Opening Day: Time for The Brooks Robinson Show by Matthew Taylor
There must've been something about home openers for Brooks Robinson, especially when those openers fell on April 10.
April 10, 1968 - Brooks hits his third straight Opening Day home run in a 3-1 win over Oakland. Brooks finishes the day 1-for-4 with the eighth-inning round tripper being his only hit for the day. Tom Phoebus gets the win for the Birds; he would finish 15-15 during the 1968 season. Eddie Watt records the save, his first of 11 on the year. The streak of opening day homers ends for Brooks in 1969 as he records an o-fer in a 5-4 loss to the Red Sox.
April 10, 1970 - Brooks drives in Frank Robinson in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 3-2 win over the Tigers. The victory is part of a five-game Birds win streak out of the gate that kicks off the 1970 championship season in style. Brooks finishes the day 3-for-4 with a walk and the aforementioned RBI. Thirty-nine-year-old Dick Hall picks up the win after pitching four strong shutout innings that see him give up only two hits, no walks, and strike out four.
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