38 years ago today the Brewers opened the 1974 season with a wild game at home against the Red Sox. The Crew jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a first inning home run by John Briggs, fell behind 7-4, scored four runs in the sixth to take the lead back at 8-7, then fell behind for good when Carl Yasztrzemski hit a two run homer in the seventh.
As if those theatrics weren't enough, though, the 32,761 fans in attendance also witnessed the major league debut of the greatest Brewer of all time. 18-year-old rookie Robin Yount played his first game at shortstop that day, batting ninth and going 0-for-1 with a walk before being lifted for a pinch hitter. Those were the first two of 12,249 major league plate appearances for Yount over a 20 year career. He had to wait a little longer for his first hit: He started off 0-for-9 and finally connected for a single on April 12.
With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- 2004-06 Brewer Jorge De La Rosa, who turns 31.
- 1996 Brewer Cris Carpenter, who turns 47.
- 1901 Milwaukee Brewer Wid Conroy, who would have turned 135.
Today is also the second anniversary of Shaun Marcum's near Opening Day no-hitter as a member of the Blue Jays in 2010. We covered that event in this space last year.