Baseball season kicks off the year right around the time Spring officially starts. In the past, the season started in the first month of April, but the start of the season has recently moved into the last week of March. According to the website Yahoo, this year’s Opening Day is unique because all 30 teams will play on the same day, something that hasn’t happened since 1968.
The Cleveland Guardians will keep the tradition alive for Opening Day this year. For the fifth year in a row, Guardians ace pitcher Shane Bieber will be the starting pitcher. The batting order for the Guardians also looks similar to how it did at the end of last year’s season, with Steven Kwan leading off and José Ramírez and Josh Naylor batting next to each other in the lineup, according to MLB’s website.. To start off the season, the Guardians will be hosted by the Oakland Athletics, stationed in Oakland, California. A four-game series will be played in their home opener before they continue to Seattle to play the Mariners.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, on the other hand, will play a three-game series in Miami, Florida, against the Marlins. In the offseason, the Pirates made some moves and signed some talented players. Aroldis Chapman, famously known for delivering the quickest pitch in recorded baseball history, clocking in at almost 106 miles per hour, is coming from the Kansas City Royals. They also signed Michael Taylor, a center fielder, from the Minnesota Twins. After concluding their first series against the Marlins, they will travel to DC to play the Washington Nationals.
On March 25th, Lowellville’s baseball team had its own opening day. Although they suffered a 7-1 loss against Springfield, it helped the team put what they needed to do into perspective. Dan Dougherty, the head coach and history teacher at Lowellville, said about the team, “The season is looking promising. We had a good offseason. We have 18 kids on the team… we hope to keep getting better until the playoffs in May.”
As the screams from October, which still ring in the stadiums, start to die out, new ones will fill their spots. The interesting thing about baseball is that every team has a chance to make it to the Postseason. However, it is about setting up a strong foundation for the season early on, in March and April. This year looks promising for every team in its own way, and the World Series is still in anyone’s hands beginning on March 28th.
