Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For MLB and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, Why Time Begins On Opening Day.[3] Many feel that the occasion represents a newness or a chance to forget last season, in that the 30 major league clubs and their millions of fans begin with 0-0 records.[3]
Being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season.[4] It is often given to the pitcher who had the best season the year prior,[5] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[6]
The National League franchise in Philadelphia was established in 1883 following the dissolution of the Worcester Worcesters. The team adopted the Philadelphia Phillies name in 1884 and has used the moniker, and been located in the city, since that time.[9]
Established in 1969 as the Pilots in Seattle, Washington, the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin the following season,[11] which brought top-flight baseball back to Wisconsin for the first time since the Braves departed after the 1965 season.[12] The Brewers have been members of the National League since 1998; prior to that, the team played as a member of the American League Central Division.[13]
The franchise currently known as the New York Yankees was originally established in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles (unrelated to their current divisional rivals). After moving to New York City in 1903 and adopting the name New York Highlanders, the team was renamed the Yankees in 1913.[22]
The Kansas City Royals were added to the American League in a 1969 expansion after the city's first Major League Baseball franchise departed for Oakland, California.[28]
Playing under various names such as the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels have been members of the American League since 1961.[32]
While the Oakland Athletics have played under the same name since their establishment in 1901, the team has played in three different locations under that moniker. The franchise was initially based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[33]
When the Minnesota Twins moved to Minneapolis for the 1961 season, a new Washington Senators team was established in the United States capital as an expansion franchise.[35]
