List of Major League Baseball Opening Day starting pitchers

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Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball, and is the organization that operates the National League and the American League. In 2000, the two leagues were officially disbanded as separate legal entities, and all of their rights and functions were consolidated in the commissioner's office.[1] Since that time, MLB has operated as a single league, and constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues of the United States. It is composed of 30 teams.[2]

Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For MLB and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, Why Time Begins On Opening Day.[3] Many feel that the occasion represents a newness or a chance to forget last season, in that the 30 major league clubs and their millions of fans begin with 0-0 records.[3]

Being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season.[4] It is often given to the pitcher who had the best season the year prior,[5] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[6]

National League[edit]

Eastern Division[edit]

Atlanta Braves[edit]

Main article: List of Atlanta Braves Opening Day starting pitchers

The Atlanta Braves National League franchise originated in Boston, Massachusetts in 1871. The team has played three different cities: Boston (1871–1952), Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1953–1965), and Atlanta, Georgia (1966–present).[7]

Miami Marlins[edit]

Main article: List of Miami Marlins Opening Day starting pitchers

The Marlins franchise entered the National League in 1993 as an expansion team, and was known as the Florida Marlins until 2011.

New York Mets[edit]

Main article: List of New York Mets Opening Day starting pitchers

The successor to two previous National League franchises in New York City (the Giants and the Dodgers), the New York Mets have played in Queens since 1964, when they vacated the Polo Grounds in Manhattan and moved to Shea Stadium.[8]

Philadelphia Phillies[edit]

Main article: List of Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day starting pitchers

The National League franchise in Philadelphia was established in 1883 following the dissolution of the Worcester Worcesters. The team adopted the Philadelphia Phillies name in 1884 and has used the moniker, and been located in the city, since that time.[9]

Washington Nationals[edit]

Main article: List of Washington Nationals Opening Day starting pitchers

The Washington Nationals franchise was established in Montreal, Quebec in 1969 as an expansion team, originally known as the Montreal Expos.[10]

Central Division[edit]

Chicago Cubs[edit]

Main article: List of Chicago Cubs Opening Day starting pitchers

The Chicago Cubs franchise began as the Chicago White Stockings in 1876, with Albert Spalding as the franchise's inaugural manager.

Cincinnati Reds[edit]

Main article: List of Cincinnati Reds Opening Day starting pitchers

Similar to their division counterparts, the Cincinnati Reds were established as the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1882.

Milwaukee Brewers[edit]

Main article: List of Milwaukee Brewers Opening Day starting pitchers

Established in 1969 as the Pilots in Seattle, Washington, the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin the following season,[11] which brought top-flight baseball back to Wisconsin for the first time since the Braves departed after the 1965 season.[12] The Brewers have been members of the National League since 1998; prior to that, the team played as a member of the American League Central Division.[13]

Pittsburgh Pirates[edit]

Main article: List of Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day starting pitchers

The Pittsburgh Pirates joined the National League in 1887 after five seasons as members of the American Association.[14]

St. Louis Cardinals[edit]

Main article: List of St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day starting pitchers

The St. Louis Cardinals were originally established in 1882 as the St. Louis Browns.[15]

Western Division[edit]

Arizona Diamondbacks[edit]

Main article: List of Arizona Diamondbacks Opening Day starting pitchers

The Arizona Diamondbacks entered the National League as an expansion team in 1998.[16]

Colorado Rockies[edit]

Main article: List of Colorado Rockies Opening Day starting pitchers

The Colorado Rockies entered the National League as an expansion team in 1993.

Los Angeles Dodgers[edit]

Main article: List of Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day starting pitchers

The Los Angeles Dodgers began play in 1884 as the Brooklyn Atlantics and were known by several nicknames before adopting the Dodgers name in 1932.[17]

San Diego Padres[edit]

Main article: List of San Diego Padres Opening Day starting pitchers

The San Diego Padres joined Major League Baseball as an expansion team in 1969.[18]

San Francisco Giants[edit]

Main article: List of San Francisco Giants Opening Day starting pitchers

The San Francisco Giants were originally established as the New York Gothams in 1883.[19]

American League[edit]

Eastern Division[edit]

Baltimore Orioles[edit]

Main article: List of Baltimore Orioles Opening Day starting pitchers

The Baltimore Orioles franchise was established in 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the "Milwaukee Brewers".[20]

Boston Red Sox[edit]

