On a perfect night for baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks held their home opener Monday in front of a sold-out Chase Field.

A gospel choir sang The Star Spangled Banner, fighter jets roared overhead, and then, finally, the first pitch.

Then, the home team went out and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-3.

If the Diamondback players looked comfortable with the Opening Day, it was because it was their third one of the season.

The club played in Cincinnati for the Reds' opener and then played the Colorado Rockies when that team began its season.

The crowd of 48,771 certainly enjoyed the massive, new, high-definition scoreboard, and nobody complained about the fact that hot-dog prices actually went down at the stadium.

But the night was special because, through the generations, Opening Day has come to mean more than just a game.

"It's a tradition," said Darren Pfister, who was in line with his son James, 9, more than two hours before the game started. "There's winter. There's spring. Then there's Opening Day."


Author: John Faherty
Source: The Arizona Republic