It’s Opening Day. Baseball Is Closed.

Every other season, opening day lines up well with the words of George Costanza, that infamous former Yankees executive: “Spring! Rejuvenation! Rebirth! Everything’s blooming, all that crap!” This year, the flowers may have already bloomed by the time the games start, and it might even be summer.

But when baseball returns — if it does — opening day will represent more than usual, a powerful signal that we can all resume our comfortable routines. No other sport serves as such a daily companion for its fans: at the ballpark, on TV, radio or smartphone, even just somewhere in the background.

“Our job when we come back, ultimately, is going to be bigger than the game and all of us as well,” Boone said. “As we’ve seen throughout time, sports can play a role in the healing, a diversion, a distraction, a sense of normalcy.”

We need baseball out there beyond our windows. Until it returns, we are all Rogers Hornsby.

James Wagner contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/sports/baseball/opening-day-mlb-virus.html