At Home Plate - Opening Day the Start of My Year

At Home Plate

Written by Jonathan Leshanski (Contact & Archive) on April 06, 2009

There is no day of the year that excites me as much as Opening Day. Not Christmas, not my birthday, not even Halloween, Thanksgiving or New Years Eve, all of which rank high on my list. No, Opening Day is special, very special, and for me it’s the equivalent of all the others rolled into one.

To me, that’s the true start of the year. And the sign that things have started isn’t the ball falling in Times Square, but the umpire stepping to up, and calling out “Play Ball!” at home plate.

But this year I cheated.

Yeah, in New York we’ve be blessed not with one, but two new cathedrals of the game, and I couldn’t wait for the home opener to go explore at least one of them. After all, how often can you go see not just a home opener, but the first professional game played in a new ballpark?

Citi Field is ready for baseball ...

Photo by Jonathan Leshanski.

So on Friday I found myself joining those who can no longer call themselves the Shea faithful to watch the Mets and Red Sox play the inaugural major league game at Citi Field. And I didn’t go alone - even my wife was excited to explore the new ballpark. So with our one-year-old daughter strapped to my chest, we set off to take a look at Citi Field.

New Year came a little early in my world, after all it was not just a game, but a new ballpark, and my daughter’s first Major League game to boot.

And Citi Field is gorgeous, with its own unique features and character, but today’s article isn’t about that (I’ll give you a full review of Citi Field after the opening series to give them a chance to work out a few of the kinks). But even on a damp night where the game was delayed for about a half hour it was a glorious event.

... but there is still some work to be done outside

Photo by Jonathan Leshanski.

Watching the Mets and Red Sox face off brought back memories of 1986, and not just to me. Red Sox nation made their presence known, as busloads of fans came down from Boston to check out the new stadium and root on their hometown nine. Things got edgy for a few moments as the Mets faithful started chanting “1986” to the New Englanders who answered with “2007” time after time. Tempers seemed about to flare over this when a peacemaker in the left field boxes started a chant of “Yankees Suck” which all parties seemed to agree with, and join in on, eliciting a wave of laughter that seemed to circle the entire structure.

That euphoric feeling lasted the whole night as fans watched what turned out to be a good game, explored the new park and generally enjoyed themselves. It was what every Opening Day should be, one filled with hope, joy and generally enjoyed by all.

And the best part of it was that it was just foreplay to last night’s first game of the season, where the umpire stepped to the plate and cried “Play Ball” for real, and the game counted in the standings.

I am sooo ready for baseball.

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