Opening Day

Shank covers Opening Day from Fenway Park, and reveals his true age:

If it seems like we’ve been doing this for 104 years . . . it’s because we’ve been doing this for 104 years. As it was in 1912, when the granddaddy of JFK threw out the ceremonial first pitch, it is today.

You know the drill. First day of Fenway. Skip school. Watch the opening ceremonies. Honor the past. Watch the Sox beat a worthy rival. See a spectacular catch by Mookie Betts in the very first inning. See yet another homer by David Ortiz. Decide that this is the year. Hope that maybe some dreams come true.

We gathered back at the Fens Monday to watch the surging Sox of 2015 take on the deeply-talented, highly touted Washington Nationals. It marked the first time Washington served as an opponent for Fenway’s opener since the old Senators (they became the Twins) played here on April 14, 1959 with a young third baseman named Harmon Killebrew.

After the snowiest winter on record, the baseball god blessed the Red Sox and their fans with one of the more spectacular April afternoons of all time. It was a perfect, sun-splashed 69 degrees when the Nationals and Red Sox lined up for pregame introductions. A young child accompanied each Sox player. In an age of Xbox and X Games, Major League Baseball finally has decided it needs to re-charge its fans base and cultivate a new generation of fans.