Best Opening Day ever? I say yes.

[Spy Fox]

21 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

I'm glad to see so much optimism and satisfied Orioles fans here. And it's always fun to win in the way the Orioles won today at home.

With that said, I'm alot more even keel about it. I'm not going to get too high and I'm not getting too low because it's just one game of 162 and I've got my eyes set on the real prize at the end of the season: A World Series Championship.

We can hope for at least one Opening Day this decade like Texas just had: celebrate your World Series championship, then start your title defense with a walkoff win. 

[btownoriole]

This was top 3 in my lifetime, along with ‘89 and ‘92.  Part of what made those other two so special in retrospect is how those days seemed to set a tone for those seasons.  Hopefully this season will play out so that Opening Day will be remembered as part of a larger story.

[glenn__davis]

Yeah I'll still go with '92 in my lifetime but yesterday was pretty great.

I never felt the ire for Angelos family - not that I wasn't frustrated with a lot of things they did, I just wasn't going to give them the power to take away my joy of Orioles baseball.  But many went the opposite direction, and that's fine, and it's nice to welcome all of those folks back into the fold.  It's a honeymoon period for Rubenstein for sure right now.

[One eyed Bird]

10 hours ago, Philip said:

Most hopeful, without a doubt.

it is revealing that JAngelos remained in his lofty tower while Rubenstein hung out with the plebes.

I wonder if, at any point, JA said to himself,”I shoulda done that.”?

too busy counting his money and arranging the transfer of his remaining shares 

[Frobby]

11 hours ago, DocJJ said:

I just checked and that is, in fact, the record!

 

Amazingly Orioles 3B Wayne Gross hit 11 HR in 1985 and drove in 18 RBI's.   That's just as amazing/depressing...

Six of the 11 were on Sundays, including two 2-homer games.  I know this because I had a Sunday ticket plan in those days, and Gross was always hitting homers in the games I attended.  

[Gilbutson]

Awesome day. Literally couldn’t have gone any better. Absolutely love this pic…Rubenstein meeting my favorite usher of all time. That guy is full energy and personality and seems to have been at the park forever. 
Dang, new to posting after over a decade lurking around here, but it’s the bottom left picture of the four posted to the game recap. 

 

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, One eyed Bird said:

too busy counting his money and arranging the transfer of his remaining shares 

Arranging the move to Nashville full time.

[One eyed Bird]

4 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Arranging the move to Nashville full time.

I will help him pack, Finally a  owner we can all respect, a owner who cares about the fans, and the on field product, not milking the team, city and fans for every nickel he could extort , yep great day to be an Orioles fan for sure

[SilentJames]

My father passed away earlier this month. I am on spring break so yesterday I had to drive to the eastern Shore first to get an original copy of his will from his lawyer, then go to Worcester County court house and open the estate, then stop at his bank in Millsboro, DE to settle his accounts there and setup his estate account. Starting at 6am I made a loop from Baltimore-Ocean City-Snow Hill-Millsboro-Baltimore. I made it home just as Burnes was finishing the first inning. 

My Dad loved baseball, it was one of those things that we could actually talk about in that completely stereotypical father-son way. Part of me wants to believe that one was for him. 

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, SilentJames said:

My father passed away earlier this month. I am on spring break so yesterday I had to drive to the eastern Shore first to get an original copy of his will from his lawyer, then go to Worcester County court house and open the estate, then stop at his bank in Millsboro, DE to settle his accounts there and setup his estate account. Starting at 6am I made a loop from Baltimore-Ocean City-Snow Hill-Millsboro-Baltimore. I made it home just as Burnes was finishing the first inning. 

My Dad loved baseball, it was one of those things that we could actually talk about in that completely stereotypical father-son way. Part of me wants to believe that one was for him. 

Condolences to you and your family.  

[Gofannon]

13 hours ago, Frobby said:

The O’s are 21-9 on Opening Day over the last 30 years,,and they’ve had a lot of great ones.  They’ve won by larger victory margins than today (twice by 10 runs).   They’ve had a number of Opening Day shutouts, including on the day Camden Yards opened.   They’ve had walk-off and extra inning wins.  

But for me, I’m taking this one as the best Opening Day of them all:

- David Rubenstein and his fellow owners struck every chord correctly, giving interviews, mingling with fans, buying rounds of beers at Pickles, etc.  they were pitch perfect and really set a tone for what we can expect going forward.

- We spent 3 months looking for an ace, and Corbin Butnes looked every inch the part.   He was masterful and so fun to watch.   

- And just generally, the team had great at bats all day and looked like a defending division champion ought to look.  

My optimism meter is pretty much at 100 after today.  


 

In your original post, you highlighted their record over the past 30 years on Opening Day, and if you're going over that time, yesterday was right up there with the three walk-off wins from 2016 to 2018 and the oddity of the snow game in 2003.

If you're talking about the history of the team, 1992 tops yesterday in terms of what the day meant for the franchise and the city.  Truth be told, Peter Angelos hit every note at the home opener in 1992 as well.  50,000 people experiencing that ballpark for the first time can't be topped.  The game was great as well (and quick!).

In terms of excitement, I'd take 1989 over yesterday as well.  They'd lost 12-0 on Opening Day 1988 to start their 21 game winless streak.  Some writers were predicting a no-hitter from Roger Clemens at the opener in '89.  Between the Ripken homer off of Clemens and the Worthington game-winner in extras, there was such a feeling of jubilation and relief leaving the stadium that day.  Nobody had any idea what a wonderful season it would lead to.
Runner-up status also goes to 1982 (Ripken's first HR and a Murray grand slam) and often overlooked 1985 (snowed then as well, and Eddie hit a go-ahead homer in the bottom of the 8th after Charlie Hough no-hit us through six innings).

[Moshagge3]

Does anybody know why a couple of rows in the LF Box (section 82, I think) were covered with a tarp?

[sportsfan8703]

That was best case scenario for OD. 

[interloper]

I can't recall another Opening Day that was such an easy rout of a team. It was really something to behold. The Angels are really bad and we are really good, and it played out exactly like it should have. Super fun to just bask in it. Good ABs, good pitching, timely hitting, solid defense, good base running. Kevin, Ben, and Jim on the mic. Packed house. Weather held up. Home runs. 

Hyde even pushed the right buttons. Didn't push Burnes too far in a blowout, used his B-squad bullpen effectively, and is 1-for-1 on pinch hitting moves. 

[Bahama O's Fan]

Depends on what you are looking for.  To the average fan, today's game was not a good one. To an O's fan, it's almost the best it can be. If you are looking for drama, excitement, back and forth with some kind of walk off, then it's not the best. But if you are like me, and enjoy a laugher for the O's, then it was definitely great.