Why Reds lost their Opening Day schedule special role in MLB history

The Cincinnati Reds used to have the MLB Opening Day spotlight all to themselves.

For much of the 20th century, the first team to play each season was the Reds. It was a tradition that took hold and never really went away.

These days, though, the schedule doesn't normally work like that.

That includes this season, when the first game of the MLB season is a standalone game on Wednesday night: Yankees at Giants, broadcast on Netflix.

The Reds will open the season Thursday at 4:10 p.m. ET at home against the Boston Red Sox.

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Why don't the Reds play first on Opening Day anymore?

MLB mostly went away from this tradition for broadcast and attention reasons. The league wants its first game to be a marquee event. 

The Reds, even when they're good, don't quite fit the bill of what the league is looking for as far as flashy teams from big markets.

Cincinnati still is almost always at home on Opening Day, which helps continue a portion of the tradition. The city treats Opening Day like a holiday, and the game returns to where one of the original professional franchises came to exist.

For the Reds' roster itself, it probably isn't too big a deal. They're just trying to win games and get back to the playoffs.

The city, of course, loved being the first game of each season. But they'll show up and root on their Reds no matter when they play.

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