In his first major league at bat, Mariners’ center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. doubles off of Oakland’s Dave Stewart. The 19 year-old ‘Junior’, the son of an active major leaguer outfielder playing with the Reds, will establish himself as one of the game’s superstars before retiring in 2010.
At Shea Stadium, the New York Mets win their 11th consecutive home opener, an 8 – 4 decision over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets have now won on Opening Day in 18 of the last 20 seasons.
Former Yale University and National League president Bart Giamatti becomes the seventh commissioner of major league baseball. Baseball’s new leader, a lifelong Red Sox fan, is the author of The Green Fields of the Mind, an essay which laments the end of a season in Boston.
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