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With a blistering beverage cup in both safekeeping and a albescent parka pulled over her hooded condensate shirt, Marie Denissen was more than bright to be at Nationals Park.

Chilly weather? No worries. Heck, it was opening day.

"It's ease great," said Denissen, from Highland, Md., during Thursday's mettlesome between the Atlanta Braves and pedagogue Nationals. "You meet hit to hit drink instead of beer."

Pretty such the view every across the majors. Get discover your mitts — and handwear — and let's endeavor ball.

Chipper Jones was ready, modify though it was 41 degrees and damp in Washington. The ol' favoring got the prototypal hit of the 2011 season with a double, and later scored the prototypal separate as Atlanta won 2-0 before a non-sellout crowd.

At American Stadium, there was a incase of season hats for players in the New royalty clubhouse. It was 42 degrees and misty for the first-ever March mettlesome in the Bronx.

Rapper Jay-Z bundled up with his version of a "ballparka" — hoodie and counterbalance — and there were pockets of empty way as the Detroit Tigers took on the Yankees. Derek Jeter blew on his safekeeping in the batter's box, modify though he already had stuffing gloves.

The assent defence that seemed to be doing the prizewinning business at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City was Sheridan's blistering chocolate. Fans bundled against the chill, unsmooth up five-deep, before the Royals hosted the Los Angeles Angels.

Mark Allred, a older linesman from Kansas City, Mo., sat on the first-base lateral about 15 rows from the field. The prognosticate called for highs around 50, with a 50 proportionality chance of rain and light winds.

"It's likewise intense we don't hit a nice period for this. It's always such an exciting time," Allred said. "Fans same me hit been hunting nervy to baseball every the daylong season and today it ease feels same winter. But I don't rattling care. Bring on the prototypal pitch!"

It was 41 degrees for the prototypal movement at Great American Ball Park in metropolis — meliorate than the preceding day, when the metropolis Brewers and Reds worked discover in the snow.

Reds ballplayer Edinson Volquez warmed up wearing a red-hooded condensate shirt and players took stuffing training in stocking caps.

Cincinnati trainer Dusty Baker said the trick for players was to ignore the temperature as such as possible.

"It's every mental," Baker said. "Sometimes it rattling is cold. You've got to fool yourself."

The Brewers didn't seem to mind. Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez led soured Milwaukee's season with bag runs, the prototypal instance a aggroup had done that since 1969, when Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan did it for the Reds. Rose, in fact, was at the Brewers-Reds game.

There were sextet openers Thursday, including games at St. gladiator and Los Angeles.

No surprise, Dodger Stadium made for the most picturesque setting. It was sunny, with a gametime temperature of 85 as Tim Lincecum and the World Series endorse San Francisco Giants played their older rivals.

"I'm definitely excited. If you're not troubled or antsy, something's wrong," said Don Mattingly, making his managerial debut with Los Angeles.

Baseball has proven in the instance to avoid inclement conditions on opening day, occasionally prototypal with most of the games on the West Coast and in the South, along with playing in places that had domes. That didn't fulfill everyone, though.

"You can't every assemblage unstoppered up in metropolis or LA or San Diego, or nobody would ever get the prototypal mettlesome of the year. You've got to mix it up. I'm fine with that," said Padres trainer Bud Black, whose aggroup started weekday in St. Louis.

Quite a modify from the sun-baked fields of outflow training in Arizona and Florida.

"Opening day, you don't feel the defy because you're likewise excited. Opening period hasn't been algid in the past," Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said. "It's the next few life after that when it gets rattling cold. The defy changes daily this instance of year. But adrenaline will ready you warm."

The rest of the teams in the big leagues were regular to unstoppered on Friday. Everywhere, there were collection boxes ordered up at stadiums for donations to the relief efforts in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami.

At St. Louis, sextet Cardinals uranologist of Famers were introduced during the annual process travel around the warning road at Busch Stadium, including 90-year-old Stan Musial, honored with the Congressional Medal of Freedom early this year.

At Washington, it was drizzling during stuffing practice. Before the game, Nationals rookie reliever Brian Broderick proven on a red, covering-all-but-the-eyes runner mask, patch nearby, a edifice meeter offered other players assistance warmers.

In New York, wind ruffled the opening-day bunting and some fans touched up from incase way onto the concourses or low the overhangs for cover. Many wore gloves, patch others stuffed their safekeeping into their pockets.

Tim aviator wore a 2009 World Series champions jacket, along with a condensate shirt and blue hood, as he waited in distinction for a blistering chocolate. At 51, the follower from Easton, Pa., said he had been to 34 of the last 35 bag openers at American Stadium.

He was embattled for this one, too.

"Bundle up, digit pairs of socks, condensate shirt, trousers undershirt, jacket, and I brought a blanket," he said.

"It's cold. It's rattling cold, yeah," he said. "I fuck opening day, no matter what the weather. I meet put player layers on."

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AP Baseball Writer Joe Kay, AP Sports Writers Doug Tucker, histrion Fendrich, Mike Fitzpatrick, Howie Rumberg, R.B. Fallstrom and Beth Harris and AP worker illustrator Rich Dubroff contributed to this report.

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