Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter kicked off MLB free agency in 1974 when he left the Oakland A's to sign a five-year contract worth more than $3 million with the New York Yankees, which made him the highest-paid pitcher in league history to that point.
High-profile players have been changing teams via free agency ever since, and this past offseason featured a glut of big names available on the open market. Former MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, strikeout kings and home run leaders all switched uniforms. Some of them, such as the Mets' Max Scherzer and the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, have gotten off to good starts.
But as we approach this season's one-month mark, let's take a few moments to appreciate the free-agent signings who set the standard for immediate success. Here are 10 players who stood out in a big way during their first month with a new team.
2015: Max Scherzer, RHP, Washington Nationals
You can make the case that Scherzer's seven-year, $210 deal with the Nationals is perhaps the best free-agent signing of all time. That argument is supported by what "Mad Max" accomplished across five starts in his first month with the Nats: 35 2/3 innings, 1.26 ERA, 1.90 FIP, .488 opponents' OPS, one home run allowed and a nearly 8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Scherzer lasted at least seven innings in all but one of those starts en route to logging the most innings in any season of his career (228 2/3). He flummoxed the Phillies, allowing just one run on four hits through eight innings on April 17. Two weeks later, he overpowered the Mets, striking out 10 over seven innings. That could be considered a precursor to how Scherzer ended his regular season.
2015: Nelson Cruz, DH, Seattle Mariners
After leading the Majors with 40 homers as an Oriole in 2014, Cruz agreed to a five-year, $57 million deal with the Mariners and kept right on obliterating baseballs. He went deep in five straight games from April 11-15, including a two-homer night against the Dodgers on April 13. Six days later, he homered twice more and added a walk-off single vs. the Rangers.
Cruz bashed 14 homers and totaled 26 RBIs through his first 27 games with Seattle and was named the AL Player of the Month for April. His most breathtaking homer, however, was a blast in Houston that traveled onto the train tracks in left-center field at Minute Maid Park. This 469-foot clout is tied for the second-longest home run of Cruz's career.
2011: Lance Berkman, RF, St. Louis Cardinals
Berkman is simply one of the best Houston Astros ever. He is the franchise's all-time leader in on-base percentage and slugging percentage among players with at least 2,000 at-bats. After a lackluster couple of months as a Yankee following a midseason trade in 2010, Berkman hoped to return to the city and the team where he established himself as one of the top hitters in baseball.
It was not to be, however. Yes, Berkman would return to Houston soon and do plenty of damage with his bat. Just not as an Astro.
Instead, it was the NL Central-rival Cardinals who took a chance on the 34-year-old with a one-year deal at $8 million. That contract had pretty much paid for itself once the five-time All-Star completed his first month.
Berkman recorded a massive .393/.455/.753 slash line with eight homers, 22 RBIs and 23 runs in his first 24 games with St. Louis. He notched two hits in seven consecutive games from April 20-28, a streak which concluded with arguably Berkman's best performance of the year: a four-hit, two-homer, five-RBI outburst in Houston.
By season's end, Berkman was taking home a World Series ring and the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award.
2005: Pedro Martinez, RHP, New York Mets
Scherzer struck out 42 batters in five starts this season, which is the second-most strikeouts through a pitcher's first five starts as a Met. Want to guess who's No. 1 on that list?
Martinez took a four-year, $53 million deal with the Mets in December 2004 and shined immediately in the season opener against the Reds, setting a franchise record for strikeouts by a Mets pitcher in his debut with 12 K's. He followed that by authoring a two-hit complete game with nine strikeouts in a win over the Braves.
Martinez recorded 46 strikeouts in his first five starts with the Mets. But that barely scratches the surface when discussing the impressive numbers Martinez accrued right away in Queens. In his first starts, hitters batted just .148 against him with a .413 OPS. While Pedro's 2.51 ERA was solid, his FIP was a spectacular 1.46. He permitted only 22 hits and one home run through 43 innings.
2001: Manny Ramirez, DH, Boston Red Sox
One of the best run producers of his generation, Ramirez tallied 33 RBIs through his first 26 games in Boston after signing an eight-year contract worth $160 million. He went 42-for-102 at the plate during his first month (.412 average) and finished with nine homers and a 1.218 OPS. Ramirez had 14 multihit games, but few hits make any Red Sox fan happier than one that beats the Yankees.
