Opening Day did not creep up and surprise me. Yet I did not await it with the same mixture of impatience and angst as usual. But here it was and, when it was here, there I was, mesmerized and rejuvenated. Something happened,right away, right off the bat. A catcher batting leadoff for the Yankees, last year’s second place team, hit a home run in his first at bat. That was the first such situated home run ever recorded in major league baseball history. His team subsequently defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2. Austin Wells is his name.

A highly touted second year outfielder named Jackson Chourio batted leadoff for the Brewers and struck out in each of his five plate appearances. The heart was warmed when Wilmer Flores of the San Francisco Giants drilled a late inning three run homer to enable the Giants to escape with a 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the Queen City . Flores was severely hobbled last season by a knee injury but he is the kind of guy who would go have a talk with your neighbor who was threatening you with harm and probably talk him out of it.

The Dodgers won and Shohei Ohtani hit a home run. Also, the sun rose in the east. Baltimore clobbered Toronto. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ defense let them down. Maybe Oneill Cruz is a first baseman. The Sacrovegas A’s lost late in Seattle. Luis Severino and Logan Gilbert were great.

It’s for real now. Here comes the sun.