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Opening Day is right up there with the opening round of March Madness and the Super Bowl as one of the best days of the year. Not just Best Sports Day, one of the best days of the year. It isn’t because of the caliber of game on the field, far from it, actually (nobody ever said April baseball was the best baseball). It’s not just those first nine innings, but what those nine innings represent. Optimism. Summer. A relaxing way of life. Hope.
Today, every single team, from the best on paper to the worst, from the storied winners, to the storied losers are all even. Supporters of all teams are ripe with optimism (maybe), or at least can sigh in relief knowing we have, hopefully, seen the last of the snow, and that barbecues, beaches, and beautiful blondes in white shorts and bikinis are right around the corner. Because that’s really what baseball is all about. It’s not just 25 guys playing a game for our amusement. Baseball is a national symbol for summer.
Summer’s pulse, like the rhythm of the waves washing up to shore and cascading back to sea, can equally be measured by the back and forth tide of pitcher to catcher. Yesterday was the first true sign that in a mere number of weeks we will be able to trade in our Bean boots for Sperrys and sweaters for Gingham. Instead of sitting by a fireplace, we actually can sit outside in the dead of night by a fire, drinking beers and smoking cigars, swatting at the mosquitoes. Summer is digging your ass in the sand. It’s playing wiffleball in your yard barefoot. It’s having a catch with your dad in a quiet street before dinner.
Opening Day should resonate with everyone — students, yuppies — because there is nothing better than the stretch of days between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and today is the first true indicator that the winter doldrums are behind us.
Cue the 4th of July scene from The Sandlot! “For us, baseball was a game. But for Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, baseball was life.” Chills..
Image via YouTube
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Boston Max
Spending my retirement fund at Trader Joe's and trying to remember to check my mailbox semi-regularly
@BostonMaxG
@boston_maxg
I can’t wait to sit in the bleachers with the squad, drink a lot of overpriced beer, enjoy some sun, and get too drunk to pay attention to the game.
Minor League Baseball. Beer specials and tickets below $15 a pop. Accomplish the exact same goal for a 1/4 of the price.
Thanks for the shoutout, Max. Baseball is back!!
Yesterday was truly a great day. I got to the parking lot at 8:00am and made breakfast burritos. Ended the day with a W over the Yankees.
Was a great game. Go Rays!
It’s 50 degrees and rainy, our team is expected to lose 100 games again. Nobody in our city is excited.
Twins fan?
It’s hard to be a fan of this team.
Agreed, and yet here I am listening in my office. Eternal optimism, apparently.
Saw them in spring training, decent offense but absolutely no pitching. Blew a 6 run lead and the bullpen got shelled.
I’m really pissed I didn’t take the day off to take in all the day baseball. Thank God for MLBtv and IT not blocking the site.
I can’t think of anything more un-American than the federal government blocking MLBtv on a day such as this.
I don’t work for the feds luckily.
Goddamn, ain’t nothing better than a summer day at the ballpark.
Ray Charles’ ‘America the Beautiful’ is the ONLY acceptable song for a fireworks display
Can’t wait for the Angels to misuse the best player in baseball again this year!
I am so JACKED up today. Best day of the year!
Yesterday was Opening Day for me and of course the Giants’ fucking bullpen blew an amazing MadBum game. So far 2017 is looking like 2016.
The Bum is leading the league in bombs though…so there’s that. Hopefully, Melancon just had some jitters.
Right there with you man. Melancon sure isn’t looking like 10+ million a year right now. Shit was embarrassing man.