Orioles' Tyler O'Neill Homers to Continue Bonkers Opening Day Hot Streak

No one wants to face him in March.
Tyler O'Neill gestures after doubling during spring training.
Tyler O'Neill gestures after doubling during spring training. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

If Hall of Fame right fielder Reggie Jackson was Mr. October and Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter was Mr. November, Baltimore Orioles right fielder Tyler O'Neill is Mr. March.

On Thursday, O'Neill deposited a 2-1 offering from Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios over the right-field wall—marking the sixth straight Opening Day on which he has homered.

The three-run shot gave the Orioles a 5–0 lead, and extended O'Neill's MLB record. He broke the mark for most consecutive Opening Days with a home run last year; he'd shared it with catchers Yogi Berra, Gary Carter and Todd Hundley.

O'Neill's offensive acumen has fluctuated wildly this decade—he has seasons with oWARs of both 5.1 and 0.4, per Baseball Reference—but one part of the equation has remained the same.

The British Columbia native has topped 30 home runs twice—first in his fantastic 2021 campaign with the St. Louis Cardinals, and then again in 2024 with the Boston Red Sox.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .