Opening Day is warmly regarded in North American tradition as the beginning of a new Major League Baseball season. It falls annually around the beginning of April, signaling such a generational feeling of rebirth that the writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, Why Time Begins On Opening Day. It represents a newness in which 30 major league clubs and their millions of fans begin with 0-0 records and the hope for glory come autumn's World Series.

For generations, Opening Day has arrived amid pageantry. It is celebrated nowhere as heartily as in Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the sport's first professional team, where an annual parade marks an unofficial "city holiday" with young and old alike taking the day off to cheer on the Reds. Although the past decade has brought the introduction of a Sunday night opening game on ESPN, the ensuing Monday brings Opening Day to numerous major league ballparks and the game that day in Cincinnati (the only team which always opens the season at home) still is observed throughout baseball as the "traditional opener." Opening Day is a state of mind as well, with countless baseball fans known to recognize this unofficial holiday as a good reason to call in sick at the office and go out to the ballpark for the first of 162 regular season games.

Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn, who played for the 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."

Opening Day extends throughout the sport of baseball, to hundreds of minor league baseball franchises as well as to college, high school, youth league fields and in areas far beyond North America. There are opening-night performances for new Broadway plays, and there is a beginning to everything, but Opening Day is uniquely the start of a baseball season. After a long, cold winter and a Spring Training to prepare, it is that time-honored opportunity to take one's seat at the ballpark and hear the umpire shout, "Play ball!"

Prior to Opening Day, the teams' managers have to decide the starting pitchers for the Opening Day game. This spot is usually given to the teams' ace pitchers, and is usually considered an honour for a pitcher to start on Opening Day. In turn, the pitchers who start on Opening Day are recognized throughout the baseball world as their teams' best starting pitchers.

Opening Day History

There is a rich history of special events that have occurred on Opening Day, most notably a 1940 no-hitter thrown by Cleveland pitcher Bob Feller, ultimately a Hall of Famer. It remains the only no-hitter in Opening Day history. Opening Day has been synonymous with United States presidents as well. On April 14, 1910, baseball enthusiast William Howard Taft attended the home opener in Washington D.C., becoming the first U.S. President to throw out the first pitch to start a season. Eleven sitting U.S. presidents have done the same since then. One standout, Harry S. Truman, showcased his ambidextrous talent when he threw out ceremonial first pitches with both his right and left arm in 1950. On April 4, 1994, Bill Clinton inaugurated the Cleveland Indians' new ballpark, Jacobs Field, with the first pitch.

The great Ted Williams was a .449 hitter in openers, with three home runs and fourteen runs batted in during fourteen such games. "Teddy Ballgame" also boasted at least one hit in every Opening Day game inwhich he appeared.

On Opening Day in 1974, Hammerin' Hank Aaron ignited the crowd at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati with his first swing. It resulted in his 714th career home run, tying Babe Ruth on Major League Baseball's all-time list. Aaron would finish his career with 755 homers.

Hall of Famer Walter Johnson was arguably the greatest ballplayer in Opening Day history. In 14 season openers for the Washington Senators, the "Big Train" pitched a record nine shutouts. His two most famous starts include a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia A's in 1910 and a 1-0 marathon victory while battling the A's Eddie Rommel for 15 innings.

On April 4, 2005, Dmitri Young of the Detroit Tigers hit three home runs in his team's opener against the Kansas City Royals at Detroit's Comerica Park. He became the third major leaguer to homer three times on Opening Day, following the Toronto Blue Jays' George Bell in 1988 and the Chicago Cubs' Tuffy Rhodes in 1994.

Inspirational Opening Day quotes

"You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen." -- Joe DiMaggio

Baseball culture