Inexperienced Opening Day Starters
Posted by Raphy on March 20, 2008
Since 1957 no pitcher has started on Opening Day with less than 5 games experience. 2 pitchers, Steve Busby in 1973 and Jose Guzman in 1986, each started on Opening Day in their 6th career starts. Here is the list of pitchers who have started on Opening Day despite having less than 10 games of major league experience.
While no starter since 1957 has made his debut on Opening Day, there have been 14 starters who have made their debut in the second game of the season. Included in that list is Tom Seaver, who would then start the next 12 Opening Days and become the career(post 1957) leader in opening day starts.