For the second straight season, there will be a lot of turnover in the Yankees’ Opening Day lineup. With the departure of Robinson Cano, who had started eight straight openers at second base, only two holdovers remain. Brett Gardner is making his sixth consecutive start in the outfield, but will shift back to left fielder after spending all of last year in center. CC Sabathia is also making his sixth straight Opening Day start, which ties Lefty Gomez’ club record and brings him within one of the seven total pitched by Mel Stottlemyre, Ron Guidry and Whitey Ford. However, in spite of Sabathia’s long tenure, the big lefty is still without a victory on Opening Day.
Although he wasn’t in last year’s Opening Day lineup, Derek Jeter‘s face will be the most familiar one on the field. The Yankees’ short stop will be making his 17th and final start for the Bronx Bombers, meaning the Captain will fall one short of tying Mickey Mantle‘s franchise record. Jeter will also fall one short of tying Omar Vizquel and Luis Aparicio for most Opening Day starts at short stop, but he will own the distinction of having played the most Opening Days at any one position for the Yankees. Should he play the entire game, Jeter will also set the franchise record for most plate appearances on Opening Day, and with four hits, he would join Mantle atop the leader board in that category as well.
Listed below is an assortment of team and player Opening Day facts and figures.
Yankees Opening Day Starters, 1916-2013
| Most Opening Day Starts | Most Common Opening Day Lineup | ||||
| Players | G | Po | Player | G | |
| Mickey Mantle | 18 | C | Bill Dickey | 15 | |
| Derek Jeter | 16 | 1B | Lou Gehrig | 14 | |
| Bill Dickey | 15 | 2B | Willie Randolph | 13 | |
| Lou Gehrig | 14 | SS | Derek Jeter | 16 | |
| Bernie Williams | 14 | 3B | Graig Nettles | 11 | |
| Willie Randolph | 13 | LF | Roy White | 9 | |
| Babe Ruth | 13 | CF | Mickey Mantle | 13 | |
| Yogi Berra | 12 | RF | Hank Bauer | 8 | |
| Jorge Posada | 12 | SP | Whitey Ford | 7 | |
| Graig Nettles | 11 | SP | Ron Guidry | 7 | |
| Phil Rizzuto | 11 | SP | Mel Stottlemyre | 7 | |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Select Individual Player Opening Day Records, 1916-2013
| PAs | Hits | RBIs | |||||
| Mickey Mantle | 74 | Mickey Mantle | 23 | Babe Ruth | 14 | ||
| Derek Jeter | 73 | Lou Gehrig | 22 | Mickey Mantle | 14 | ||
| Lou Gehrig | 60 | Babe Ruth | 21 | Yogi Berra | 14 | ||
| Bill Dickey | 57 | Derek Jeter | 19 | Lou Gehrig | 13 | ||
| Bernie Williams | 57 | Bill Dickey | 17 | Hideki Matsui | 11 | ||
| Babe Ruth | 57 | Yogi Berra | 17 | Bernie Williams | 10 | ||
| Willie Randolph | 57 | Alex Rodriguez | 14 | Derek Jeter | 10 | ||
| Jorge Posada | 52 | Don Mattingly | 13 | Jorge Posada | 9 | ||
| Phil Rizzuto | 51 | Paul O’Neill | 13 | Alex Rodriguez | 9 | ||
| Yogi Berra | 49 | Bill Skowron, Jorge Posada | 13 | Bobby Murcer | 9 | ||
| Innings | Strikeouts | ERA | |||||
| Whitey Ford | 53.2 | Whitey Ford | 34 | Randy Johnson | 1.38 | ||
| Mel Stottlemyre | 49.2 | Lefty Gomez | 28 | Vic Raschi | 1.96 | ||
| Lefty Gomez | 47.2 | Red Ruffing | 25 | Don Larsen | 2.00 | ||
| Red Ruffing | 42.1 | Mel Stottlemyre | 24 | Spud Chandler | 2.35 | ||
| Ron Guidry | 38.1 | Ron Guidry | 24 | Tommy John | 2.40 | ||
| Bob Shawkey | 29.1 | CC Sabathia | 23 | Bob Shawkey | 2.45 | ||
| CC Sabathia | 26.2 | Roger Clemens | 22 | Waite Hoyt | 2.45 | ||
| Roger Clemens | 25 | Bob Shawkey | 18 | Urban Shocker | 2.70 | ||
| Vic Raschi | 23 | David Cone | 12 | Red Ruffing | 2.76 | ||
| Jimmy Key | 20.1 | Vic Raschi | 11 | David Cone | 2.77 | ||
| HRs | Wins | |||
| Babe Ruth | 5 | Mel Stottlemyre | 4 | |
| Mickey Mantle | 4 | Red Ruffing | 3 | |
| Yogi Berra | 4 | Jimmy Key | 3 | |
| Jorge Posada | 4 | 10 tied | 2 | |
| 9 tied | 3 | |||
Note: ERA based on a minimum 10 innings pitched..
