page_title: Opening Day
section_title: Memorable moments
hierarchical_section_title: Opening Day / Memorable moments
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson throws out the ball on opening day of baseball season, 1916.
context_page_description: Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years it has fallen in the last week of March. In Nippon Professional Baseball, this day typically falls in the last week of March.
  For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, Why Time Begins on Opening Day. Many feel that the occasion is an moment to forget last season, in that all teams begin anew with 0–0 records. Pre-season exhibition games are usually played in the month before Opening Day, during spring training.
  Equivalents to Opening Day occur throughout the sport, including minor leagues, college baseball, high school, and youth leagues. Because MLB generally starts their season earlier than the other professional baseball leagues, their Opening Day is the one most commonly recognized by the general public. Most minor leagues start a few days later, but within the same week; the short season Class A and Rookie leagues are exceptions, as they begin in June.
context_section_description: In 1907, the New York Giants forfeited their game at the Polo Grounds to the Philadelphia Phillies, 9–0, after rowdy fans made and threw snowballs. Without police available to restore order, umpire Bill Klem awarded the game to the Phillies.
  In 1940, Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller threw a no-hitter to open the season against the Chicago White Sox. It remains the only no-hitter in Opening Day history.
  Twelve U.S. Presidents have thrown the first ball of the season. On April 14, 1910, baseball enthusiast William Howard Taft attended the home opener in Washington, D.C., becoming the first U.S. President to throw out the first pitch to start a season. Harry S. Truman threw first pitches with both his right and left arm in 1950. On April 4, 1994, Bill Clinton inaugurated the Cleveland Indians' new ballpark, then known as Jacobs Field and now as Progressive Field, with the first pitch.
  Ted Williams was a .449 hitter in openers, with three home runs and fourteen runs batted in during fourteen such games and at least one hit in each game.
  On April 4, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 714th career home run on Opening Day at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, tying Babe Ruth on Major League Baseball's all-time list. Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs.
  In 14 season openers for the Washington Senators, Walter Johnson pitched a record nine shutouts. Two of his more famous starts include a 3–0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics in 1910 and a 1–0 marathon victory while battling the A's Eddie Rommel for 15 innings.
  On March 29, 2018, Matt Davidson of the Chicago White Sox hit three home runs in his team's opener against the Kansas City Royals at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium. He became the fourth major leaguer with three home runs on Opening Day, following the Toronto Blue Jays' George Bell in 1988, Chicago Cubs' Tuffy Rhodes in 1994 and the Detroit Tigers' Dmitri Young in 2005.
  The St. Louis Cardinals were the first major league team to open their home season with a night game, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4–2 at Sportsman's Park on April 18, 1950.
  The longest Opening Day game in major league history was played on April 5, 2012 between the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays. The game, played at Cleveland's Progressive Field, ended with the Blue Jays beating the Indians, 7–4, in 16 innings. The previous record for longest Opening Day game was on April 19, 1960, again at Cleveland. That game, lasting 15 innings, also saw the Indians in a losing effort, 4–2, versus the Detroit Tigers. The Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators also played a 15-inning season opener on April 13, 1926, with Washington winning, 1–0, at home.
  On rare occasions, predominantly in the early 20th century, a team would open its home season with a doubleheader. The first of these came when the Boston Americans hosted the Philadelphia Athletics for two games on April 20, 1903, with Boston winning the first game, 9–4, and Philadelphia taking the second game, 10–7. The most recent Opening Day doubleheader in the major leagues came on April 7, 1971, with the Chicago White Sox defeating the host Oakland Athletics in both games (6–5 and 12–4, respectively).
  In 1968, Greg Washburn, a pitcher in the California Angels organization, pitched two Opening Day games in the same year—first for the San Jose Bees of the California League, and then for the Quad City Angels of the Midwest League. Washburn won both openers 2–0. This is the only record of a pitcher pitching two openers in the same year in professional baseball.
  Hall of Famer Tom Seaver has been a starting pitcher for the most Opening Day games in Major League history, doing the honors 16 times for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago White Sox.
caption: President Woodrow Wilson throws out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day in 1916
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