Zac Gallen was officially named the Diamondbacks' Opening Day starter on Monday. He is one of 12 Opening Day starters in franchise history. Let's take a trip down memory lane.

-Jesse Friedman

Looking back on Diamondbacks' Opening Day starters through the years

Diamondbacks legend Randy Johnson throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the 2023 World Series. (Matt Kartozian/USA TODAY Sports)

Let's be real here: I probably could have told you months ago that Zac Gallen would start Opening Day for the Diamondbacks. But now, it is officially official.

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Opening Day is Gallentine’s Day. 👏

7:0 PM • Mar 18, 2024

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Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo gave Gallen the news on Sunday.

"This belongs to you," he told Gallen. "It's well-deserved. It's probably the worst-kept secret in our camp, but I just want to make it formal that you're going to be starting Opening Day, and it's a great honor.

"Go out there and take care of business and enjoy it."

This will mark Gallen's second Opening Day start with the Diamondbacks, and his first at Chase Field.

Last year, Gallen started the D-backs' season opener on the road against the Dodgers. He did not fare particularly well, allowing five runs in 4.2 innings.

Gallen is one of 12 major-league pitchers all-time who has made an Opening Day start for the Diamondbacks, and he is about to become the sixth pitcher in franchise history to make multiple such starts.

Some of the others were legends, others you might have forgotten about. Here is a look at all of them, including which year(s) they got the Opening Day nod and their cumulative stats in those outings.

Randy Johnson (6 starts)

1999-04 | 3-2, 45.1 IP, 2.38 ERA, 1.15 WHIP

No pitcher has started more Diamondbacks season openers than Hall-of-Fame left-hander Randy Johnson.

Johnson threw at least six innings in all six of his Diamondbacks Opening Day starts, including a complete-game shutout against the San Diego Padres in 2002. In that game, he threw 130 pitches.

The Big Unit also tossed 8 2/3 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day of 2000. He amassed 133 pitches in that one, allowing three runs (two earned) in a D-backs win.

Brandon Webb (4 starts)

2006-09 | 1-0, 22 IP, 5.73 ERA, 1.50 WHIP

After three consecutive stellar seasons to begin his major-league career from 2003-05, Brandon Webb made his first Opening Day start with the Diamondbacks in 2006. In that game, Webb tossed seven innings of one-run ball against the Rockies at Coors Field; he went on to win the NL Cy Young Award that year.

Webb followed up that season with back-to-back second-place finishes in Cy Young voting in 2007-08.

On Opening Day of 2009, however, Webb did not look like himself. He gave up six runs over four innings against the Rockies, and experienced stiffness in his throwing shoulder. When all was said and done, that start on April 6, 2009 was the last of Webb's major-league career.

Ian Kennedy (3 starts)

2011-13 | 2-0, 19.2 IP, 3.66 ERA, 1.32 WHIP

After posting a 3.80 ERA in his first full season with the Diamondbacks in 2010, Ian Kennedy received Opening Day starter honors in 2011. Kennedy lived up to the bill, out-pitching Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez. He went on to finish fourth in NL Cy Young voting that year, going 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 222 innings.

Kennedy made two more Opening Day starts for the D-backs in 2012 and 2013. While his performance slipped as his Diamondbacks career went on, Kennedy pitched reasonably well in all of his Opening Day starts, and the D-backs won all three of those games.

Zack Greinke (3 starts)

2016-17, 2019 | 0-2, 12.2 IP, 11.37 ERA, 1.97 WHIP

After the Diamondbacks signed Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million contract in December of 2015, there were few questions about whom their Opening Day starter would be in 2016. Greinke's first outing as a member of the Diamondbacks did not go as planned, however.

In four innings against the Rockies, Greinke allowed seven runs on nine hits, including three homers. That performance proved to be a harbinger of things to come. Greinke finished the 2016 season with a 4.37 ERA, which still stands as the third-highest mark in his 20 seasons in the majors.

