Opening Day: Difference between revisions

Prior to Opening Day, the teams' managers have to decide the starting [[pitcher]]s for the game, an assignment typically given to the [[ace (baseball)|ace]] of each team's staff.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120402&content_id=27845066&vkey=news_bos&c_id=bos |title=Red Sox lefty Jon Lester will start second straight Opening Day &#124; redsox.com: News |publisher=Boston Red Sox |access-date=March 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201013150/http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120402&content_id=27845066&vkey=news_bos&c_id=bos |archive-date=February 1, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> For a pitcher to start on Opening Day is considered an honor, regardless of whether they are on the home or visiting team.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/other/strasburg-calls-opening-day-start-huge-honor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026223251/https://www.foxsports.com/stories/other/strasburg-calls-opening-day-start-huge-honor |url-status=live |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |title=Strasburg calls Opening Day start 'huge honor' |work=FOX Sports |agency=AP |date=April 3, 2012 |access-date=March 12, 2022}}</ref> Hall of Fame pitcher [[Early Wynn]], who played for the [[History of the Washington Senators (1901&ndash;60)|Washington Senators]], [[Cleveland Indians]] and [[Chicago White Sox]], once said: "An opener is not like any other game. There's that little extra excitement, a faster beating of the heart. You have that anxiety to get off to a good start, for yourself and for the team. You know that when you win the first one, you can't lose 'em all."<ref name="opening day"/>

 

 

==Memorable moments==

==Recent Opening Days==

Major League Baseball had most of its teams open the 2011 season on a Thursday (March 31) or Friday (April 1) rather than the traditional Monday, in order to prevent the World Series from extending into November.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100914&content_id=14659090&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb|title=2011 MLB slate packed with exciting matchups|last=Newman|first=Mark|work=MLB.com|date=September 14, 2010|access-date=September 15, 2010}}</ref> Similarly, most teams opened the 2012 season on Thursday (April 5) or Friday (April 6). However, subsequent seasons through 2017 returned to Monday openers for most teams. For the 2018 season, all 30 teams were scheduled to open the season on Thursday, March 29 (the earliest domestic start for a regular season in MLB history, and the first time since 1968 that all major league teams were scheduled to start the season on the same day, although two games were subsequently rained out and postponed to Friday, March 30).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/09/12/mlbs-schedule-opens-march-29-earliest-regular-start/105533830/|title=MLB's schedule opens March 29, earliest regular start|newspaper=USA Today|agency=Associated Press|date=September 12, 2017|access-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref> In 2019, MLB scheduled an even earlier opening day for most teams on Thursday, March 28; this excludes a two-game series on March 20 and 21 between the [[2019 Seattle Mariners season|Seattle Mariners]] and [[2019 Oakland Athletics season|Oakland Athletics]] at the [[Tokyo Dome]] in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24447611/mlb-open-2019-season-march-28-earliest-start-ever|title=MLB slate includes regular-season games in Tokyo, London and Mexico|publisher=ESPN|date=August 22, 2018|access-date=February 25, 2019}}</ref> The opening of the 2020 season was originally scheduled for Thursday, March 26, but was rescheduled to Thursday, July 23 and Friday, July 24 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/sports/baseball/mlb-season-opening-day-coronavirus.html|title=M.L.B. Pushes Back Opening Day Over Coronavirus Concerns|last=Kepner|first=Tyler|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 12, 2020}}</ref> The 2021 season opened on Thursday, April 1.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/opening-day-2021-guide|title=Opening Day! Your guide to today's games|last=Simon|first=Andrew|website=MLB.com|date=April 1, 2021|accessdate=March 1, 2022}}</ref> The opening of the 2022 season, originally scheduled for Thursday, March 31, was delayed to Thursday, April 7 due to the [[2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout|2021–22 lockout]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/baseball-opening-day-mlb-11646172815|title=Baseball's Opening Day Will Be Delayed as MLB Owners, Players Fail to Agree on New Contract|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|last=Diamond|first=Jared|date=March 1, 2022|accessdate=March 1, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://theathletic.com/news/mlb-players-association-agree-to-cba-opening-day-set-for-april-7/BX9hzsUlHiCp/|title=MLB, Players Association agree to CBA; Opening Day set for April 7|last1=Rosenthal|first1=Ken|last2=Drellich|first2=Evan|website=The Athletic|date=March 11, 2022|accessdate=March 12, 2022}}</ref>

 

==International Opening Games==