Ramirez found himself with such a chance on April 13. The stage was perfect for drama: The Red Sox trailed by a run in the 10th inning, runners on second and third, two outs and the great Mariano Rivera on the mound. Ramirez came through by lining Rivera's 2-0 pitch between the closer's legs and into center field, setting off a Fenway frenzy. It all helped Manny earn AL Player of the Month honors for the third time in his career.
1997: Roger Clemens, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
Clemens traveled up to Canada with his three Cy Youngs and a big chip on his right shoulder in 1997. Out to prove that he was not in the twilight of his career, the 34-year-old agreed to a three-year, $24.75 million contract with the Blue Jays. And from the outset, "The Rocket" dominated. His first start was a complete-game victory over the White Sox with nine strikeouts, which stood for 13 years as the franchise record for the most K's by a pitcher in his Blue Jays debut.
Clemens compiled a 1.72 ERA and held hitters to a .473 OPS through five starts during the first month. And that even includes a six-run outing versus the Mariners on April 25. If you omit that blemish, Clemens allowed a grand total of one run through 29 2/3 innings in April. He would go on to win another Cy Young Award that year in what was one of the greatest debut seasons by a free agent in MLB history.
1995: Larry Walker, RF, Colorado Rockies
The Rockies' first free-agent signing was former Expos slugger Andres Galarraga, who posted a robust 1.082 OPS during his first month with the expansion franchise. Two seasons later, Walker joined his former Montreal teammate in the Mile High City and took his own game to even greater heights.
Walker helped christen Coors Field with three doubles and three RBIs in a thrilling 14-inning triumph over the Mets to open the 1995 season. That was one of five games during the first month in which Walker recorded at least three hits. He strung together back-to-back-to-back such performances from May 11-13, which overlapped Walker's streak of four consecutive games with a home run.
The future batting champion and NL MVP wrapped up his month with a .356 average and an 1.158 OPS. He racked up 17 extra-base hits and eight HRs in 22 games.
1993: Barry Bonds, LF, San Francisco Giants
Bonds embarked on one of the most productive stints any player has experienced with any team in the free-agency era once the Giants signed him to a six-year deal worth $43 million -- then the most lucrative contract in MLB history -- in December 1992. He drove in the eventual winning run during the season opener on April 6 and hit his first of 586 home runs in the orange and black the next night. Bonds made his home debut on April 12 and went deep in his first at-bat, which earned him a curtain call from the Candlestick Park faithful who had cheered on his father, Bobby, and his godfather, Willie Mays.
In total, Bonds put together a .432/.545/.875 slash line with eight homers, 29 RBIs, 30 runs and six steals across 27 games during the first month. Thirteen of those games included multiple hits. Bonds was the catalyst for a Giants squad that would win 103 games while he would take home the NL MVP Award for the second consecutive year.
1987: Andre Dawson, RF, Chicago Cubs
By 1987, Dawson had won six Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers and was a three-time All-Star. Unfortunately, he had also undergone eight knee operations by this point, so he was looking for a new home that would be friendlier on his lower body than the artificial turf in Montreal's Olympic Stadium. How about the friendly confines of Wrigley Field?
"The Hawk" actually started the season as chilly as early April weather in Chicago, hitting just .167 with a .543 OPS through his first 12 games. But by the time the first month was complete, Dawson would raise those numbers to .321 and 1.034, respectively. That's because he went on a humongous tear, one that would serve as the starting point of an MVP season. Dawson registered a .448/.492/.948 slash line with seven home runs, 14 extra-base hits and 21 RBIs over his final 14 games of the first month. This stretch was highlighted by his April 29 cycle vs. the Giants. He then homered in three consecutive games from May 1-3.
1979: Tommy John, LHP, New York Yankees
John had just completed two of the best seasons of his 15-year career when he entered free agency in the fall of 1978. The left-hander had pitched to a 2.78 ERA and was the NL Cy Young Award runner-up in '77 with the Dodgers and then made his second All-Star appearance the following year. That November, he joined the team that defeated L.A. in the two previous World Series on a three-year, $1.4 million pact. Although John was typically at his best during the early portions of a season, his start to '79 was on another level.
He posted a 1.74 ERA through the season's first 30 days and went the distance in three of his six starts, including a three-hit shutout of the soon-to-be AL champion Orioles on April 12. He gave up only five earned runs through 40 innings in April en route to winning the inaugural AL Pitcher of the Month Award. Not bad for a player whose career appeared to be on life support five years earlier when he underwent a then-revolutionary operation to replace a ruptured ligament in his left elbow. Of course, the surgery was such a success, it would ultimately bear John's name and extend his MLB career into 1989.