So, with that in mind and because my brain is all over the place this afternoon, I’m going to fire off some random thought before the game. Grab a snack and/or a drink and away we go!

• The offseason seemed like the longest one ever but spring training felt like it zoomed by.
• At least it did to me.
• The Yankees have Giancarlo Stanton.
• I keep having to remind myself because I can’t believe it.
• I feel bad for Greg Bird.
• The guy just wants to play and his right foot is being a pill.
• Hopefully, this latest surgery will be his last.
• Cross every body part you can including your eyes.
• Last year, I predicted that Ronald Torreyes was going to hit the first Yankee home run of 2017.
• I really did. Here’s the tweet:

• I wasn’t lying.
• I was recording a podcast when it happened so I couldn’t react on Twitter but it was pretty funny.
• I predicted Didi this season.
• Watch it be Brandon Dury.
• Speaking of Drury, I think he was a fine pickup.
• Some people are really down on it but for now, he’ll do.
• The Yankees have Giancarlo Stanton.
• I still can’t believe it.
• Imagine having to face Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez?
• Oh, and Didi Gregorius.
• The Yankees have the longest road Opening Day losing streak.
• It’s 6 games.
• The last time they won an opener on the road was in 2006 at Oakland.
• That’s a really long time ago.
• No one is left from that team but that was another squad with a pretty stacked lineup.
• Remember 2006? When it seemed like everyone went down with a wrist injury?
• Matsui, Sheffield, Giambi….ugh.
• Matsui was gone for most of the season.
• Then they lost to Detroit in the Division Series.
• And Joe Torre batted A-Rod eighth.
• Memories…
• Back to 2018 and the promise of a new season.
• The hope.
• The excitement.
• The feeling of euphoria that comes with the knowledge that this team could do something special.
• Of course, the flip side is everything that could go wrong and ruin it but let’s not think of that.
• Let’s be positive today.
• Let’s picture 495 foot Judge home runs instead.
• And Stanton hitting ball 500 feet.
• Maybe Sanchez can get in on the action.
• Let’s get excited about Tyler Wade.
• He had a nice spring. Let’s hope some of it carries over into the regular season.
• Oh, by the way, the Rays picked up our old friend Rob Refsnyder and he’s batting clean up.
• Evan Longoria is a Giant.
• That’s another thing I’m not used to right now.
• Or Andrew McCutchen also being a Giant.
• Or Giancarlo Stanton being a Yankee.
• Did that really happen?
• Greg Holland finally signed with someone. (The Cards.)
• There are still so many unsigned players. It’s ludicrous.
• I feel bad for them.
• Well, not that bad. Most of them are still well off and won’t starve.
• But it has to be frustrating to sit around and watch as the baseball season starts and you’re without a job.
• Frustrating and scary for some of them.
• Okay, I feel bad.
• I’m not a monster.
• Anyway, let’s end this on a high note.
• Happy Opening Day, everyone! Let’s go Yankees!

This “likelihood” idea led me down a rabbit hole that ended with me determining whether it is more likely that a Yankee player’s birthday falls on Opening Day or a Yankee pitcher hits a home run on Opening Day. In between I queried several other random variations of the above thought process and listed them below. Hopefully, if nothing else, these will help you with your prop bets.

What has happened more often on Opening Day:

A Yankee hitter hits two home runs OR a Yankee pitcher gives up two home runs?

This one is close. In the past, a few more Yankee pitchers have given up two home runs on Opening Day than Yankee hitters who have hit two dingers. To be exact, a Yankee pitcher has given up two homers on Opening Day nine times and a Yankee hitter has hit two home runs six times.

Totals:

Yankee pitcher gives up two or more home runs – Has occurred 9 times
Yankee batter hits two or more home runs – Has occurred 6 times

A Yankee player steals two or more bases OR gets caught stealing two or more times?

To my surprise only one Yankee player in the organization’s long history has been caught stealing twice on Opening Day. The aforementioned happened to Reggie Jackson in 1978 against Texas.

The players who have stolen two or more bases on Opening Day are listed below. Rickey Henderson is the only Yankee to steal three. Shocking! It’s also interesting that two Yankees, Fritz Maisel and Jeff Sweeney, stole two bases on Opening Day in the same season.

Totals:
Yankee player steals two or more bases – Has occurred 8 times
Yankee player caught stealing two or more times – Has occurred 1 time

A Yankee pitcher throws a complete game shutout OR doesn’t make it through the first inning?

I assumed a shutout occurred more times than a pitcher failing to make it out of the first inning due to the fact the team’s “best” pitcher is typically on the mound for game one. This was an accurate estimate. A shutout has occurred ten times on Opening Day. Two Yankees, Mel Stottlemyre and Red Ruffing, have done it twice.

It seemed slightly amazing that a Yankee pitcher has never not reached inning two, or inning three for that matter. In fact, only three players in Yankee history have failed to get out of the third inning. In baseball history only twelve starting pitchers have pitched less than one inning in the opener. Congratulations Opening Day starters!

Totals:
Complete game shutout by Yankee pitcher – Has occurred 10 times
Yankee starting pitcher goes less than one inning – Has never occurred

A Yankee pitcher accrues seven or more strikeouts OR blows a save?

A Yankee pitcher has tallied seven or more strikeouts nine times on Opening Day with CC Sabathia doing it in back-to-back years (2011, 2012). This beats out pitchers who blew a save. Luckily this has only happened to the Bombers seven times in history. It even happened to the great Mariano Rivera when he blew a save on Opening Day in 2012.

An interesting piece of information I found when researching this scenario was that the Yankees have never had a pitcher strike out more than nine hitters in an opener. All of those great players, but never more than nine K’s. In all of major-league history, a pitcher has recorded more than eight strikeouts on Opening Day 118 times yet no Yankee is included on that list.

Totals:
Yankee pitcher with seven or more strikeouts – Has occurred 9 times
Yankee pitcher blows a save – Has occurred 7 times

A Yankee batter walked three or more times OR struck out three or more times?

Eduardo Nunez struck out three times on Opening Day three years ago and before that the last Yankee to do it was Ricky Ledee in 1999. Overall the three strikeout performance has happened four more times than the four walk performance. No Yankee has ever struck out four times on Opening Day and only one has walked four times.

Totals:
Yankee batter strikes out three or more times – Has occurred 11 times
Yankee batter walks three or more times – Has occurred 7 times

A Yankee player has his birthday OR a Yankee pitcher hits a home run?

We have come to the end of my self-imposed rabbit hole. This last one is truly a random thought where both scenarios have absolutely no correlation to one another. Only one pitcher for the Yankees has hit a home run on Opening Day. That man’s name is Allie Reynolds and he did in against Washington in 1948.

Edging out Allie in this “what happened most often” scenario is two Yankee players who have had their birthday land on Opening Day – Bob Watson in 1980 and Bernie Allen in 1972. For those wondering, there are no Yankee players on the active roster who will have their birthday Tuesday.

Totals:
Yankee player has a birthday – Has occurred 8 times
Yankee pitcher hits a homerun – Has occurred 4 times

Lead photo: Jake Roth / USA Today Sports