Astros County · Mar 8, 2018
Thursday Morning Hot Links
*JFrank1034 told me on Twitter dot com yesterday that it's bullcrap how the Astros don't get to play their 1st regular season game at home, instead having to slum it in the World's Largest Hair Dryer up north. I got outraged. Then I thought I'd look and see how common this is.
Basically the Astros are the eighth team in the last ten years to open their defending champion season on the road. Only the 2016 Royals (vs the Mets in a repeat of the 2015 World Series) and the 2009 Phillies (vs the Braves) were *allowed* to open their season at home. Interestingly, the schedule makers seem to favor rivalry matches on the road to open seasons.