Article: 5 Rare Offensive Brewers' Feats on Opening Day

[Tim Muma]

The start of the 2022 MLB season marks the Milwaukee Brewers’ 53^rd Opening Day. There have been memorable moments, forgettable outcomes, and random performances over more than half a century of games. Pitchers are often ahead of the hitters to begin play, so it’s notable when players achieve rare feats offensively on Opening Day.

The focus here isn’t on the most impressive accomplishments but on things that don’t often happen in the Brewers’ first game of the season. These events might also be rarer now and in the future, so fans should appreciate what these players have done.

Hitting a Triple (nine times)
It was surprising to see nine different players hit a triple on Opening Day for the Brewers. It seemed like something that would occur less frequently, although nine triples out of 52 games is only 17% of the time. It’s also striking that 2012 was the last time it happened. The list of hitters is an interesting mix:

Carlos Gomez (2012)
Jose Hernandez (2002)
Sean Berry (1999)
Alex Diaz (1994)
Paul Molitor (1987)
Jim Gantner (1981)
Pedro Garcia (1974)
Gorman Thomas (1973)
Joe Lahoud (1972)

Molitor and Gantner stand out immediately. The former is a Hall of Famer with 3,319 career hits and plenty of speed. He racked up 114 triples in his career. The latter is a Wisconsin native who played for 17 years in Milwaukee. Gomez isn’t too surprising, considering his wheels and propensity for excitement, but some of the other guys are pretty intriguing.

Diaz hit seven triples in 1994, but never hit one before or after that season in 872 career plate appearances. That three-bagger in 1999 was Berry’s 10th (and last) of his career. Lahoud only had 12 triples in an 11-year career. Thomas collected 13 in 13 seasons, and Garcia reached third base on a hit 15 times. Stunning that these five men all happened to hit a triple on Opening Day. A few other interesting tidbits about the triples:

• Molitor was the only leadoff hitter to triple
• Berry was the only player also to hit a home run
• Five of the players hit in the 7-9 spots in the batting order
• Pitcher and catcher are the only two positions not represented

Collecting Four Hits (four times)
The Brewers’ record for hits on Opening Day is four. Ironically, four different hitters accomplished the feat. However, it has only occurred in three games, as two players collected their record number of hits in the same contest.

Carlos Gomez (2010)
Jose Valentin (1996)
Chuck Carr (1996)
Dave Nilsson (1994)

Valentin and Carr went a combined 8-for-11 with seven runs and five RBI in a 15-9 victory over the California Angels in the 1996 opener. That was Carr’s only four-hit game with Milwaukee, where he is far more famous for telling his manager, “Chuckie hacks on 2-0,” after he was given the take sign. Valentin had four such games in his career, all with the Brewers.

Gomez turned the trick 16 times (15 of them with Milwaukee) in his 13-year career. Nilsson collected four hits in four different games in 1994 and seven times in his career. Nilsson is one of three Australian-born players to appear in an MLB All-Star game and had a sizable fan club.

 

Some additional takeaways from the four-hit Opening Day games:

• Carr was the only player to walk, while Valentin was the only one to strike out (twice).
• Nilsson was the lone player without a home run; he had four singles.
• Gomez also stole a base and grounded into a double play.

Scoring Four Runs (two times)
Only two Brewers have scored four runs on Opening Day. Both occurrences led to 15 runs and a win for Milwaukee on the road. You’ve already seen one of these two players:

Jose Valentin (1996)
Charlie Moore (1982)

This game was the only time Valentin scored four runs in a game for the Brewers, but he had a couple of others in his career. For Moore, 1982 was the only time he crossed the plate four times in a single contest in his 15 seasons, all but the last one with Milwaukee. A player has scored four runs in any game on just 63 occasions in Brewers’ history. A couple of other notes on the two Opening Day performances:

• Moore had two hits and no walks or hit-by-pitches; he reached on an error and a fielder’s choice
• This was the same game when Valentin collected four hits
• Moore was the first catcher in Brewers’ history to score four runs in any game

Stealing Three Bases (one time)
Now we’re talking about a truly unique achievement for Opening Day. Stolen bases have gone down over the years as teams avoid the risk of an out on the bases. It’s difficult to see this happening again on Opening Day for the Brewers, and it is fitting if he remains the sole owner.

Paul Molitor (1988)

The legendary "Ignitor" swiped three bags in a 12-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Though not all in the same frame, Molitor stole second base, third base, and home in the victory. You can watch his theft of home at the 1:31:04 mark of the video below. You could also enjoy the entire Opening Day broadcast!

 

Here are a few more interesting facts related to stealing three bases:

• Only nine players in MLB history have stolen three bases on Opening Day.
• Of those nine men, six were leadoff hitters, one batted second, and two hit third in the lineup that day.
• Molitor stole three bases in a game six times for Milwaukee, and the Brewers were undefeated in those contests.

Blasting Two Home Runs (one time)
Like the stolen base factoid, only one player has hit two home runs in a Brewers’ Opening Day game. Older fans and students of Milwaukee baseball history probably already know the story that led to a 9-5 win at County Stadium. Who is this man?

Sixto Lezcano (1980)

Lezcano tied the game in the 4th inning with a two-run home run off Boston’s Dennis Eckersley. With two outs and the game tied in the bottom of the 9th, Lezcano crushed a walk-off grand slam to beat the Red Sox and send the crowd into delirium. Enjoy the footage and call from the great Bob Uecker.

 

A few other quick notes connected to Lezcano’s big day:

• Lezcano also hit a grand slam on Opening Day in 1978, becoming the only player to do it twice
• Six different Brewers were on base for the two grand slams despite being only two years apart
• The 1980 dinger was the third and final grand slam of his career

Here’s to seeing one of these or another rare feat during the Brewers’ Opening Day battle at Wrigley Field this season. There’s nothing like starting the new season with a bang.

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