Can you believe it? It feels like just yesterday we were itching to get spring training started, and already, more than a week’s worth of games are done and dusted. The 2025 Major League Baseball season is off to a fiery start. Whether it’s new equipment on the field, balls flying out of the park, or debating whether it’s panic time for top contenders like the Braves, there’s already plenty to discuss in the earliest days of the year.
This season, we’re starting a new series where we’ll highlight the 10 best storylines that happened in MLB each week. Here’s a look at last week’s amusing narratives, standout stats, and thrilling performances.
10. Torpedo bats take center stage
20-9. The final score of the Yankees-Brewers game, and all the torpedo bats that led to it, took the league by storm last week. The Yankees hit nine home runs, including three on Nestor Cortes’ first three pitches, and major-leaguers across the country wanted whatever they were using. Hundreds of orders for those funky-looking bowling-pin bats were put in. MIT physicist Aaron Leanhardt got his moment in the sun after leading the Yankees analytics department on the development of innovative equipment. More and more torpedo bats popped up in lineups across the league. When it comes to a sport as traditional and rich in history as baseball, moving some wood around on a bat can cause quite a commotion, and we’re totally here for it.
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9. Nathan Eovaldi’s complete-game shutout
What. A. Gem. Eovaldi twirled 99 pitches on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds to complete the season’s first Maddux. The feat, named after Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, happens when a starter tosses a shutout on fewer than 100 pitches. Eovaldi, though, is no stranger to putting up goose eggs. His most recent shutout came against the Yankees in April 2023. It’s refreshing to see old-school starters go the distance at any time of year, but it’s particularly impressive when a pitcher can come out of the gates with complete-game dominance. Too often, we see managers being careful with pitcher workloads, making it a miracle if starters even complete six innings at the beginning of the year. But, give Eovaldi the ball and manager Bruce Bochy isn’t getting it back until the game is over — sealed by a victory, of course.
8. J-Ram’s three-homer game
Dubbed by his teammates as “the best player in the game,” Jose Ramirez added to that argument on Friday when he spoiled the Angels’ home opener with his second-career three-homer game. The fiery performance came just days after Ramirez missed a game with a right wrist sprain. It’s like he was offended at the idea that anyone thought he could miss significant time. Ramirez has played at least 152 games in seven of the last eight full MLB seasons. All four of his home runs this year have arrived since his lone day on the bench with injury. Though it’s been a bumpy ride at the hot corner for Ramirez in the early days of this season, there’s no doubt he’s as hot as ever at the plate.
7. Streaking in the NL West
The Dodgers and Padres were both undefeated through the first week of the season with 8-0 and 7-0 starts, respectively. It was the first time since divisional play began in 1969 that two teams from the same division started the season with seven straight wins. Alas, as excellent as the Padres have been, not even being undefeated is good enough to be in first place in the NL West.
The Phillies handed Los Angeles its first loss of the season on Friday after catcher J.T. Realmuto, who cut his thumb opening a water bottle in the eighth inning, glued his bloody finger and caught Chris Taylor stealing second base to end the game in the ninth. The Cubs ended San Diego’s win streak after Shota Imanaga dealt 7.1 innings of one-run ball in Chicago’s home opener. Still, not even the Dodgers can take away the fact that it was the Padres’ best start in franchise history.
6. Eugenio Suarez’s go-ahead grand slam
Fresh off NL Player of the Week honors, Suarez knew the Diamondbacks would need a big lead over the Bronx Bombers, who lead the majors in home runs, to have a chance at staving them off. Turns out his eighth-inning, go-ahead grand slam on Tuesday was enough to lead Arizona past the Yankees for good. That grand slam marked Suarez’s fifth hit of the season — all of which were home runs. Suarez became just the third player in MLB history to have each of his first five hits of a season go for home runs. Suarez will look to continue his red-hot start in a contract year.
