Devin Williams saved his first game with the New York Yankees by a whisker.

Austin Wells became the first catcher to hit a leadoff homer on opening day, Anthony Volpe also went deep and the New York Yankees began their AL pennant defense with a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

For the second straight Major League Baseball offseason, a norm-shattering contract has been the talk of the winter, with Juan Soto agreeing with the New York Mets on a $765 million, 15-year deal that’s the richest in baseball history.

Hard-throwing Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes capped a remarkable season by winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award while Luis Gil of the New York Yankees edged Baltimore’s Colton Cowser to take the AL honor.

That $82 million contract Jackson Chourio signed before ever playing a major league game looks like more and more of a bargain with every swing the Milwaukee Brewers rookie takes this postseason.

Jackson Chourio tied the game in the eighth with his second homer of the night and Garrett Mitchell delivered a two-run shot later in the inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets that evened their NL Wild Card Series.

Mark Vientos hit a tiebreaking, two-run single during a five-run outburst in the fifth inning as the indefatigable New York Mets continued their thrilling week by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 in an NL Wild Card Series opener.

This has been a banner season for rookies.

The Milwaukee Brewers became the first major league team to clinch a playoff spot when they sealed their third NL Central title in the last four years.

Just when it appeared baseball’s young standouts had mastered the transition from Triple-A to the majors, a few of the game’s prized prospects showed up and went through a humbling experience.

Big-name free agents appear in no hurry to strike deals at the winter meetings, biding time until Shohei Ohtani potentially breaks the record for richest contract set 4 1/2 years ago by Mike Trout.

Outfielder Jackson Chourio agreed to the largest contract for a player with no major league experience, an $82 million, eight-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.