Dwight Evans Hits the First Pitch of the Season for a Home Run

On April 7, 1986, at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Red Sox right fielder Dwight Evans stepped into the batter's box for the very first at-bat of the major league season. Jack Morris, the winningest pitcher of the 1980s, delivered his first pitch. Evans swung and drove the ball into the left-center field seats.

No player before or since has hit the first pitch of an entire baseball season for a home run.

Evans was not a prototypical leadoff hitter. He was a right fielder who had won eight Gold Gloves, earned three All-Star selections, and hit with consistent power throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. Manager John McNamara had moved him to the top of the lineup for the 1986 season, and Evans rewarded the decision immediately.

He added a triple later in the game, becoming the only Red Sox player to hit a leadoff homer and a triple in the same opener. Detroit came back to win 6-5, but the loss was a footnote.

The home run proved to be an omen for the season ahead. The 1986 Red Sox won the AL East, swept the Angels in the ALCS after falling behind three games to one, and reached the World Series against the Mets. That October ended in heartbreak at Shea Stadium, with Bill Buckner's error and the Mets' improbable comeback in Game 6.

But in April, none of that weight existed. Evans connected on the first offering of the year, circled the bases at Tiger Stadium, and gave the 1986 season its opening act.