Add a third certainty: death, taxes, and a Tyler O’Neill home run on opening day.
The slugger from Maple Ridge hit a big fly for the fourth straight opening day, as his St. Louis Cardinals took on the Toronto Blue Jays on March 30.
He took Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah deep in the third innning, to hit the first homer of the season for his team.
Only three other players have homered in four straight opening days, and they include Baseball Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Yogi Berra, and two-time all-star Todd Hundley.
That is 4 consecutive Opening Days with a home run for Tyler O'Neill, tying a major-league record! pic.twitter.com/TkUlMkG0YH
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 30, 2023
The other three guys to accomplish the feat were catchers, whereas O’Neill’s Golden Glove work in the outfield has him starting in centre field for the Cards this season.
O’Neill missed time with injury last season, and is looking to bounce back to the form he showed in 2021, when he hit .286 with 34 home runs, and was in the National League MVP voting.
During the off-season, O’Neill and the Cardinals agreed to a $4.95 million deal to play for 2023. He also became a father this off-season, as wife Stephanie had their first child Audrie in January of this year.
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