Babe Ruth three-run home run off Charlie Root in the first inning, but soon revived, and the Cubs tied the score at 4–4 in the fourth inning. When Ruth came to the plate in the top of the fifth, the Chicago crowd and players, led by pitcher Guy Bush, were screaming insults at Ruth. With the count at two balls and one strike, Ruth gestured, possibly in the direction of center field, and after the next pitch (a strike), may have pointed there with one hand. Ruth hit the fifth pitch over the center field fence; estimates were that it traveled nearly
Opening Day Field and now as Progressive Field, with the first pitch. Ted Williams was a .449 hitter in openers, with three home runs and fourteen runs batted in during fourteen such games and at least one hit in each game. On April 4, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 714th career home run on Opening Day at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, tying Babe Ruth on Major League Baseball's all-time list. Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs. In 14 season openers for the Washington Senators, Walter Johnson pitched a record nine shutouts. Two of his more famous starts