Randy Smith: Opening Day Still Special

I saw where someone posted, "Opening Day in Major League Baseball is much better than the NBA." Well...I tend to agree. The first game of the baseball season means that winter is over...trees are sprouting buds...grass is growing...and the days are getting warmer. It's a reminder that things come back to life after being dormant through the winter months. It's also a reminder that no matter how good or bad last season was, everyone gets a fresh start and every team is unbeaten on Opening Day.

As I've mentioned many times before I've been a New York Yankees' fan all my life. On Thursday the Yankees celebrated Opening Day in the Bronx with a 4-2 win over Milwaukee. In that game Yankee catcher Austin Wells became the first catcher in baseball history to lead off a game on Opening Day with a home run. I had to wonder why the Yanks were putting a catcher in the lead-off spot but manager Aaron Boone put Wells in that position for a reason and he knows more about that kind of thing than I do.

Most major league teams draw a capacity crowd on Opening Day, and then in game two, the crowd size shrinks because every day can't be Opening Day. You only get one Opening Day per year and that fact alone makes it special. Not only do Major Leaguers celebrate Opening Day but minor league teams around the country also have season opening ceremonies as well. In 1976 when the Lookouts returned after being gone for a decade, a huge crowd packed Engel Stadium on a beautiful April evening. The Lookouts were a farm team of the Oakland As that year and the excitement continued for the entire season as the team advanced to the Southern League Playoffs.

The magic and amazement of Opening Day trickles down to college baseball and high school baseball as well. It was always very special in Little League Baseball too. As a ten year old that was playing baseball for the very first time I remember how exciting it was when the Madison Little League opened its season. All games were played at Madison Park which had only two fields so play began early on Saturday morning and continued through the evening. Since there was no public address system available, one year a Colonial Bread truck was brought in and it had a microphone inside with a small speaker on top of the truck. It was used to introduce all the players and coaches and for a future sports announcer, that was all I needed. A couple of my buddies joined me in the truck and we played " sportscaster " until finally someone came in and ran us out of the truck.

The good memories from many Opening Days are abundant. If you haven't been to an Opening Day ceremony lately, try it. I promise...the feeling of renewal is absolutely wonderful.