--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Baseball's Opening Day is full of…" description: "\"Baseball's Opening Day is full of time-honored traditions: the President throws out the first ball, the Cubs' starting pitcher walks away with a 54.00 ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/rob-sheffield-1368_balls_baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-h_1357704.png" --- # Baseball's Opening Day is full of time-honored traditions… ![“Baseball's Opening Day is full of time-honored traditions: the President throws out the first ball, the Cubs' starting pitcher walks away with a 54.00 ERA, the Royals get mathematically eliminated from the pennant race.” quote by Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/rob-sheffield-1368_balls_baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-h_1357704.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/rob-sheffield-1368_balls_baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-h_1357704.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/rob-sheffield-1368_balls_baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-h_1357704.png) > “Baseball's Opening Day is full of time-honored traditions: the President throws out the first ball, the Cubs' starting pitcher walks away with a 54.00 ERA, the Royals get mathematically eliminated from the pennant race.” [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sheffield humorously lists baseball traditions, highlighting the ritualistic and sometimes absurd aspects of Opening Day. **In simple terms:** Opening Day is full of quirky traditions. Key Takeaway Enjoy the rituals. Themes tradition humor sports culture Mood lighthearted nostalgic Type sports cultural When to use this quote - attending games - watching opening day - participating in fan rituals - media coverage Key Concepts Ritualism celebration Questions to Reflect On - Which baseball tradition feels most meaningful to you? - How do rituals shape fan identity? A Different Perspective Some traditions may feel exclusionary to new fans. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseball/) [Eras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eras/) [Opening day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opening-day/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) ## Related quotes > [When you're in the middle of a pennant race, you can't go up there thinking about home runs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-sosa/when-you-re-in-the-middle-of-a-pennant-race-you-can-t-go-up-there/) [Sammy Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-sosa/) > [Everyone has a budget, I don't care who you are. But they said if we are in a pennant race in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-baker/everyone-has-a-budget-i-don-t-care-who-you-are-but-they-said-if-we/) [Dusty Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-baker/) > [I don’t know. But it’s my option. I don’t want to leave Chicago. I want to be successful here. I want to help this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-zambrano/i-don-t-know-but-it-s-my-option-i-don-t-want-to-leave-chicago-i-want/) [Carlos Zambrano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-zambrano/) > [When I wasn't lying awake thinking and planning and fighting over that furious pennant race, I was dreaming restless dreams about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smoky-joe-wood/when-i-wasn-t-lying-awake-thinking-and-planning-and-fighting-over/) [Smoky Joe Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smoky-joe-wood/) > [I remember facing him on opening day in 1987. It was Oakland at the Minnesota Twins, the first time I got him out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-young/i-remember-facing-him-on-opening-day-in-1987-it-was-oakland-at-the/) Curt Young > [There is no bigger stage than Old Trafford on the opening day of the season.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-maddison/there-is-no-bigger-stage-than-old-trafford-on-the-opening-day-of-the/) [James Maddison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-maddison/) > [“We came out of the dugout for opening day and saw a fan holding up a sign: 'Wait 'Til Next Year”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moe-drabowsky/we-came-out-of-the-dugout-for-opening-day-and-saw-a-fan-holding-up-a/) Moe Drabowsky > [I'm not throwing a no-hitter Opening Day. It's just not going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scherzer/i-m-not-throwing-a-no-hitter-opening-day-it-s-just-not-going-to-happen/) [Max Scherzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scherzer/) > [“Nowadays, people often ask me what it’s like hunting with my dad. We’ve actually had offers of tens of thousands of dollars from people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-robertson/nowadays-people-often-ask-me-what-it-s-like-hunting-with-my-dad-we-ve/) [Willie Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-robertson/) > [“Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/time-like-an-ever-rolling-stream-bears-all-its-sons-away-they-fly/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [I'd give a year of my life if I could hit a homerun on opening day of this great new park.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-give-a-year-of-my-life-if-i-could-hit-a-homerun-on-opening-day-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dimaggio/you-always-get-a-special-kick-on-opening-day-no-matter-how-many-you/) [Joe DiMaggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dimaggio/) > [If you want to see a bunch of happy Americans, go out to opening day at any baseball stadium in the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/if-you-want-to-see-a-bunch-of-happy-americans-go-out-to-opening-day/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [I think getting any Opening Day start is an honor, but 10 in a row is pretty special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-crawford/i-think-getting-any-opening-day-start-is-an-honor-but-10-in-a-row-is/) [Brandon Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-crawford/) > [This week Disney opened its first ever theme park in China. More than ten thousand children showed up on opening day. And that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/this-week-disney-opened-its-first-ever-theme-park-in-china-more-than/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) ## More by Rob Sheffield > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I suck at fighting. I have never really learned how to talk and be mad at the same time. If I have angry words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-suck-at-fighting-i-have-never-really-learned-how-to-talk-and-be-mad/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Morrissey was my Mrs. Garrett, the house mother from