By Simon Gonzalez
On a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh last week, the Pirates and Cardinals officially opened up the 2016 Major League Baseball season.
To those of us who love the game, it was a magical moment. The lush, manicured emerald green grass. The crisp, colorful uniforms. The flags snapping in the breeze. The beautiful backdrop of the Roberto Clemente Bridge spanning the Allegheny River, and the sweeping views of the Pittsburgh skyline. The first pitch. The sound of the ball thudding into the catcher’s mitt. The thwack of a wood bat interrupting the flight of the ball.
Opening Day (always capitalized) is something to look forward to during the chill of winter, and something to cherish when it arrives.
For an old baseball writer like me, the dawn of the new season comes with a certain amount of nostalgia, thoughts of good friends, memories of special seasons and moments. Like the unforgettable night when Kenny Rogers pitched a perfect game. And the equally unforgettable night when Kenny Rogers pushed me out of the clubhouse. OK, so not all the memories are good. True story, by the way.
For a diehard Texas Rangers fan, it’s time to navigate over to MLB.TV and watch my team. Or really, any team. Yes, even when the NCAA basketball championship is on. So what if I missed the drama, excitement and heartbreak of Villanova’s game-winning shot? I got to see two home runs by Rockies rookie Trevor Story.
Of course, not everyone is as infatuated with baseball. It was passed in popularity by football long ago. But even those who deride it as boring and slow should take a moment to appreciate America’s pastime, at least during Opening Week. Because this really isn’t about a sport. It’s about what makes America great.
Opening Day is about optimism and hope. It’s about fresh starts and new beginnings. Last year is over. The slate is wiped clean. Everybody starts out 0-0. Fans of every team can dream about World Series glory, or making the playoffs.
Sure, it looks like a pipe dream for sad sack teams like the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles, but in just about every season a team goes from worst to first. The Rangers won the American League West last year after losing 95 games and bringing up the rear in 2014.
Opening Day is about the advent of spring and summer, the promise of warmth and light. Never mind that the temperature for the first pitch of the aforementioned game in Pittsburgh was 39 degrees. Or that the scheduled opener in Cleveland on Monday was postponed because of ice. Or that game-time temperature in New York on Tuesday was right at freezing.
Come to think of it, a little chill for the opener enhances the point. When the Boys of Summer take the field, it lets us know that the spring thaw is coming soon.
Baseball remains the sport that best exemplifies the American ethos. Games take place every day. The players have to show up for work, put in their best effort, go home, then come back the next day and do it all again, just like us working stiffs.
It’s played by regular guys — tall and short, thin and not-so-thin, fast and slow. OK, they are regular guys who can throw a baseball at 90 mph, and have the hand-eye coordination to hit a baseball traveling at 90 mph while changing planes over a 60-foot distance. But still, they look like us.
Baseball is a microcosm of society. It has white guys, black guys, Latino guys, Asian guys. It has guys with a college education, and guys who barely made it out of high school. Regardless of background and differences, they have to get along and work together if they are going to be a success.
Baseball is about enjoying time with family and friends during lazy evenings at the old ballpark, while munching on a hotdog and drinking a soda. The stadium is a great place to see action, but the game is slow enough to afford time for conversation.
We could be looking forward to an Opening Day for our own minor-league team this week, but alas the good citizens of New Hanover County resoundingly voted down funding for a $37 million riverfront ballpark in 2012.
All is not lost for those who love the sport. The UNCW baseball team has about a month left in their season, and the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League (a collegiate summer league) begin play May 31.
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Class A Carolina League are about an hour and a half away, and open up this week. It’s about two hours to Zebulon, east of Raleigh, to see the team that would have played here.
Some of us will even make the long trek up I-95 to see the major-leaguers play in Washington, D.C. Definitely worth it to experience a slice of Americana.
Play ball!
