Opening Day 2012.....Where?

   The 2012 Major League Baseball regular season kicked off this morning at 3:09 a.m. on the west coast.  The game wasn't played in Cincinnati, home of professional baseball's oldest team, it wasn't played in the Nations Capital or in "The Birthplace of America", the opening of the 2012 season was hosted in Tokyo, Japan.  This marked the fourth time in the history of baseball that the season opener was held in Japan, and those fans who were sleeping missed out on a 11 inning nail-biter between the Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners.  Major League Baseball is becoming more of a global game, but it will always be America's "National Pastime".  Somewhere the game is benefiting from doing this otherwise it would not happen, but it doesn't make sense to hold opening day in another country between two west coast teams when it is the middle of the night in those markets back home. 
   The game itself was a classic pitcher's duel with the game knotted up at 1 until the Mariners went ahead in the 11th inning.  Ichiro Suzuki thrilled the Japanese crowd by going 4 for 5 with an RBI, and this game was the much anticipated debut for Oakland outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.  The Cuban born Cespedes collected his first Major League hit in the game, and most of the baseball fans in America were still asleep. 
   If Major League Baseball wanted to showcase games in Japan they should have played strictly exhibition games and left the regular season alone.  Instead, after the Mariners and A's play two regular season games they will return home to continue their spring schedule before playing the rest of the regular season.  Furthermore, the home fans of these teams are missing out on opening day at their ballparks. Opening day is one of those occasions in the game that makes baseball so special.  It marks a day where every team is in first place and every fan has high hopes that this will be their year.  Opening the season in a foreign country is just ridiculous, and proves that baseball is trying too hard to incorporate the whole world while at the same time cheating the fans that made the game "The National Pastime".  Tomorrow morning the A's and Mariners will play game two of the regular season, and if anyone is interested they will have to be awake at 2:10 a.m. on the west coast and 5:10 a.m. in the east.  Baseball fans that want to watch this contest might be forced to call out from work, assuming that they are lucky enough to still have a job with the increasing rates of manufacturing jobs also being sent overseas.