Over the years several players could be counted on to be in the lineup on opening day. In my last post, I chronicled the foursome of Garvey, Lopes, Cey and Russell. The infield that was together longer than any other foursome in MLB history. In this post, we will look at the players who were in the lineup the most on opening day.

Catcher

For 10 seasons, the Dodgers opening day catcher was Mike Scioscia. His first opening day start came in 1981. He was sharing catching duties at the time with Steve Yeager. Prior to Scioscia getting the 81 start, Yeager himself had started for six consecutive years. Yeager would return as the starter in 82-83. Scioscia would then start for the next 9 seasons until he was replaced by Mike Piazza in 1993. Roseboro 9, and Campanella 9, had the next longest streaks.

1st Base

In 1949, Gil Hodges started the season at 1st base. He would continue to do that until 1960. Hodges, along with Duke Snider, would be the only two players in the majors to hit 300 homers in the 50’s. Hodges is also rare because in 1948, he was the starting catcher. Hodges had many great moments as a Dodger, including driving in both runs in game 7 of the 55 series and posting the last out when Reese threw out the Yankees last hitter. He also scored the game winning run in the second game of the NL playoff in 1959. His 12 consecutive starts are the third longest in Dodger history. Karros with 9 is second, and Garvey with 8 is third.

2nd Base

Davey Lopes with 7 opening day starts is the leader. He might have had 8, but in 1976, Ted Sizemore, who had come back to the team via a trade, got the nod. Lopes was traded after the 81-championship year to make way for Steve Sax. Jim Gilliam and Sax both had 6 opening day starts.

3rd Base

No surprise here since the Dodgers have always had a long line of third basemen, that the leader is Ron Cey with 9 starts at third. Cey’s steadiness with the bat and the glove made him a fixture at a position that LA had trouble filling consistently for years. Cey’s streak was consecutive. Believe it or not, Beltre, Muncy and Turner, are all tied with just 5.

Shortstop

Pee Wee Reese is first on the list with 14 years as the starting SS. Reese’s first came in 1941 but was interrupted because of WWII and his service. He then returned in 1946 and had the job until 1956. When they moved to LA in 1958, Pee Wee was the starting SS on opening day. He retired later that season. Second place is held by Bill Russell who was the opening day SS 11 times.

Left Field

The all-time leader in opening day starts at any position is Zack Wheat. Zack was the starting left fielder 16 times. His first came in 1910. He missed 1918 and then made 8 more consecutive opening day starts. Dusty Baker has the next most at 7. Wally Moon made 4.

Center Field

Willie Davis barely edged out Duke Snider 11-10. Davis took over in center in 1961 from Demeter, who had replaced Snider in 1960 when the Duke was moved to RF replacing Furillo and Fairly. Twice between 61-73, Willie did not get the opening day nod. In 1967 it was Wes Parker, in 1969, Willie Crawford. Note on Snider. Besides his starts in center, Duke also started one season as the left fielder, 1958, and three in right, 60-62, also giving him 14 opening day starts.

Right Field

From 1949-58, the Dodgers starting right fielder was Carl Furillo. Ol Skoonj as he was called, had one of the best arms ever in the outfield. He was also known as the Reading Rifle. Furillo won a batting title in 1953 with a .344 average. He played his entire career with the Dodgers. He singled Hodges home in the pennant clinching win in 59 against the Braves. Harry Lumley, who played for Brooklyn from 1904-10 is second with 7. Andre Ethier with 6 has the most in LA history.

Pitcher

Longevity with the team, and superior performances assured Kershaw the number one spot with 9 opening day starts. From 2011-18, Kershaw was LA’s opening day starter. His last opening day start came in 2021. What is truly amazing is that LA is 7-2 in those games. They won his first 7 opening day games before losing 1-0 in 2018. His last opening day start, they lost to the Rockies, 8-5. Sutton 7, Drysdale 7, and Valenzuela 6, are the next on the list.

Well, there you have the leaders. The DH has only been around for six seasons, and Ohtani has done the job in three of those. Smith should tie Piazza at 6 next season and Freeman will pass Fairly and tie Gonzalez, Loney and Parker. Muncy will move into second if he is the opening day 3rd baseman next year.

AI Dodgers Down on the Farm Report

Latest Results (April 16, 2026)

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Oklahoma City Comets (AAA)

Final: Albuquerque 9, OKC 5

Game Recap

OKC came out hot and built a 4–0 lead, looking like they were about to cruise. Then the sixth inning hit… and the whole thing flipped.

• Albuquerque scored 9 runs from the 6th–8th
• OKC offense showed up early but stalled late
• Game turned from control to chaos in about 20 minutes

Standouts

• Ryan Ward — continues to mash (leadoff HR)
• Noah Miller — multi-hit game, on-base machine
• James Tibbs III — added power

Takeaway

This team can hit with anyone.
Closing games? Still a work in progress.

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Tulsa Drillers (AA)

Final: Arkansas 13, Tulsa 3

Game Recap

Tulsa walked in on a heater… and got ice-cold fast.

• Arkansas scored early and often
• Tulsa committed multiple errors early, opening the floodgates
• Game snowballed into a blowout

Standouts

• Kyle Nevin — 3-run HR (only real damage)
• Zyhir Hope — extended hitting streak (quietly consistent)

Takeaway

This wasn’t one bad inning—this was a compound-interest disaster:
errors → baserunners → runs → repeat.

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Great Lakes Loons (High-A)

Status: Postponed (Rain)

What It Means

• No game
• Likely doubleheader coming
• Pitching usage becomes the next storyline

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Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A)

Final: Fresno 3, Ontario 2 (10 innings)

Game Recap

After two days of absolute scoreboard chaos, this one flipped the script completely.

• Tight, low-scoring game
• Pitching dominated throughout
• Ontario tied it late, pushed it to extras
• Fresno scratched across the winner in the 10th

This was a completely different sport compared to the 18–7 madness the day before.

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Key Moments

• Emil Morales — 2-run double to tie it 2–2
• Ontario bullpen: kept the game locked down late
• Fresno: RBI single in the 10th wins it

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Pitching Notes

• JB Middleton — solid start (2 ER, worked into mid-game)
• Ethan Cole — 3.2 scoreless innings out of the pen
• Combined effort kept it tight all night

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Takeaway

Total flip from earlier in the series:

• Previous games: chaos, crooked numbers
• This game: execution, control, tight baseball

That’s development in real time.

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System Snapshot

Best Game

Ontario — tight, controlled, high-quality reps in a close game

Most Concerning

Tulsa — defense + pitching collapse

Most Frustrating

OKC — had it, lost it late

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Final Thought

This was a perfect “minor league truth” night:

• One team slugging early and collapsing
• One team unraveling completely
• One team not even playing
• One game decided by a single swing in extras

There is no straight line in player development—
just a lot of box scores telling you who’s learning the fastest.

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Finally, it ended with this:

“If you want tomorrow’s report even sharper, I can add:

• Full stat tables (AB, H, HR, K lines)
• Prospect tags (Top 30 markers)
• “Stock Up / Stock Down”

This is getting very close to something you could publish.“

We will see, because this was the second attempt today after the first report was entirely wrong. It was from April 14th.