Opening Day in the MLB: Returning to form and the rise of future stars

Though it might feel hotter than it should in Louisiana, spring has arrived and with it, baseball. Opening Day for the MLB is one of the best times of the year in the sports calendar, signaling a new season where every team has a chance at the World Series.

Some of those teams have better chances than others; that is just the nature of the sport. But with baseball, anything is possible and nobody knows where the season will go. 

This year’s Opening Day was a bit different than what it has been historically. In the past, Opening Day was a single day where every team played their first game. This year, that “first game” was spread over the course of three days.

The very first game of the year was played on Wednesday, March 25, between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees. It was the only game played on Wednesday and was aired nationally on Netflix, the first baseball game broadcasted by the streaming service.

One of the biggest talking points for the Giants this past offseason was the hiring of former Tennessee Volunteer baseball coach Tony Vitello to be the new manager. This decision made waves because it was the first time that a college coach had been hired to coach in the MLB.

Vitello and the Giants’ first game went far worse than they or the fans would have wanted as the Yankees beat the breaks off the Giants 7–0. 

Giants ace pitcher Logan Webb had a rather underwhelming start, especially for his usual standard. In five innings of work he gave up nine hits and six earned runs. Though he also had seven strikeouts. 

Four of those strikeouts came against reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge, who went 0–5 at the plate in his first game. This is fresh off of a World Baseball Classic stent that left much to be desired from “The Captain.”

Luckily for the Yankees, the rest of the offense around Judge was able to connect and score runs, something the team struggled with in 2025. Every player, except Judge, on the opening roster recorded at least one hit.

The Giants’ lineup struggled much more, only managing two hits off of Yankees ace Max Fried as he pitched a shutout through six and one-third innings.

What many fans considered true Opening Day started the next day following the Yankees-Giants game. 

Thursday brought a number of crazy performances by veteran players, impressive rookie debuts and even some shocks to expectations.

The most shocking moment took place in the first game of the day between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets, a game the Mets won 11–7. 

Pirates ace and reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes took the mound to face the Mets at Citi Field. What many thought would be a dominant performance by the young ace, especially after his great showing in the World Baseball Classic, ended in disaster. Skenes was pulled off the mound before the end of the first, after allowing five earned runs on only 37 pitches.

This was partially the fault of Oneil Cruz, who saw his first start at center field, a change from shortstop, which he primarily played last season. He failed to catch two fly balls to his part of the field, including one he got under but seemingly misjudged the fall. This poor play led to Cruz’s benching the very next game.

Another shocking performance came from the Milwaukee Brewers versus Chicago White Sox game. That game saw Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, a rookie a season ago, dominate on the mound. 

Misiorowski threw five innings, striking out White Sox batters 11 times. The Brewers finished the game with four relief pitchers, all of whom combined for an additional nine strikes. Every White Sox batter struck out at least once, except Japanese rookie Munetaka Murakami. 

Murakami, a former triple crown hitter in the Japanese league, walked three times and recorded his first MLB hit, a home run in the ninth. His next two hits were also home runs, as he homered in the next two games. 

It was a wild couple of days for rookies around the league, even some historic ones. One such historic performance is Detroit Tigers rookie third baseman Kevin McGonigle, who became only the fifth rookie since 1900 to record four hits in his rookie debut. 

Three rookies, along with Murakami, recorded a home run on their first MLB hit. Those three rookies are Mets’ Carson Benge, St. Louis Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt and Cleveland Guardians’ Chase DeLauter. 

DeLauter has had a particularly noteworthy debut, as he slammed two home runs in his first game and became the first rookie in Guardians history to hit three in his first two games. 

Los Angeles Angels veteran Mike Trout also seems to be returning to form, as in his first two games he has recorded two home runs, been walked six times and even got a stolen base. Many fans hope that Trout can maintain this throughout the season without injuries. 

Looking a bit more locally to the two Texas teams, the Houston Astros went 2–2 in their opening series against the Angels, winning their last two games of their opening series. The Texas Rangers won their opening series against the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1, with new additions Brandon Nimmo and Andrew McCutchen going yard in the final game.