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On Base 4+ Times In Game 1 – Three Times Or More

Posted by Steve Lombardi on March 30, 2011

Since 1919, how many batters have reached base 4+ times in his team's first game of the season, three times or more in his career?

Here's the list -

Rk Player #Matching   PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB TOBwe SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP
1 Paul Waner 4 Ind. Games 21 13 10 1 1 0 4 8 18 0 .769 .857 1.000 1.857 0 0   0 0
2 Gary Sheffield 4 Ind. Games 18 7 6 1 0 2 6 10 17 1 .857 .944 1.857 2.802 0 0 0 1 0
3 Mickey Mantle 4 Ind. Games 21 15 10 2 0 3 11 5 16 2 .667 .762 1.400 2.162 0 0 1 1 0
4 Jeff Kent 4 Ind. Games 23 20 14 4 0 2 12 2 17 1 .700 .739 1.200 1.939 0 0 0 1 0
5 Ted Williams 3 Ind. Games 16 11 8 3 0 1 8 5 13 0 .727 .813 1.273 2.085 0 0 0 0 0
6 Darryl Strawberry 3 Ind. Games 13 8 8 3 0 2 4 5 13 0 1.000 1.000 2.125 3.125 0 0 1 0 0
7 Willie Stargell 3 Ind. Games 16 13 10 1 0 3 6 2 13 2 .769 .813 1.538 2.351 0 0 2 1 0
8 Manny Ramirez 3 Ind. Games 16 11 6 2 0 1 6 5 12 4 .545 .688 1.000 1.688 0 0 0 0 0
9 Albert Pujols 3 Ind. Games 15 11 9 1 0 4 7 3 12 0 .818 .800 2.000 2.800 0 1 1 0 0
10 Jim Piersall 3 Ind. Games 16 13 9 2 0 0 1 1 13 0 .692 .733 .846 1.579 1 0 0 1 0
11 Corey Patterson 3 Ind. Games 17 14 9 0 1 2 10 3 12 2 .643 .706 1.214 1.920 0 0 0 0 0
12 Andy Pafko 3 Ind. Games 14 11 9 4 1 3 6 2 12 0 .818 .857 2.182 3.039 0 0 1 1 0
13 Mel Ott 3 Ind. Games 14 10 8 1 0 1 4 4 12 0 .800 .857 1.200 2.057 0 0   0 0
14 Stan Musial 3 Ind. Games 14 9 8 3 0 0 4 4 13 0 .889 .929 1.222 2.151 0 0 1 1 0
15 Joe Morgan 3 Ind. Games 16 12 8 2 0 1 6 4 12 2 .667 .750 1.083 1.833 0 0 2 0 0
16 Al Kaline 3 Ind. Games 20 14 6 1 0 1 3 6 12 0 .429 .600 .714 1.314 0 0 0 0 1
17 Joe Girardi 3 Ind. Games 17 14 10 1 0 0 2 2 12 1 .714 .750 .786 1.536 1 0 0 0 0
18 Carlos Delgado 3 Ind. Games 16 12 10 1 0 1 6 2 14 1 .833 .875 1.167 2.042 0 0 0 2 0
19 Jose Cruz 3 Ind. Games 17 13 8 3 0 0 3 4 12 1 .615 .706 .846 1.552 0 0 1 0 0
20 Barry Bonds 3 Ind. Games 15 10 8 2 1 2 4 4 13 0 .800 .867 1.800 2.667 0 0 1 1 0
21 Wade Boggs 3 Ind. Games 15 11 8 1 0 0 1 4 12 0 .727 .800 .818 1.618 0 0 1 0 0
22 Brady Anderson 3 Ind. Games 15 12 9 2 0 1 3 2 12 0 .750 .800 1.167 1.967 0 0 0 1 0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/30/2011.

