Opening Day graphic by Steve Mears
Today was supposed to be that day you leave work or school early to attend Opening Day in the annual ritual. Due to COVID-19, our collective yearning for Opening Day will be delayed for a month(s) or more. We all know that absence makes the heart grow fonder. As we wait for baseball’s real schedule to begin, we will spend our time on staying safe and healthy. The priorities of making it to the start of baseball in good health is what should count.
MLB has created what they are calling, “Opening Day At Home” which will offer games on the MLB Network, Fox Sports’ FS1, YouTube, Facebook, and MLB.com featuring all 30 teams. The mix of games is everything from postseason games to previous Opening Day games, and ESPN2 will air several of the recent Home Run Derby games.
The “Opening Day At Home” broadcasting will also feature charitable components with the league as well as individual teams raising awareness for various charities working on virus-related relief. In addition and probably more exciting to Nats fans is that the team worked out a deal with MASN to air all twelve of the 2019 postseason wins beginning on April 2nd.
“Sometimes, Opening Day is about more than just baseball,” writes StubHub marketing. “The experience is truly a myriad of scents, tastes, sounds and energy that make it one of the most quintessential American traditions.”
StubHub also came up with excuses for those getting out work or school to attend Opening Day:
24% of Americans said they would make up an excuse
13% said they would take a “sick day”
7% said they would take a “mental health day”
25% said they wouldn’t make up an excuse – they’d just be honest
30% other
If you still believe there will be a full season, you can still find stats and stories in baseball to follow. Fangraphs just re-crunched numbers without Noah Syndergaard in 2020 due to his elbow injury. Yes, the rest of the NL East improved just a little. Today’s chart:
Let’s continue to talk baseball and keep each other company in this temporary situation we are in. Feeling confined could push you into a depressive state. We are here for each other and to try to put smiles on each other’s faces.
“As we all look for bright spots in our days, the delayed start of the 2020 season has given me a chance to further savor my memories of the 2019 Postseason and our World Series win,” Nationals’ principal owner Mark Lerner wrote to the fans. “I hope you will also look to your favorite postseason moments as a continued source of happiness to soften the likely hardships of the days ahead.”
Nothing could have prepared us for this current state of the world. We have few legitimate excuses to leave where we are sleeping to go into the public. If everyone follows the www.CDC.gov/COVID19 procedures, we can end this virus sooner and get back our full liberties. The message here is short.
