Five fun facts about Chris Taylor's World Series leadoff home run

Chris Taylor and the Dodgers didn't hesitate even a moment to set off the fireworks during their 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series presented by YouTube TV on Tuesday. After Clayton Kershaw retired the Astros in order, Taylor obliterated Dallas Keuchel's very first pitch:

The ball sailed deep into the left-field bleachers at Dodger Stadium to quickly put L.A. in front, 1-0. The quick strike was all part of the plan against Keuchel. "We knew he liked to get ahead early," Taylor said after the game. "He does a really good job of picking at the corners, and throws a lot of chase pitches. But I just wanted to go up there and be aggressive, and try to jump on that first-pitch strike."
It also earned him a big bear hug from Yasiel Puig!

A World Series leadoff homer is elusive, so here are the five best fun facts about Taylor's tater.
5. It was the second straight World Series game with a leadoff homer
OK, well, maybe World Series leadoff homers aren't that elusive! Twenty-three games in World Series history have begun with a dinger for either the home or away team, and it was just last year in Game 7 that Dexter Fowler established No. 22:

4. Taylor was the first Dodger to begin a World Series with a homer since Davey Lopes
Only one other World Series game in the Dodgers' many years had ever begun with a long ball, and to find that, you have to rewind 39 years to 1978. Longtime Dodgers second baseman Davey Lopes began Game 6 of that year's Fall Classic with a long ball, and just like Taylor did with Keuchel, Lopes hit his off a former American League Cy Young Award winner -- Catfish Hunter.

3. The last player to hit one out on a World Series first pitch was Derek Jeter
Before Taylor's blast, it had been 17 years since another player crushed the first pitch over the fence in a World Series game. The guy who did it went on to be World Series MVP that year. Some guy named Derek Jeter. He might have panned out, just a little bit.

2. Dallas Keuchel has always been stingy with leadoff homers
It's extremely difficult to go deep off a pitcher as talented as Keuchel, who is well-regarded for his ability to induce ground balls and keep the ball in the park. Indeed, his career home run rate is a mere 0.9 per nine innings.
Keuchel's been even better starting off ballgames. In fact, he had allowed a leadoff homer only once in his 154 previous career starts combined between the regular season and the playoffs. It was a long time ago, too -- July 26, 2012. That was a surprising shot, too, as the Pirates' Starling Marte made his MLB debut that day and began his career in style:

1. No World Series opener had ever included a first-pitch souvenir
A World Series-opening first inning has featured a leadoff homer only four times in 114 years. Don Buford of the 1969 Orioles and Dustin Pedroia of the 2007 Red Sox were the first two to do it, and neither of theirs came on a first pitch. Alcides Escobar did homer on a first pitch in 2015, but it was also not your typical roundtripper:

That play was obviously exciting, but no one ended up with a souvenir! Taylor's reached the fans, making him a true man of the people. He knows it, too:

Watch Game 2 of the World Series presented by YouTube TV on Wednesday on FOX (7:30 p.m. ET air time, 8 ET game time).