Happy Opening Day! As the 2021 MLB season officially begins, we’re tracking the key takeaways and signature moments from each game across the country.
Beginning with a snow-filled AL Central matchup in Detroit and a Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Gerrit Cole pitching showdown in New York, there has been plenty to talk about right from the start of the new season.
It hasn’t all gone smoothly as baseball returns to a full 162-game schedule from a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, though, as the Boston Red Sox‘s home opener against the Baltimore Orioles was postponed due to rain and the Washington Nationals–New York Mets matchup in D.C. was postponed due to COVID-19 issues.
Here are the only-in-baseball moments, must-see plays and overarching themes that have caught our eye on the first day of the 2021 season.
Miguel Cabrera swings (and slides) through the snow
Miggy’s back, tell a friend.#DetroitRoots | #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/XB0WEK319b
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 1, 2021
As if we needed to be reminded that anything can happen at any time in baseball, a stark refresher of that truism was gifted to us on a snowy day in Detroit, early in one of the first games of the 2021 MLB season.
On the mound was Cleveland righthander Shane Bieber, who dominated his way through the short 2020 season, going 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA en route to his first AL Cy Young Award. At the plate was future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera, the face of the Tigers, who has battled age and injury in recent seasons as he pursues historic milestones for a rebuilding franchise.
Accentuating that frozen moment — the pun is intended — was a snowfall at Comerica Park so thick that you couldn’t tell at first that what was about to happen actually did happen.
With two outs and Jeimer Candelario at first base, Bieber threw a fastball in the upper outside quadrant of the strike zone. Cabrera lashed at it, sending a drive to right field. On the broadcast, it was impossible to tell what was the ball and what was snow, but the ball just cleared the railing in right field.
Not realizing that he had indeed just hit career home run No. 488, Cabrera — and though the game was played on April 1, this was no April Fools’ joke — slid into second base. — Bradford Doolittle
Gary Sanchez gives Yankees fans a reason to cheer
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Gary Sanchez puts the Yankees out front with a two-run home run to left field in the second inning.
At least for one game, Gary Sanchez managed to keep his critics at bay.
New York Yankees fans maintain a mercurial relationship with Sanchez, but the catcher started the 2021 season off strong by blasting a two-run, 407-foot home run to left field off Toronto Blue Jays ace Hyun-Jin Ryu in his first at-bat of the year.
Whether or not Sanchez can remain the starting catcher for the Yankees will be one of the team’s most prominent storylines in the early part of the season. The backstop hit .147/.253/.365 in 49 games in 2020 and the team benched him during the playoffs, raising the question of whether the 28-year-old two-time All-Star is still the team’s best long-term option behind the plate. — Joon Lee
You’ve got to see Bryce Harper’s cleats for yourself
Bryce Harper has the best cleats on #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/r8UzRZYt8Q
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 1, 2021