My first "opening day" baseball game was quite special. This past thursday I attended my first Spring opener Watching Johan Santana pitch five scoreless innings and lead the "new" Mets to a 1-0 win over the Atlanta Braves was even better than expected. Despite the chilly weather, the game brought thoughts of Spring and even Summer.
There's something about baseball's opening day that creates a special excitement in a true fan's heart--even more than Spring Training. Having attended both this year, I can attest to the the fact that there's something particularly special about that first ballgame. The sight of the ballpark, the sight of the field, the starting lineups, the smells of hot dogs and beer, and the cheers and boos (for Mets fans, add the "Taking Care of Business" song) are all things that bring back fond memories and good feelings for baseball fans. But, the burning question still remaining is--"Why?"
I believe Joe Posnanski put it best while searching for the meaning of baseball in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum archives: "To say that the items in this room are priceless is to undersell the point—no amount of money can replace Roberto Clemente's hat when he got his 3,000th hit, or the plaque that commemorated the longest home run ever hit at Minnesota's old Metropolitan Stadium (Harmon Killebrew blasted one 520 feet off Lew Burdette on June 3, 1967) or the last piece of wood chopped by Cy Young. The items in this room are worth exactly as much or as little as the person who sees them imagines" (Sports Illustrated, July 25, 2011).
Posnanski put it best by not answering the question--because it has no answer. Baseball's unique, mysterious quality that has had fans engrained in all its tiny details for hundreds of years. Some say baseball has lost it's edge in today's modern world, but a true baseball fan would angrily respond with the same argument. Both the game's rich history and hankering for statistics are unmatched by any sport that has or ever will come to exist. Heck, the world of baseball number-crunchers is already beautifully melding with the Information Age; those who say baseball is a tired sport are sadly misguided.
It is on that note that I excitedly welcome a new Major League Baseball season, and the history that is baseball's future.
There's something about baseball's opening day that creates a special excitement in a true fan's heart--even more than Spring Training. Having attended both this year, I can attest to the the fact that there's something particularly special about that first ballgame. The sight of the ballpark, the sight of the field, the starting lineups, the smells of hot dogs and beer, and the cheers and boos (for Mets fans, add the "Taking Care of Business" song) are all things that bring back fond memories and good feelings for baseball fans. But, the burning question still remaining is--"Why?"
I believe Joe Posnanski put it best while searching for the meaning of baseball in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum archives: "To say that the items in this room are priceless is to undersell the point—no amount of money can replace Roberto Clemente's hat when he got his 3,000th hit, or the plaque that commemorated the longest home run ever hit at Minnesota's old Metropolitan Stadium (Harmon Killebrew blasted one 520 feet off Lew Burdette on June 3, 1967) or the last piece of wood chopped by Cy Young. The items in this room are worth exactly as much or as little as the person who sees them imagines" (Sports Illustrated, July 25, 2011).
Posnanski put it best by not answering the question--because it has no answer. Baseball's unique, mysterious quality that has had fans engrained in all its tiny details for hundreds of years. Some say baseball has lost it's edge in today's modern world, but a true baseball fan would angrily respond with the same argument. Both the game's rich history and hankering for statistics are unmatched by any sport that has or ever will come to exist. Heck, the world of baseball number-crunchers is already beautifully melding with the Information Age; those who say baseball is a tired sport are sadly misguided.
It is on that note that I excitedly welcome a new Major League Baseball season, and the history that is baseball's future.
