While the 99 argumentative days between MLB and the MLB Players Association cast serious doubt on if or when the 2022 Major League Baseball season might begin, that anticipated day for baseball fans commences this Thursday, April 7. Although never officially a holiday, there have been many school days and workdays skipped over the years as fans celebrate the return of baseball and the coming of spring.
For decades the first MLB game of the season was always played in Cincinnati in recognition of the team’s status of becoming baseball’s first professional team formed in 1889. Although the Reds now begin their season at home, it is not the only game played on opening day.
For me, MLB’s opening day has always been filled with anticipation and hope that ‘this year’ would be the year my Red Sox or Pirates would make it to the World Series. It has happened a few times lately for the Sox, but those “We are family” championship days for the Buccos are becoming an all too distant memory.
During my years on the staff of Little League Baseball, opening day was something often shared with then LLB President Dr. Creighton J. Hale. During a conversation, we had one particular opening day; I told him the day was the best day of the year. For some reason, Dr. Hale long remembered those comments. Many years after I had left the organization, he would contact me and ask if it was still the best day of the year. On a few such occasions, aware of our shared love for the Red Sox, he dropped off books about the team at my office.
Unfortunately, the affinity for the game has lost some of its romanticism over the years, but opening day has produced many memorable moments for those who love the game.
April 18, 1923 – with 74,200 fans attending and several more thousand turned away, Babe Ruth christened the new Yankee Stadium, which became known as ‘The House that Ruth Built,’ by slugging the stadium’s first home run in a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
April 16, 1940 – The Chicago White Sox began and ended opening day with the same batting average; .000. That was only possible because Bob Feller, a 21-year-old pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, threw the only no-hitter pitched on opening day, beating the White Sox 1-0. Feller went on to win 27 games that season.
April 15, 1957 – Playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, Jackie Robinson integrated the Major Leagues, forever changing the game and American society. Robinson went hitless in three at-bats but walked once in the Dodgers’ 5-3 win over the Boston Braves. His number 42 has been permanently retired by MLB, and on April 15 each year, all MLB players wear his number.
April 4, 1974 – Connecting on a home run in his first at-bat of the season off the Cincinnati Reds Jack Billingham, Hank Aaron matched Babe Ruth’s record of 714 career home runs. He would go on to exceed Ruth’s mark hitting 755 career home runs. Even though Barry Bonds would later hit 762 career home runs, many fans still claim Aaron’s total as the legitimate record.
With the 2022 Opening Day approaching, local baseball historian Lou Hunsinger and Williamsport Crosscutters Marketing Director Gabe Sinicropi took the time to share their reflections on opening day remembrances.
“It meant the end of winter, renewal of sorts and anticipation of the coming good weather and all those good baseball memories I’ve had over the years coming flooding back,” Hunsinger offered. “It’s just a neat hopeful time. Although the way the atmosphere is with Major League Baseball today, it doesn’t quite feel that same happiness, but never-the-less it is always good to have baseball starting up again. With the lockout, I was afraid we might not have that this year, coupled with the COVID-19 related interruptions we’ve had the past two years. But that magic is still there, and I don’t think it is going to go away.
“The opening day I remember most was in 1973. I was sick and home from school that day and was able to watch the Yankees and Red Sox play. That was the very first game in which the designated hitter was used. Ron Blumberg and Orlando Cepeda were the first two DHs ever used. Now, this year the DH will begin to be used in both leagues.”
Although now a baseball professional, opening day has not lost its uniqueness for Sinicropi.
“I grew up a New York Mets fan in upstate New York, and opening day was always special and something I looked forward to. It is always fun to see what new players are on the team, and as a kid, it held a special meaning to me. It would start to get your juices flowing to get out the glove and baseball and get outside and play catch with your friends and strike up a whiffle ball game or a neighborhood home run derby.”
While reminiscing with Lou and Gabe, the oddity struck us that despite all of our life-long-long associations with baseball, none of us have ever had the opportunity to take in an MLB Opening Day in person. That will not change for any of us this season as well. But we will all be watching and remembering and will welcome that familiar sound of — Play Ball!
