The real Opening Day gave us the first two Hat Tricks (3 strikeouts in a game by one hitter) of the 2004 season (Matt LeCroy, Twins, and Jose Valentin, White Sox), and even bore witness to our first Golden Sombrero (four whiffs in a game), accomplished by certified lefty-masher (sarcasm warning) Jacque Jones of the Twins against lefty fireballer C.C. Sabathia.

The single-game strikeout-related honor I really live to see, though, is the fairly rare Beer Dispensing Helmet, when a batter strikes out five times in a single game. It happens a few times a year, typically by Jim Thome or Pat Burrel. The Beer Dispensing Helmet (or simply Beer Helmet if you're strapped for time) was coined several years ago by my brother Matt and myself, and is regular baseball parlance among my father, brother, and I. If there were a more efficient way of researching than looking at daily box scores, I would love to find career and single-season Beer Helmet leaders some day. If any reader has a suggestion of how to easily do this, please let me know.

Pullman odds for the first Beer Helmet of the 2004 season:

Jim Thome, 2:1
Pat Burrel, 3.5:1
Richie Sexson, 6:1
Jason Giambi, 6.5:1
Jose Hernandez, 7.5:1
Carlos Pena, 10:1
Jeromy Bernitz, 10:1
Sammy Sosa, 15:1
Rest of Field, 3.5:1

Odds published for entertainment purposes only. Gambling on baseball is illegal in Pullman, WA.