NEW YORK — Dusty Baker’s debut as Cubs manager, Kerry Wood’s first Opening Day start and Sammy Sosa’s assault on No. 500 were the main story lines going into Monday’s season opener against the New York Mets.
But Corey Patterson turned out to be the man of the moment, outshining his more illustrious teammates and playing the game of his life on a wild and windy day at chilly Shea Stadium.
Patterson went 4-for-6 with two home runs and a career-high seven RBIs, leading the Cubs to a 15-2 romp over the Mets before 56,749 shellshocked fans.
“It’s right there with the best Opening Days I’ve ever seen,” Baker said. “He’s still going to have some rough days, but that helps big-time to start like this, especially considering that he was struggling in the spring. That was a huge day for Corey, I’m sure something he’ll remember forever.”
Patterson hit .220 this spring and was dropped to seventh in the order against Mets left-hander Tom Glavine. After RBI singles off Glavine in the first and third innings, Patterson greeted lefty reliever Mike Bacsik with a three-run homer to right in the sixth and a two-run homer to left in the seventh.
Despite a horrendous second half last year, Patterson never lost faith in himself.
“I never questioned my ability, and I never got down confidence-wise,” Patterson said. “Sometimes things got a little frustrating. When you’re frustrated, you think of the wrong things and you overcompensate trying to do something else. It gets you into one bad habit and it snowballs.”
Patterson’s seven RBIs were the most of any Cub in their 128 openers and the most by any major-leaguer since Minnesota’s Brant Alyea drove in seven against the White Sox in their 1970 opener. The Cubs set or tied a few team records for an opener, including the 1899 club record for most runs.
Wood (1-0) earned the victory, yielding two runs on two hits in five innings. He also hit an RBI single. The Cubs wound up with 16 hits off Mets pitching and were aided by 12 walks and two errors. Reliever Juan Cruz also provided a highlight, striking out six straight batters in the seventh and eighth innings to tie Bruce Sutter’s Cubs relief record set against Montreal on Sept. 8, 1977.
If first impressions are lasting, the Cubs’ first inning will linger for a while. Six of their first seven batters reached base, leading to a four-run inning. Sosa had an RBI single, Moises Alou a two-run double and Patterson an RBI single.
The four-run first was the first time the Cubs had scored that many to begin an opener since a 14-10 victory over St. Louis on April 12, 1892, when they still were nicknamed the White Stockings.
Sosa failed to connect on home run No. 500 but went 1-for-2 with three runs and three walks as the Cubs waited out the out-of-control Mets pitchers. Patterson also contributed with his glove, making two fine running catches near the wall in center field when the outcome still was undecided.
It was only one game in a 162-game season, but after the debacle of 2002 and all the changes in personnel last off-season, scoring 15 runs in the opener is something Baker said fans and players alike both can cherish.
“Let them enjoy it,” he said. “We realize it was one game, but it was one very good game. It’s a long race, but it’s a very good start.”
© 2003, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.