Put your cares aside, dust off the cleats and grab the bat and ball: Baseball is back

Several years ago, on the first day of the Major League Baseball season, I casually mentioned to my friend Sam that it was opening day. He replied, “Opening day for what?” The scent of orange blossoms, the arrival of butterflies, the sight of rainbows, and the smell of freshly watered dirt reminds me that opening day is upon us. Baseball season renews the spirit, reminds us that spring is in the air, summer is near, and daylight savings time is here.

Baseball has been around since the Civil War. Its lexicon is steeped in American values. There are times when we expect others to step up to the plate, stay ahead of the curve, go for the fence, but don’t get into a pickle. Opening Day should be a national holiday. Baseball is the nation’s pastime. While it may not memorialize an historical event, pay tribute to a national hero, or recognize the achievements of historical figures, baseball unites us as fans and integrates us as a nation. Witness the annual national tribute to the courageous and gracious Jackie Robinson, who broke the color line in major league baseball in 1947. We expect the promise of equal opportunity in all aspects of American life.

Opening Day would allow us to collectively recognize our most cherished personal attributes, character traits, and lasting beliefs. Each personified by great players with reputations that transcend generations of fans and non-fans alike; the venerable Willie Mays, gentleman Joe DiMaggio, unofficial statesman Yogi Berra, the unassuming Hammerin’ Hank Aaron, the elusive Maury Wills, the unpretentious Ted Williams, and the sincerity of Lou Gehrig. A new generation of young ball players fill current rosters and continue the tradition of playing a game that harbors no social class. The game is governed by men in blue whose only weapon is their thumb. They do not enforce the rule book as much as they demand civility and respect among players. Proper protocol, language and an unwritten code of conduct is expected on the playing field from the Green Monster (Fenway Park) to McCovey Cove (Oracle Park).

Few holidays or birthdays are anticipated as much as the first day of major league baseball. In honor of Opening Day on March 28, I plan to take a ride to my old neighborhood and the vacant lot that was cleared out as our baseball field. I remember how the hardpan dirt was stubbornly scratched to mark the bases, the wooden bats were secured with electrical tape to preserve their structural integrity, and used baseballs were scrounged from the nearby high school. On Opening Day, it’s not nostalgia we are celebrating, but the prospect of better relations with each other, at least for 162 games.

“In baseball, democracy shines its clearest. The only race that matters is the race to the bag. The creed is the rulebook. And color, merely something to distinguish one team’s uniform from another’s.” Ernie Harwell

While the World Series is not really a competition of multiple countries; the multinational origin, cultural diversity, and multilingual richness of players in every dugout make the boys of summer international.

Workers would not necessarily get the day off on Opening Day. However, baseball fans would be allowed to take their transistor radio, iPhone, iPad, tablet, or laptop to work to tune in, stream, podcast, or surf the Internet for their favorite team. On Opening Day employees get to push the pause button on deadlines, delete the doldrums of winter, refresh the spirit and search the endless possibilities that occur at the crack of a bat. During the obligatory 7th inning stretch, stand in unison and sing an ode to the home team.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, baseball fans across the country, it’s Opening Day!