In Ft. Lauderdale, Craig Davis noted while every season is "loaded with uncertainty, this year is assured of being the most eventful at Marlins Park to date, regardless of how the home team performs." Having "recently played host to the first round of the World Baseball Classic, which produced two sellouts, the 5-year-old ballpark will put national spotlight on South Florida for All-Star Week" in July. And for Marlins fans, that will "dovetail with a season-long celebration of the 20th anniversary of the team’s first World Series championship" in '97. Marlins VP/Marketing Claudia Lezcano said, "We have really a lot on the plate. ... There’re a lot of things I can’t fully reveal yet." Davis noted this is also the 25th season of the franchise, but with "so much planned around the All-Star festivities and the World Series remembrances, the Marlins will wait until" '18 to "hold their silver anniversary celebration" (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 3/31).
BLEED RED: In St. Louis, Ben Frederickson writes under the header, "Passion, Tradition Make Cardinals' Opening Day A St. Louis 'Holiday.'" Cardinals Chair & CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said Opening Day is "clearly a major holiday in St. Louis, and everyone treats it that way. ... It’s something families look forward to. It’s just a special day.” The Cardinals last night against the Cubs "started their 125th anniversary season both at night and at home, something that had not happened" since '08 (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/3).
METS MOVIN' ON UP: Mets Exec VP & CRO Lou DePaoli said of goals heading into the season, "From a team perspective, you're put together to win. ... But you also want to grow your business, sell as many tickets as you can, generate new partnerships, engage your fans, all of those types of things." He added, "If you can have a good product on the field, and an even better product off the field where you've entertained and engaged people and grew all your business metrics, that's a great place to be" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). YAHOO SPORTS' Mark Townsend wrote under the header, "Have The Mets Surpassed The Yankees As New York's Most Popular Team?" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/1).
