More news and thoughts about Opening Day 2021

It’s Opening Day across baseball, including here in Chicago where the Cubs and Pirates will play on a cold afternoon, with a high temperature about 37, beginning in about three hours from the time of this post. A game preview will post at 11:30 a.m. CT, as is customary here for a 1:20 p.m. CT game.

You can find the Cubs’ Opening Day roster here.

I wrote up some of my Opening Day thoughts here Wednesday; here are some more, plus some baseball news.

One game Thursday has already been postponed:

It’s supposed to rain much of the day in Boston. At least the sun will be out in Chicago.

The Cubs have one of the best all-time winning percentages on Opening Day:

Since the Cubs returned to contention in 2015, they are 4-2 on Opening Day.

While Wrigley Field will host approximately 10,000 fans this afternoon, 25 percent of capacity, the city of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management warned in a news release that if COVID-19 cases continue to increase as they have in recent days, the ballpark might have to be shut to the public again:

The City’s COVID-19 metrics have been on the rise in recent weeks and CDPH is warning Chicagoans that everyone needs to abide by the public health guidance, including wearing masks in public, even if you’ve been vaccinated. Furthermore, bars and restaurants have strict regulations they must follow in order to keep their patrons and employees safe. A further increase in COVID-19 cases could result in ballparks, bars, restaurants and businesses closing to reduce outbreaks. The latest COVID-19 regulations in Chicago can be found at Chicago.gov/reopening.

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred sent out an open letter to fans Thursday morning. If you haven’t seen it, I reproduce it here in its entirety.

To our fans:

On behalf of our Clubs, players and all of us at Major League Baseball, welcome to a very special Opening Day. This spring provides a moment to celebrate hope - not just for our favorite teams, but for our society as we emerge from a difficult year full of hardships and pain. We extend our gratitude for the sacrifices of the countless heroes who helped get us here.

We are excited to embark on the 2021 season, with new rivalries and the young superstars who are making a significant impact on our game. But, most important of all, we are thrilled to welcome fans back to all 30 of our ballparks. Baseball fans bring so much energy to the park, and our game is so much better with that passion in the stands. We are hopeful that hearing the sounds of a ballgame in-person represents important progress towards a 2021 that looks and feels closer to normalcy.

On the field, I can’t wait to see the incredible stars of our sport playing the game at a remarkably high level. From veteran MVP-caliber players like Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, to young stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto and Ronald Acuña Jr., to name just a few, our fans will be watching outstanding athletes who will be remembered for generations. With storylines everywhere for our fans - a new marquee rivalry in Southern California, the star power of the NL East, the return of Trey Mancini, the excitement of Shohei Ohtani, the chases for 3,000 by Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer, and the many All-Stars debuting with new teams - it’s a great time for baseball.

Off the field, baseball has demonstrated its commitment to rising to the occasion to meet the challenges caused by the pandemic. MLB, our Clubs and our players have worked hand-in-hand with communities in need across the country. We helped increase public testing capacities, provided more than $75 million in support to local service organizations and made more than 20,000 free COVID-19 tests available for schools, youth academies, charities and other community organizations. Once vaccines became available, 11 of our Clubs opened their ballparks to serve as mass vaccination sites in their communities, with more than a million doses being administered at our venues.

This work will continue throughout the 2021 season as we continue our fight against COVID-19. We’re proud to announce that this year, Major League Baseball will be donating $1.5 million worth of tickets to frontline and essential workers throughout the season in our appreciation for their herculean efforts. We are also excited to mark the 25th anniversary of our partnership with Boys & Girls Club of America by renewing our relationship, donating millions of dollars for grant opportunities for workforce development and youth baseball and softball, and raising awareness for a remarkable organization that keeps kids safe by providing a positive environment where they can learn, play and grow.

In times of challenge, America’s Pastime has given us something to root for and a common bond within our communities. It makes friends out of total strangers. It creates shared memories with the people we love. Most importantly, it also gives us hope - whether in the form of a late-inning comeback, a pennant race or the promise of better days ahead after a long winter. Like last year, we also hope that our platform provides a positive visual example of the necessary steps to preserve health and safety.

I want to thank you, our fans, for supporting this game we love over the past year. Please keep wearing your masks and looking out for one another. I also want to extend my appreciation to all the players for their commitment to the health and safety protocols developed by our medical experts that allowed us to finish a safe Spring Training. We were able to complete last year’s season due to the sacrifices made by our players and staff to protect each other. We know that this year will require a redoubling of those efforts and that we’ll need to be flexible and adapt to challenges as they arise - and we will, together.

So, as we start a new season of baseball, I’m excited to once again say:

Play ball!

Sincerely,

Robert D. Manfred, Jr.
Commissioner of Baseball

Whatever you think of Manfred, I agree with the sentiments in his letter. Let’s play ball, safely, so that over the course of the 2021 season more fans can be welcomed to ballparks everywhere. Perhaps by mid- or late summer, Wrigley Field can be rocking with 40,000 people again.

Echoing Manfred: Play ball!