Member-only story
Resurrection on the Diamond: Opening Day is my Easter
A Year in the Death 4/1/21
This Sunday, America’s 205 million Christians will celebrate Easter, a holiday that commemorates Christ’s supposed resurrection from the dead. As an atheist, I don’t believe in the Christian resurrection story. Therefore, this Sunday will be just another Sunday for me (other than the joy I’ll experience while watching my grandchildren hunt for Easter eggs).
But that doesn’t mean I don’t celebrate a resurrection. Mine just will be a different religion, holiday, and date. Specifically, today I’m celebrating Opening Day for Major League Baseball.
You don’t believe baseball qualifies as a religion? Then let me quote from the Gospel of Annie — better known as Susan Sarandon’s opening monologue from the 1988 film Bull Durham:
“I believe in the Church of Baseball. I’ve tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I’ve worshiped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn’t work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology.
You see, there’s no guilt in baseball, and it’s never…
