Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tyler O’Neill seemed to have had the upper hand from the moment he stepped to the plate in the third inning on Thursday afternoon. The electric atmosphere and energy in the building at Toronto’s Rogers Center, to commemorate Opening Day, had already been extinguished by the Orioles hitters.
It might have been catcher Adley Rutschman’s no-doubt solo shot in the top of the first that deflated the volume and excitement of the sold-out crowd. Or maybe it was Orioles pitcher Zack Efflin’s relatively easy handling of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Efflin struck out the Jays’ superstar first baseman in the first as part of an uneventful three-up, three-down for Toronto.
Tyler O’Neill had already seen some hittable pitches in his first at bat. Patiently drawing a walk from Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios, O’Neill came around to score and increase the Orioles’ early lead to two-nothing. When his second at bat came around, the table had been set with Colton Cowser, and again Rutschman on base in front of him. It was time for O’Neill to feast.
At that point, the matchup hardly seemed fair. On the mound, there was the already seemingly rattled Berrios. One of the Jays’ more established pitchers, Berrios, sometimes becomes vulnerable to the long ball.
He gave up 31 home runs through a somewhat successful 2024 campaign, a larger-than-average sum, when considering the 196 that he has surrendered over his 10-year MLB career.
On the other hand, O’Neill had already set the MLB record for Opening Day home runs with five.
As a St. Louis Cardinal during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he took Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove deep, thereby beginning the record streak.
Longtime New York Met Todd Hundley, and Hall of Fame catchers Yogi Berra and Gary Carter all had the previous record of four opening day homers. O’Neill stood alone last season by launching an Opening Day bomb with the Red Sox.
O’Neill went opposite field on Thursday, taking a Berrios cutter on the outside part of the plate, well into the visitors’ bullpen.
The strength that O’Neill possesses is almost unfair.
It looks like he is wielding a 36-ounce bat like a twig. On contact, it’s gone if the ball is struck anywhere near his barrel.
In this case, O’Neill did just that. Adding to a record that just might never be broken – six straight Opening Day home runs.
Perhaps it’s the relentless offseason training program that has Tyler O’Neill reporting to Spring Training every year as the strongest player in MLB? Maybe his disciplined approach is starting to reveal a pattern that suggests he is always looking to draw a walk first, before he goes on the attack.
In all likelihood, it is a combination of various factors that has instilled an iron-clad level of confidence in the Canadian outfielder. Orioles fans can all hope that Tyler O’Neill stays healthy and strong in 2025. We’ll all be watching one year from now, to see if the chiseled slugger can get number seven!
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