Opening Day

[Marshall_P]

Opening Day

 

   As the snow melts and the sun shines through a cloudless sapphire blue sky over downtown Minneapolis, Target Field awakens from its winter hibernation. The old familiar scents of freshly cut grass and sizzling bratwurst and sauerkraut fill the air as the crackling of baseball gloves and wooden bats provide the acoustics echoing throughout the stadium meaning only one thing: Its Opening Day.

   After two seasons of the COVID pandemic kept a large number of fans from attending home games, a certain saying from the classic film “Field of Dreams” comes to mind, (adjusted slightly to fit in with Twins purposes):

   “Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Target field for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up at the plaza not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at the gates as innocent children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 a person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in short sleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game, and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that was once good, and it could be good again. Oh… people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.”

   As winter comes to an end, the promise of spring and summer enlighten the senses of all baseball fans. The Twins enter the day tied with all other MLB teams in first place, beginning the 162-game quest of the regular season.

   Led by manager Rocco Baldelli in his fourth year with the Twins, (210-174 managerial record), Minnesota will look to build off of an injury-plagued 2021 season where they finished last in the AL Central Division, (73-89).

   Optimism can be felt on the healthy legs of star center fielder Byron Buxton, (signed to a $15-million-per-year contract extension through the 2028 season), and the leadership of former World Series Champion and All-star shortstop Carlos Correa.

   A completely turned over starting pitching rotation will be led by young talent in Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, with the added veteran presence of newcomers Sonny Gray, Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer and Chris Paddack. While a 6-man rotation will likely not be feasible, it is a luxury for pitching coach Wes Johnson to be able to go to the hot hand, and perhaps use one or more in long inning relief in given circumstances.

   As we embark into the 2022 season, one of my favorite quotes come to mind:

   “Baseball isn’t just a game. Its life being played out on a field- a field of dreams - on diamonds of green, where players pursuing their dreams try to be the best they can be on the grandest stage of all - where men become boys, and boys become men, all speaking one universal language without uttering a single word.”  -Tom Tatum

   Happy Opening Day!

[MplsFan]

Nice.  Well-written and moving.  Thank you.