Cincinnati Reds cannot stop the demise of Opening Day traditions

The last great Opening Day tradition for the Cincinnati Reds won’t happen on the right day in 2018.

Despite their efforts as a franchise, MLB has slowly stolen each of the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day traditions.  The Findlay Market Opening Day Parade is just the last to feel the change.  The parade will not happen on Opening Day or anytime during the first series of the season for that matter.

The 99th annual parade will not occur on Opening Day.  Opening Day for the Reds in 2018 will occur on March 29th.  That is just days before Easter Sunday next year,

Both socially and financially, the parade had to avoid a date prior to Easter.  Not only is Easter a busy season, but it is also a family holiday for Cincinnati residents.  An event like the parade doesn’t really fit into that model.

Instead, the parade will happen on April 2, prior to the 4:10 game that starts the second series of the season.  This will maintain a Monday parade schedule that it has traditionally held.  The Reds are not the reason behind this, MLB is.

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It makes for an awkward situation in Cincinnati.  Cincinnati runs season to season, tradition to tradition.  There is a reason that it hosts the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany every single year.

Other teams have history on Opening Day, even if it means the most to Cincinnati Reds fans.

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Since the parade first happened only 1966 and 1990 saw the Reds start the season on the road.  Whenever the season sees its first game or where it is played, the first Monday is the Opening Day as far as fans are concerned.  Some fans are rowdy, like the 1907 New York Giants fans that threw snow balls onto the field until the umpire called the game.

In 1940 Bob Feller hurled the only no-hitter in Opening Day history.  William Howard Taft is from Cincinnati, but he became the first president to throw out the ceremonial first pith when he did it in 1910 in Washington.  

Since then twelve sitting presidents have thrown out a first pitch on Opening Day.

Former Cincinnati Reds starter Tom Seaver made more Opening Day starts at sixteen for three different teams.  Second place on the list is Walter Johnson, who pitched fourteen season openers.  He also threw a record nine shutouts.

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Reds fans will always cherish Opening Day.  This is just another example of MLB trying to diminish tradition.  What a weird thing to do for a sport built on tradition.