Curtain Rising: Opening Day Career Hitting Leaders

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Since 1918, career leaders in Opening Day games:

Home Runs
8, Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey, Jr.
7, Adam Dunn, Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays and Babe Ruth

RBI
22, Babe Ruth
19, Vlad Guerrero and Adam Dunn

Hits
31, Pete Rose
28, Carl Yastrzemski and Jeff Kent

Doubles
8, Todd Helton, Richie Hebner and Frank Thomas

Triples
3, Arky Vaughan, Kenny Lofton, Brett Butler, Charlie Grimm, Will Clark, Dixie Walker

Total Bases
54, Frank Robinson and Babe Ruth
51, Jeff Kent

Walks
19, Buddy Meyer, Rickey Henderson and Barry Bonds

Strikeouts
20, Rob Deer
19, Reggie Jackson

OBP (min. 11 Opening Day games played)
Harry Heilman .571
Ted Williams .550

SLG (min. 11 Opening Day games played)
Richie Hebner 1.042
Babe Ruth .931

OPS (min. 11 Opening Day games played)
Richie Hebner 1.542
Babe Ruth 1.467

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Editor

John Autin

12 years ago

Who took part in the most Opening Day wins?
– 15, Brooks Robinson
– 14, Willie Mays

The most losses?
– 15, Graig Nettles
– 14, Hank Aaron

Editor

John Autin

12 years ago

Most Opening Days with at least 1 SB?
– 8, Rickey
– 7, Wills
– 6, Morgan, Carew, Eric Young, and … Yaz!

Author

birtelcom

12 years ago

Reply to John Autin

It’s odd that the Play Index won’t give you the actual number of stolen bases, only the number of games with at least 1 SB. In contrast, if you ask the PI for games with at least 1 Total Base, the result will give you the actual number of Total Bases.

Editor

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to birtelcom

Total SBs were:

11 – Henderson
8 – Wills, Young, Morgan
6 – Yaz, Carew

Doug

12 years ago

Andy will have to get an interview with Richie Hebner.

Ask him about outslugging the Babe on opening day.

bstar

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

I lived about 30 miles from Pittsburgh in Hebner’s prime; he was a big star in that area back then.

Author

birtelcom

12 years ago

Reply to bstar

I was going to high school about 10 miles from Pittsburgh in the early 70s and Hebner was indeed popular and well-regarded. Though that was also a team with Clemente, Stargell, Al Oliver, Manny Sanguillen and others — lots of players getting a lot of love. Remember Bob Prince? Listening to him drove me up a wall.

bstar

12 years ago

Reply to birtelcom

No, I was too young for radio broadcasts to have an effect on me; instead, my dad and I were listening to Reds’ radio broadcasts, as the Big Red Machine were my first favorite team. We were in Steubenville, Ohio. Where were you?

Author

birtelcom

12 years ago

Reply to bstar

In the suburbs of Pittsburgh known as the South Hills. Our high school had the challenging task of taking on Ringgold High School team with their quarterback named Joe Montana.

bstar

12 years ago

Reply to bstar

Steubenville is the birthplace of Dean Martin, Jimmy the Greek Snyder, and HOF’er Rollie Fingers.

Neil L.

12 years ago

Reply to birtelcom

“Remember Bob Prince? Listening to him drove me up a wall.”

KDKA, 1020? What were the station’s call letters?

AlbaNate

12 years ago

Wow, in addition to owning Bob Gibson, Richie Hebner apparently also owned opening day.

12 years ago

Reply to AlbaNate

I’m shocked to see that Hebner has over 40 Offensive WAR. I would have never guessed that. Hebner never drove in or scored 100 runs, never made an all-star team, only one season with more than 140 base hits, and yet he has over 40 Offensive WAR. Definitely an underrated player.

Editor

John Autin

12 years ago

Reply to Ed

But an overrated gravedigger. 🙂

Author

birtelcom

12 years ago

Reply to Ed

Richie’s prime was 1969 to 1974. During that period he was in the top 2 in WAR (b-ref version) among NL third basemen only in 1972, when his WAR was the best among all NL third basemen. In the first part of that period he was regularly behind Ron Santo and then-third baseman Tony Perez; at the end of that period, Darrell Evans, Ron Cey and Mike Schmidt had come along. In ’72, Hebner’s best overall season according to WAR, Santo and the 1971 MVP Joe Torre were the NL All-Stars at third base.

Richard Chester

12 years ago

Yogi Berra hit HRs in four successive opening days from 1955 to 1958. I saw the first one.

Editor

Doug

12 years ago

Here’s some leaders for a single opening day game.

Total Bases
13 – Dmitri Young (2005), Tuffy Rhodes (1994)
12 – George Bell (1988), Gary Gaetti (1982)
11 – J.P. Arencibia (2011), Xavier Nady (2008), John Mayberry (1980), Don Baylor (1973), Roger Maris (1960), Billy Herman (1936)

Note that 3 of those top 10 are Blue Jays. Also, 2 Cubs.

Arencibia has a personal streak on the line tomorrow, with 2 straight 2 homer games in a player’s first game of the season.

Editor

John Autin

12 years ago

Here’s something that’s only been done once on Opening Day in the searchable era:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET193704200.shtml

Editor

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to John Autin

You mean Elden Auker beating Mel Harder? 🙂

Editor

John Autin

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

You know I was just dying to find another such matchup, right? Alas…. However, Elden Auker’s other 2 Opening Day appearances do have some interesting twists: – In 1934, Auker got the save in relief of starter Firpo Marberry. Auker only had 2 career saves, and Marberry of course is best known as one of the first relief aces. (Also in that game, Gee Walker had a triple, a SB and a CS — one of 3 such games known to exist on Opening Day.) – In 1941, Auker defeated Bobo Newsom on opening day. Does this give you any… Read more »

Editor

Doug

12 years ago

Reply to John Autin

Seems Auker really had Harder’s number.

If I didn’t miss any, including the 1937 O.D. game, when they started against each other, Auker was 7-2 with 1 ND, and Harder was 2-6 with 2 ND.

Editor

John Autin

12 years ago

Reply to Doug

In case anyone else is reading this and wondering about my original reference: Gee Walker had the only (searchable) Opening Day cycle.

Mark T.

12 years ago

Richie Hebner is the leader in Opening Day slugging and OPS? Wow, I never would have guessed that. That’s one of the reasons this site is so great, it’s always reminding me of random players like Hebner. Will the next post explore the theory that Richie Hebner and Richie Zisk were actually the same person?