Source: Baseball-reference.com
| Player | G | PA | BA | OBP | SLG |
| Danny Tartabull | 4 | 17 | 0.583 | 0.647 | 1.417 |
| Babe Ruth | 13 | 57 | 0.447 | 0.544 | 0.915 |
| Johnny Damon | 4 | 19 | 0.438 | 0.474 | 0.813 |
| Roberto Kelly | 5 | 21 | 0.500 | 0.524 | 0.750 |
| Gary Sheffield | 3 | 14 | 0.400 | 0.571 | 0.700 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 8 | 39 | 0.424 | 0.513 | 0.758 |
| Lou Gehrig | 14 | 60 | 0.423 | 0.492 | 0.769 |
| Butch Wynegar | 3 | 10 | 0.333 | 0.400 | 0.778 |
| Yogi Berra | 12 | 49 | 0.395 | 0.469 | 0.698 |
| Rickey Henderson | 4 | 18 | 0.357 | 0.500 | 0.643 |
Note: Minimum 10 plate appearances.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
| Player | Date | Opp | Rslt | GSc |
| Ron Guidry | 4/10/1980 | TEX | L 0-1 | 87 |
| Mel Stottlemyre | 4/10/1967 | WSA | W 8-0 | 86 |
| Mel Stottlemyre | 4/10/1968 | CAL | W 1-0 | 85 |
| Red Ruffing | 4/14/1942 | WSH | W 7-0 | 85 |
| Rick Rhoden | 4/5/1988 | MIN | W 8-0 | 85 |
| Whitey Ford | 4/13/1955 | WSH | W 19-1 | 82 |
| Spud Chandler | 4/16/1946 | PHA | W 5-0 | 82 |
| Bob Shawkey | 4/18/1923 | BOS | W 4-1 | 80 |
| Marius Russo | 4/14/1941 | WSH | W 3-0 | 79 |
| Don Larsen | 4/15/1958 | BOS | W 3-0 | 78 |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Yankees All-Time Record on Opening Day
| Event | W | L | T |
| Opening Day (Road or Home) | 64 | 48 | 1 |
| Home Openers | 75 | 37 | 1 |
| Home Opener Opponent | W | L | T |
| Baltimore Orioles | 3 | 1 | |
| Boston Red Sox | 17 | 10 | 1 |
| California/Anaheim Angels | 2 | 0 | |
| Chicago White Sox | 3 | 2 | |
| Cleveland Indians | 3 | 3 | |
| Detroit Tigers | 3 | 3 | |
| Kansas City Royals | 5 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 2 | 0 | |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 2 | 2 | |
| Minnesota Twins | 4 | 2 | |
| Oakland Athletics | 1 | 1 | |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 8 | 7 | |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 2 | 0 | |
| Texas Rangers | 4 | 0 | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1 | 0 | |
| Washington Senators | 16 | 6 |
Source: Baseball-reference.com and Baseball Almanac.com
Leave a Reply