The City of Cincinnati shut down on April 3 for the Cincinnati Reds annual opening day against the Chicago Cubs. This year, the Reds were in the national spotlight because President George W. Bush threw the first pitch. This is the first time a sitting President has thrown out the first pitch at a Reds Opening Day game.
In 2004, Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the first pitch for the Reds, and President Bush’s father, former President George H.W. Bush threw out the first pitch for the 2003 season for the grand opening of the Great American Ball Park.
Like any other Opening Day, the annual Opening Day Parade was held in downtown Cincinnati. However, like most of downtown, the parade was disrupted, but not because of President Bush. For the first time in many years, the parade had to change its route because of the construction on Cincinnati’s famous Fountain Square.
As for the ballpark, there was more security, which included snipers, secret servicemen, metal detectors, and an increase in ballpark staff. Even with all the inconveniences, most of the day went on without a hitch. Most of those in attendance had arrived early enough not to miss the ceremonial pitch, which would actually be the best pitch they saw all day.
With players like Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, Reds fans are used to lots of scoring and power hitting. However, the lack of pitching from both the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs made for what will most likely be one of the highest scoring games seen in Cincinnati this year.
The Reds were down 5-0 after the top of the first inning, but they would rally back over the next few innings to tie the game. However, after multiple errors and bad pitching, the Cubs would pull away to a 16-7 victory. The 16 runs scored is the most ever by a Reds opponent on Opening Day. This was not the remarkable comeback Reds fans had witnessed during last year’s Opening Day, where the Reds came back from 1-6 to win 7-6 against the New York Mets.
Nevertheless, the Reds rebounded. As of April 10, they were 4-2, with their only other loss being against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 9.