5. Jacob deGrom’s season debut
The last time deGrom was healthy on Opening Day and recorded at least six starts to begin the season was in 2021. So, naturally, there was a lot of anticipation leading up to the two-time Cy Young winner’s season debut. With his long rehab from Tommy John surgery behind him, deGrom reminded us once more of his elite potential. The flamethrower tossed five scoreless innings and struck out six against the Red Sox, making opposing hitters look silly as they whiffed at his patented slider.
The amazing part is that deGrom didn’t even look his best against Boston. His command wasn’t the sharpest, and he looked rusty overall. But he still managed to lead the Rangers to a win. The right-hander will need to rely on the effectiveness of his slider more than usual as he aims to decrease his fastball velocity in hopes that it will help him stay on the mound.
4. Pete Alonso homers in Citi Field return
The Mets beloved Polar Bear could feel the love as he jogged out to the first-base foul line for pregame introductions. It was the home opener at Citi Field and the first time Alonso returned to the ballpark that molded him since he re-signed with the Mets. The last time he swung a bat in Queens, the Mets fell to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, and it was a real possibility Alonso wouldn’t be back. Fans went through the gamut of emotions during Alonso’s free agency that eventually led him back to the Mets, and they were finally able to let it all out in the first inning Friday when the first baseman lifted a two-run home run to the opposite field in the home opener. Alonso called the special moment “a dream come true,” and his supporters applauded in agreement.
3. $500 milly for Vladdy
Give credit to the Blue Jays for doing what they had to do. Seriously, they had to get this extension done with Guerrero Jr. before he hit free agency because it would’ve plummeted the future of the organization had they not. He’s homegrown, born in Canada, and the face of the franchise. If the Jays were going to pony up for anyone, it had to be him.
Now, we can go back and forth on the length of the contract (14 years) and whether a first baseman is worth $500 million, but Guerrero received a premium because he’s just 26 years old, and we’ve seen how the market treats players who are well under 30 (looking at you, Juan Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto). I’m looking forward to the ripple effect this deal has around baseball. The Mets, which seemed like a perfect destination for Guerrero if he had hit free agency, now seemingly have to stick with Pete Alonso at first long term. Kyle Tucker, who is in a contract year at 28 years old, now figures to earn somewhere in the vicinity of Guerrero’s contract. So, good for the Vladdy and the Jays. Even if 29 other fan bases are unhappy, Toronto sure is glad its ownership group made sure the pillar of the club will end his career as a Blue Jay.
2. Aaron Judge homers six times in seven games
Last April, the Yankees slugger looked lost at the plate, chasing pitches and swinging off balance. Even though he wound up recording another monster season that earned him his second-career MVP award, Judge entered this season wanting to avoid the slow start he experienced last year. That extra dose of motivation has made Judge look like he’s hitting on another planet. Judge became the first MLB player to collect six home runs and 17 RBI in the first seven games of a season. His three-homer game against right-hander Cortes and the Brewers last weekend was just the beginning. He’s still chasing a World Series ring, but at this point, whether he becomes a champion or not, there’s no doubt that Judge is ending up in the Hall of Fame.
1. The unicorn walks off on his bobblehead night
I mean, this was just absurd. Who else but Shohei Ohtani can hit a walk-off home run on his own NL MVP bobblehead night to extend the Dodgers’ win streak to 8-0? With the game tied at 5-5 against the Braves, Ohtani swung at the first pitch from closer Raisel Iglesias and there was no doubt about where this one would land. The defending World Series champions emptied out of the dugout as Ohtani continued his storybook tenure in L.A. What’s next for the unicorn? No, no — he’s not going to use the torpedo bat anytime soon. But he is well on his way to returning to the mound. Before we get ahead of ourselves and start anticipating the next best triumph Ohtani will achieve, let’s just take a moment to sit back and appreciate the greatness that is currently on display. Ohtani is so unreal and so incredibly elite that he warrants our full attention. So have some fun, and enjoy it!
RELATED: Behind Shohei Ohtani’s bobblehead walk-off, ‘good vibe’ Dodgers off to historic start
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Deesha Thosar is a MLB reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for four years as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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