College, high school and youth baseball seasons vary widely depending on location and weather conditions.

In Cincinnati, home of the sport's first openly all-professional team, the annual Findlay Market Parade marks an official "city holiday" with young and old alike taking the day off to cheer on the Reds.

[5] Since 1994 ESPN has often televised a regular-season game the night before "Opening Day" and recent years have seen the staging of season-opening series in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Australia.

Some teams, among them the New York Mets, have had their broadcasters as the master of pre-game ceremonies for their home openers, which also typically feature appearances by retired players, local celebrities or media personalities, politicians, and other dignitaries.

[10] Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn, who played for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, once said: "An opener is not like any other game.

"[1] In 2014, Ozzie Smith, with the support of Anheuser-Busch, began a campaign using the We the People site on WhiteHouse.gov to petition the U.S. government to make Opening Day an official national holiday.

[11][12] In 1907, the New York Giants forfeited their game at the Polo Grounds to the Philadelphia Phillies, 9–0, after rowdy fans made and threw snowballs.

[13] In 1940, Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller threw a no-hitter to open the season against the Chicago White Sox.

[18] On April 4, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 714th career home run on Opening Day at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, tying Babe Ruth on Major League Baseball's all-time list.

He became the fourth major leaguer with three home runs on Opening Day, following the Toronto Blue Jays' George Bell in 1988, Chicago Cubs' Tuffy Rhodes in 1994 and the Detroit Tigers' Dmitri Young in 2005.

The St. Louis Cardinals were the first major league team to open their home season with a night game, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4–2 at Sportsman's Park on April 18, 1950.

[20] The longest Opening Day game in major league history was played on April 5, 2012 between the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays.

[22] The most recent Opening Day doubleheader in the major leagues came on April 7, 1971, with the Chicago White Sox defeating the host Oakland Athletics in both games (6–5 and 12–4, respectively).

Hall of Famer Tom Seaver holds the record among major league pitchers for the most Opening Day starts, doing the honors 16 times in his career with the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago White Sox.

[24] The record for most consecutive victories on Opening Day by a team in history is ten, shared by the Boston Beaneaters (1887–1896) and the Houston Astros (2013–2022).

[25] Major League Baseball had most of its teams open the 2011 season on a Thursday (March 31) or Friday (April 1) rather than the traditional Monday, in order to prevent the World Series from extending into November.