Here’s How Baseball's Opening Day Can Help You Win

Maybe it's the sound of cleats hitting the top step of the dugout or the pop of a fastball zipping into the catcher's mitt. Perhaps it's the look on a kids' face when their parents bring them to the ballpark to put on the foam finger for the first time. Whatever the connection is, there's something magical about opening day in Major League Baseball. Sure, other major professional sports each have their respective season openers, but there is no landmark on the calendar like the MLB Opening Day.

I know four months in isn't the typical start to a new fiscal or calendar year, but for me, the NEW year feels "real" when I hear the crack of wooden bats or the organ player charging through the speakers in April. The power of Opening Day is filled with optimism. It's the only point in baseball's grind of a 162-game season where every single team is in contention. The fresh start puts everyone at 0-0, whether they're the reigning champions, the team with the highest payroll, or the team predicted to finish last. That idea for me is energizing.

If there's anything that I truly want for me and my team, it's to be in contention. Give me an at-bat and let me show my value without worrying about catching up to the next team or maintaining a certain lead in the standings. The fresh start offers us all the chance to see who spent the offseason focused on improving and who spent the offseason celebrating last year's achievement. It brings a level of excitement and anticipation that makes narratives about past setbacks, prior success, and future predictions irrelevant.

This first week in the MLB will feature a World Series ring ceremony for the Los Angeles Dodgers, commemorating that they quenched their championship drought in a condensed season full of challenging circumstances. That will likely be the only focus on 2020's accomplishments; the rest will shift to whether the Dodgers made the right personnel decisions to contend for the World Series stage this year.

And for this one Thursday in April, they are even with the team many believe will have this year’s worst record. For this one day, every player has the chance to lead the league in a certain statistical category, whether they're a 10-time all-star or a rookie utility player hoping to break into the lineup.

"I tell people all the time, it doesn't matter whether you're the star of the team or the 25th guy, if you're part of winning, everybody wants winners," said Chicago Cubs manager David Ross in an interview we featured on the Corporate Competitor Podcast. "Not everybody has had success and success is hard to obtain."

There's a vital life lesson in that ability to look at today as a fresh start. There's no question last year didn't go the way many of us planned. Abandoning our annual New Year's weight-loss resolutions was the least of our concerns in 2020. Still, many of us used the challenges of last season to make us stronger for the season ahead.

Opening Day creates the atmosphere for a fresh start and new potentials. Let's be honest, we all are driven by the hope of new opportunities for success. We strive for new chances to show value or exceed expectations. 

If last year didn't go your way—even if last week didn't work in your favor—look at today as a chance for a fresh at-bat. Take your stance in the batter's box equipped with your tools and skill set, and start taking confident swings knowing that what you've been through has improved your ability to find success. Remind yourself that today, you're in contention... Play ball.