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Seeing Sheffield, I decided to look at Opening Game walks by batters since 1919. That's another fun list:

Rk Player #Matching   PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB 6 SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP
1 Rickey Henderson 16 Ind. Games 76 57 17 5 0 0 2 19 8 .298 .474 .386 .860 0 0 0 0 0
2 Barry Bonds 13 Ind. Games 63 42 14 3 1 3 6 19 4 .333 .540 .667 1.206 0 1 6 1 1
3 Buddy Myer 12 Ind. Games 54 33 7 2 0 0 2 19 2 .212 .500 .273 .773 2 0   0 0
4 Jeff Bagwell 14 Ind. Games 64 46 6 0 0 4 8 18 8 .130 .375 .391 .766 0 0 2 0 3
5 Joe Morgan 13 Ind. Games 61 42 16 4 0 1 6 18 6 .381 .574 .548 1.121 0 0 3 1 2
6 Gary Sheffield 11 Ind. Games 52 32 10 4 0 2 7 18 4 .313 .577 .625 1.202 0 0 1 2 2
7 Al Kaline 12 Ind. Games 59 44 11 1 0 2 5 15 6 .250 .441 .409 .850 0 0 1 0 1
8 Eddie Yost 10 Ind. Games 49 32 7 2 0 0 0 15 4 .219 .490 .281 .771 0 0 0 2 0
9 Barry Larkin 10 Ind. Games 46 31 6 1 0 2 4 15 4 .194 .457 .419 .876 0 0 0 0 2
10 Ken Griffey 13 Ind. Games 59 43 11 2 0 4 7 14 10 .256 .441 .581 1.022 0 1 0 1 1
11 Mike Schmidt 10 Ind. Games 42 28 4 1 0 2 2 14 5 .143 .429 .393 .821 0 0 2 0 1
12 Frank Thomas 9 Ind. Games 41 27 12 3 0 1 2 14 3 .444 .634 .667 1.301 0 0 1 0 0
13 Mike Cameron 7 Ind. Games 34 20 8 0 0 1 4 14 2 .400 .647 .550 1.197 0 0 0 0 0
14 Mel Ott 10 Ind. Games 47 34 13 4 0 4 11 13 3 .382 .553 .853 1.406 0 0   0 0
15 Paul Waner 9 Ind. Games 36 23 11 1 1 0 6 13 1 .478 .667 .609 1.275 0 0   0 0
16 Jack Clark 8 Ind. Games 36 22 5 1 0 3 8 13 6 .227 .500 .682 1.182 0 1 0 0 0
17 Lou Whitaker 10 Ind. Games 44 30 9 1 0 0 5 12 5 .300 .488 .333 .822 1 1 0 0 0
18 Jim Thome 8 Ind. Games 35 22 7 2 0 2 5 12 6 .318 .571 .682 1.253 0 0 1 1 0
19 Sammy Sosa 8 Ind. Games 38 26 8 3 0 0 1 12 7 .308 .526 .423 .949 0 0 1 0 1
20 Chipper Jones 8 Ind. Games 36 24 8 0 0 0 2 12 4 .333 .556 .333 .889 0 0 1 0 1
21 Brett Butler 8 Ind. Games 40 27 7 3 0 0 0 12 2 .259 .487 .370 .858 1 0 0 0 0
22 Max Bishop 8 Ind. Games 41 28 7 0 0 0 0 12 1 .250 .488 .250 .738 0 0   1  
23 Ken Singleton 7 Ind. Games 33 21 7 3 0 1 2 12 4 .333 .576 .619 1.195 0 0 2 0 1
24 Pete Rose 10 Ind. Games 45 34 14 5 1 1 5 11 1 .412 .556 .706 1.261 0 0 0 0 0
25 George Brett 10 Ind. Games 44 33 10 3 0 2 5 11 3 .303 .477 .576 1.053 0 0 1 0 1