the Facts of Life, a soothing adult figure giving me words of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/morrissey-was-my-mrs-garrett-the-house-mother-from-the-facts-of-life/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I had never gotten the hang of dating — I was always going to be somebody who either had a girlfriend or didn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-had-never-gotten-the-hang-of-dating-i-was-always-going-to-be/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [The hottest trash-disco star in the world: Ke$ha! She has a lot in common with Kiss, actually, even spelling her name with a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/the-hottest-trash-disco-star-in-the-world-ke-ha-she-has-a-lot-in/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“on the 11th of every month my friend elizabeth would say, "well we made it through another month. so do we get her back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/on-the-11th-of-every-month-my-friend-elizabeth-would-say-well-we-made/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“What doesn't kill you maims you, cripples you, leaves you weak, makes you whiny and full of yourself at the same time. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/what-doesn-t-kill-you-maims-you-cripples-you-leaves-you-weak-makes/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“But when you're a teenage boy, you can be narrow-minded about things that are girlie, things that are frivolous, things that are pop. Boys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/but-when-you-re-a-teenage-boy-you-can-be-narrow-minded-about-things/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I've never heard of anybody getting rid of their prized Exile postcards, much less actually writing on them and sending them through the mail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-ve-never-heard-of-anybody-getting-rid-of-their-prized-exile/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's always that one song that gets to you. You can hide, but the song comes to find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/it-s-always-that-one-song-that-gets-to-you-you-can-hide-but-the-song/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [There are all kinds of mix tapes. there is always a reason to make one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/there-are-all-kinds-of-mix-tapes-there-is-always-a-reason-to-make-one/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“By the time you're an adult, you're used to seeing your friends disappear into their five-year plans. They drop out to get married, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/by-the-time-you-re-an-adult-you-re-used-to-seeing-your-friends/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“Last fall, I was sitting at the kitchen table of two friends who have been together since 1972. They tell me a story about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/last-fall-i-was-sitting-at-the-kitchen-table-of-two-friends-who-have/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Tonight, I feel like my whole body is made out of memories. I'm a mix-tape, a cassette that's been rewound so many times you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/tonight-i-feel-like-my-whole-body-is-made-out-of-memories-i-m-a-mix/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“You're in a physical landscape you share with this bizarre and fundamentally alien creature, not alien because she's female but alien because you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/you-re-in-a-physical-landscape-you-share-with-this-bizarre-and/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) [Explore all 249 Rob Sheffield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## More Balls quotes > [It's a lot harder to play football when you haven't got the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gray/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-play-football-when-you-haven-t-got-the-ball/) [Andy Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gray/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [Maybe bring in sponge balls to learn the technique and gain that experience of actually challenging for a header.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mason/maybe-bring-in-sponge-balls-to-learn-the-technique-and-gain-that/) [Ryan Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-mason/) > [I like René Descartes' theory about a ball of wax. You can change its form from solid to liquid, but it's still the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-like-ren-descartes-theory-about-a-ball-of-wax-you-can-change-its/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Throwing a ball is not natural, whether it's overhand or underhand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-finch/throwing-a-ball-is-not-natural-whether-it-s-overhand-or-underhand/) [Jennie Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-finch/) > [I don't feel like I have to live up to anything because I've proven that I can play. 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But you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-glanville/you-run-the-football-for-toughness-you-run-the-ball-to-tell-your/) Jerry Glanville Browse all 3,005 Balls quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Baseball's Opening Day is full of time-honored traditions: the President throws out the first ball, the Cubs' starting pitcher walks away with a 54.00 ERA, the Royals get mathematically eliminated from the pennant race.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rob Sheffield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-honored-traditions-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balls" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-honored-traditions-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/rob-sheffield-1368_balls_baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-h_1357704.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/rob-sheffield-1368_balls_baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-h_1357704.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/rob-sheffield-1368_balls_baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-h_1357704.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Baseball's Opening Day is full of time-honored traditions: the President throws out the first ball, the…” — Rob Sheffield", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rob Sheffield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Baseball's Opening Day is full of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-honored-traditions-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/baseball-s-opening-day-is-full-of-time-honored-traditions-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```