Derek Feltner
Mar 11, 2024
MLB opening day, an every year tradition that many baseball fans worldwide look forward to as they see their favorite teams compete for the 1st time in 5 months. Opening day is a tradition that creates lots of buzz in the baseball community, who will be the team’s starting pitcher? Who will be in the starting line-up? This year opening day is on Thursday, March 28th, right before Easter. An interesting fact about opening day is that it began in the 1800’s according to Baseballhall.org “The 2015 season marked the 140th Opening Day for Major League Baseball. The first Opening Day, also the first game played in the National League, was on April 22, 1876. “Baseball looks much different now. The MLB was originally formed in 1876, however baseball was played a few years before that, according to baseballhall.org.
“The Cincinnati Base Ball Club was founded in 1866 and joined the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) in 1867.” The team were the Cincinnati red stockings named after the long red stockings they wore as apart of their uniform. Later at the turn of the century the American league was created, “The American League’s attempt to disrupt the National League’s monopoly on baseball was led by its commissioner, Bancroft Johnson. He renamed the Western League, a minor league, the American League in 1899. Johnson also withdrew from the National Agreement—a pact governing relations between the baseball leagues at the time—and, in 1901, declared the American League to be a major league.” Eventually in 1903, 2 years later the National league caved in and recognized the American league, since then the meet every year at the All-star game and in the world series. The American league was originally compromised of 8 teams all of which stand today under different aliases then previous. This year on opening day the hometown Mariners will face off against the Boston Red Sox in the Mariner’s home opener.