Happy New Year, Tribe fans!

It's going to be a cool day today, with forecasts for the first pitch in the low 50s. But summer is in the air; today is Opening Day, the beginning of the 112th season of American League baseball in Cleveland. Even though it counts in the standings the same as the other 161 games on the schedule, today's game means a lot more than your typical regular season game.

Cleveland has always come to Opening Day, even when that year's team was thought to be terrible. Why? It could be for the pageantry of the pre-game ceremonies, or it could be the celebration of the unofficial end of winter. It could be because today is the only acceptable day for every Tribe fan to be optimistic about that year's team. I'll offer a simpler explanation: it's because baseball is back, and it's time to go to the ballpark.