It was one year ago at this time that our brains had been torpedoed by MLB’s opening weekend.
The Brewers were in big trouble after giving up 36 runs to the Yankees in three games, and the Yankees were allegedly in possession of some kind of unfair advantage because of the “new” torpedo bats used by several players in their lineup.
Turns out, the Brewers came out of 2025 with baseball’s best regular-season record and made it further in the playoffs than the Yanks. And the fever over the bats, which were not in fact new, died down quite quickly.
Add last year’s experience to, oh, about 150 years of history that tell us not to let a few baseball games influence our opinions.
Alas, we did it anyway this weekend, didn’t we?
In this annual column, I’ve typically yanked some fan takes off Twitter/X and used them to illustrate the overreactions.
This year, I thought it might be fun to pull quotes from more authoritative sources -- players, managers, broadcasters -- to show that we’re all susceptible to potential hyperbole this time of year.
So once again, let’s assess some early reactions and determine whether they’re overboard or not.
“He’s not from this planet.” -- Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski on teammate Chase DeLauter, who homered four times in his first three regular-season games
Sabrowski has also called DeLauter a “martian.” Maybe he’s right, because not only did DeLauter join Trevor Story (2016) as the only players with four homers in their first three regular-season games but the guy hasn’t played a professional game in which he hasn’t reached base since last May 19.
But do aliens get injured like the rest of us? One reason DeLauter’s streak has gone on so long is that he didn’t play at all between July 11 and Oct. 1 (when he debuted in the playoffs) last year because of a hamate fracture. He’s also dealt with recurring foot issues, and he had sports hernia surgery in the spring of ‘25.
All of which suggests he’s very much human.
DeLauter, though, has done nothing but hit when healthy, and he is well on pace to be the first Cleveland outfielder to hit at least 25 homers in a season since Grady Sizemore in 2008. So you can forgive people on and around this team for exaggerating about this first-round pick with the remarkably short swing who doesn’t chase and can (obviously) hit for power.
Verdict: An overreaction, but it shouldn’t alienate anybody
“My mouth is open right now. … He is something else!” – White Sox broadcaster John Schriffen after Munetaka Murakami went deep for the third time in his first three MLB games
Murakami is not from another planet but another country. In coming over from Nippon Professional Baseball, where he set the single-season home run record by a Japanese-born player (56) in 2022, he was projected by some outlets to easily eclipse a nine-figure contract. But he wound up with the rebuilding White Sox, on a modest two-year, $34 million deal because of industry concerns about his swing-and-miss and defensive deficiencies.
So right now, after Murakami’s scorching start against the Brewers, it looks like the Sox got the steal of the offseason. Murakami is only 26, and the way he gets his front foot down and rotates through the ball creates impressive raw power.
Still, we have to slam on the brakes here … much like Murakami slams down that right leg. You don’t strike out in nearly 29% of your plate appearances in a three-year span in NPB without inviting healthy skepticism about how that will translate to a league with superior velocity. No doubt, though, after all the losing on the South Side in recent seasons (and an 0-3 start despite Murakami’s mashing), it would be a lot of fun if this guy changes the trajectory of this White Sox lineup.
Verdict: An open-mouthed overreaction
“I'd kind of put it on me a little bit. I got all fire and brimstone a few days ago.” – Giants rookie skipper Tony Vitello on his preseason speech’s potential influence on his team’s slow start
Vitello was a historic hire straight from the collegiate ranks, and his team got off to a historic start in the worst of ways by becoming the first Giants team to get shut out in each of their first two games. They went on to get swept by the Yankees.
These Vitello press conferences have been a fascinating window into how different he is from your typical modern manager. The job has become to say as little as possible. But Vitello wears his heart on his sleeve, and his comments implying that his speech had perhaps caused his players to become too “emotional” (his word) and try too hard seem pretty far-fetched in the Major League ranks.
Still, as a reporter, I’m in favor of people saying more, not less. So keep keeping it real, Tony … fire, brimstone and all! (But, uh, maybe get some more runs on the board.)
Verdict: An emotional overreaction
“When he throws a baseball, it’s electric.” – Yankees analyst David Cone on Cam Schlittler
Schlittler had one of the true standout starts of the opening weekend, limiting the Giants to a single hit with no walks and eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Cone was right. It was electric. Just like last fall, when Schlittler dominated his hometown Red Sox for eight shutout innings in the Wild Card Series.
Young aces invite extreme reactions more than any other players in this sport because, frankly, we need all the aces we can get in this day and age. Schlittler was a seventh-round pick, so he’s snuck up on way more people than, say, Paul Skenes. His fastball velo has shot up in his time in the Yankees’ organization. There is still some question about the quality of his curveball at the highest level, but he’s developed a cutter that makes him more of a problem for lefties and enhances the chances of him sticking as a high-end starter.
Verdict: No reason to unplug this reaction.
