THERE ARE SEVERAL DAYS THROUGHOUT THE CALENDAR YEAR THAT ONE FEELS LIKE LIFE BEGINS AGAIN! n
New Year’s Day, perhaps the beginning of Fall or a school season, but the one that always resonates with me is Opening Day.
Opening Day in Baseball is a rebirth. It’s an opportunity for every team in the 30 Major League Baseball cities to say, “this day is for us!”
It doesn’t matter if we win the World Series; it doesn’t matter what happened last year; It’s all new!
Today is a day to celebrate life and the game of baseball. Every opening day is special, and it is noted as a rebirth of sorts. Every fan has a hope, a new hope in his/her team that they can make the playoffs or go further along than previous seasons.
But this is not a day to lament the haves and the have nots: the big money teams, such as the Yankees, Dodgers, or Mets, or if your team is in a big market or a small market or if your owner is a turkey or your GM learned their trade via the bubble gum card route. This is a day of rebirth a day of new hope—a day where everything is new. It brings me back to that first exciting Stadium visit that I had after watching my team (the New York Mets) on a black and white TV and then walking into the stadium and seeing that fresh green grass and all the sights and smells of a stadium that forever make us a fan.
While that was not an Opening Day game, every year “the opener” rekindles those memories. The Yankees should do very well this year. The Dodgers have spent billions of dollars but are now embroiled in a major controversy with Shohei Ohtani and gambling. Their other $300 million pitcher did not do quite well in his first outing to say the least. All that said, look for those two big money teams to meet in October/November.
March to November…ugh.
Sorry, stay positive! It’s about opening Day!
And that’s the thing about Baseball—it is a very long season, 162 games, so there will be plenty of time to lament, there’s plenty of time to bitch and there’s plenty of time to celebrate.
Today it’s a celebration. It’s a celebration of new life. It’s a celebration of new hope. It’s a celebration of being at a place where you can take your troubles and just leave them outside of the turnstile as you enter in to see that pristine grass and dirt and to leave your troubles behind and just enjoy the day.
Take me out to the ball game.
Take me out to the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks.
I don’t care if I ever get back.
Let’s not take this time to lament all the issues and problems that baseball has—because they do have them. Let’s just celebrate the day and the newness of life.
And if our team wins, we have a bright future ahead, 161 more games and the thought of conquering the world. And if our team loses, we have a full season ahead to make up for 161 more games that remain on the schedule.
HISPANICS HAVE MADE AN IMPACT IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
According to the Major League Baseball Players Association, “throughout Major League Baseball history, close to 2,000 players of Hispanic descent have been featured on big-league rosters. Today, they make up nearly 25% of the league’s talent — a number that continues to rise each season. The impact Hispanic major league players have had on their teams and the way the game is played is immense.
The increase in Hispanic talent in Major League Baseball has improved the quality, style and culture of our game. In recognition of the growing presence of Hispanic Heritage in the baseball community, the MLBPA has designed nine graphics that depict players’ faces as well as iconic images of the cities and countries they call home. In addition, nine accompanying “Passport Series” graphics were designed in order to highlighting a player from each country and Puerto Rico.
Players with Latin American roots have and continue to play a vital role in shaping the way baseball is enjoyed around the world.”
Happy Baseball Season!
(Let’s Go Mets)
Dave Torromeo
davetorromeo 