Take Me Out to the Ballgame!
Spring. It’s a time for grand returns: trees, blooms, birds, and, of course, baseball. Each year, Opening Day marks the official beginning of professional baseball season. There are 30 teams in Major League Baseball (divided into two leagues, the American League and the National League) as well as 240 teams who compete in the Minor Leagues. All over the country (plus Toronto, Canada), these baseball clubs put great effort into generating hype and getting fans excited for the kick-off to the 162-game season.
Baseball is called “Our Nation’s Pastime” because it became wildly popular in the United States around the time of the Civil War (1861-1865). The great poet Walt Whitman was said to have connected it with “our national character.” Washington Senators Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn surely spoke for many of his colleagues when he said, “An opener is not like any other game. There’s that little extra excitement, a fasted beating of the heart. . . . You know that when you win the first one, you can’t lose ‘em all.”
In honor of those itching to get themselves out to the ballpark (or at the very least settling into a comfortable chair in front of a big screen), we take a look at the greatest show on dirt.
Traditions
- Firsts – Cincinnati is home to major league baseball’s first professional team (the Red Stockings, now known as the Reds). Because of this distinction, their first game is almost always played on their home turf. These games used to be at Riverfront Stadium but in recent years, the Reds play at their new location Great American Ball Park–though it is still located along the Ohio River. Many baseball fans consider this game to be the “opening of the Openers.” The team and the city of Cincinnati celebrate with fireworks, parades and circus performances.
Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USC4-1291]
- Presidential Pitches – Ceremonial first pitches have become common occurrences at many ball games. But Opening Day is when the president of the United States is extended that honor in Washington, D.C. the home of the Nationals. It began with William Howard Taft, an avid baseball enthusiast, who threw out the first pitch at the Washington Senators vs. Philadelphia Athletics game in 1910. In 1950, Harry Truman showed off his ambidexterity (the ability to pitch both right handed and left handed) with his ceremonial pitch. President Obama did not throw out the first pitch for the Nationals game because they were playing in New York City. But he did just recently welcome the winner of last season’s World Series . . . another tradition that has caught on.
- Extraordinary Achievement – Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians is the only pitcher in history to manage a no-hitter (where the pitcher keeps the opposing team from getting any hits) on Opening Day. It happened in 1940 against the Chicago White Sox. In 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves tied Babe Ruth for most career home runs (714). There are three teams who share bragging rights to the most consecutive Opening Day wins. They are the St. Louis Browns, the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds. The player with the most individual Opening Day wins without a single loss is Jimmy Key of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Credit: ScottJH
Today and Tomorrow
- To Be or Not to Be (a National Holiday, that is) – This season, Budweiser (a major sponsor of Major League Baseball) teamed with Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith (who played from 1978 to 1996) to petition the government to make Opening Day a national holiday. After collecting 100,000 signatures on a petition posted on Whitehouse.gov, the White House respectfully denied the request.
- Over There? In recent years there has become a trend of Major League teams “unofficially” kicking off their seasons in other countries. In 1999, the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies faced off in Monterrey, Mexico. Two years later, it was Puerto Rico. Japan has hosted four years. This year, the LA Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks played their first game in Australia. This trend has upset many die-hard American fans, but Major League Baseball has responded that the effort is essential in expanding and globalizing the game.