Opening Day is always a joyous occasion, but if Jorge Posada’s afternoon is tinged with a touch of remorse, it’ll be easy to understand. For the first time in 12 years, Posada will be watching the first pitch of the season from the dugout instead of catching it behind the plate.
With Posada’s string of consecutive Opening Day starts at the same position coming to an end at 11, Bill Dickey can now rest easy because the Hall of Fame catcher’s franchise record of 14 is safe for the foreseeable future. Posada’s installation as the DH also prevented the Yankees from fielding the exact same starting nine on consecutive Opening Days for the first time ever, dating back to 1919.
If not for a strained thigh muscle in 2001, Jeter would be making history with his 16th consecutive Opening Day start at the same position. Instead, he’ll have to settle for matching Dickey for the second most Opening Day starts with 15. If Jeter cracks the lineup in each season of his new deal, the Captain would match Mickey Mantle’s franchise record of 18. Whether he can do that playing short stop remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that the Mick’s last two openers came at first base.
Listed below is an assortment of team and player Opening Day facts and figures to keep you busy until the start of this afternoon’s game.
Yankees Opening Day Starters, 1919-2010
| Most Opening Day Starts | Most Common Opening Day Lineup | ||||
| Players | G | Po | Player | G | |
| Mickey Mantle | 18 | C | Bill Dickey | 15 | |
| Bill Dickey | 15 | 1B | Lou Gehrig | 14 | |
| Lou Gehrig | 14 | 2B | Willie Randolph | 13 | |
| Derek Jeter | 14 | SS | Derek Jeter | 14 | |
| 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 | |
| Graig Nettles | 11 | SP | Whitey Ford | 7 | |
| Jorge Posada | 11 | SP | Ron Guidry | 7 | |
| Phil Rizzuto | 11 | SP | Mel Stottlemyre | 7 | |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Select Individual Player Opening Day Records, 1919-1920
| PAs | Hits | RBIs | |||||
| Mickey Mantle | 74 | Mickey Mantle | 23 | Babe Ruth | 14 | ||
| Derek Jeter | 64 | Lou Gehrig | 22 | Mickey Mantle | 14 | ||
| Lou Gehrig | 60 | Babe Ruth | 21 | Yogi Berra | 14 | ||
| Bill Dickey | 57 | Derek Jeter | 18 | Lou Gehrig | 13 | ||
| Bernie Williams | 57 | Bill Dickey | 17 | Hideki Matsui | 11 | ||
| Babe Ruth | 57 | Yogi Berra | 17 | Bernie Williams | 10 | ||
| Willie Randolph | 57 | Jorge Posada | 13 | Jorge Posada | 9 | ||
| Phil Rizzuto | 51 | Don Mattingly | 13 | Derek Jeter | 9 | ||
| Yogi Berra | 49 | Paul O’Neill | 13 | Alex Rodriguez | 9 | ||
| Jorge Posada | 48 | Bill Skowron | 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 | Roger Clemens | 22 | Bob Shawkey | 2.45 | ||
| Roger Clemens | 25 | Bob Shawkey | 18 | Waite Hoyt | 2.45 | ||
| Vic Raschi | 23 | David Cone | 12 | Urban Shocker | 2.70 | ||
| Jimmy Key | 20.1 | Vic Raschi | 11 | Red Ruffing | 2.76 | ||
| Don Larsen | 18 | Spud Chandler | 10 | 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 |
| 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 |
| Jorge Posada | 11 | 48 | 0.333 | 0.458 | 0.692 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 6 | 30 | 0.393 | 0.433 | 0.714 |
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) | 63 | 46 | 1 |
| Home Openers | 73 | 36 | 1 |
| Home Opener Opponent | W | L | T |
| Baltimore Orioles | 3 | 1 | |
| Boston Red Sox | 17 | 9 | 1 |
| California Angels | 1 | 0 | |
| Chicago White Sox | 3 | 2 | |
| Cleveland Indians | 3 | 3 | |
| Detroit Tigers | 2 | 3 | |
| Kansas City Royals | 5 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 1 | 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
[…] New York Yankees Opening Day Facts and Figures The Captain's Blog: Opening Day is always a joyous occasion, but if Jorge Posada?s afternoon is tinged with a touch of remorse, it?ll be easy to understand. For the first time in 12 years, Posada will be watching the first pitch of the season from the dugout instead of catching it behind the plate. With Posada?s string of … – Readmore […]