Funnyman Bill Murray taking a few cuts during a home run derby in Baltimore in 1993.

In A Crazy, Strange Sports World During COVID-19, Baseball Starts Season July 23

July 23, 2020 Alan Snel Bill Murray

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

You know the universe is out of kilter — or a virus pandemic has an evil grip on everyday life — when the baseball season starts July 23.

But that’s what we’ve come down to — a 60-game sprint to the finish for Major League Baseball, which is known more for its grueling 162-game marathon season from spring training in late winter to World Series games in early November.

My photographer friend Tom Donoghue sent over a batch of precious baseball photos this morning to mark the first pitch of the 2020 baseball campaign in the age of novel coronavirus.

Here’s my starting nine — plus DH for 10 — in today’s Opening Day of baseball photos.

Casey leads off

Gil Hodges in the two hole

Say Hey batting third

Tom Terrific batting cleanup

Reggie wearing nine before 44 batting fifth

Law firm of Garvey Yogi & Boog penciled into the sixth hole

Missing Roberto Clemente batting seventh

Koufax and McLain batting eighth

Trout in the nine hole

And rounding out the lineup card is Al Kaline’s glove

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

July 5, 2021

LVSPORTSBIZ.COM, launched June 2017: We are a digital magazine providing market-leading news, intelligence, enterprise and breaking info on Las Vegas’ sports/stadium industry. Our stories are quoted nationally and we set the sportsbiz news agenda in Las Vegas. Publisher Alan Snel has reported on the business of sports and stadiums in Denver, South Florida, Seattle and Tampa besides Las Vegas and is considered a national authority on the topic.

ADVERTISEMENT: Please shop at Jay’s Market at 190 East Flamingo at the Koval Lane intersection east of the Strip. Jay’s Market is the official presenting sponsor of LVSportBiz.com’s stories.

Hirings and Firings:

Las Vegas Aces President Nikki Fargas said the Aces are not renewing the contract of General Manager Natalie Williams. The Aces hired Williams as the team’s general manager in April 2022.

Vegas Golden Knights said the NHL club has signed defenseman Shea Theodore to a seven-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $7,425,000.

Our coverage of the Athletics stadium project in Las Vegas.

Mark Rosentraub on A’s stadium site on Strip.

Big League Sports With Small Town Politics

Man of Many Hats

Athletics’ long, strange journey for new ballpark

Athletics consultant Jeremy Aguero is eye of Las Vegas’ sports hurricane

How Deal Was Made For A’s Ballpark On Strip

Bally’s Corp, Gaming & Leisure Properties team up with A’s for ballpark on Strip

Bally’s Corp Chairman Wants Hotel Open When A’s Stadium Is Ready In 2028

To contact LVSportsBiz.com Publisher Alan Snel or buy his book, Bicycle Man: Life of Journeys, email him at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com

LVSportsBiz number for 2024: $1,178,161,041. That’s the amount of debt Las Vegas (actually, Clark County) owes for its public share of building the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.