Major League Baseball is FINALLY back!
Opening Day has arrived, and it couldn’t have come any sooner. We maintain Opening Day of the MLB season is nothing short of a holiday, and it should be celebrated accordingly!
Today is the one day where every single team is even. Yes, the MLB technically started last week with the Padres and Dodgers competing in the Seoul Series last week. But today is the real start of the season. Gone are the prognostications and the endless debates, and droning on about late offseason signings. Or not worrying about the games or results in Spring Training. Starting today, it all counts.
The beauty of Opening Day is in its simplicity. Every team believes today. Every team has hope today. Are the Athletics, Angels, or Nationals going to be very good this year? Probably not, but you never know. No one thought the Diamondbacks would make it to the World Series last year. Heck, not many had the Rangers winning the World Series last year. There’s 6 playoff spots with 3 of them being wildcard spots. So, if you’re in a division with a great team at the top, like the Dodgers or the Braves, you still have a chance to make the playoffs! The Diamondbacks did it with just 84 wins last year. That means if your team was just average last year in the National League, your team was in the playoff race.
Every year, teams that are expected to compete fall off and underperform. We saw this perfectly with the Yankees and Mets last year. Not only did neither team make the playoffs, they weren’t particularly close to making it!
The playoffs are a discussion for another day. Maybe tomorrow, even. However, for one day, it’s nothing but a celebration. Baseball is back. The 2024 season will be a lot of fun.