Somehow, though, opening day seems to have lost a little of its luster this year. Perhaps that's because opening day took place in the middle of the night. The game started at 3:00AM (Pacific Time, which is the time zone of both of the teams that played), in Japan. Not exhibition games, but real, counts-in-the-standings baseball. It seems like the world's dumbest idea to attract new fans to the game while alienating the millions and millions of fans who are already on board and spending their money like crazy.
The A's and Mariners will play again in the middle of the night, then come home and play a couple more exhibition games before the regular season gets going.
The Cardinals and Marlins open the regular season in America on Wednesday, April 3, but that's the only game that day, and then the Cards have the next day off. April 4 sees 7 more games, including the Marlins in Cincinnati (which is the 6th game to start that day). Everyone else gets rolling on Friday, April 5, including the Mariners and A's resuming their seasons in Oakland.
Blasphemy.
Of all American sports, baseball is the one with the deepest and most important roots in its history and traditions. I don't think of myself as a full-on purist (for instance, I think batters wearing helmets is a good thing), but this crazy opening day stuff has got to stop.
The Major League Baseball season opens on a Monday, and the first game of the day is in Cincinnati. And every team plays that day. I don't give a crap how much Gloops payed MLB to start the season a week early on the other side of the world.
When I'm in charge, all of this will be made right. That's a promise.