Main article: List of Boston Red Sox Opening Day starting pitchers

The Boston Red Sox of Boston, Massachusetts, began in 1901 as the Americans and adopted the Red Sox name in 1908.[21]

New York Yankees[edit]

Main article: List of New York Yankees Opening Day starting pitchers

The franchise currently known as the New York Yankees was originally established in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles (unrelated to their current divisional rivals). After moving to New York City in 1903 and adopting the name New York Highlanders, the team was renamed the Yankees in 1913.[22]

Tampa Bay Rays[edit]

Main article: List of Tampa Bay Rays Opening Day starting pitchers

The Tampa Bay Rays, originally named the Devil Rays, joined Major League Baseball at its last expansion in 1998.[23]

Toronto Blue Jays[edit]

Main article: List of Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day starting pitchers

Since 2005, the Toronto Blue Jays, established in 1977, are the only team in Major League Baseball based outside of the United States.[24]

Central Division[edit]

Chicago White Sox[edit]

Main article: List of Chicago White Sox Opening Day starting pitchers

The Chicago White Sox were established in 1901.[25]

Cleveland Guardians[edit]

Main article: List of Cleveland Guardians Opening Day starting pitchers

The team now known as the Cleveland Guardians has played under several monikers since its inception in 1901, including the Cleveland Blues or Bluebirds, the Cleveland Bronchos, the Cleveland Naps, and the Cleveland Indians.[26]

Detroit Tigers[edit]

Main article: List of Detroit Tigers Opening Day starting pitchers

The Detroit Tigers were founded as members of the Western League in 1894.[27]

Kansas City Royals[edit]

Main article: List of Kansas City Royals Opening Day starting pitchers

The Kansas City Royals were added to the American League in a 1969 expansion after the city's first Major League Baseball franchise departed for Oakland, California.[28]

Minnesota Twins[edit]

Main article: List of Minnesota Twins Opening Day starting pitchers

The Minnesota franchise began its life as the Washington Senators in Washington, D. C., where they played from their inception in 1901 to 1960.[29]

Western Division[edit]

Houston Astros[edit]

Main article: List of Houston Astros Opening Day starting pitchers

The city of Houston, Texas was awarded an expansion franchise in the National League in 1962 after the dissolution of the Continental League.[30] The team, which began play as the Colt .45s, changed its name to the Houston Astros in 1965.[31]

Los Angeles Angels[edit]

Main article: List of Los Angeles Angels Opening Day starting pitchers

Playing under various names such as the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels have been members of the American League since 1961.[32]

Oakland Athletics[edit]

Main article: List of Oakland Athletics Opening Day starting pitchers

While the Oakland Athletics have played under the same name since their establishment in 1901, the team has played in three different locations under that moniker. The franchise was initially based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[33]

Seattle Mariners[edit]

Main article: List of Seattle Mariners Opening Day starting pitchers

The Seattle Mariners franchise was established in 1977, the successor to the earlier Pilots team that moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[34]

Texas Rangers[edit]

Main article: List of Texas Rangers Opening Day starting pitchers

When the Minnesota Twins moved to Minneapolis for the 1961 season, a new Washington Senators team was established in the United States capital as an expansion franchise.[35]

