Opening Day: New No. 21 patches, NL DHs and Guardians
Andrew McCutchen got the first hit of the year, up against the still-dormant ivy at Wrigley Field. He delivered as a National League designated hitter. Wearing a Roberto Clemente No. 21 patch, too.
A little later on opening day, Nico Hoerner hit the first home run of 2022. He connected off a pitcher who used an electronic wristband to receive his signals from the catcher. Soon after that, in another yard, the Cleveland Guardians took the field for the first time.
New season, and definitely a new look all across Major League Baseball. And if the weather wasn’t quite summer-like in some spots Thursday, well, who cares?
“It might be cold, it might be windy. But it’s opening day,” Cardinals fan Mary Welsh of Belleville, Illinois, said at Busch Stadium before St. Louis hosted Pittsburgh.
Out near Disneyland, where temperatures neared 100 degrees, AL MVP Shohei Ohtani was set to flash his 100 mph heat and take his
swings for the Los Angeles Angels.
In Atlanta, the Braves celebrated their World Series championship with a pregame parade. At every ballpark, umpires stareted to get their say — this year, they’ve join referees from other sports in announcing replay review decisions to the crowd.
As seats filled up in rainy Washington, chilly Kansas City and more, it seemed fans decided the 99-day owners’ lockout that delayed spring training and pushed back opening day by a week wouldn’t deter them from coming back.
Wearing an Ernie Banks jersey, 23-year-old Philip Lijewski from Guthrie, Oklahoma,
enjoyed the view at Wrigley as the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers loosened up. He said the anger and acrimony over the labor strife didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for the game.
“Not really,” Lijewski said. “I’m glad that they came to a conclusion sooner rather than later. I was bummed that we didn’t get to do it
April 4. But it’s April 7, so not too many days after.”
More than eight months after announcing a new change, Cleveland played its first regular-season game as the Guardians. Known as the Indians since 1915, the club made the switch in the interest of social justice.
Cleveland wore its road uniforms for the game in Kansas City, with the city name on the jersey.
“Supporting the city is what it comes down to,” star pitcher Shane Bieber said a day before the opener. “Going out there with my teammates, doing it the right way is really all we can do. It was a little bit different getting used to the change, but I’d say we’re all getting used to it day by day.”
Plenty of stars from other sports were at Kauffman Stadium to see top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. and the Royals beat the Guardians 3-1. Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid and several of his players were in attendance, as were members of the Kansas basketball team, which rallied past North Carolina in the men’s championship game Monday night in New Orleans.