Fortunately for the D-backs, the veteran right-hander returned to form in 2017-19. However, he did suffer another Opening Day clunker. In 2019, Greinke faced the Dodgers, his former team, on the road. He allowed seven runs over 3.2 innings and took the loss.

Greinke would have made four Opening Day starts in his D-backs career instead of three, but a groin injury held him back a few days in 2018. That season opener went to Patrick Corbin instead.

Madison Bumgarner (3 starts)

2020-22 | 0-1, 12.2 IP, 7.11 ERA, 1.74 WHIP

All three of Madison Bumgarner's Opening Day starts with the Diamondbacks came against the Padres, and none of them were stellar.

In 2020, Bumgarner's first season with the team, he rattled off four scoreless innings before allowing three runs in the sixth and being tagged with the loss.

In 2021, Bumgarner gave up six runs over four innings in the season opener. In 2022, he only allowed one run, but he walked four and only managed to get nine outs.

Andy Benes (1 start)

1998 | 0-1, 6.1 IP, 7.11 ERA, 1.58 WHIP

Right-hander Andy Benes will forever have the distinction of having started the Diamondbacks' inaugural game as a franchise in 1998.

He did not pitch particularly well, allowing five runs in 6 1/3 innings and taking the loss against the Rockies. Nonetheless, it was a monumental day for the city, and Benes went on to have a pretty good year.

Javier Vázquez (1 start)

2005 | 0-1, 1.2 IP, 37.80 ERA, 6.00 WHIP

Right-hander Javier Vázquez had a solid major-league career from the late 90s to the early 2010s, and his lone year, 2005, with the Diamondbacks was a decent one: 11-15 record, 215.2 innings, 4.42 ERA.

Nonetheless, Vázquez did not exactly dominate in his Opening Day start that year. In just 1.2 innings against the Cubs, he allowed seven runs on 10 hits in what was ultimately a 16-6 shellacking by Chicago.

Dan Haren (1 start)

2010 | 1-0, 7 IP, 1.29 ERA, 0.43 WHIP

With Brandon Webb still working his way back from injury, All-Star righty Dan Haren got his first crack at an Opening Day start with the Diamondbacks in 2010. Haren pitched well against the Padres, tossing seven innings of one-run ball with only three hits allowed.

Wade Miley (1 start)

2014 | 0-1, 5 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

Had Patrick Corbin not gotten hurt shortly before the 2014 season, Wade Miley likely would never have gotten an Opening Day nod with the Diamondbacks. However, Corbin wound up needing Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season. Miley stepped in to start the Diamondbacks' season opener in Australia.

Miley held his own, allowing three runs over five innings against the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw out-dueled him, however, in a D-backs loss.

Josh Collmenter (1 start)

2015 | 4.2 IP, 7.71 ERA, 2.36 WHIP

The fact that Josh Collmenter was deemed the Diamondbacks' best option to face Madison Bumgarner on Opening Day in 2015 probably says more about the Diamondbacks' starting pitching at the time than anything else.

Nonetheless, Collmenter was coming off a sneaky good 2014 season in which he posted a 3.46 ERA in 33 games (28 starts). In his Opening Day start against the Giants, he made it through four innings with only one run allowed, but unraveled in the fifth.

Patrick Corbin (1 start)

2018 | 1-0, 5.2 IP, 3.18 ERA, 1.41 WHIP

As discussed in the Wade Miley blurb, Patrick Corbin had been slated to start Opening Day in 2014 in Australia, but he wound up suffering an elbow injury and missed the whole year due to Tommy John surgery.

Corbin did not look like himself for several years, but he did turn in a solid campaign in 2017. Thus, when a groin injury pushed Zack Greinke back a few days, the Diamondbacks called upon Corbin to start Opening Day in 2018.

He pitched well that day against the Rockies, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings. He also went on to have a magnificent season, tossing 200 innings with a 3.15 ERA and a career-high 246 strikeouts.