“This team is great, and it just shows that we’re never out of it.” -- Marlins outfielder Owen Caissie, after his walk-off homer gave the Fish their first 3-0 start since 2009
Players are understandably subjective in their assessments, but it’s way too soon to objectively label the Marlins a “great” team, especially given that they are projected by the major systems to be a losing team. Still, it was nice to see young Caissie and Co. have some fun and flair with three one-run wins, even if they were playing a Rockies team that might well be the worst in MLB again this season.
I picked the Fish to reach the playoffs … more because it was for a “bold predictions” piece than because I actually think it will happen. But the development of this young team will be worth tracking this year, given that Caissie, a trade acquisition from the Cubs, brought upside to a lineup that already saw breakthroughs from a few young players last season and the farm system has several Top 100 prospects (per MLB Pipeline) projected to reach the bigs this year.
Verdict: Overreaction. But it’s better to be 3-0 than “Owen”-3.
“I think Pete Walker has a clause in his contract that may have just escalated or triggered.” -- Blue Jays manager John Schneider on his pitching coach, after Toronto struck out 50(!) A’s batters in three games
What a weekend for the Blue Jays. The 50 strikeouts were the most ever for a team in the first three games of a season, and 12 of them came from offseason signee Dylan Cease, who dazzled in his debut.
But this is an overreaction. Not because it’s early. And not because the Blue Jays don’t have a talented staff, to go with one of the best pitching coaches in baseball. It’s because I (admittedly aggressively) ranked the A’s as having the fifth-best lineup in MLB entering the season, subjecting them to instant doom.
Verdict: Overreaction, but it “triggered” a laugh.
“Magic Mike! He looks fantastic. The bat speed is there.” – Angels analyst Mark Gubicza on Mike Trout, who’s batting .462 with two homers
If you want to have some fun, sort the OPS leaderboard right now. You’ll find Trout and fellow 2010s MVPs Christian Yelich and Andrew McCutchen up there in the top 10. So much of the story over the weekend was the impact of what looks like an all-time rookie class, but let’s hear it for the old dudes, too!
As for Trout specifically, it was a fun few days in Houston. He was diving for balls in center field, swiping a bag, rocketing balls over the left-field wall. Vintage stuff from one of the best all-around players many of us have ever seen.
Trout had a similar start in 2024, but all that happened there was a season-ending injury by the end of April. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again and we get a true, turn-back-the-clock season from “Magic Mike,” a player very much worthy of excited reaction anytime he is healthy enough to produce like this.
Verdict: Trout, Trout, let it all out. Appropriate reaction.
“Two days ago, we were very excited about ABS. And today, we’re not too happy with it.” – Alex Cora, after his team ran out of challenges in a loss to the Reds
You had to figure we’d see an early situation in which a team uses up its challenges prematurely and pays for it. That’s precisely what happened when the Red Sox lost to the Reds on an 11th-inning walk-off single Saturday.
Though the Sox got a challenge for each inning of extras, they ran out of their regulation challenges in the third inning. It hurt them in such a close game, as there were multiple situations in which a challenge would have been beneficial.
To be clear and fair, Cora said his team took responsibility for running out of challenges. “It’s on us,” he said. So his comments were not really an overreaction. But Boston’s experience that day almost certainly had fans yearning for more than two challenge opportunities per team per game.
That makes this as good a place as any to point out that MLB did experiment at the MiLB level with three challenges per team per game, and fan surveying suggested strongly that it slowed the game down too much. Of those surveyed, 71% said the optimal number of total challenges per game is four or fewer. Two-challenge games met this criteria 62% of the time, while three-challenge games met it only 30% of the time.
Verdict: Understandable reaction, given the circumstances. But the Red Sox (like all teams) ultimately should be happy to have an appeals process that did not exist previously. The next step is figuring out how not to squander it.
“On paper, this is the best team that we’ve had.” – Dodgers manager Dave Roberts
Roberts has three World Series rings with the Dodgers and the best winning percentage (.622) of any AL/NL manager in history. So that’s quite a statement.
And by the looks of things, an accurate statement. The Dodgers are 3-0 and have already benefited from “winning the winter,” with Kyle Tucker delivering a go-ahead RBI and Edwin Díaz converting both save opportunities over the weekend.
Everything surrounding the Dodgers is worthy of overreaction. The roster. The rings. The Shohei Ohtani concessions cup that comes with free soda refills all season. It makes both L.A. fans and fans of other teams go crazy in much different ways.
Personally, I think the Dodgers need more defects. They won the 2024 World Series without much of a rotation and the 2025 World Series without much of a bullpen. They need some things to go wrong this year and to persevere through some pain. So the perfect opening weekend is, in my eyes, an early reason for concern. You don’t want to just plow through the regular season and then get to October with your chest all puffed out. It’s a recipe for doom.
Then again, I’m probably overreacting.
Verdict: An accurate assessment of a team that invites overreaction