It’s only been a couple days since the MLB made its triumphant return around the country in games that actually count, but a lot of cool stuff has already happened.
As ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian says frequently, the beautiful part of baseball is you can head to the stadium every single night and see something that’s never happened before. With all the action taking place, we’ve taken the time to set aside as many tweets as we can find containing cool stats, facts or just a plain old observations of what’s going on.
Since baseball is played on a daily basis, there are tons of opportunities for this kind of stuff to happen, so we can safely assume the the following 21 tweets are just the beginning of something wonderful in 2017.
2017 Opening Day rosters feature a record 259 players born outside the U.S. (29.8%), spanning a record 19 countries & territories. pic.twitter.com/DCJ7D6YDpA
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) April 3, 2017
So many different cultures and backgrounds come together each spring and summer.
There were multiple walk-off wins on the first official day of the season for the first time since 1998.
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) April 3, 2017
If this isn’t a sign that the 2017 season is going to be a lot of fun, then I don’t know what is.
There have only been nine #OpeningDay starts in history with 10+ Ks and 0 BB.
TWO happened today. pic.twitter.com/iI5vFFkvVO
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) April 3, 2017
These two guys are both pretty good pitchers, don’t you think?
Only 16 players hit 2 or more HRs 112 MPH+ last season… Madison Bumgarner did it twice in his first game 🔥🔥🔥
— Daren Willman (@darenw) April 2, 2017
As it turns out, Madison Bumgarner is also pretty good with the bat.
Highest paid players by the Padres right now:
$12 M | Melvin Upton (FA)
$11 M | James Shields (on White Sox)
$8.5 M | Matt Kemp (on Braves)— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) April 3, 2017
The San Diego Padres are rebuilding, but remnants of their most recent attempt at being a contender are still all over their payroll.
Noah Syndergaard just threw the fastest opening day first pitch ever recorded… 98.3 MPH🔥🔥🔥 (Previous record Garrett Richards 97 MPH, 2016)
— Daren Willman (@darenw) April 3, 2017
If you’re going to break a record, you might as well get it over with as soon as possible so you can enjoy the rest of your day.
The average 4-seam fastball in 2016: 93.1 mph.
This slider from @Noahsyndergaard: 92.31 mph.Good luck out there. https://t.co/S6zbZrpLRt pic.twitter.com/8TvMfTWb4D
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) April 3, 2017
Noah Syndergaard likes to throw just about everything hard. Hopefully the blister he dealt with on Monday won’t linger too long.
Bryce Harper hit his 5th career Opening Day HR. That's the most such HR before 25th birthday in the Live Ball Era (since 1920).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 3, 2017
Bryce Harper just played in his fifth career Opening Day game. Clearly, he enjoys getting off to fast starts.
Dodgers' Yasmani Grandal homers from both sides to join a rare Opening Day list https://t.co/2oGypQypgZ via @CBSSPORTS pic.twitter.com/0NU41qzjpo
— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) April 4, 2017
The interesting tidbit here is that Yasmani Grandal‘s two-homer performance from both sides of the plate was only the third such occurrence in MLB history on Opening Day.
The Twins have scored 7 runs today. They didn't score 7 runs until their 13th game last year and did it just twice in their 1st 36 games.
— High Heat Stats (@HighHeatStats) April 3, 2017
The Minnesota Twins also started the 2016 season 0-9 en route to a 103-loss campaign. Whether they’ll be a lot better or not this year is yet to be determined, but at least 2017 isn’t so painful at the moment.
The Diamondbacks had 5% chance to win with 2 outs and no one on in the bottom of the 9th, according to @EliasSports win probability model.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 2, 2017
The very definition of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
Madison Bumgarner – the first pitcher to hit two HRs on #OpeningDay in @MLB history. https://t.co/Ve4SCdHc7C #PitchersWhoRake pic.twitter.com/7mbFvuYSSl
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) April 2, 2017
Hey, it’s that Bumgarner guy again.
Before 1982, never had more than 1 team batted their catcher 2nd on Opening Day. Two teams have already done it so far this year.
— High Heat Stats (@HighHeatStats) April 3, 2017
Times, they are a changin’. Ron Burgundy may have never heard that song, but some managers around baseball have.
Clayton Kershaw is 5-0, 0.99 ERA in 7 Opening Day starts. Only Rick Mahler (0.92) has been better among pitchers with 5+ Opening Day starts.
— Richard Justice (@richardjustice) April 3, 2017
Clayton Kershaw is good just about all the time, but he’s even better on Opening Day. Facing the San Diego Padres each of the last two years doesn’t hurt, either.
Cesar Hernandez led off the season with a HR; it took him 194 PA to hit his first homer in 2016
— SIS (@SportsInfo_SIS) April 3, 2017
Cesar Hernandez still managed to hit a career-high 6 home runs last season, so maybe he’ll enjoy even more of a “power surge” in 2017.
Jeremy Hellickson is the first @Phillies pitcher in 99 years to hit an Opening Day triple. Last was Erskine Mayer in 1918.
— High Heat Stats (@HighHeatStats) April 3, 2017
Jeremy Hellickson is earning every bit of that $17.2 million salary this year already!
Andrew Benintendi (age 22) is the youngest player in Red Sox history with at least 3 RBI on Opening Day
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 3, 2017
A popular American League Rookie of the Year pick, this probably won’t be the last cool thing Andrew Benintendi does for the Red Sox.
Pablo Sandoval knocked in Boston's first run of the season…. on an infield single. The Panda is back.
— Yahoo Sports MLB (@MLByahoosports) April 3, 2017
Infield single and Pablo Sandoval rarely ever go together, but they did this week.
Can we talk about how Carlos Martinez struck out the side on three different pitches? 100mph heat, 90mph Changeup, 89mph Slider. Crazy. pic.twitter.com/cgNQ1ayzKI
— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) April 3, 2017
This is the epitome of having a full arsenal of pitches to retire hitters on a consistent basis.
Mets
Opening Day shutout wins:
1972, 1973, 1981, 1983, 1993, 1998, 2012, 2017Opening Day shutout losses:
1963— High Heat Stats (@HighHeatStats) April 3, 2017
At 36-20 all-time, the New York Mets are one of the MLB’s best on Opening Day. Clearly, they don’t just like to win in Game 1, they like to do it convincingly.
Hardest hit HRs through 2 days:
Sano 113.8 MPH
Trout 113.4
Bumgarner 112.5
Bumgarner 112.1
Gomez 111.6
Pederson 110.9
Correa 110.6— Daren Willman (@darenw) April 4, 2017
Most of these names are shocking, but one isn’t — unless you fully expected Bumgarner to land on this list at some point during the year.
It’s been a very entertaining first few days of baseball, and thankfully, there’s still plenty to be played before the calendar flips to November.
About Matt Musico
Matt Musico currently manages Chin Music Baseball, contributes to The Sports Daily and is also an editor for numberFire. He has written for FanDuel Insider and Bleacher Report in the past. He’s a lover of all baseball, especially the Mets.
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