As far as pre-game ceremonies for home-openers go, the Philadelphia Phillies hit their 2016 opener out of the park (sorry for the cliche).
Prior to the game, as usual, the team entered the stadium from the bullpen and then was formally introduced to the fans at Citizens Bank Park. Following that, the team held a moment of silence for Philadelphia Flyers chairman and founder Ed Snider, who passed away this morning. Kane Kalas, son of Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas, then delivered an impressive rendition of the National Anthem following the touching moment of silence.
The team also had multiple local celebrities throw out ceremonial first pitches prior to the game.
One week removed from winning the NCAA title, Villanova stars Daniel Ochefu and Ryan Arcidiacono teamed up to throw out two of the pitches.
Now Villanova's stars Ochefu and Arcidiacano throw a pitch. pic.twitter.com/k3OErlHDiq
— Philliedelphia (@Philliedelphia) April 11, 2016
With all due respect to the two basketball stars, the cooler first pitch came when wounded police officer Jesse Hartnett threw out the first pitch, just months removed from being shot numerous times while on duty, and then successfully proposed to his girlfriend.
Officer Jesse Hartnett throws out the first pitch then proposes. Congrats! pic.twitter.com/rgyKD5PLVq
— Philliedelphia (@Philliedelphia) April 11, 2016
Opening Day, especially in the case of teams that aren't expected to be good, is often a reminder of how special the things we take for granted are. In today's case, numerous local heroes were honored prior to the game, before regular baseball returned to Philadelphia for the first time in 2016. It doesn't get much better than that.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
