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Issue Date: April 5, 2009
Opening day magic
3 games we'll never forget
By Dennis McCafferty
Baseball's opening day on Monday is one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year. It tells us that summer is approaching and that, once again, great ballgames will be played every day in stadiums across the country. "Opening day is like the start of a great novel," says ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, a respected baseball writer and commentator, "where you're hooked on the very first page."
Among the opening days that he has witnessed (31 and counting) and others that baseball enthusiasts hold significant, Kurkjian picks three of the most memorable:
Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox, 1940. "This is when the Indians' great Bob Feller threw a no-hitter. What a way to start the season! It's the only realistic way that an entire team's roster of players can begin and end the day with the same exact batting average: zero. It's not likely to happen again. It's too early for pitchers to last for an entire game. Their arms aren't strong enough yet. But Feller was the kind of player who could do this. He was always ready to go."
Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets, 1994. "Have you ever heard of Karl 'Tuffy' Rhodes? No? That's not surprising. He was hardly a big-name player. Before the season, he had eight total career home runs. Then, he went out at Wrigley Field and hit three home runs on opening day! He became the only player to hit three home runs in his first three at-bats for the season. All three were against the great Dwight Gooden. It's the kind of performance where you smack yourself on the head and say, 'Where did that come from?' "
Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox, 1989. "The Orioles were very bad in 1988, losing the first 21 games of the season. When they opened at home in 1989 at Memorial Stadium, there was no reason to think they'd be anything but awful again. The Sox were in town for opening day, and Roger Clemens was on the mound. One writer predicted a no-hitter. But Cal Ripken Jr. hit a three-run homer off Clemens in the seventh inning to put Baltimore ahead, 4-3. Boston then tied it up, but the Orioles won on a sacrifice fly in the 11th. It's amazing how one opening day can seemingly reverse a team's fortunes: The Orioles stayed in the hunt for the American League East title right up to the last week of the season."
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