Opening day has snow, stars, fans, virus-delayed game
Miguel Cabrera took a trot, eventually, in the snow at Comerica Park. Mookie Betts started the champion Los Angeles Dodgers with a hit at Coors Field. And the Bleacher Creatures did their thing at Yankee Stadium.
All-Stars on the diamond for opening day, fans in the socially distanced stands eager to cheer them.
“Just having those smells hit you, walking in and having that experience back, it’s invigorating,” Tonia Smith of Sussex, Wis., said Thursday before Milwaukee hosted Minnesota.
Along with the hits, runs and errors, there was a stark reminder of what baseball went through last year.
The New York Mets’ game in Washington — a prime pitching matchup between Jacob de Grom and Max Scherzer —was postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo later said three players had tested positive for the virus and a fourth was considered a “likely positive.”
“It’s one of those things that brings it to light that we’re not through it yet,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re still fighting this. We have to tend to business and not let up. It’s just a reminder that this thing is still out there and real.”
Major League Baseball had 45 games postponed because of the coronavirus last season during the shortened, 60-game schedule, when fans weren’t allowed. No games were lost in spring training this year, but that streak didn’t last long.
At Fenway Park, the opener between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore was called because rain was in the forecast. They’ll start Friday instead.
“One day, two days, three days — I really don’t care, to be honest with you,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I know there are a lot of guys that are excited, but I think it’s for the best. Tomorrow will be a better day weather-wise.”
There were flurries in Cincinnati, where St. Louis newcomer Nolan Arenado singled during a six-run burst in the first inning during an 11-6 win. It was 36 degrees at Wrigley Field as heralded rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes homered to help Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3.
And the field looked better suited for snowballs than baseballs in Detroit where it was 32 degrees when Cabrera connected for the first home run of the new MLB season and the 488th of his career. The flakes were coming down so hard, Cabrera couldn’t tell if the ball left the park, and he slid into second base, just in case.
“It was almost kind of laughable for everybody that we were playing baseball in an environment like that,” new Tigers manager AJ Hinch said after a 3-2 win over Cleveland. “It would come and go, then it got kind of warm when the sun came out. It’s always fun on opening day to take those mental snapshots and enjoy the moment.”
A quick note for weather watchers: Yes, MLB has tried in the past to open the season with all games in warmer climates and cities with domes. Fact is, it doesn’t work out that easily.
Clayton Kershaw and the champion Dodgers were in Denver, where it was 70 degrees. Betts led off twith a single and got two hits in front of an estimated 21,363 fans, which was capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions, in an 8-5 loss to the Rockies.
The crowd varied at each park. There were 10,850 fans at Yankee Stadium, limited to 20 percent of capacity. Fans had to show proof of complete vaccination at least two weeks earlier or a recent negative virus test, and masks were required.
In the Bronx, the Bleacher Creatures did their Roll Call in the right-field seats and the PA announcer called out “welcome back to Yankee Stadium!”
The whole scene caught Blue Jays rookie reliever Julian Merryweather a bit off-guard. “It was definitely weird,” Merryweather said after earning a save in a 3-2, 10-inning win. “I asked a few people: What are all these people doing here? Who are these people? But it was great to have fans again.”