If the new Obama administration really wanted to put some cheer into the American people, what better way than to declare the opening day of Major League baseball as a national holiday. Besides the Super Bowl (which should be moved to Saturday so we can spend Sunday recovering), Christmas, and the day school starts back (for those of us with children) what day of the year is more anticipated? Joe DiMaggio once said, “You look forward to it like a birthday party when you’re a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen.”
And they should schedule every game during the day so the kids can get out of school and not have to miss one moment of the greatest game on earth – baseball. There should be festivities and parades that involve not only the professionals, but allow the Little League and high school teams to participate. We could wear our favorite team’s colors and gear for the day, something similar to what we already do for the rodeo. It will be a day for soaking up the sun, chewing on and spitting sunflower seeds, and eating as many hot dogs, peanuts and nachos as our stomachs will allow.
During the pre-game we will honor and revere former players and managers, the ones that made the game what it is today. It could be a day for not only celebration, but for remembrance. I don’t think we do nearly enough of that today as we should – pass down rituals and traditions to our younger generations. What a better way than to spend the day at the ball park sharing knowledge of the game that we grew up loving. To recall the traits of the game that will forever be etched in our minds. Who can ever forget the sound of the leather popping from a 95+ mph Nolan Ryan fastball? Who cannot recall the loud ‘uummmph’ he exerted every time he released one of his legendary heaters? What about the sight of players playing a game of ‘pepper’ before a game? Odds are if you ask any young child today they won’t have a clue about playing ‘pepper’. Those are the traditional things that today’s kids need to hear about.
Our grandfathers used to stay up late at night listening to the radio under the covers, trying to sneak in just one more inning. They dreamed of one day making a catch like ‘say hey’ Willie Mays, or having as sweet of a swing as ‘’Teddy Ballgame’’. They got to hear Babe call his shot, Bobby Thompson hit his ‘’shot heard ‘round the world’’, Don Larson throw a World Series perfect game, Ted Williams finish his career by hitting a dinger, and Bill Mazeroski hit a home run to win the World Series.
Our fathers, they were able to witness the breaking of the color barrier by Jackie Robison, the passing of the home run baton from Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron. They saw Reggie Jackson hit three consecutive World Series home runs and the Miracle Mets stun the world. They observed the pitching brilliance of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Bob Gibson.
In 1866 Charles A. Peverally wrote, “The game of baseball has now become beyond question the leading feature of the outdoor sports of the United States…It is a game which is peculiarly suited to the American temperament and disposition…in short, the pastime suites the people, and the people suit the pastime.” Well, that was then and this is now - the generation of today’s dads that have had to endure an age of congressional hearings, tell-all-books, rich-spoiled-players, and – steroids. But not even those alarming events can dampen the exhilaration of opening day! We still were privileged to witness Carlton Fisk wave a World Series Home run. We were spectators to such feats as the Dodgers improbable win off the bat of a gimpy Kirk Gibson, Bill Buckner’s unforgettable error, Pete Rose rip hit number 4,192, and Joe Carters homer to win the ’93 Series. And let’s not forget the Astros reaching their first ever World Series.
The first ‘official’ recognized franchise in baseball was the Cincinnati Reds, which were historically given the privilege of opening the season by hosting the first game of the year from 1876-1989. But in 1990, this streak was broken and the Reds were scheduled to appear as visitor’s verses our Houston Astros.
One of the greatest opening day feats was in 1940 when Cleveland ace Bob Feller tossed the only Opening day no-hitter in MLB history. Also, Aaron hit his 714th career home run to tie Ruth on the All-time list. And with its never ending thirst for statistics, baseball even counts the number of U.S.presidents that have thrown out the first pitch, which is at 12 and counting.
The opening of America’s national pastime has always been eagerly anticipated with most sports fans considering it the “official” start of spring. So with just a few days to go, lets prepare ourselves for the exclamation by the home plate umpire of those magical words – ‘’play ball!’’
