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It's Opening Day


weams

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Baseball is grass, chalk, and dirt displayed the same yet differently
In every park that has ever heard the words play ball.
Baseball is a passion that bonds and divides all those who know it.
Baseball is a pair of hands stained with newsprint,
A set of eyes squinting to read a boxscore,
A brow creased in an attempt to recreate a three-hour game
From an inch square block of type.
Baseball is the hat I wear to mow the lawn.
Baseball is a simple game of catch
and the never-ending search for the perfect knuckleball.
Baseball is
 Willie vs Mickey, Gibson vs Koufax, and Buddy Biancalana vs the odds.
Baseball links Kansan and Missourian, American and Japanese,
But most of all father and son.
Baseball is the scent of spring,
The unmistakable sound of a double down the line,
And the face of a 10-year-old emerging from a pile of bodies
With a worthless yet priceless foul ball.
Baseball is a language of very simple words that tell unbelievably magic tales.
Baseball is three brothers in the same uniform on the same team for one brief summer
Captured forever in a black and white photo on a table by the couch.
Baseball is a glove on a shelf, oiled and tightly wrapped,
Slumbering through the stark winter months.
Baseball is a breast pocket bulging with a transistor radio.
Baseball is the reason there are transistor radios.
Baseball is a voice in a box describing men you've never met,
In a place you've never been,
Doing things you'll never have the chance to do.
Baseball is a dream that you never really give up on.
Baseball is precious.
Baseball is timeless.
Baseball is forever.

Greg Hall

 

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THE SPIRIT OF OPENING DAY

Today you'll dig in the closet for your glove and snap a ball into it while sipping your morning coffee.

Today you'll drive to work and admonish yourself to "keep your head down" and your eye on the road.

Today your team will be in first and planning to stay there. Today you'll wonder about developing and selling tobacco-flavored toothpaste, as you spit into the sink.

Today you'll still be able to turn the double play.

Today you'll end your contract holdout.

Today you won't lose a business deal in the sun. Today you'll find yourself rotating your arm around your head to stretch the shoulder and keep it loose.

Today sunflower seeds strangely find their way into your back pocket.

Today you'll think of wearing a black suit to match the eye black.

Today you'll have the steal sign.

Today you slip up in a meeting and mention "our sales team vs. lefties."

Today as the toast comes out of the toaster, you'll still remember how to execute a perfect "pop-up" slide.

Today a hot dog and peanuts for lunch will sound about right.

Today you tell a co-worker to "get loose."

Today the only strike you'll know about is above the knees and below the armpits.

Today you'll wear your jacket only on your pitching arm.

Today you'll buy two packs of gum and stuff them in the side of your mouth to look like a player.

Today, during lunch, you'll wonder why Coke doesn't come in a wood can.

Today you'll scratch yourself and spit for no apparent reason.

Today you'll wonder why stirrup socks never caught on as a fashion rage.

Today you'll be the rookie looking to make it big.

Today you'll be the wily vet with just a little something left.

Today you'll look for the AM dial on your radio.

Today mom's watching.

Today dad's in the backyard with his glove.

Today will be hopeful.

Today it'll still be a kids' game.

Today you'll be a kid.

Today is Opening Day!

Greg Shea

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3 hours ago, crissfan172 said:

I refuse to acknowledge any day that the Orioles don't play as "Opening Day". 

 

(Even if that means I'm wrong)

I'm with you 100%. Years ago, IIRC, the Reds opened before everyone else, and I understood that, sort of, because I believed the fiction that the Reds were descended from the original professional team, the 1860s Red Stockings. I could see it if the defending World Series champs, or both pennant winners, were accorded the honor of opening first before their fans.  

But I don't understand the current arrangement of having three teams open on Sunday -- that number picked, I guess, because three games compose one full day of TV programming while NCAA basketball is resting. That's nice for the fans of the Rays, D-Backs and Cardinals. Why doesn't everyone open on a weekend Opening Day? It would be nice for the fans to kick things off with Saturday and Sunday games all around. 

Today's not a complete loss. I can root against the Yankees (now down 5-2 on a two-run Longoria HR), and get a nice early-season view of empty seats at the Trop. But Opening Day? That's tomorrow, weather permitting.

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