Thursday afternoon, the New York Yankees and prized offseason pickup Giancarlo Stanton opened the 2018 season in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Stanton and his new team earned a 6-1 win (box score) to snap their six-year Opening Day losing streak, which was the longest active Opening Day losing streak in baseball.

Stanton played a big role in Thursday's win. In his first at-bat as a Yankee, the reigning NL MVP clobbered an opposite field two-run home against J.A. Happ. It was, as the kids say, well-struck. To the action footage:

Good gravy. Opposite field bomb like it was a walk in the park. To celebrate, Yankees radio announcer John Sterling broke out a home-run call that left everyone confused.

Stanton crushed that home run at 117.3 mph according to StatCast (StantonCast?). StatCast became a thing in 2015 and that Stanton homer is both the hardest hit homer ever recorded at Rogers Centre and the hardest hit opposite field homer ever recorded anywhere.

Also, only seven home runs were harder hit last season, and they were all hit by a pair of 2018 teammates:

Stanton is the first player to hit a home run in his first at-bat as a Yankee since ... Aaron Judge. How about that?

But wait! Stanton was not done. He ripped an RBI double in his third at-bat, and in his fourth trip to the plate, Stanton smacked a long solo home run into the second deck in right field. His teammates gave him the silent treatment afterward. To the action footage:

Not a bad way to make a first impression, I'd say. Stanton is only the seventh Yankee in history to hit two home runs on Opening Day. The list:

  • Giancarlo Stanton (2017)
  • Joe Pepitone (1963)
  • Roger Maris (1960)
  • Mickey Mantle (1956)
  • Russ Derry (1945)
  • Samuel Byrd (1932)
  • Babe Ruth (1932)

All told, Stanton went 3 for 5 with a double and two homers on Thursday. He drove in four of his team's six runs. Yankees GM Brian Cashman, your thoughts on Stanton's first game in pinstripes?

Yup. Can't say I blame him.