The Royals have opened the season on March 31st three times in their 42 year history and have won all three games. Interestingly enough all three have occurred during the era of mediocrity, which as you know is 1995 to the present. In 1998 they beat Baltimore 4-1, Larry Sutton had 2 hits and 3 RBIs while Tim Belcher tossed 7 shutout innings. Runelvys Hernandez, Jason Grimsley, and Mike MacDougal combined for a 3 hit shutout as KC topped the White Sox 3-0 in 2003. Tony Pena Jr. drove in the go ahead in the 11th inning in 2008 as they downed the Tigers 5-4. The Angels are 0-3 in March openers so the game today appears to be a mismatch, well not really but you have to admit it's a funny coincidence.
I won't make it out to the park today but I will be there Saturday for the doubleheader. Hit me up on twitter if you're there too and I may let you buy me a hot dog. I've always had a soft spot for the Angels, due to the Freddie Patek effect, and was thrilled when they won the World Series in 2002 but I haven't attended a Royals/Angels contest since 1985 (this one as a matter of fact). I'm expecting both games to be a lot of fun.
This is going to be an interesting season and it starts today, play ball!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Opening day - Hall of Fame edition
We've covered individual hitting and pitching performances this week so for today I thought I'd check to see the career opening day numbers of Royals Hall of Fame members. Well their Royals career anyway. I also added three players who aren't in but I believe could and should enter some day - Mike Sweeney, David DeJesus, and Carlos Beltran.
Man, how about that Freddie Patek? One of the joys in doing this opening day series is getting to see his name regularly and I got to admit his OD numbers do fascinate me. I'm probably alone in this and that's fine. When I was a kid while my friends were pretending to be George Brett or Willie Wilson I was always Patek, without fail. I've only had a few opportunities to write about him since this blog's inception so I've thoroughly enjoyed this week's theme.
And now for the pitchers, some of whom we've already covered.
One more day (weather permitting).
| Player | Games | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Brett | 18 | 80 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 8 | .250 | .363 | .471 | .833 |
| Frank White | 15 | 55 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 8 | .189 | .218 | .377 | .596 |
| Hal McRae | 13 | 57 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 10 | .283 | .316 | .472 | .787 |
| Amos Otis | 12 | 52 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 9 | .271 | .327 | .417 | .744 |
| Willie Wilson | 10 | 43 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | .214 | .233 | .286 | .518 |
| Mike Sweeney | 9 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | .242 | .306 | .333 | .639 |
| Freddie Patek | 8 | 33 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 8 | .367 | .424 | .600 | 1.024 |
| John Mayberry | 6 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | .182 | .333 | .455 | .788 |
| David DeJesus | 6 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .250 | .250 | .292 | .542 |
| Cookie Rojas | 5 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | .235 | .300 | .235 | .535 |
| Carlos Beltran | 5 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | .350 | .333 | .600 | .933 |
And now for the pitchers, some of whom we've already covered.
| Player | Games | W | L | ERA | GS | SV | IP | BB | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Appier | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3.69 | 7 | 0 | 39.0 | 20 | 30 | 1.46 |
| Jeff Montgomery | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1.04 | 0 | 2 | 8.2 | 4 | 8 | 1.15 |
| Dan Quisenberry | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 2 | 7.1 | 0 | 2 | 1.09 |
| Paul Splittorff | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5.01 | 3 | 0 | 23.1 | 12 | 8 | 1.67 |
| Dennis Leonard | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6.30 | 4 | 0 | 20.0 | 8 | 10 | 1.85 |
| Larry Gura | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2.13 | 2 | 0 | 12.2 | 7 | 5 | 1.18 |
| Bret Saberhagen | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3.00 | 3 | 0 | 21.0 | 2 | 17 | 1.10 |
| Steve Busby | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3.65 | 2 | 0 | 12.1 | 2 | 7 | 1.14 |
| Mark Gubicza | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.14 | 1 | 0 | 7.0 | 1 | 4 | 1.43 |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Opening day's greatest hits
Continuing with the opening day theme I've got going this week I looked up some of the best offensive opening day performances in team history, you know things like most hits, RBIs, etc. I mean I could talk about Matt Treanor but why bother? I didn't understand the move yesterday and I'm still mystified by it today.
Anyway, here you go.
Now there haven't been any multi-home run games but five players have homered on more than one opening day. And it's an interesting list, four Royals HoFers and Alex Gordon.
