Rob Long: Orioles Opening Day
I remember the time when the Baltimore Orioles were the team that was closest to the White House. That is, when the Birds always started Opening Day at home. Well, there was once when the season was cut short due to work stoppage and the team started the season on the road, but for the most part, Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards would host baseball's biggest holiday.
Times have changed and this year the Orioles begin the season in Tampa to take on the Rays. Chris Tillman will take the mound for the Birds to start the year for the second consecutive time coming out of spring training.
Adam Jones, the team's most consistent player, will lead last year's American League East champs as they try to make it to the post-season for the third time in four years. During a conference call Sunday, Buck Showalter announced that Ubaldo Jimenez will be the fifth starter and will not miss a start. It was speculated that the team would only use four starters the first time around but that will not be the case.
The excitement of Opening Day began for me way back in my childhood. Since then, it's had a holiday feel for me. It's like Christmas morning when you run downstairs to open that box. You know what's in it but still there are butterflies as you unwrap it to see it for yourself.
That's Opening Day. The day is like one long run downstairs to open up the season. I have butterflies as I anticipate the first pitch of the 2015 season. It's baseball and there is nothing better than the start of the season. It's a marathon, but Opening Day is the start of it all.
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