Photo by Bob Levey /Stringer/Getty Images.
Here's your all-inclusive guide to Astros opening day
Baseball is finally back for the 2020 season, we'll hope and see for how long. But at 8:10 p.m. next Friday, Justin Verlander will take the mound at Minute Maid Park to throw the unceremonial first pitch of what has to be the strangest season in Astros – and every other team's – history.
Teams will start the COVID-shortened, 60-game season, with a 30-man roster, which will be whittled down to 26 players after about a month. Both the American and (gasp) National Leagues will use designated hitters. The Astros have a new manager, Dusty Baker, and new general manager, James Click, for their season of vindication. Relievers will have to face at least three batters unless the inning ends first. Players won't be allowed to spit or high-five each other. The Astros third baseman shaved his head again. Phillies infielder Didi Gregorius will wear a face mask during games. Extra innings will start with a runner on second base. Fun fact: if that runner crosses home plate, it will be scored an unearned run.
Subject to change, here's the Astros starting pitching for the opening 4-game set against the Seattle Mariners. Verlander on Friday night, Lance McCullers goes Saturday (3:10 p.m.), followed by Zack Greinke on Sunday (1:10 p.m.) and Josh James on Monday (6:10 p.m.) Like most of the schedule, the games against Seattle will be televised on ATT SportsNet SW. Unlike the NBA, baseball teams will not be confined to a coronavirus-protective bubble, which means everything about this season really is subject to change.
The Astros will play 40 games against American League West rivals and 20 games against the National League West. No Yankees, no Red Sox. The season will be split evenly, 30 games each at home and on the road. The Astros will be trying to repeat as American League champions, win the American League West for the fourth consecutive time, and top last year's 107-game win total. It would be the first time the Astros have done any of those.
Baseball's opening day always has been special, since April 22, 1876 when Boston beat Philadelphia, 6-5, in what is regarded as baseball's first professional opening day. The game took just over two hours to play. Wouldn't that be nice? We could be home in time for Dominique. Here's how the N.Y. Clipper newspaper covered that first contest: "Weather was favorable and the attendance large, over 3,000 persons being inside the inclosure."
While today's players are far superior to those of 1876, so are today's sports writers. I'm sure my baseball scribe buddy Richard Justice would have written "more than 3,000 fans" and "enclosure" instead of "inclosure," which I'm not sure is even a word. Next week Justice will report that the paid attendance at Astros' Opening Day will be, in the words of George Costanza, "absolute zero." The 2020 baseball season, at least at the start, will be played without fans. Forget Dollar Dogs on Tuesdays.
Baseball, being a game of stats, has a special column for Opening Day. Tom Seaver holds the record for most Opening Day starts with 16. In 1940, Cleveland's Bob Feller threw the only Opening Day no-hitter, beating the Chicago White Sox, 1-0 in old and cold Comiskey Park. Temperature at game time: 35 degrees. Largest attendance for an Opening Day: 74,420 at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium to watch the hometown Indians beat the Tigers, 2-1. Henry Aaron hit his 714th homer, tying Babe Ruth's all-time record (at the time) on Opening Day in 1974. Presidents often have thrown out first pitches on Opening Day. In 1950, ambidextrous Harry Truman threw out two pitches – one righty and one lefty. Frank Robinson holds the record for most home runs on Open Day – eight dingers for four different teams. Three players have hit homers in four consecutive Opening Days: Todd Hundley (1994-97), Gary Carter (1977-80) and Yogi Berra (1955-58). Astros soon-to-be free agent George Springer (sign him!) enters 2020 riding a three Opening Day homer streak.
The strangest Opening Day game, though, had to be way back on April 11, 1907, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Giants … by forfeit. If you had to guess the reason for the forfeit, you'd be here forever still guessing.
New York forfeited the game because a Giants fan hit umpire Bill Klem in the head with a snowball.
Snow had fallen in New York the night before the game. The Phils were leading 3-0 in the top of the ninth when fans began throwing snowballs at each other. Some fans ran on the field and one of them threw a perfect strike, clobbering Klem in the head with a frozen fastball. Since the home team is responsible for stadium security, Klem stopped the game and gave the win to the Phillies by forfeit.
Whoever threw the snowball beaned the most famous umpire in baseball history. Klem umped big league games from 1905 to 1941. The "Old Arbitrator" worked games in 18 World Series (a record) and is credited with being the first to use arm signals to indicate balls and strikes. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. His plaque does not show him getting smacked with a snowball.
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Isaac Paredes has been a steady force in the middle of the Astros’ order, but a tweaked hamstring suffered during Thursday’s win over the White Sox may force Houston to recalibrate, again.
If Paredes misses time, the most logical shuffle would see Jose Altuve sliding back to second base, with Mauricio Dubón stepping in at third. It’s a reasonable patch. But internally, there’s also some intrigue around whether Cam Smith—currently thriving in right field—could slide back to his original position on the infield. The idea isn’t without merit; Smith is the club’s best offensive option at third in Paredes’ absence. But defensively, it’s hard to justify moving him right now. Smith made several standout plays in the Chicago series, reinforcing just how important his glove has become to the Astros’ outfield defense. One thing is for sure, the Astros can't afford to play both Dubon and Brendon Rodgers in the infield regularly. The offense would take a huge hit.
Timing, however, might be on Houston’s side. The next stretch of games features the Twins, Athletics, and Angels—three teams the Astros can beat even while navigating lineup instability. It helps that Yainer Diaz and Christian Walker are showing signs of life at the plate. Diaz, in particular, has been red-hot, posting an OPS north of 1.200 over the past week. Walker is batting over .300 during that same span, giving the Astros enough firepower to survive short-term turbulence.
Elsewhere, the outfield presents its own set of choices. Jacob Melton has shown enough in the field to warrant a serious look as Chas McCormick’s replacement when he returns from injury. He’s still searching for consistency at the plate, batting under .200 in his first 10 big league games. But his arm and left-handed bat give manager Joe Espada a little more lineup flexibility—especially with Yordan Alvarez still out and the offense skewing right-handed.
For now, the Astros have room to adjust. But if Paredes ends up missing significant time, they’ll need more than just a few temporary solutions to keep their momentum going.
There's so much more to cover! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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