackburn that ultimately hinged on two unforgettable plays: Ken Griffey Jr. hosing down Michael Cuddyer at home plate, and Jim Thome launching a ball to deep centerfield that may still be in orbit. The celebrations after the game would have made you think they had just won the World Series again. The exciting finish to the 2008 season certainly helped make that my favorite White Sox team of all time, but there were a couple of other things at play. One, I was more attached to this team because I watched at least 80 percent of their games. Two, there were no expectations after finishing well under 0.500 the year before. Here’s to hoping that this year’s White Sox team can surprise everyone and be competitive in 2019. As Cubs fans know from their recent success, summer in Chicago is just better when you’ve got a good ball club.
Heading into the 2008 season, the White Sox were coming off a brutal 72-90 season in which they finished fourth in the American League Central. In the offseason, the Sox re-signed World Series hero Juan Uribe, brought in the middle infield duo of Alexei Ramirez and Orlando Cabrera, and acquired an oft-injured journeyman minor leaguer in Carlos Quentin. The new acquisitions, coupled with the Sox arsenal of good young arms, gave fans hope of a bounce-back season. It quickly became clear that Carlos Quentin was exactly the spur the White Sox needed. He hit the cover off the ball all season long, leading the American League in home runs. If he hadn’t injured his wrist that September, I have no doubt he would have won that season’s MVP award. C.Q. was the source of one of my favorite memories of that season. My family and I were in Denver on vacation, but we elected to stay one night in the hotel to watch the White Sox-Angels game on national TV. Quentin hit two homers that game, including a walk off winner. Our family made the right call staying in to watch that one.
–Pat Cummings
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