MLB “Opening Day” has turned into a bit of a mess in recent years. With the emergence of streamers in the live-sports space and the fragmentation of media rights, we’ve come a long way from the tradition of the Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day Parade starting the season.
This year, the season started with Netflix broadcasting the New York Yankees-San Francisco Giants game on Wednesday night for its first-ever MLB game. 22 other teams opened play on Thursday, with NBC debuting its new hybrid national-local broadcast model amid local broadcasts.
The rest of the league didn’t open play until Friday, when local broadcasts aired alongside Apple TV’s streaming of the Houston Astros-Los Angeles Angels game.
ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian laments how tradition has been thrown to the wayside and offers a humble suggestion.
“If I had my way, all the teams would play on the same first Opening Day,” Kurkjian said in an appearance on the Foul Territory podcast. “I thought it was really cool that the baseball season always kicked off with the parade in Cincinnati. Every first pitch that was thrown for years and years and years was thrown in Cincinnati.
“And look, I understand this is all about money, this is about networks, this is about growing the game. I get it. But I think it’s always right that all the teams play the first day…
“The season really opens on Wednesday, and the defending American League champion Blue Jays don’t play until Friday. That’s just kind of odd to me. But there are a lot of odd things. I’m willing to go along with it. But if I had my way, all the teams would play on the same first Opening Day, and it would all start with a parade in Cincinnati.”
As much as people may yearn for a true “Opening Day,” it’s unlikely to go back to the way things were. Media deals have become the lifeblood of professional sports, and every team competing on Opening Day would mean less exclusivity for networks and streamers who want to stand out and showcase themselves.
However, it’s not unfeasible to think of meeting fans in the middle, with the first pitch of the season occurring exclusively in Cincinnati once more.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.