A frenzied crowd and a late-inning blast got the 2008 Major League Baseball season off to a great start. The Boston Red Sox were triumphant as they began their title defense and Manny Ramirez delivered another late-inning clutch hit.
The only problem, no one was watching.
Sure a crowd of 44,628 welcomed back America’s pastime in Tokyo, but the first pitch was tossed around 6:10 a.m. Eastern. While this isn’t the first Opening Series played in Japan, 2000 saw the Cubs and Mets play and 2004 witnessed the Yankees and Devil Rays, I sure hope it’s the last.
Not only do these games in Japan detract from the ‘real’ Opening Day (March 31), but MLB is alienating fans in Oakland and Boston. Don’t me wrong, the fans will still be waiting to cheer for the Sox and A’s when they return, but asking people to wake up at 3 a.m. to watch baseball is crossing a line.
MLB continues to fail to develop the next generation of fans and this is more proof. The actual game was great, so cheers to the “Unofficial” Official Opening Day.
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