There's usually a chill in the air. There are flyovers, big crowds, hot dogs, popcorn, the Star-Spangled Banner and "God Bless America."
But to Major League Baseball players, managers and coaches, Opening Day is about a lot more than fanfare.

The beginning of the season means a fresh start, with teams that finished in last place now in the same position as teams that finished in first. Everybody's record? 0-0.

Teams that had their hearts broken in pennant races and seven-game postseason series have a chance to one-up their rivals. In other words, the New York Yankees get another shot at the Boston Red Sox.

"Opening Day is exciting," Tampa Bay Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella said. "You should be able to get excited about Opening Day. If not, you don't really belong in a uniform. It's the start of a long baseball season and hope springs eternal in the spring. Everybody feels they have a chance and you should get some goose bumps. If you don't, something's wrong."

Piniella's club, despite 91 losses last year, has won five Opening Day games in a row, the longest such streak in the Majors. Unfortunately, that hasn't ultimately meant anything by the end of the season because the Devil Rays have struggled. But don't think for a second that the Rays are looking at it as a bad omen.

"You look at it as this: You have a chance to have a good season," Piniella said. "You should feel like you have a chance to make the playoffs. That's the way you should feel as a team. The least is you should feel like you're going to have a good ballclub."

The Yankees and Red Sox don't just feel they have good ballclubs. They know it. But the Yankees have something to prove, especially after blowing a 3-0 lead in the 2004 American League Championship Series, then watching the Red Sox bring the first World Series title to Boston since 1918.

And New York can start proving it right away Sunday, when they play the first game of the season against the Red Sox themselves.

"It's the best part of the year, where everybody is enthused," Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield said. "It's all about the fans, who are coming out to see the product that's going to be on the field all season. They bring that enthusiasm no matter who you're playing, but with us playing Boston, it's going to add that much more excitement."

Yankees shortstop and captain Derek Jeter agreed.

"A new beginning," Jeter said. "There's a lot of optimism for every team on Opening Day. Everyone gets excited for it. By the end of Spring Training, you're ready to get going. Fans are waiting for it, players are waiting for it. It's always special."

But those are the obvious reasons to cherish Opening Day. There are many more little reasons to love it just as much.

Tino Martinez, for example, is loving it because he's back with the Yankees, the team he won championships with in 1996, '98, '99 and 2000.

"I've been looking forward to Opening Day ever since I signed in January," Martinez said. "It would have been special just to be part of this team and be announced wherever I may be, off the bench or whatever. But to have the opportunity to start the game is even more special."

And what about the Washington Nationals? They're playing on Opening Day for the first time. And their skipper, Frank Robinson, is involved with his 45th Opening Day as a player, coach or manager.

"A new era is born," Robinson said. "It's going to be a very special Opening Day for these players. I never thought I would be involved in more than five Opening Days. I had no idea I would be around that long. They are all the same. They are very special in their own way. They take on a different meaning."

Particularly this year, when regular-season Major League Baseball comes to our nation's capitol for the first time since 1971.


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"It's very special, not only for ourselves, but for the city of D.C.," Nationals catcher Brian Schneider said. "They get a team back in the area. It's the start to a franchise. There are a lot more things involved than just playing."
That's how a lot of players feel about Opening Day.

Take, for example, rookies who've never experienced the largesse and grandeur of the moment.

Kansas City Royals catcher John Buck, who will be experiencing his first opener after being obtained from the Astros last June, is expecting some serious butterflies.

"You hear people talk about how they live for it," Buck said. "So I'm excited. I'm sure I'll be pretty pumped up. I'll be flowing. It's a game where I'll be excited, but control it. ... I don't know if it'll match my first day in the big leagues when we were playing St. Louis, but I got through that, so I'm sure I'll get through this one."

It's OK, John. Even the veterans sometimes have a tough time getting through it.

"I love it, and sometimes it stresses me out," said Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sean Casey. "And tickets ... everybody wants to come into town for Opening Day. It's crazy."

Casey's teammate, Ken Griffey Jr., helped explain what Casey was referring to.

"It's a big deal in Cincinnati, when the businesses close down and 40,000 or 50,000 people are at the ballpark," Griffey said. "There's nothing like Opening Day. It's the beginning of a long haul."

And that's pretty much the sentiment everyone can agree on.

"Spring Training is a time to get ready," said Phillies slugger Jim Thome. "We all know that it's a long season, and that's what you prepare for. Opening Day is the day you start the marathon."

"You don't even need your coffee that day," Kansas City outfielder Matt Stairs added. "If you can't get pumped up for Opening Day, you'll never get pumped up for a game."