I almost started this column with the headline, ‘Hooray! It’s Opening Day!! I mean the emotions that a baseball fanatic (like myself) feel on that late March or early April day borders on euphoria. After a winter filled with weather, weariness and worry about Covid, a special Opening Day will start a new baseball season on Thursday, April 1 and for the better part of six plus months, we will be able to watch baseball almost everyday.

Now I am aware Covid is still with us. Frustratingly, on Wednesday afternoon, we learned that the Washington Nationals had a least one positive test. We wish the affected players well and a speedy recovery, but that doesn’t dull the shine of our yearly holiday. Optimism reigns across the land, and it matters little whether you are in Pittsburgh where the Pirates are forecasted by Vegas to lose about 100 games, or in Los Angeles where the Dodgers are predicted to win over 100. On April 1, 2021, records don’t matter because there are no records.

For now, the slate is clean. All teams are contenders. The anticipation is at a fever pitch. And even fans will be able to attend the games live depending on the city.

Let the NFL have it’s 17 games; MLB is “America’s Pastime.” Play Ball!

The Cincinnati Reds, for over a century, played the opener of openers . They were the first nationally recognized franchise and from 1876 until 1989 (with two exceptions due to rain) they played the first game of the season in the Queens City. That changed in 1990 when the Reds played an away opener in Houston.

Opening Day has also been a platform for United States presidents as a dozen have thrown out the first pitch to begin a season. Most famously, Harry S. Truman threw out two pitches, one from each hand, to show off his ambidextrous ability.

On the field there have been some fireworks as well. One example happened in 1940 and it featured the only no-hitter ever thrown on an Opening Day. The game featured Bob Feller for the Cleveland Indians and Eddie Smith for the Chicago White Sox. Although close throughout, Feller got the best of Smith and won the now historic contest.

Hank Aaron hit his legendary 714th on the first pitch he saw Opening Day against the Reds on April 4, 1974. It came off of Jack Billingham and it was a three run shot, tying him with Babe Ruth.

Ted Williams feasted on season openers getting at least one hit in each of the 14 openers he played. His BA was .449 in those fourteen games. Of note, his first Opening Day in 1939 was against the Yankees, where Lou Gehrig was playing his 2123rd consecutive game.

As for the intrepid New York Mets, our heroes will be playing in their 60th season opener on Thursday. It is widely known, that the Amazins’ have excelled in Opening Day tilts going 39-20 and that after losing their first eight. Leave it to the Mets to win a World Series championship before they won a season opener. They finally broke through in game one of the 1970 season with a victory over the Pirates at Forbes Field. The first home win in an opener came a year later as Tom Seaver led the Mets to a win over the Montreal Expos.

Speaking of The Franchise, Tom Seaver holds the record for starting the most Opening Days for the Mets with eleven. He went 6-0 in those starts. He is tied with Dwight Gooden for wins in season openers. The Mets dominance in openers is reflected in this stat: from 1968-1983, no Mets starting pitcher was pegged with a loss. And from 1968-1998, Mets starters lost only two times in 31 years (Mike Torre in 1984 and Gooden in 1990). Obviously, there were some no-decisions thrown in for good measure, but Mets pitching has largely been dominant in openers.

Of the many Opening Day memories, these stand out for me: First, on April 9, 1985,  new Met, Gary Carter, hit a 10th inning, game winning homer off of the Cardinals’ Neil Allen to secure a win against a major rival. Carter’s heroics would come to fruition the next year, as the Mets went on to win their second championship.

The flag was raised for the 1986 champs on April 7, 1987 at Shea. Darryl Strawberry belted an early homer to lead the Mets to victory. It started a near-MVP run for Straw who would go on to finish second to Kirk Gibson. In another Opener, this on April 8, 1988, Strawberry hit one of the longest homers in Mets history, clanging a ball off the lights under the roof at Olympic Park in Montreal. It was measured by local physics professors to have travelled at least 525 feet.

And of course, Tom Terrific took center stage in one of the most memorable openers on April 5, 1983 against the Phillies. It was the return of The Franchise after the ignominious Midnight Massacre that sent Seaver and others to the Reds six years prior. Seaver faced another future Hall-of Famer in Steve Carlton whom Tom had beaten before in an Opener. With the crowd on its feet for a large portion of the game, The Franchise shut down the Phillies and Lefty on route to a 2-0 win.

Some tidbits before first pitch:

Twenty-four of the Mets thirty nine season opening wins have come against four teams: Phillies, Pirates, Cards and Cubs. The Mets have beaten each of these teams 6 times to begin a season. No team has beaten the Mets more than twice in their 20 opening losses, with six teams having won a pair (Cards, Phils, Pirates, Reds, Marlins and Cubs).The Mets are currently on a four-game winning streak on Opening Day with victories over the Braves twice, the Nats and the Cards. Their longest winning streak in openers is nine, which was done between 1975 and 1983. The longest losing streak is the eight losses suffered in their first eight years of existence between 1962 and 1969.

And of course, a prediction:

As always, the Mets have to stay healthy and for the love of G-d, hit in the clutch. New York’s production with RISP, especially with less than two outs, has been a weakness seemingly for years. If the Mets can get the clutch hit and flash some leather in the field, no doubt they’ll be a force. The bullpen has to be consistently solid, and the starters have to pitch well into games to keep fresh some new arms in the pen. I see a 91-71 regular season. A Divisional championship. An NLDS win and a heart-breaking NLCS loss (which will be avenged in 2022). Steve Cohen’s plan is right on track.

Since time doesn’t stop for even columnists, literally 3 minutes before I typed this on Wednesday night, Jon Heyman and others reported a deal between Francisco Lindor and the Mets for 10-years, $341 dollars. Details will follow in other posts on MMO and here in Out of Left Field.