Nothing says baseball season is back like warm weather, a cold beverage and live games being broadcast across the nation daily.
The season had an early start this year and the first teams to play were the LA Dodgers against the San Diego Padres. But this was more than a simple opening day game: It included some of the most popular players, such as Fernando Tatís Jr. and world-wide star Shohei Ohtani, who is playing with the Dodgers this year. To top it off, their opening game was in Seoul, South Korea. “It was exciting to see players experience Korean tradition and play at a Korean stadium, which is really different to an MLB stadium,” sophomore Andrew Lim said.
MLB launched an initiative to bring baseball to cities around the world, and the first step in doing so was to have the Dodgers face the Padres in Seoul on Mar. 20 and 21. These games are part of the MLB’s World Tour and feature a series on Apr. 27 and 28, where the Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies square off in Mexico City. There is another set of games on June 8 and 9 where the New York Mets face the Philadelphia Phillies in the London series. “As a Korean Padres fan I feel really proud of Korea getting to represent MLB. I would like to see more of that if there’s a chance years later to have a MLB game,” Lim said.
Opening day for the rest of the teams was Mar. 28, where they began the long grind to the World Series. Teams came out of the gates with heat, such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, while others struggled to get their first win, including the Miami Marlins, who have the worst record in the league at 1-10 as of Apr. 9. “I think the Dodgers are one of the best teams in baseball because they have so many stars like Ohtani,” senior Justin Karis said.
Freshman Isabell Weiner has high hopes for the Orioles, and though they have a record of 6-4, she believes they are playoff bound and is excited to see what their season will look like. Along with other fans, she is also looking forward to seeing the development of the Orioles elite prospects such as Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson. “I expect them to make the playoffs and win at least one playoff series,” Weiner said.
The seven seniors on the school’s baseball team went to support their favorite local team, the Washington Nationals at their opening day on Apr. 1 when they faced off the 4-0 Pittsburgh Pirates, which resulted in an 8-4 loss for the Nationals. Apart from the loss, fans are still looking forward to the season to see the young talented players, who may turn the Nationals into a championship dynasty in future years. “Seeing all the new players and how they performed was one of the most interesting parts of being at the game,” senior Karis said.
