It’s going to be another abnormal Opening Day as the Reds open their second season during the coronavirus pandemic on April 1.
There’s no parade, at least until the Reds are allowed to fill the stadium and there are no restrictions on events. Who knows when that will be. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has allowed 30 percent capacity in Great American Ball Park – which is 30 percent more than was allowed last year.
▶︎ Snow flurries on Opening Day? There's a cold front coming
It may be disappointing to fans of Cincinnati’s favorite unofficial holiday, but we have endured a few other strange, even tragic, Opening Days. Here are six of the strangest Opening Days…
1966: Rain, rain and more rain
Days of unrelenting rain canceled Opening Day on April 11 as well as the entire three-game series against the New York Mets. The Reds were forced to open the season on the road for the first time since 1888. They finally held the home opener on April 22.
Fans weren’t too happy, and only 10,266 showed up at Crosley Field. The Reds had already lost five straight games, and the team was missing the popular Frank Robinson, who was traded in the off-season. The Reds fell to the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-7, before “a booing ‘opening night’ crowd,” The Enquirer reported.
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1977: Snowpocalypse
The Reds players woke up the morning of April 6 to find four inches of snow had fallen overnight. “No game today,” Cesar Geronimo said, looking out his window.
But the snowpocalypse didn’t stop the Riverfront Stadium crew on Opening Day. A staff of 60 worked its magic, shoveling and hauling the snow into trucks that carted the powder away so not a snowflake could be seen by game time.
The temperature was 38 degrees, making for a chilly opener. “My hands and feet were numb,” Geronimo said. But he got hot with a two-run homer to lead the Reds to a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres.
1985: A little bit of everything
Neither snow nor rain nor gale-force winds could stop Pete Rose’s return to his hometown as the Reds’ player-manager on April 8. The Opening Day crowd experienced a full slate of weather – including sunshine for a bit – and two snow delays. Enquirer cartoonist Jerry Dowling drew a Zamboni clearing off the AstroTurf.
Rose stepped up for his homecoming, driving in three runs on two hits for a 4-1 Reds win over the Montreal Expos. “My philosophy is that if you get a couple of hits and you win, you’re always warmer than if you go 0-for-4 and lose,” Rose said.
1996: Tragedy on the field
On April 1, with two outs in the first inning, umpire John McSherry collapsed behind home plate at Riverfront Stadium. McSherry had complained of an irregular heart beat and intended to see a doctor on the off-day after the opener. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, he was pronounced dead at University Hospital an hour after the first pitch.
A hush fell over the packed crowd as most minds weren’t on baseball that day.
“I feel cheated,” owner Marge Schott said after the game was postponed. “This isn’t supposed to happen to us, not in Cincinnati. This is our day. This is our history, our tradition, our team. Nobody feels worse than me.”
A chaplain said a prayer and a moment of silence was held before the rescheduled game against the Expos the next day. Then the umpiring crew walked onto the field to a standing ovation. “It’s nice to see yourself viewed as a human being,” said umpire Tom Hallion. “Sometimes in our profession that’s overlooked.”
Four innings in, the crowd got up the nerve to boo the ump and baseball was back to normal.
2000: ‘The Kid’ arrives
The deal to bring “the Kid,” Ken Griffey Jr., to his hometown team made the hoopla around the 2000 Opening Day more of a circus than ever. Griffey waved his cap to the “thunderous ovation” – a “goose-bump moment” before 55,596 fans at Cinergy Field.
But the crowd’s mood fizzled as the rains came and umpires called the game in the sixth inning of 3-3 tie against the Milwaukee Brewers. With 5½ innings completed, the game was officially declared a tie, but ties don’t count in the standings. All the individual statistics did, though. The Reds dropped the Opening Day do-over 5-1.
2020: Pandemic hits
The entire baseball season (and nearly everything else) was postponed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Reds’ Opening Day was originally scheduled for March 26, which would have been their earliest Opening Day; instead it was their latest, finally playing on July 24.
On March 26, there was no flood of red and white in the Cincinnati streets. The Enquirer flew a drone over Great American Ball Park, pristine in its emptiness. A brother and sister made their own Opening Day parade in Blue Ash in a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe with a cardboard sign.
Then, when the 60-game season finally started in July, there were no fans allowed in the stadium. About 100 stalwarts stood outside with their faces pressed against the gates, hoping for a glimpse. When Mike Moustakas hit a home run in the Reds’ 7-1 win over the Detroit Tigers, members of the grounds crew gave Moose a standing ovation and made antlers with their hands as he rounded the bases.
Talk about strange Opening Days.
Sources: “Opening Day: Celebrating Cincinnati’s Baseball Holiday” by John Erardi and Greg Rhodes, Enquirer archives
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