<img alt="Chicago Cubs v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NPZgr744rq5fS1iDXvRwrwCwO-0=/0x52:3838x2611/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73983247/1314645948.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
It’s not necessarily reflective of the season, it’s just silly Opening Day lineups are funny. They’re mostly a chance to showcase a team at full strength, best foot forward... but injuries and other stuff tend to get in the way. A lot of times, what a team opts for even a few weeks in is a lot more standard than what they were thinking on Opening Day.
I’ll throw out a few, but I want to hear about the ones that stand out in your memory, too.
In 2023, Marcell Ozuna started in left field. He DHed in the second game, played left in the third game, and then never played left again.
Alex Jackson was the team’s “Opening Day” catcher in 2020.
Ryan Flaherty, third base, 2018.
Raul Mondesi getting the Opening Day start for the Braves in 2005. Less than two months later, he was out of baseball.
<img alt="Chicago Cubs v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NPZgr744rq5fS1iDXvRwrwCwO-0=/0x52:3838x2611/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73983247/1314645948.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
It’s not necessarily reflective of the season, it’s just silly Opening Day lineups are funny. They’re mostly a chance to showcase a team at full strength, best foot forward... but injuries and other stuff tend to get in the way. A lot of times, what a team opts for even a few weeks in is a lot more standard than what they were thinking on Opening Day.
I’ll throw out a few, but I want to hear about the ones that stand out in your memory, too.
In 2023, Marcell Ozuna started in left field. He DHed in the second game, played left in the third game, and then never played left again.
Alex Jackson was the team’s “Opening Day” catcher in 2020.
Ryan Flaherty, third base, 2018.
Raul Mondesi getting the Opening Day start for the Braves in 2005. Less than two months later, he was out of baseball.
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