Anyway, here you go.
| Rk | Most hits | Date | Opp | Rslt | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freddie Patek | 1979-04-05 | TOR | W 11-2 | 4 |
| 2 | Amos Otis | 1977-04-07 | DET | W 7-4 | 4 |
| 3 | Lou Piniella | 1969-04-08 | MIN | W 4-3 | 4 |
| 4 | Mark Grudzielanek | 2008-03-31 | DET | W 5-4 | 3 |
| 5 | Mark Grudzielanek | 2007-04-02 | BOS | W 7-1 | 3 |
| 6 | Neifi Perez | 2002-04-01 | MIN | L 6-8 | 3 |
| 7 | Jermaine Dye | 2001-04-02 | NYY | L 3-7 | 3 |
| 8 | Kevin Seitzer | 1987-04-06 | CHW | L 4-5 | 3 |
| 9 | Willie Wilson | 1983-04-04 | BAL | W 7-2 | 3 |
| 10 | Clint Hurdle | 1981-04-10 | BAL | L 3-5 | 3 |
| 11 | Hal McRae | 1977-04-07 | DET | W 7-4 | 3 |
| Rk | Most RBIs | Date | Opp | Rslt | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank White | 1982-04-05 | BAL | L 5-13 | 4 |
| 2 | Mark Grudzielanek | 2007-04-02 | BOS | W 7-1 | 3 |
| 3 | Benito Santiago | 2004-04-05 | CHW | W 9-7 | 3 |
| 4 | Larry Sutton | 1998-03-31 | BAL | W 4-1 | 3 |
| 5 | John Wathan | 1979-04-05 | TOR | W 11-2 | 3 |
| 6 | Darrell Porter | 1979-04-05 | TOR | W 11-2 | 3 |
| 7 | Freddie Patek | 1978-04-08 | CLE | L 5-8 | 3 |
| 8 | Amos Otis | 1977-04-07 | DET | W 7-4 | 3 |
| 9 | John Mayberry | 1977-04-07 | DET | W 7-4 | 3 |
| 10 | Amos Otis | 1970-04-07 | OAK | L 4-6 | 3 |
| Rk | Most steals | Date | Opp | Rslt | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Tucker | 2002-04-01 | MIN | L 6-8 | 2 |
| 2 | Dean Palmer | 1998-03-31 | BAL | W 4-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Freddie Patek | 1975-04-07 | CAL | L 2-3 | 2 |
| Rk | Most runs | Date | Opp | Rslt | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Brett | 1983-04-04 | BAL | W 7-2 | 3 |
| 2 | Tony Pena | 2007-04-02 | BOS | W 7-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Mark Grudzielanek | 2007-04-02 | BOS | W 7-1 | 2 |
| 4 | John Buck | 2007-04-02 | BOS | W 7-1 | 2 |
| 5 | Benito Santiago | 2004-04-05 | CHW | W 9-7 | 2 |
| 6 | Joe Randa | 2004-04-05 | CHW | W 9-7 | 2 |
| 7 | Neifi Perez | 2002-04-01 | MIN | L 6-8 | 2 |
| 8 | Jermaine Dye | 2001-04-02 | NYY | L 3-7 | 2 |
| 9 | Jeff King | 1998-03-31 | BAL | W 4-1 | 2 |
| 10 | George Brett | 1991-04-08 | CLE | W 4-2 | 2 |
| 11 | Danny Tartabull | 1990-04-09 | BAL | L 6-7 | 2 |
| 12 | Bo Jackson | 1990-04-09 | BAL | L 6-7 | 2 |
| 13 | Frank White | 1984-04-03 | NYY | W 4-2 | 2 |
| 14 | Amos Otis | 1982-04-05 | BAL | L 5-13 | 2 |
| 15 | Amos Otis | 1979-04-05 | TOR | W 11-2 | 2 |
| 16 | Hal McRae | 1979-04-05 | TOR | W 11-2 | 2 |
| 17 | Clint Hurdle | 1979-04-05 | TOR | W 11-2 | 2 |
| 18 | Amos Otis | 1977-04-07 | DET | W 7-4 | 2 |
| 19 | George Brett | 1977-04-07 | DET | W 7-4 | 2 |
| 20 | Lou Piniella | 1971-04-06 | CAL | W 4-1 | 2 |
| 21 | Pat Kelly | 1970-04-07 | OAK | L 4-6 | 2 |
| Rk | Most walks | Date | Opp | Rslt | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bo Jackson | 1990-04-09 | BAL | L 6-7 | 3 |
| 2 | Mark Teahen | 2008-03-31 | DET | W 5-4 | 2 |
| 3 | Brian McRae | 1994-04-04 | BAL | L 3-6 | 2 |
| 4 | George Brett | 1986-04-08 | NYY | L 2-4 | 2 |
| 5 | U L Washington | 1982-04-05 | BAL | L 5-13 | 2 |
| 6 | Willie Aikens | 1982-04-05 | BAL | L 5-13 | 2 |
| 7 | Clint Hurdle | 1979-04-05 | TOR | W 11-2 | 2 |
| 8 | John Mayberry | 1977-04-07 | DET | W 7-4 | 2 |
| 9 | Freddie Patek | 1975-04-07 | CAL | L 2-3 | 2 |
| 10 | John Mayberry | 1974-04-05 | MIN | L 4-6 | 2 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
| Rk | Player | Games | HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Brett | 4 | Ind. Games | 4 |
| 2 | Frank White | 2 | Ind. Games | 2 |
| 3 | Hal McRae | 2 | Ind. Games | 2 |
| 4 | John Mayberry | 2 | Ind. Games | 2 |
| 5 | Alex Gordon | 2 | Ind. Games | 2 |
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