Opening Day facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Opening Day |
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2009 Opening Day at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
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| Observed by | United States, Canada |
| 2024 date | March 28 |
| Frequency | annual |
Opening Day is a super exciting day for baseball fans! It's when professional baseball leagues kick off their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in the U.S. and most minor leagues, this usually happens in early April. Sometimes, it even starts in late March. In Japan's professional baseball league, it's usually in the last week of March.
For many baseball fans, Opening Day feels like a fresh start. It's a chance to forget about last season's ups and downs. Every team begins with a clean slate, with zero wins and zero losses. Before Opening Day, teams play practice games called spring training games. A team's first game at their home stadium is called a "home opener."
Opening Day celebrations happen in many baseball leagues. This includes minor leagues, college baseball, high school, and even youth leagues. MLB's Opening Day is the most famous because their season starts earlier than other pro leagues. Most minor leagues begin a few days later. College and high school baseball seasons vary a lot depending on the weather and location.
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How Opening Day Began
Opening Day has always been a big celebration for many years. In Cincinnati, where the first fully professional baseball team started, there's a special parade every year. It's almost like a city holiday! People of all ages take the day off to cheer for the Cincinnati Reds.
For a long time, the very first pitch of every major league season was thrown in Cincinnati. The Reds are still the only team that almost always starts their season with a home game. This tradition has only been broken a few times since the 1900s.
Since 1994, ESPN often shows a regular-season game the night before "Opening Day." Also, some season-opening games have been played in other countries like Mexico, Japan, and Australia. Even though these are "opening games," Major League Baseball still calls "Opening Day" the first day when many games are played at once.
Opening Day is also a special feeling for fans. Many baseball fans consider it an unofficial holiday. They might even call in sick to work or skip school to go to the ballpark! This is because most home openers happen on a weekday afternoon. Home openers are the only regular season games where all the players, coaches, and staff are introduced to the crowd before the game. For other games, only the starting players are introduced. Some teams even have famous people or retired players join the pre-game ceremonies.
Before Opening Day, team managers pick their starting pitchers. This important job usually goes to the team's best pitcher, called the "ace." Being chosen to start on Opening Day is a huge honor for a pitcher. Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn once said that an opener has "that little extra excitement."
In 2014, baseball legend Ozzie Smith started a campaign to make Opening Day an official national holiday in the U.S.
Amazing Opening Day Moments
Opening Day has seen many unforgettable moments throughout history:
- In 1907, the New York Giants lost their game because fans threw snowballs! The umpire had to give the win to the other team.
- In 1940, Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller threw a no-hitter on Opening Day. This means no player on the other team got a hit! It's the only Opening Day no-hitter ever.
- Twelve U.S. Presidents have thrown the ceremonial first pitch to start the season. William Howard Taft was the first in 1910.
- Baseball legend Ted Williams was an amazing hitter on Opening Day. He had a .449 batting average in these games!
- On April 4, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 714th career home run on Opening Day. This tied him with Babe Ruth for the most home runs in MLB history at the time.
- Walter Johnson, a Hall of Fame pitcher, threw a record nine shutouts in 14 Opening Day starts. A shutout means the other team scores zero runs.
- On March 29, 2018, Matt Davidson hit three home runs in his team's Opening Day game. He was only the fourth player to do this!
- The St. Louis Cardinals were the first team to play a home opener at night in 1950.
- The first Opening Day game between teams from different leagues (called interleague play) happened on April 1, 2013. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim played the Cincinnati Reds.
- The longest Opening Day game ever was played in 2012 between the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays. It lasted 16 innings!
- Sometimes, especially long ago, teams would play two games on Opening Day, called a doubleheader. The most recent one was in 1971.
- Tom Seaver, another Hall of Fame pitcher, holds the record for the most Opening Day starts by a pitcher. He started 16 times!
- The Boston Beaneaters (1887–1896) and the Houston Astros (2013–2022) share the record for winning ten Opening Day games in a row.
Recent Opening Day Schedules
Major League Baseball has changed its Opening Day schedule in recent years. In 2011 and 2012, most teams started their seasons on a Thursday or Friday. This was done to prevent the World Series from going too late into November. From 2018 onwards, MLB has tried to have all 30 teams start their season on the same day, usually a Thursday in late March.
For example, in 2018, all teams were set to open on March 29th, the earliest domestic start ever! In 2019, most teams started on March 28th, though some played earlier in Japan. The 2020 season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in July instead of March. The 2022 season was also delayed due to a player lockout.
The 2023 season opened on Thursday, March 30th, with all 30 teams playing. This was the first time since 1968 that all major league teams played on Opening Day. The 2024 season was scheduled for Thursday, March 28th, with most teams playing. However, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres actually played their first game in South Korea on March 20th!
International Opening Games
Major League Baseball has also started some seasons with games played outside the U.S. and Canada. Here are some of these international Opening Day games:
| Season | City | Venue | Guest Team | Score | Home Team | Ref |
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| 1999 |  Monterrey |
Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey | Colorado Rockies | 8–2 | San Diego Padres | |
| 2000 |  Tokyo |
Tokyo Dome | Chicago Cubs | 5–3 | New York Mets | |
| New York Mets | 5–1 | Chicago Cubs | ||||
| 2001 |  San Juan |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium | Texas Rangers | 1–8 | Toronto Blue Jays | |
| 2004 | Tokyo |
Tokyo Dome | New York Yankees | 3–8 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
| New York Yankees | 12–1 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | ||||
| 2008 | Tokyo |
Tokyo Dome | Boston Red Sox | 6–5 | Oakland Athletics | |
| Boston Red Sox | 1–5 | Oakland Athletics | ||||
| 2012 | Tokyo |
Tokyo Dome | Seattle Mariners | 3–1 | Oakland Athletics | |
| Seattle Mariners | 1–4 | Oakland Athletics | ||||
| 2014 |  Sydney |
Sydney Cricket Ground | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3–1 | Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 7–5 | Arizona Diamondbacks | ||||
| 2019 | Tokyo |
Tokyo Dome | Seattle Mariners | 9–7 | Oakland Athletics | |
| Seattle Mariners | 5–4 (12) | Oakland Athletics | ||||
| 2024 |  Seoul |
Gocheok Sky Dome | Los Angeles Dodgers | 5–2 | San Diego Padres | |
| San Diego Padres | 15–11 | Los Angeles Dodgers |
Famous Quotes About Opening Day
Many famous people have shared their thoughts on how special Opening Day is:
In the beginning, there was no baseball. But ever since, there have been few beginnings as good as the start of a new baseball season. It is the most splendid time in sport, in part because baseball is about the only sport left—now that football players report to training camp before the Fourth of July, and hockey players start skating in Indian summer—that still has a time and is true to it.
—B. J. Phillips
There is no sports event like Opening Day of baseball, the sense of beating back the forces of darkness and the National Football League.
—George Vecsey
You always get a special kick on Opening Day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen.
A home opener is always exciting, no matter if it's home or on the road.
