Matt Davidson Hits Three Home Runs on the Earliest Domestic Opening Day

On March 29, 2018, Chicago White Sox designated hitter Matt Davidson hit three home runs in a 14-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The game was part of the earliest domestic Opening Day in major-league history, with all 30 teams scheduled to play on the same date for the first time since 1968.

Davidson connected for solo shots in the fourth and fifth innings, then added a three-run blast in the eighth. His exit velocities on the three homers measured 115.1, 114.0, and 113.9 miles per hour, making him the first player since Statcast tracking began in 2015 to hit multiple home runs with exit velocities above 110 mph in the same game.

He became only the fourth player in major-league history to hit three home runs on Opening Day, joining George Bell (1988), Tuffy Rhodes (1994), and Dmitri Young (2005). He was also the first designated hitter to accomplish the feat. The White Sox hit six home runs as a team, tying the major-league record for most in an Opening Day game.

The March 29 start date pushed the regular season earlier than any previous year for games played at domestic ballparks. MLB had opened seasons overseas before, with games in Japan in 2008 and 2012, and in Australia in 2014. But this was the first time the full 15-game slate fell in March at traditional stadiums. Two of the scheduled games were rained out and pushed to March 30, breaking the all-on-one-day plan. Still, 28 of 30 clubs got their seasons underway on a cold Thursday that made the calendar feel slightly ahead of the weather.