Boston Red Sox fans likely will endure a bit of a déjà vu Thursday night.
Chris Sale tossed the final inning of Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, striking out the side in overpowering fashion to help the Red Sox clinch their fourth championship in the last 15 years. Fast forward six months to the day, the left-hander will get the ball for 2019’s Opening Day as Boston begins its title defense in Seattle against the Mariners.
So, just how rare is it for a pitcher to log the final out of a World Series and then toss the first pitch for his team the following season? Well, it hasn’t happened in the American League in 35 years, as former Baltimore Orioles left-hander Scott McGregor was the last to accomplish the feat, as noted by The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. We’ve seen the occurrence more recently in the National League, with the San Francisco Giants’ Madison Bumgarner doing the honors in 2015. Josh Beckett (Florida Marlins) and Randy Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks) also pulled it off in 2004 and 2002, respectively.
Sale has been no stranger to tweaking the Major League Baseball history books over the course of his nine-year career, and his first start of the new season will provide another feather in his cap.
