Players with the most Opening Day homers
Jason Foster
@ByJasonFosterThere are few better ways to set the tone for a season than hitting a home run on Opening Day. No matter the hitter, when a ball sails over the wall in the season's very first game, it carries with it seemingly unlimited potential for a big year.
But for some players throughout MLB history, an Opening Day home run became almost as anticipated as the season opener itself. There have been 13 players in Major League history to hit at least six career home runs on Opening Day, with three of them tied for the all-time record of eight.
A few more players could join that group of 13 in 2024 should they have a good day in the box. Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton would gain admission to the club with one dinger, while Nolan Arenado, Mike Moustakas, Tyler O'Neill and Anthony Rizzo could join with two. Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman would make the list if he channels George Bell or Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes and clubs three long balls on Thursday.
Of the current group, which includes 10 Hall of Famers, six guys played long enough to hit Opening Day homers in three different decades, and one guy did it four years in a row.
Here's a look at those who tended to get the party started with a bang on Opening Day.
Adam Dunn (8)
Big Donkey could mash, so it's no surprise to find him at the top of this list, especially considering that he played a few Opening Days at homer-friendly Great American Ball Park during his time with the Reds. Of Dunn's eight Opening Day homers, five came at home in Cincy. His biggest Opening Day power display came in 2005, when he clubbed two homers, including a game-tying two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth that keyed a Reds comeback win over the Mets. Dunn's big 2005 game also began a stretch in which he homered on three straight Opening Days, the last of which was a second two-homer opening salvo at home against the Cubs in 2007.
Ken Griffey Jr. (8)
Unlike Dunn, none of Junior's eight Opening Day homers came during the six seasons he played at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. He launched all eight with the Mariners, with the first (1990) coming 19 years before the last (2009). The '90s were Griffey's heyday, so, naturally, the decade saw him produce a stretch of three straight seasons (1997-1999) with an Opening Day homer. Overall, seven of his eight Opening Day homers came during the decade.
Frank Robinson (8)
Nobody spread the Opening Day homer love more than Robinson. His Opening Day power spree included four different teams ！ the most in history ！ and spanned three different decades. The first came in 1959 with Cincinnati at age 23 and the last came in 1975 at age 39, when he served as player-manager for Cleveland. The others came in 1961 and 1963 (Reds), 1966, 1969 and 1970 (Orioles) and 1973 (Angels). Robinson also holds the distinction of being the only right-handed hitter to hold a share of the all-time Opening Day homer record.
Eddie Mathews (7)
Mathews' first two forays into Opening Day power were both multi-homer performances. In 1954 and 1958, he hit two solo homers in one-run Braves losses. But in 1959, a two-run shot from Mathews helped pace the Braves and Warren Spahn to a complete-game Opening Day shutout against the Pirates. From there, Mathews clubbed solo Opening Day homers in 1961 and 1965 to secure his place on this list.
Willie Mays (7)
Like Robinson's, Mays' Opening Day dingers came in three different decades. The first, in 1954, was a solo shot that provided the game-winning run in a 4-3 Giants win over the rival Dodgers. The last came in 1971 and was one of two extra-base hits that day for Mays in the Giants' 4-0 win over the Padres. Among his other four long balls on Opening Day was a two-homer performance in an 8-4 win against the Braves in 1964. A Mays homer on Opening Day meant only good things for the Giants, who went 7-0 in those games.
Babe Ruth (7)
Ruth is another of the group to knock an Opening Day homer in three different decades. Then again, Ruth was hitting Opening Day homers before it was cool. But not only did he hit season-opening homers in three different decades, he did it in three decades with three different teams: In 1919, he did it for the Red Sox. In 1923, 1929, 1931 and 1932, he did it for the Yankees, and then, in 1935, he did it for the Braves. Like Mays, Ruth's teams went 7-0 in those contests.
Barry Bonds (6)
MLB's all-time home run leader slugged on Opening Day much like he slugged the rest of the season. He had a career 1.209 OPS in the season's first game for the Pirates and Giants, punctuated by those six long balls. Of particular note is the Opening Day blast he hit in 2001, which not only contributed to a 3-2 Giants win over the Padres but was the first of what would become an MLB single-season record 73 homers. Bonds built on that record season the next year, when he hit two Opening Day homers and drove in five runs in a 9-2 win against the Dodgers.
Gary Carter (6)
The first five of Carter's Opening Day home runs came on the road as a member of the Expos ！ including four straight from 1977-80. But it was his sixth and final one that proved to have the strongest legacy. That one came in 1985 in his first game as a member of the Mets, and it was quite special: an extra-inning, walk-off blast that pushed the Mets past the division-rival Cardinals and gave an early glimpse into what fans could expect during the Carter Era, which would include a World Series title a year later.
Richie Hebner (6)
Hebner's name might seem out of place on a list dominated by perennial All-Stars and Hall of Famers, but he was a solid hitter with pop who somehow found a new gear on Opening Day. Hebner's career 1.542 Opening Day OPS ranks first in MLB history among players with at least 10 appearances in a season opener. That gaudy number was fueled in part by a two-homer Opening Day in 1974, which was the middle leg of a streak of Opening Day homers in three straight seasons from 1973-75. Hebner's final Opening Day homer was a tie-breaking three-run blast for the Tigers in a 6-2 win against the Blue Jays in 1981.
Brooks Robinson (6)
Like Hebner and a few others on this list, Robinson's inclusion was aided by a multi-year stretch of Opening Day dingers. In his case, Robinson ！ who first hit an Opening Day homer in 1964 ！ hit long balls in the season opener each year from 1966-68. The first two in that stretch each came in Robinson's first plate appearance of the season. He concluded his Opening Day power showcase with a two-homer game in 1973, driving in four runs in the Orioles' 10-0 shellacking of the Brewers.
Scott Rolen (6)
Rolen is another member of the Opening Day Homers in Three Different Decades Club. And like Ruth, he did it with three different teams. His first came on Opening Day 1999 as a member of the Phillies, for whom he hit two more Opening Day homers, the last coming in 2001. Then he hit two Opening Day homers for the Cardinals, including a three-run ninth-inning bomb in 2003 that proved to be the difference in an 11-9 slugfest against the Brewers, and, finally, hit one for the Reds in 2010.
Dave Winfield (6)
Winfield was another player who tended to establish his presence right from the season's first game. His six Opening Day homers helped build a 1.121 career OPS in season openers and, yada, yada, yada, also gave him entrance into the Three Different Decades and Three Straight Years clubs. Winfield hit his first Opening Day homer for the Padres in 1978, then hit one for the Yankees each year from 1982-84, then hit Opening Day homers in consecutive years for the Twins in 1993 and 1994.
Carl Yastrzemski (6)
Yastrzemski may be last on the list alphabetically, but his Opening Day feats were just as impressive as everyone else's. He's the list's sixth member of the Three Different Decades Club, having hit Opening Day message-senders for the Red Sox in 1963, 1968 (two, including an inside-the-parker), 1973, 1974 and 1980. Yaz's solo shot on Opening Day 1973 came in his first plate appearance of the season, while his two-run go-ahead dinger in 1974 made the difference in Boston's 9-8 win over Milwaukee.