For the 15th time in the last 20 seasons the Boston Red Sox have started their season on the road. Their home opener on Friday April, 13th is their true Opening Day and is part of Boston’s holy trinity of drinking days (along with St. Patrick’s Days and Marathon Monday). With that day less than a week away I thought it might be fun to look at the Red Sox history on their true Opening Day.
Friday will be the Red Sox 112th Opening Day and 101st at Fenway Park. The Red Sox hold a 66-45 all time record on Opening Day and are 15-5 in the last 20 seasons. They come in riding a 7-game winning streak making them undefeated since breaking the curse in 2004.
This year will be only the second time the Red Sox have played the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Opening Day (the Sox won 11-4 in 2001). Who have the Red Sox played the most times on Opening Day? The New York Yankees (26 times). Their second most common opponent is the Athletics. They’ve played 20 times as Philadelphia Athletics, once as the Kansas City Athletics, and interestingly never as the Oakland Athletics. Their third most common opponent is the Washington Senators (17 times).
Baseball is a nostalgic sport and we as fans love our “remember whens”. My two fondest memories of Red Sox Opening Days both involve players named Mo but come from different eras in Red Sox baseball: Mo Vaughn’s walk-off Grand Slam in 1998 and Mo Rivera being cheered in 2005. Mo Vaughn was my favorite player as a kid and his walk-off Grand Slam was the beginning of a great season for the Hit Dog that sadly would be his last in a Red Sox uniform. Mo Rivera getting cheered in 2005 was a great moment because he embraced it. He is the greatest closer of all time and his blown saves in Games 4 and 5 are small blemishes on the record of an amazing pitcher.
Feel free to share your favorite moment(s) in the comments. Let’s hope they can create another great moment this Friday.
BoSox Banter 