Thursday wasn't Nestor Cortes Jr.'s first Opening Day ever — that honor goes to when he and a few buddies skipped class their senior year of high school to go see the 2013 Marlins kick their season off in Miami.
But for him and the four others enjoying their first major league Opening Day, all at different stages of their careers, the meaning of Thursday is something that'll stick with them for life.
"I mean, I still can't believe it," said Cortes, 23. "Since I was a little kid, that's what you look up to — Opening Day — as a fan.