Every team is in the playoff hunt when Opening Day marks the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball season. Although that’s the case for each of the four major sports, it seems the optimism is greater in baseball, with Opening Day having a completely different aura than the rest.
The first Sunday Night Baseball broadcast will be on April 5th, when the Chicago Cubs take on division rival St. Louis Cardinals on ESPN. According to ScoreBig.com, the average Cardinals-Cubs tickets cost $220.36 with a walk-in price of $108. Wrigley Field will be electric, as the Cubs have made some offseason moves in addition to some of their talented farm system players reaching the major league level to create the perfect meeting point. The biggest free agent acquisition of the season was the Cubs signing Jon Lester as their ace pitcher for years to come. On the offense, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Starlin Castro and Mike Olt are names you will be familiar with if you aren’t already. As for offensive acquisitions, Dexter Fowler in centerfield and Mark Montero behind the dish will have the greatest impact. The Cubs have not made the playoffs since 2008 and are looking to turn their franchise past around.
The Cardinals on the other hand, have been the models of consistency for the NL Central division. The Cardinals are looking for their fifth straight playoff appearance and third straight regular season division title. They’ve appeared in three World Series over the past 10 seasons, winning two. The usual suspects, Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina and Matt Holliday, will lead St. Louis with the main addition coming in right field from the Atlanta Braves, Jason Heyward.
The following day is the first full slate of Opening Day games, where people have to choose between going into work or attending their favorite baseball team’s stadium during the day. Of all the action of Monday, April 6th, the World Series runners up Kansas City Royals hosting the Chicago White Sox has the highest average ticket price. The price for tickets to see the Royals start their AL title defense is $223.37 with a walk-in price of $94. The Royals team is largely the same from last year’s improbable World Series run, with Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios being the two main additions.
As for the White Sox, a lot of turnover has the team optimistic about it’s future in the AL Central. Melky Cabrera, Jeff Samardzija, Adam LaRoche and David Robertson are a few of the pieces that the White Sox brought in during the offseason-spending spree. The combination of Chris Sale and Samardzija at the top of the rotation is going to be a problem for any team in a three game series, and if the AL Rookie of the Year, Jose Abreu, gets even better, than this can be a trendy team to shock the baseball world.
Also on April 6th, one of the National League favorites, the Los Angeles Dodgers have the highest average ticket price for a National League host. At Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers will host the San Diego Padres with an average ticket price of $216.86 and a walk-in price of $74. Although the Dodgers are looking for their third straight division title, they have something bigger in mind. The Dodgers look to avenge last year’s all too early exit, and ride the wave of Clayton Kershaw, who won both the NL Cy Young and NL MVP. The Padres have revamped their entire roster and have spent more money than any baseball fan is used to seeing. San Diego brought in Matt Kemp, Wil Meyers, Justin Upton, Derek Norris and James Shields to try and flip the NL West standings on its head.
All three matchups have many storylines and a high level of intrigue. Combined with the special festivies and aura that Opening Day brings, baseball is going to have one heck of a start in 2015.
