What you need to know about Opening Day’s home run derby
Stanton and the Yankees come out swinging against Jays
After breaking the record for most league-wide homers in a season in 2017, the 2018 Major League Baseball season stayed on brand with a smashing Opening Day.
The first pitch of the 2018 campaign was turned around for a home run and three players went deep multiple times on the first day of the season. In all, 33 home runs were struck, and while there’s nothing quite so odious as “on pace for...” statistics after Opening Day, suffice to say that 33 home runs in 13 games is a fine start if major league sluggers want to top last year’s record 6,430 homers.
Here are some of the more interesting facts on Opening Day’s barrage of homers:
• Cubs center fielder Ian Happ homered on the first pitch of the 2018 season. He became the first player to hit a home run on the first pitch his team saw in a season since Kaz Matsui in 2004.
• As a team, the White Sox hit six home runs in their 14-7 win against the Royals, tying the major league record (1988 Mets) for most home runs on Opening Day.
• White Sox designated hitter Matt Davidson hit three home runs, becoming just the fourth player in history to go deep three times on Opening Day though it seems the only one we’ll ever remember is Tuffy Rhodes.
• Shortstop Tim Anderson hit two home runs in the game, making it the eighth time in history that two teammates have hit multiple home runs.
• Houston’s George Springer led off the game against the Rangers with a homer, making him the first player to ever hit a leadoff home run on consecutive Opening Days.
• Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs against the Blue Jays, joining Roger Maris as the only Yankee to have a multi-homer game in their debut with the team.
• It was Athletics first baseman Matt Olson’s 24th birthday on Thursday, and he became the fourth player to hit a Opening Day homer on their birthday. — Giants second baseman Joe Panik homered off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.
• Boston’s Eduardo Nunez hit an inside-the-park homer against the Rays, only the fourth time an inside-the-parker has been hit on Opening Day since 1968.