Hope, hot dogs and no COVID restrictions for baseball’s opening day in San Francisco

Major League Baseball opening day always feels like a small miracle, the annual rebirth of America’s most nostalgic sport coming just as the weather warms and the trees burst into bloom.

This year’s edition is even more of a wonder.

When MLB ownership locked out its players in a labor dispute on Dec. 2, then waited more than six weeks just to make their first proposal, the 2022 season looked wrecked. The impasse lasted 99 days, cutting into spring training and triggering another plunge on our nauseous two-year rollercoaster.

But here we are on Friday — new collective bargaining agreement ratified, hope restored, high temperatures around 70 degrees in San Francisco and Logan Webb on the mound for the Giants as they square off against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park. Adding to the marvel, this is the first time the Giants have played opening day at home since 2009.

And the game will be free of most of the restrictions, if not necessarily the worry and awkwardness, of the COVID pandemic.

Two years ago, MLB played a mini-season that began in July and was disrupted by viral outbreaks. Last year, April began with proof-of-vaccination requirements, socially distanced seating sections and temperature checks. None of that will be enforced at Oracle Park on Friday, another sign of normalcy in a world that hungers for it.

The opening pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. If you’re not at Oracle Park, you can watch the game on NBC Sports Bay Area. It will also be available on MLB.TV.

The A’s open their season Friday in Philadelphia.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.