For all official purposes, baseball begins on opening day. For all personal purposes, though, baseball begins once some small, individual ritual has been fulfilled. It may be the first bite of the season’s first hot dog. It may be the first time you put on that old favorite jersey. For me, it’s the first time I fill out the lineups in my scorebook.
For a lot of Phillies fans it seems that the season hasn’t truly begun until there’s an Aaron Nola-surrendered homer to complain about. Thus, for a certain percentage of the Phaithful, the 2025 season officially got underway on Sunday, when Nola allowed Josh Bell to send a 3-run blast just over the wall at Nationals Park’s center field.