BY BOB BEHLER
For anyone who listens to me on Idaho Sports Talk, you know I love baseball. Opening Day is my favorite day of the year and I am disappointed I won’t be there this year.
The best thing about living on the East Coast is living within a three-hour drive of multiple teams. It is much harder to be there in person living in Boise.
It really is the beginning of spring. A mid-week holiday in a city. The grass is bright green. The hot dogs taste great – especially if they have deli mustard. If you can’t have a conversation with the people sitting near you at the ball park, you can’t have a conversation with anyone. By the end of the game, everybody is best friends. I love getting there early for batting practice and enjoying the pregame ceremonies where everyone on the roster is introduced. Even if you don’t think your team is going to be great, you’re hoping that at least on Opening Day your team gets the win and starts in first place.
On Thursday’s show, Chris and I will be talking about Opening Day – both 2018 and past ones I have been fortunate to attend. I have chosen a top five of the many opening games I have attended. Several were not season opening, but home opening, which I count, as every team can’t have the first game at home.
Number 5 – April 1, 1996: Shea Stadium, home of the Mets (Mets 7, Cardinals 6). It was a raw 47-degree day with drizzle. Drove the three hours from Pennsylvania to Queens, hoping they wouldn’t cancel. St. Louis led 6-0 through 3 1/2 innings. Mets battled back, chipping away. The play of game was defensive for the Mets. Best relay I have seen. Rookie shortstop Rey Ordonez and in shallow left field throwing out Royce Clayton at home to end the seventh.
Number 4 – April 5, 2004: Minute Maid Park, home of the Astros (Giants 5, Astros 4). Beautiful night with the roof open. First pitch temperature 71 degrees. Great move leaving the Northeast for great weather. Astros led 4-1 in the top of the eighth and starter Roy Oswalt on the hill. Two batters reach for SF, bringing Barry Bonds to the plate. Manager Jimy Williams visits the mound and sticks with Oswalt. Bonds hits the first of 45 homers on the season to tie the game. The Giants win the game in the ninth on JT Snow’s sac fly.
Number 3 – April 6, 1992: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the Orioles (Orioles 2, Indians 0). First game ever at the Orioles’ new home. 63 degrees and sunny. Had so much fun walking around seeing everything that the new stadium had to offer before the game. First of the great new stadiums. Rick Sutcliffe threw a complete game shutout for the O’s in a game that took two hours and two minutes.
Number 2 – April 5, 2013: AT&T Park, home of the Giants (Giants 1, Cardinals 0). The pregame ceremonies included the Giants raising the 2012 World Series banner. The “pennant” came in to McCovey Cove on a SF Fire Department boat and was eventually raised by Matt Cain. Barry Zito, Jeremy Affelt and Sergio Romo combined on a three-hit shutout. The only run was scored on a bases loaded walk.
Number 1 – April 8, 2011: AT&T Park, home of the Giants (Giants 5, Cardinals 4). The 2011 opener beats out 2013 because it was the Giants’ first of three championship celebrations. I never thought I would see one, let alone three. Plus the game was way more exciting than 2013, and I didn’t get to go the pennant raiser in 2015. The Giants led 3-1 and gave up one in the eighth and two in the ninth to let the Cards take a 4-3 lead to the bottom of the ninth. The Giants tied it on Pablo Sandoval’s single in the bottom of the inning and then won it in the last of the 12th on Aaron Rowand’s single.
Bob Behler, the Voice of the Broncos, co-hosts Idaho Sports Talk with Bob & Chris weekdays from 1-3 p.m. on KTIK 93.1 FM The Ticket. He can be found @BSUBob (Twitter).
