Pitchers with the Most Opening Day Starts

1. Tom Seaver (16 starts)
Tom Terrific's record speaks to both his greatness and his longevity. The right-hander was just 23 years old when he started his first opener for the 1968 Mets, in his second season. Seaver was 41 when he started his last, for the '86 White Sox, in his final season. That makes him one of just 22 pitchers to start at least one Opening Day at 41 or older. MLB Photos

2. (tie) Steve Carlton (14 starts)
Bob Gibson had a well-deserved stranglehold on Opening Day duties with the Cardinals early in Carlton's career, so it wasn't until Lefty was traded to Philadelphia before the 1972 season that he got a taste of that honor. Carlton made up for lost time, however, making each of his franchise-record 14 Game 1 starts with the Phillies over a 15-year span beginning in '72. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

2. (tie) Randy Johnson (14 starts)
The fearsome southpaw ranks second in Mariners history with six Opening Day starts and first in D-backs history with the same total, even though he was already 35 when he made his Arizona debut. He also landed the assignment in both of his seasons with the Yankees in 2005-06, becoming one of just six hurlers to start two Opening Days at age 41 or older. Donald Miralle/ALLSPORT

2. (tie) Walter Johnson (14 starts)
The Big Train holds the all-time shutouts record (110), so it's fitting that he also tops the list on Opening Day (seven). Johnson also ranks first in wins (nine) and innings (124), and his 1.31 ERA is the lowest for any pitcher with at least eight Opening Day starts. MLB Photos

2. (tie) Jack Morris (14 starts)
From 1980-93, Morris was on the mound for Game 1 every year, setting a record for consecutive Opening Day starts that still stands. The first 11 of those came with the Tigers, before Morris moved to the Twins for one year and the Blue Jays for two. Ron Vesely/MLB Photos

6. (tie) Roger Clemens (13 starts)
By the time the Rocket took the mound on Opening Day for the first time in 1988, he already had claimed two of his record seven American League Cy Young Awards in the two previous seasons. Clemens went on to make his first eight Game 1 starts with the Red Sox, the most in club history. Beth A. Keiser/AP

6. (tie) Robin Roberts (13 starts)
Roberts' 12 consecutive Opening Day starts for the Phillies from 1950-61 remains a record for any pitcher with the same team, and the Hall of Famer added one more with the '66 Astros in his final season. MLB Photos

8. (tie) Grover Cleveland Alexander (12 starts)
After a terrific rookie season with the Phillies in 1911 (28-13, 2.57 ERA), Alexander started five of the team's next six Opening Days in the Deadball Era's offensively suppressed environment. The Hall of Fame righty struggled in his first try, but then he strung together four straight complete-game victories. AP Photo

8. (tie) Bert Blyleven (12 starts)
Blyleven pitched for five teams over his 22 seasons in the Majors (Twins, Rangers, Pirates, Indians and Angels), and he started on Opening Day at least once for each of them. He is one of just three pitchers to start an opener for five clubs, along with Gaylord Perry and Livan Hernandez (counting the Expos and Nationals separately). MLB Photos

10. (tie) Fergie Jenkins (11 starts)
Jenkins leads the Cubs with seven Opening Day starts, one ahead of Carlos Zambrano. The first six of those came between 1967-73, including Jenkins' NL Cy Young Award season in '71, which he began with a 10-inning complete-game victory over the Cardinals. The righty later started four openers for the Rangers and Red Sox, but he logged one more with Chicago in his final season ('83), when he was 40 years old. MLB Photos

10. (tie) Dennis Martinez (11 starts)
El Presidente became the first Major Leaguer from Nicaragua in 1976, and he is the only pitcher from that country to start more than once on Opening Day. He didn't get his first chance to do so until 1982-83, when he took the mound in back-to-back years for the Orioles at ages 27-28. Joe Giza/AP

10. (tie) CC Sabathia (11 starts)
The active leader in Opening Day starts, Sabathia did the honors five times in six years for the Indians from 2003-08. Upon joining the Yankees the next year, he then reeled off a streak of six straight openers through '14. That leaves the lefty one Game 1 start shy of the club record, held by Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry and Mel Stottlemyre. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images