Although he made his MLB debut in the postseason last year, Chase DeLauter had never appeared in a regular season contest until Opening Day in Seattle.
So his two homer game against the Mariners is the sixth in MLB history in a player’s first regular season appearance:
- 2016 Trevor Story, Rockies
- 2010 J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays
- 1999 Mark Quinn, Royals
- 1964 Bert Campaneris, Athletics
- 1951 Bob Nieman, Browns
Story is the only other to do so on Opening Day. Nieman later played for Cleveland, hitting just two homers in 41 games in 1961 and 1962.
DeLauter also become just the fourth player in franchise history with two homers on Opening Day, joining this list:
- 2001 Juan Gonzalez
- 2004 Travis Hafner
- 1968 Duke Sims
DeLauter is also the 17th youngest player in MLB history with two homers on Opening Day (24 years, 170 days).
Tyler Soderstrom of the A’s (23 years, 123 days) was the last to do so at a younger age, last year. The youngest is Bryce Harper (20 years, 167 days).