List of Washington Senators Opening Day starting pitchers
Two American League baseball franchises have borne the name "Washington Senators". The first franchise was one of the teams that was originally part of the American League when it became a Major League in 1901. That franchise moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season, becoming the Minnesota Twins. It was replaced by a new Washington Senators franchise in 1961. That franchise moved to Arlington, Texas after the 1971 season, becoming the Texas Rangers. The Washington Senators played in three home ball parks over their history. They started in American League Park and moved to American League Park II in 1903. In 1911, they moved to Griffith Stadium, where they remained until 1961. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season,[1] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[2]
The 1901-1960 franchise won 32 Opening Day games against 28 losses. The 1901-1960 franchise had a record in Opening Day games at home of 26 wins and 21 losses. On the road, they had an Opening Day record of six wins and seven losses.
The 1901-1960 franchise used 32 Opening Day starting pitchers in their 60 seasons in Washington. One pitcher made Opening Day starts for both franchises. Camilo Pascual made two Opening Day starts for the 1901-1960 franchise, in 1956 and 1960, and later made two Opening Day starts for the 1961-1971 franchise.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
Walter Johnson holds the record for most Opening Day starts for either franchise, with 14 Opening Day starts for the 1901-1960 franchise between 1910 and 1926, including ten consecutive Opening Day starts from 1912 through 1921.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Dutch Leonard made four Opening Day starts for the 1901-1960 franchise between 1940 and 1945.[23][24][25][26] Bob Porterfield made three Opning Day starts for the 1901-1960 franchise between 1952 and 1955.[27][28][29] Other pitchers with multiple Opening Day starts for the 1901-1960 franchise are Al Orth, Long Tom Hughes, Charlie Smith, George Mogridge, Alvin Crowder, Earl Whitehill, Early Wynn, Pedro Ramos and Pascual, with two apiece.
The Senators won three American League championships in their history, all by the 1901-1960 franchise. Their championships were won in 1924, 1925 and 1933.[30] They won the World Series in 1924, but lost in 1925 and 1933.[30] The Senators' Opening Day starters in their American League championship years were Johnson in 1924, Mogridge in 1925 and Crowder in 1933.[21][31][32]
Key
Season | Each year is linked to an article about that particular Senators season. |
W | Win |
L | Loss |
ND (W) | No decision by starting pitcher; Senators won game |
ND (L) | No decision by starting pitcher; Senators lost game |
(W) | Senators won game; no information on starting pitcher's decision |
(L) | Senators lost game; no information on starting pitcher's decision |
Final Score | Game score with Senators runs listed first |
Location | Stadium in italics for home game |
(#) | Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Senators |
** | American League Champions |
† | World Series Champions |
1901 through 1960 franchise
Footnotes
- a Camilo Pascual had two Opening Day starts for the 1901-1960 franchise in 1956 and 1960 and two Opening Day starts for the 1961-1971 franchise in 1968 and 1969. He also received the decision as a relief pitcher on Opening Day 1957 for the 1901-1960 franchise.[5][6][7][8][91]
References
- General
- "Minnesota Twins Opening Day Starters and Results". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- Specific
- Bastian, Jordan (March 22, 2010). "Marcum tapped for Jays' Opening Day". MLB.com. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
- Dilbeck, Steve (February 24, 2014). "Dodgers may not start Clayton Kershaw in Sydney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
- "Minnesota Twins Opening Day Starters and Results". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Texas Rangers Opening Day Starters and Results". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1956". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1960". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1968". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1969". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1910". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1912". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1913". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1914". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1915". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1916". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1917". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1918". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1919". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1920". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1921". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1923". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1924". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1926". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1940". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1941". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1943". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1945". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1952". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1953". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1955". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Minnesota Twins History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1925". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1933". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1901". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1901 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1902". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1902 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1903". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1903 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1904". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1904 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1905". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1905 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1906". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1906 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1907". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1907 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1908". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1908 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1909". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1909 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1910 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1911". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1911 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1912 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1913 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1914 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1915 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1916 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1917 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1918 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1919 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1920 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1921 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1922". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1922 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1923 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1924 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1925 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "1926 Season". BaseballLibrary. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1927". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1928". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1929". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- "Opening Day 1930". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1931". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1932". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1934". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1935". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1936". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1937". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1938". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1939". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1942". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1944". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1946". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1947". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1948". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1949". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1950". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1951". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1954". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1957". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1958". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- "Opening Day 1959". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-02-21.