The first day of baseball season always represents the official start of summer to me. For the record, I've never been to a home opener where it's actually been warm, so it's not the weather playing tricks on me. It's the first glimpse of that impossibly green grass that gets me to believe winter's grip has, at long last, loosened. It is finally safe to go forth and grill things.

Opening day is magical for other reasons, too. The winning doesn't matter yet (though the whining starts in earnest), and the ballpark is packed. Young fans are seeing their first game, and older ones are settling into a seat with a scorecard and freshly sharpened pencil for the tenth or twentieth or fortieth season running. Everyone is in a good mood. For one day, it's just good to be back in that beautiful park, hot dog in hand and sun (hopefully) on your face.

On Monday, the Cleveland Indians lost the home opener by a score of 4-2 in extra innings. By the top of the tenth, fans had begun to trickle out. It was, as it turned out, a bit too soon for shorts and sandals; people got cold and headed for the exits, but the holiday mood lingered. A news crew approached a man walking past the team shop and asked to interview him, but he declined. "I can't," he said, the joy evident in his voice. "I called in sick today!"

To see a few a scenes from the home opener, check out the OhioAuthority photo gallery for this story by clicking on "Photos" in the navigation at the top of this page.