Best Opening Days In Cubs History, #3: Corey Patterson Knocks In Seven!

The first game of the 2003 season saw the Cubs travel to Shea Stadium in New York for a matchup against the Mets. The pitching matchup was all-world: Kerry Wood vs. Tom Glavine.

Two aces going at it in front of over 53,000 in attendance for Opening Day is what baseball is all about. Glavine was undoubtedly the story for the Mets that day, as he was blasted for five runs on eight hits and four walks and did not make it out of the fourth inning. The story for the Cubs, however, was not their starting pitcher. Their starting centerfielder, Corey Patterson, had quite the day.

Patterson was making his second career Opening Day start, and it was a tough matchup against the left-hander Glavine. Patterson must've eaten his Wheaties that morning because he had one of the all-time best Opening Day performances for any team or player. He went 4-for-6 at the plate with two home runs, and seven runs driven in. All four of Patterson's hits came against a left-handed pitcher. He had two RBI singles against Glavine, and both homers came against Mets reliever Mike Bacsik. 

It was the second multi-home run game of Patterson's young career, and he would finish his career with six games with multiple homers, including another one against the Mets in 2005. The seven RBI were the most in any game of his career and it is still currently tied for an MLB record for the most in an Opening Day game. Patterson's career with the Cubs did not go quite the way many would've hoped, but we will always be able to look back on and remember the performance he had that day at Shea Stadium.

Are you interested in Cubs history? Then check out the Chicago Cubs Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Cubs uniform!