Why Baseball's Opening Day is Unique

I have said it many times and I will say it again, I love the Opening Day of baseball season. I drive my wife crazy from February until Opening Day with a countdown of how many days are left until the season starts. I don't get this way with football, basketball, or hockey. Baseball is special.

Now don't get me wrong baseball is far from perfect on Opening Day. Take this year for example, we start on a Thursday and only have six games the whole day. I like the Monday start of the season, without any of this opening night junk on Sunday, and would like all 30 teams to play. Opening Day should be back to back to back baseball. I personally would gladly watch the Pittsburgh Pirates take on the Houston Astros on Opening Day, because I have been waiting so long that I will take whatever baseball I can get. I will have to be content to watch my New York Yankees take on the Detroit Tigers. Then I'll have to hope that the weather is good in Missouri so that I can watch either the St. Louis Cardinals or the Kansas City Royals game.

With that said baseball is still the best opening day in sports and here are four reasons why.

It brings me back to my childhood: Opening Day reminds me of my first game in Little League. I was excited and hoped I would do something to help my team win. A brand new season where hope springs eternal. We started our games just like the big leaguers with the National Anthem. Of course we also had the Little League Pledge, which they don't have in the bigs but could probably use.

Baseball embraces it's history: Unlike any other major sport in the United States, baseball is tied to it's history. The names of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, and Cy Young are brought up all the time. Fans of the game love talk about records and players from the past. Players from different eras are always being compared to one another and have fueled many sports bar discussions. That doesn't work so well in football and basketball, because the games have changed so dramatically.

Memories: I remember in 1986 that Dwight Evans of the Boston Red Sox hit a home run on the first pitch of the game against Jack Morris of the Tigers, on Opening Day. I can recall that George Bell cranked 3 home runs in 1988 for the Toronto Blue Jays, on Opening Day. The little known Tuffy Rhodes hit 3 blasts of his own on Opening Day 1994 for the Chicago Cubs. I'm not even a fan of any of these teams, but the memories are there. I can't remember if Tom Brady threw a touchdown in the 2010 opener for my New England Patriots. I can't remember who was the high scorer for my Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA opener. For some reason the openers in other sports get lost in the shuffle.

Spring: One huge thing baseball has going for it is that it starts in the spring. The grass is turning green and the flowers will soon be here. Football starts in the fall, and winter is just around the corner, yee haw. Months of cold and bleakness, I can't wait. Baseball is a sign that warm weather is just around the corner. The coats and scarves can be put away and the only gloves you will need are the ones used for catching balls.

I am a third generation Yankees fan living in Maine. I hope you will enjoy opening day as much as I will.

More form this contributor:

The 5 Best Baseball Announcers of All Time

Sources:

baseball-almanac.com