How MLB players, fans and mascots spent 'opening day' without baseball

We spent all winter waiting for opening day. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic will keep us waiting a few weeks longer.

Thursday was supposed to be the day all 30 Major League Baseball teams opened their regular season. Instead, players were home with their loved ones.

While no one was complaining about that specific aspect of the coronavirus shutdown and social distancing in general, it’s clear the players and everyone else who loves the game missed it terribly.

Throughout the day, many players, fans, team employees, and, yes, even the mascots, shared what they were doing to suppress their disappointment and pass the time on social media.

Here’s a look.

The sounds of baseball

The silence was deafening.

That’s what baseball is all about. The sounds. The crack of the bat. The pop of the glove. The national anthem. The seventh-inning stretch.

There’s just a different feeling being at the ballpark because of the noise and the atmosphere. That’s especially true on opening day. Those sounds may have been missing from the ballpark on Thursday, but they were still out there if you listened close enough.

And we can’t forget the mid-game race.

Encouraging messages

Some players, like Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Hunter Pence of the San Francisco Giants, took time to thank those on the front lines and to provide encouraging words during these uncertain times.

Who says there’s no baseball?

Some players and fans were not deterred. The baseball continued in backyards, parking lots, streets. Basically anywhere there was enough room to throw or hit a baseball ... and even some places there was not.

Note: No property was damaged in the making of this video.

Gaming time

Other players simulated opening day with their favorite baseball video game.

Mascots are people too

With no fans to entertain, the mascots were forced to entertain themselves.

Baseball will return. We don’t know exactly how. We don’t know exactly when. But the opening day excitement and magic that was missing Thursday will be unleashed again, and it will be awesome.

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