In 1903, George Winter pitched on Opening Day for the Boston Americans. Three times, Smoky Joe Wood was the Opening Day starter (1911-1913). In 1912, he became the first pitcher to win 300 games when he beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 at home.
Wood went on to record 4th most wins all time (312), finish 2nd only to Cy Young in winning percentage (.615), and be named the MVP of the 1912 World Series vs. New York (the Yankees) - his third world series victory. He also won in 1911 with the crosstown rival New York Giants and in 1913 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
In addition to being one of the best pitchers of all time, Wood was also famous for his hot temper and propensity for fighting with players of other teams. He was once ejected from a game for hitting a batter with a pitch. In another incident, he hit a player from the Cincinnati Reds twice with pitches, then followed it up by punching a window out of the ballpark when told not to come back again!
Despite these incidents, many consider him the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time. His 312 victories are second only to Sandy Koufax's 318 victories thrown from 1955-1965 by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The team's inaugural season was in 1901, hence the 1900s include nine seasons. The number of Red Sox pitchers making their first Opening Day start (along with their names) Between 1902 and 1908, Cy Young was Boston's Opening Day starter six times. Young was a native of Braintree, Massachusetts who came to be known as the "Prince of Pitchers."
When the Red Sox played their first game on April 17, 1901, they lost to New York Highlanders 11-10 at Huntington Park in Brooklyn, New York. Eddie Collins had two hits in his debut.
The first win in Boston Red Sox history came four days later when they defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-4. Sam Jones hit the first home run in Fenway Park history.
In 1903, Charles Wagner became the first Boston Red Sox player to get three wins against one loss. He went 3-1 that year with a 2.14 ERA. From 1904 to 1907, Grover Cleveland Alexander pitched for the Red Sox, winning 31 games over those three years. He had three consecutive 20-win seasons from 1905 to 1907.
In 1908, George Mullin made his only trip through Fenway Park with a victory. He went 5-0 that year with a 1.80 ERA. That same year, Joe Bushard became the first Red Sox rookie to win 10 games since Alexander in 1905.
On April 18, 1923, Yankees pitcher Bob Shawkey throws the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. Chick Fewster of the Red Sox was the first hitter to bat at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923. George Burns, Red Sox, hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923, with a second-inning single. Aaron Ward's 3rd-inning single on April 18th was the first Yankee hit at Yankee Stadium.
After the Yankees left New York for their training camp in Bronxville, New York, they played their first game at their new stadium on April 20, 1923, against the Boston Americans. The Yankees won that game 7-4. Lou Gehrig got his big break in the major leagues that day when he came in as a pinch-hitter for Babe Ruth and made his debut at the age of 24. After hitting a double, Gehrig scored all seven Yankee runs while taking part in an offensive barrage that included six straight hits.
Gehrig would go on to become one of the most popular players in Yankees history, playing two seasons (1923-1924) before dying at the age of 30 after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or "Lou Gehrig disease"). Today, he is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player never to have won the Triple Crown.
In addition to being the first hitter at the new Yankee Stadium, Chick Fewster was also the first batter to strike out there (he did so twice).
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