2024 Opening Day starting pitchers[edit]

Team Starting pitcher No. of starts Ref.
Arizona Diamondbacks Zac Gallen 2 [36]
Atlanta Braves Spencer Strider 1 [37]
Baltimore Orioles Corbin Burnes 3 [38]
Boston Red Sox Brayan Bello 1 [39]
Chicago Cubs Justin Steele 1 [40]
Chicago White Sox Garrett Crochet 1 [41]
Cincinnati Reds Frankie Montas 3 [42]
Cleveland Guardians Shane Bieber 5 [43]
Colorado Rockies Kyle Freeland 3 [44]
Detroit Tigers Tarik Skubal 1 [45]
Houston Astros Framber Valdez 3 [46]
Kansas City Royals Cole Ragans 1 [47]
Los Angeles Angels Patrick Sandoval 1 [48]
Los Angeles Dodgers Tyler Glasnow 2 [49]
Miami Marlins Jesús Luzardo 1 [50]
Milwaukee Brewers Freddy Peralta 1 [51]
Minnesota Twins Pablo López 2 [52]
New York Mets José Quintana 2 [53]
New York Yankees Nestor Cortes Jr. 1 [54]
Oakland Athletics Alex Wood 1 [55]
Philadelphia Phillies Zack Wheeler 1 [56]
Pittsburgh Pirates Mitch Keller 2 [57]
St. Louis Cardinals Miles Mikolas 3 [58]
San Diego Padres Yu Darvish 4 [59]
San Francisco Giants Logan Webb 3 [60]
Seattle Mariners Luis Castillo 4 [61]
Tampa Bay Rays Zach Eflin 1 [62]
Texas Rangers Nathan Eovaldi 4 [63]
Toronto Blue Jays José Berríos 4 [64]
Washington Nationals Josiah Gray 1 [65]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "A.L. President Budig To Be Selig's Adviser". New York Times. January 7, 2000. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  2. ^ "Complete Baseball Team and Baseball Team Encyclopedias". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Baseball-almanac.com/opening_day/opening_day.shtml
  4. ^ Bastian, Jordan (March 22, 2010). "Marcum tapped for Jays' Opening Day". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  5. ^ "Cardinals' Kyle Lohse honored to give it his all in opener | MLB.com: News". mlb.mlb.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-05.
  6. ^ Dilbeck, Steve (February 24, 2014). "Dodgers may not start Clayton Kershaw in Sydney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  7. ^ "Atlanta Braves Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  8. ^ "When Will Mets Move?". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. April 3, 1963. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  9. ^ Purdy, Dennis (2006). The Team-by-Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball. New York City: Workman. ISBN 0-7611-3943-5.
  10. ^ "Washington Nationals Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  11. ^ "Milwaukee Brewers Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
  12. ^ Stanton, Tom (2005). Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America. Harper Collins. pp. 47–48. ISBN 0-06-072290-8.
  13. ^ "Brewers switch leagues, join Reds in NL Central". The Kentucky Post. E. W. Scripps Company. Associated Press. November 6, 1997. Archived from the original on May 5, 2005.
  14. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
  15. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
  16. ^ "'98 Baseball Preview: NL West". Eugene Register–Guard. 3B. March 30, 1998. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
  17. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  18. ^ Goodman, Michael E. (2002). The History of the San Diego Padres. The Creative Company. p. 1966. ISBN 1-58341-222-0.
  19. ^ "San Francisco Giants Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  20. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  21. ^ "Boston Red Sox Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  22. ^ "New York Yankees Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  23. ^ Eitzen, D. Stanley (1999). Fair and foul: beyond the myths and paradoxes of sport. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 146. ISBN 0-8476-9171-3.
  24. ^ "Team-by-Team Information". Major League Baseball. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  25. ^ "Chicago White Sox Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  26. ^ "Cleveland Indians Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  27. ^ "Detroit Tigers Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  28. ^ Stewart, Wayne (2002). The History of the Kansas City Royals. The Creative Company. p. 5. ISBN 1-58341-211-5.
  29. ^ "Twins playoff history". USA Today. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
  30. ^ Bell, Christopher (2002). Scapegoats: baseballers whose careers are marked by one fateful play. McFarland. p. 131. ISBN 0-7864-1381-6.
  31. ^ "Houston Astros Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
  32. ^ "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  33. ^ Gillette, Gary; Gammons, Peter (2007). The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. Palmer, Pete. Sterling Publishing Company. p. 1667. ISBN 978-1-4027-4771-7.
  34. ^ Goodman, Michael E. (2002). The History of the Seattle Mariners. The Creative Company. p. 6. ISBN 1-58341-224-7.
  35. ^ Frisch, Aaron (2002). The History of the Texas Rangers. The Creative Company. pp. 6. ISBN 1-58341-226-3.
  36. ^ "Arizona Diamondbacks Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  37. ^ "Atlanta Braves Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  38. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  39. ^ "Boston Red Sox Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  40. ^ "Chicago Cubs Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  41. ^ "Chicago White Sox Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  42. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  43. ^ "Cleveland Guardians Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  44. ^ "Colorado Rockies Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  45. ^ "Detroit Tigers Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  46. ^ "Houston Astros Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  47. ^ "Kansas City Royals Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  48. ^ "Los Angeles Angels Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  49. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  50. ^ "Miami Marlins Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  51. ^ "Milwaukee Brewers Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  52. ^ "Minnesota Twins Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  53. ^ "New York Mets Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  54. ^ "New York Yankees Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  55. ^ "Oakland Athletics Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  56. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  57. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  58. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  59. ^ "San Diego Padres Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  60. ^ "San Francisco Giants Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  61. ^ "Seattle Mariners Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  62. ^ "Tampa Bay Rays Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  63. ^ "Texas Rangers Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  64. ^ "Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  65. ^ "Washington Nationals Opening Day starters". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.


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