Austin Wells made Yankee history on Opening Day when he stepped into the box in the bottom of the first, becoming the first catcher in franchise history to bat leadoff.
Three pitches into his first at-bat, he made MLB history.
The Yankee catcher cranked a line drive home run over the short porch in right field to give the Yanks an immediate 1-0 lead in their season opener, and by doing so, became the first catcher in league history with a leadoff home run on Opening Day.
Wells became Aaron Boone’s likely candidate to bat leadoff during spring training, and it paid off immediately to begin the 2025 campaign, with Wells turning on a 2-0 fastball up in the zone to waste no time in igniting the sellout crowd in the Bronx.
Wells hopes to be a key contributor for the Yankee offense in 2025, as he is coming off a rookie season in which he hit 13 homers and posted a .718 OPS in 115 games, finishing third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Thursday’s leadoff blast was a good start.