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Pregame Pepper
Did you know ...
Covid, not weather, canceled the Mets-Nationals game in Washington last night after a half-dozen members of the home team tested positive . . .
The Mets secured the signature of Francisco Lindor on a 10-year, $341 million contract extension only by giving him a million more than Fernando Tatis . . .
Yogi Berra wore No. 35 as a rookie and Mickey Mantle wore No. 6 . . .
Mickey Mantle’s real first name is Mickey; he was named after Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane . . .
The father of Massachusetts native Tom Glavine was a huge fan of an earlier Hall of Fame lefty, Boston Braves ace Warren Spahn.
Leading Off
MLB’s Five Greatest Opening Day Performances
By Robin Adams
Now that Opening Day has arrived, let’s take a look at the five best openers of the past:
Jackie Robinson - April 15, 1947
The greatness of Jackie Robinson’s major-league debut did not come from eye-popping statistics. Rather, it came from the fact that Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier on Opening Day in 1947.
A Hall of Fame second baseman, Jackie Robinson made his first career appearance at first base against the Boston Braves. He went hitless but did reach base on an error. He would eventually score the go-ahead run in a Dodgers’ victory.
While the rest of the performances on this list deal with great statistical feats, the greatness of Jackie Robinson overcoming all obstacles to break the color barrier earns his debut the top spot on this list. Some things are bigger than baseball, and equity and justice are two of those things.
Bob Feller - April 16, 1940
By the time Bob Feller took the mound on Opening Day in 1940, he was already a two-time All-Star. What is amazing about this is that he was just 21 years old and was a four-year MLB veteran. On this Opening Day, Feller would throw his first of three career no-hitters.
Facing the Chicago White Sox, Feller tossed nine innings of no-hit ball, walking five batters and striking out eight. The Indians scored a run in the fourth inning, and it was the only run support he would get on this day, a 1-0 Cleveland victory. Feller’s Opening Day no-hitter remains the only Opening Day no-no in Major League history.
Walter Johnson - April 13, 1926
In 1926, Walter Johnson made his 14th and final Opening Day start. It would be the best of his career and certainly a performance that will not be matched any time soon.
In a classic pitchers’ duel, Johnson and Philadelphia’s Eddie Rommel matched zeros for zeros. At the end of nine innings, it was still 0-0. At the end of 10 innings, the score remained the same. It was not until the 15th inning that the Washington Senators broke through and scored a run. Johnson got the win on his final Opening Day, tossing 15 innings of shutout ball. He gave up six hits, walked three, and struck out nine.
This last Opening Day start for Johnson was just one of 110 career shutouts that he threw during his legendary career. No other pitcher has thrown more.
Gee Walker - April 20, 1937
The 1937 Detroit Tigers were stacked with Hall of Fame talent. Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, and Goose Goslin were all on the roster. Yet on Opening Day 1937, it was Gee Walker, batting fifth, who would put up a historic performance.
Walker hit for the only Opening Day cycle in major-league history. He accomplished the feat in reverse order, hitting a home run, triple, double, then single. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Walker accomplished the feat in the minimum four plate appearances. The Tigers won the game, 4-3, over the Cleveland Indians.
Clayton Kershaw - April 1, 2013
Clayton Kershaw, a more modern name, makes an appearance on this list after a legendary performance on Opening Day in 2013. It was the stuff of legend, where a pitcher shuts down his opponents while providing his own run support.
The left-handed control artist pitched the complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits and no walks. He struck out seven and launched a home run in the eighth inning. It was his first career home run, and the Dodgers tacked on three more runs after it. However, the solo shot was all the run support he needed as the Dodgers won, 4-0, against the Giants.
Robin Adams is the site president at Wisconsin Sports Heroics (wisportsheroics.com) and the lead Wisconsin sports writer at Border Fuel Sports (borderfuelsports.com). You can find him on Twitter @theotherAdams14, @wiscoheroics1, and @WISportsUnited. His e.mail is robadams14@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Baseball Proves Talent Matters More Than Size
By Dan Schlossberg
With the possible exception of Summo wrestling, baseball is the only sport where size doesn’t matter. In fact, America’s national pastime has long been a refuge for out-of-shape athletes.
Let’s start with the new season. Among those suiting up for 2021 are Pablo Sandoval, the rotund Kung Fu Panda who once won a World Series MVP award, and Alejandro Kirk, a short, squat member of the Toronto Blue Jays who looks like the backstop that he is.
Suffice to say that neither of them will ever steal a base.
Sandoval, a switch-hitter, plays both infield corners these days but isn’t about to displace National League MVP Freddie Freeman at first base. Instead, he’ll probably be used primarily as a left-handed pinch-hitter who can provide occasional power.
Kirk, whose physique closely resembles a bowling ball with arms and legs, surfaced with the Jays last summer and immediately showed that he knows what to do with a bat. The fact that he can catch, throw, and block the plate – literally – makes him even more valuable.
Baseball history is filled with fat people doing surprising things.
Bartolo Colon, to cite one recent example, won more games (247) than any Latino pitcher and pitched in the majors well past his prime. At 48, he’s still active in the Mexican Summer League in the vain hope that some big-league team will pick him up for the stretch drive.
Colon will always be remembered as the oldest player ever to hit his first home run. He was well past his 42nd birthday when he homered for the New York Mets at San Diego’s Petco Park on May 7, 2016. The 5'11" righthander was at least 100 pounds heavier at that time than he was when he entered the majors in 1997. Maybe that’s why it took him 30.5 seconds to run the bases for the only time in his life.
Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett made the circuit 207 times. He also compiled a .318 batting average, made 10 All-Star teams, won six Gold Gloves, and earned MVP honors in both the All-Star Game and the American League Championship Series. Not bad for a guy who carried 178 pounds – according to his official listing – on a 5'8" frame.
Mickey Lolich, who pitched with a paunch, also starred in the World Series. He was the MVP of the 1968 Fall Classic, when the Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals. A lefty generously listed at 210 pounds, Lolich was a three-time All-Star whose performance in the ‘68 Series upstaged 31-game winner Denny McLain.
Then there was Sid Fernandez, another pitcher who could have been a poster-boy for SlimFast.
A lefthander out of Hawaii, he pitched for the Mets, where he wore No. 50 in honor of his home state, the 50th state to join the Union.
Hack Wilson, who stood only 5'6" but carried 190 pounds, pounded his way to Cooperstown with 244 home runs, four home-run crowns, and one special season: a record 191 runs batted in during the 1930 campaign. The 56 home runs he hit that year lasted 68 years as a National League record. A .307 lifetime average lifted the rotund Wilson into the Hall of Fame in 1979.
"Hack Wilson usually played in the outfield, but I'd put him at first base because he wouldn't have as far to stagger to the dugout,” Mike Royko wrote in The Chicago Sun-Times in 1981.
Both David Letterman and I have a personal favorite on the baseball fat farm: Terry Forster, a left-handed relief pitcher who didn’t mind some friendly ribbing about his girth.
Forster wasn’t a bad reliever; he lasted 16 years, saved 127 games, and played in 614 games – some of them as a pinch-hitter. His .397 career batting average is the best ever recorded by those who appeared in at least 500 games.
When Letterman invited Forster to be a guest on his late-night television show, he whipped out a baseball card. Then he asked Forster to read the height and weight listed on the back of the card.
It read 6'3" as his height and 200 pounds as his weight. “Whom are we kidding?” said an incredulous Letterman. “You’re a fat tub of goo.”
Today, that title fits Sandoval in the National League and Kirk in the American.
Sandoval, who hit three homers for the San Francisco Giants in the first game of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers, is listed as 5"11" and 268 pounds. But anybody who sees him knows he could hardly squeeze into his current Braves uniform. Yet he made some nifty plays at third base during the 2020 NL Championship Series against Los Angeles.
Because of his girth, Sandoval looks older than he actually is. He’s 34 but maybe that’s because his actual birth certificate was misplaced in his chaotic home country of Venezuela.
Even though his salary has dwindled from a high of $17 million to just $1 million, the Panda is glad to be in the big leagues. He must have something left, as he managed to beat out fellow veterans Jake Lamb and Jason Kipnis to land on the Atlanta roster this spring.
As for Kirk, he’s a newbie. He made his big-league bow last fall, going 9-for-24 to record a .375 average. At age 22, look for the 5'8", 265-pound receiver to be the spear-carrier for the next generation of players who are overweight but not necessarily over the hill.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ has covered baseball since 1969 and averaged a book a year since 1974. Among other things, he’s Weekend Editor of Here’s The Pitch. Dan’s e.mail is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
Carl Yastrzemski played more years (23) with one club than any other player . . .
As a high school pitcher in San Diego, Ted Williams once fanned 17 men in a game . . .
The last National Leaguer to win a Triple Crown was Joe Medwick in 1937 . . .
Christy Mathewson shared a room with John McGraw, his manager with the New York Giants, on road trips . . .
Ambidextrous president Harry S Truman threw out Opening Day pitches with each arm . . .
Jim Bunning is the only Hall of Famer who served in the U.S. Senate.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Brian Harl [bchrom831@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
Five Best Opening-Day Performances
Like Yastrzemski for the Red Sox, Brooks Robinson also played 23 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles