How to cure your Opening Day baseball hangover

It’s such a tease, isn’t it? We wait the entirety of a long, cold, and unforgiving winter to have baseball back, and as soon as we get the first sweet taste, there’s an off day. But do not despair. The only cure for a baseball hangover is more baseball. Here are some videos, tweets, and GIFs to get you through the day while we wait for baseball to once again grace our TV screens tomorrow.

Yesterday, the Mets started off the season on the right foot, with a rousing 9-4 victory over the Cardinals. The rally parakeet even made a special appearance!

Opening Day commenced on a somewhat somber note, as the Mets honored Rusty Staub.

But Thor lifted the spirits of the crowd and the result was truly electric.

Back in early March, one Mets fan proclaimed on Twitter that he would dye his hair blonde if Syndergaard struck out at least 10 on Opening Day. Well, it’s time to break out the hydrogen peroxide.

Lost wagers aren’t the only thing happening on #MetsTwitter. The Mets even have a new hand signal they’ve debuted for Opening Day. Move over, Thumbs Down. The Mets have their own thing now: the salt and pepper.

Oh, and I’m also continuing to enjoy the heck out of this while it lasts.

There were some other fun Opening Day storylines throughout baseball yesterday. The first walk-off victory of the 2018 season happened in Baltimore, where Adam Jones hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th to win it for the Orioles.

It is the second year in a row the Orioles have had a walk-off victory on Opening Day.

The Braves had a walk-off victory against the Phillies as well. The Braves’ comeback from a five-run deficit came at the expense of the Phillies bullpen after new manager Gabe Kapler made the controversial decision to take Aaron Nola out of the game after just 5 ¹⁄₃ innings and 68 pitches, despite the fact that he was pitching a shutout. Nick Markakis’s three-run homer run was the game-winner for the Braves.

Opening Day in Atalanta also saw the return of a crowd favorite who is never not ITBSOHL.

Our Good friend Lucas Duda also hit a home run today in his Royals debut in what was ultimately a losing effort. But the best part is that the Royals seem to be catching on.

We see you, Green Man. We see you.

Speaking of home runs, John Sterling got the chance to break out his new home run call for Giancarlo Stanton’s two dingers yesterday and it’s an...interesting choice, to say the least.

And then there are the moments that give you goosebumps.

These are the things that Opening Day is made of. Reflection, palpable energy, unrelenting optimism, and baseball’s firsts: first walk-offs, first home runs, first at-bats with a new team, first pitching duels, first celebrations, first memories of a new season.

Everyone was feeling the Opening Day vibes, including KoST champion and perennial Smiles Above Replacement leader, Brandon Nimmo.

It was an amazing atmosphere. Before the game, the ‘Let’s go Mets!’ chants going around, I just had adrenaline coursing through my veins. All emotions were on high. I just couldn’t take the smile off my face.

We couldn’t either, Brandon.