26 Hank Aaron 10 Ind. Games 44 33 8 1 0 2 9 11 3 .242 .432 .455 .886 0 0 3 0 3
27 Ted Williams 9 Ind. Games 41 30 16 5 1 2 12 11 0 .533 .659 .967 1.625 0 0 0 0 0
28 Stan Musial 9 Ind. Games 39 27 12 3 0 1 7 11 3 .444 .615 .667 1.282 0 0 1 1 1
29 Toby Harrah 8 Ind. Games 33 22 4 0 0 0 1 11 3 .182 .455 .182 .636 0 0 0 0 0
30 Jose Canseco 8 Ind. Games 37 26 6 0 0 1 4 11 7 .231 .459 .346 .806 0 0 1 0 1
31 Babe Ruth 7 Ind. Games 31 20 8 0 1 4 8 11 2 .400 .613 1.100 1.713 0 0   0  
32 Pee Wee Reese 7 Ind. Games 33 22 6 2 0 0 0 11 5 .273 .515 .364 .879 0 0 0 0 0
33 Harmon Killebrew 7 Ind. Games 31 19 7 0 0 1 4 11 2 .368 .581 .526 1.107 0 1 1 0 1
34 Roberto Alomar 7 Ind. Games 31 20 4 0 0 0 1 11 1 .200 .484 .200 .684 0 0 0 0 2
35 Jason Thompson 9 Ind. Games 37 26 5 2 0 1 6 10 6 .192 .405 .385 .790 0 1 0 0 0
36 Tim Raines 8 Ind. Games 39 29 5 2 0 0 6 10 2 .172 .385 .241 .626 0 0 1 0 1
37 Kenny Lofton 8 Ind. Games 39 28 10 0 3 2 9 10 3 .357 .513 .786 1.299 0 1 1 0 1
38 Eric Karros 8 Ind. Games 32 22 6 2 0 0 5 10 1 .273 .500 .364 .864 0 0 0 0 0
39 Joe Judge 8 Ind. Games 39 26 10 1 1 0 3 10 0 .385 .556 .500 1.056 3 0   0 0
40 Darrell Evans 8 Ind. Games 31 21 7 2 0 2 5 10 3 .333 .548 .714 1.263 0 0 1 0 1
41 Ray Durham 8 Ind. Games 39 28 5 1 0 1 1 10 11 .179 .410 .321 .732 0 0 0 1 0
42 Dave Winfield 7 Ind. Games 30 20 6 1 0 1 4 10 2 .300 .533 .500 1.033 0 0 0 0 0
43 Robin Ventura 7 Ind. Games 29 18 5 1 0 2 5 10 3 .278 .517 .667 1.184 0 1 1 0 1
44 Tony Phillips 7 Ind. Games 33 23 8 4 0 1 6 10 5 .348 .545 .652 1.198 0 0 0 0 0
45 Dale Murphy 7 Ind. Games 31 21 6 1 0 1 4 10 6 .286 .516 .476 .992 0 0 0 0 0
46 Mickey Mantle 7 Ind. Games 29 19 10 2 0 3 8 10 2 .526 .690 1.105 1.795 0 0 1 0 0
47 Bernie Williams 6 Ind. Games 28 16 3 1 0 1 4 10 5 .188 .500 .438 .938 0 1 0 1 0
48 Danny Tartabull 6 Ind. Games 25 14 7 2 0 2 6 10 1 .500 .680 1.071 1.751 0 1 1 0 0
49 Paul Molitor 6 Ind. Games 29 17 4 1 0 0 1 10 2 .235 .517 .294 .811 0 1 0 1 0
50 Dick McAuliffe 6 Ind. Games 28 17 4 1 0 0 0 10 4 .235 .536 .294 .830 0 0 1 1 0
51 Derrek Lee 6 Ind. Games 28 17 5 2 0 0 3 10 6 .294 .536 .412 .947 0 1 0 0 0
52 Jeff Cirillo 6 Ind. Games 27 16 6 2 0 1 3 10 0 .375 .615 .688 1.303 1 0 0 0 1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/30/2011.

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Buddy Myer - go figure...

Related posts:

    2011 On Base 10+ Times Through 4/5/11
    6 times on base, no R or RBI
    Most times on base in 2007
    Four times on base / Jacoby Ellsbury
    5+ times on base, no runs scored

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Game Finders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

11 Responses to “On Base 4+ Times In Game 1 – Three Times Or More”

  1. Larry R. Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    Buddy Myer had a .389 career OBP in over 1900 games played. This shouldn't surprise you. He was an OBP beast in the '30s.

  2. Steve Lombardi Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    Agreed. Still seems strange that teams didn't pound the strike zone on him - esp on Opening Day.

  3. DavidRF Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    Much of Myer's totals come from three games. 1927 (4), 1931 (3), 1937 (3).

    In 1937, the A's were walking everyone. 1927 is a fun box score:

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WS1/WS1192704120.shtml

    Myer bats fifth, with four HOF-ers ahead of you in the lineup (well, three HOF players and one HOF-manager) and Myer is guy the Red Sox pitch around. 🙂 The Senators ended up trading Myer to the Red Sox for Topper Rigney three weeks later.

  4. LJF Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 6:38 pm

    Corey Patterson started on opening day 6 times in his career (also played once s a defensive replacement) and 3 of those six times he was on base 4 times. One other game he was 1 for 3 plus a BB and a HBP, scored twice and hit a home run.

    In his first 4 opening day starts (2002-20065) he was 10 for 17 with a loine of .588/.682/1.235.

  5. dukeofflatbush Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 7:27 pm

    Looks like Bagwell had one swing opening day.

  6. Dr. Doom Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 7:59 pm

    Anyone remember this game?

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200504040.shtml

    Maybe the best ever opening-day game for a hitter. And Da Meat Hook, of all people!

  7. John Autin Says:
    March 30th, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    @6, Dr. Doom -- What Tigers fan could forget Dmitri's big game? What I can't quite recall is the formula for converting home runs off Jose Lima into "real" dingers....

    🙂

    Just kidding -- I love Da Meat Hook. Young was one of the few bright spots in a very dark stretch for Detroit. In 2003, when they lost 119 games, Dmitri Young was the only truly good hitter on the club, with a 144 OPS+ (next-best was 108); he led the club in every significant counting stat and rate stat, except for steals. It's too bad he was injured most of 2006, missing one of the most sudden turnabouts ever -- from 71-91 to 95 wins and a near-sweep of the AL playoffs.

    But that 2005 club -- have you ever seen a more generic starting rotation? The top 4 SPs (Jason Johnson, Mike Maroth, Nate Robertson and Jeremy Bonderman) all pitched 189-210 innings with a WHIP from 1.354 to 1.368 and an ERA+ from 90 to 95 -- the only modern team with 4 qualifying pitchers clustered in that tight range. All four had good control (no more than 3 BB/9) but allowed plenty of hits; none averaged 7 K/9.

    One year later, the Tigers signed Kenny Rogers and brought up Justin Verlander, and produced the best pitching in baseball, with a 119 ERA+.

  8. Johnny Twisto Says:
    March 31st, 2011 at 12:26 am

    I don't remember the Young game. I thought that was going to be a link to Chris Shelton. He hit 2 HR on Opening Day of '06, and 10 by April 28.

    He has 8 HR since then.

  9. Johnny Says:
    March 31st, 2011 at 1:30 am

    I remember Sheff on 2008 opening day for the Tigers.

    He didn't put a single ball in play: 4 walks and 1 strikeout in his 5 plate appearances.

    He took some pitches on those walks that I couldn't believe he was confident enough (and had a good enough eye) to take.

    The again he did walk 300 more times in his career than he struck out which is rare these days.

  10. Tmckelv Says:
    March 31st, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    Joe Girardi 🙂

  11. DoubleDiamond Says:
    March 31st, 2011 at 9:45 pm

    Wow, Danny Tartabull actually accomplished something that could be considered positive during his brief, career-ending stint with the Phillies at the beginning of 1997! Without those two Opening Day walks, he would not have made that second list!

    Two other guys who played for the Phillies near the end of their careers (well, for one of them, we THOUGHT it was near the end), Jim Thome and Dale Murphy, are also on the list. Murphy either didn't play or didn't walk on Opening Day with the Phillies in 1991 and 1992 (and with Colorado in 1993), so all of those walks are from his Atlanta years. Thome got walks on Opening Day in two of his three Phillies seasons, 2003 and 2005.

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