The Persistent Hope of Opening Day: Baseball and the Stock Market

In addition, this is the first time since 1968 that every MLB team will open the season on the same Opening Day – now that’s a true Opening Day.

For every team, as writers have written over the years, “Hope springs eternal.” Here is the complete lineup of Opening Day games this year:

Astros at Rangers
Angels at Athletics
Indians at Mariners
White Sox at Royals
Red Sox at Rays
Yankees at Blue Jays
Pirates at Tigers
Twins at Orioles
Rockies at Diamondbacks
Giants at Dodgers
Brewers at Padres
Cubs at Marlins
Nationals at Reds
Cardinals at Mets
Phillies at Braves

History of Opening Day

So, how long has baseball had Opening Days? Well, this is the 143^rd season of the National League, which began in 1876. And from 1876 to the present, every year has had an Opening Day.

U.S. presidents have been part of Opening Day for over 100 years. Since President William Howard Taft threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the 1910 season, every president has thrown out the first pitch on Opening Day at least once (although President Carter did it after he left office).

President Roosevelt did it eight times, halting the practice during World War II. President Truman did it seven times. As a matter of fact, President Truman threw first pitches with both his right and left arms in 1950. President Trump has yet to throw out an Opening Day pitch, but he has a couple of more Opening Days to keep the streak going,

Some games on Opening Day have been especially memorable:

On Opening Day, 1907, fans in New York rioted, throwing snowballs at players. The umpire stopped the game, and the New York Giants had to forfeit. In that same game, Giants catcher Roger Bresnahan became the first catcher to wear shin guards, a now universal practice.
On Opening Day, 1940, 21-year-old Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians pitched a no-hitter, the only one ever pitched on Opening Day.
On Opening Day, 1947, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the 20th century.
On Opening Day, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 714^th home run, tying the record of the legendary Babe Ruth.

Hopeful Baseball Teams

Only two teams have played continuously since 1876, the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta (originally Boston) Braves. Talk about persistence… Year in and year out, whether in good times or bad, these two teams have returned for Opening Day.

The Cubs provide a particularly persistent example of hope. Before the 2016 World Series victory, the Cubs last won the World Series in 1908, back when Kaiser Wilhelm and Tsar Nicholas II still enjoyed their Empires.

The Boston Red Sox also maintained their optimism. After selling the contract of Babe Ruth to the Yankees, the Red Sox waited 84 more years before another World Series title in 2004. Even after making what many consider to be the worst deal in sports history, the Red Sox came up with many great players over the years, enjoying many winning seasons. And then they won the World Series three times in ten years.

Fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates never gave up hope, either. The once proud Pirates, with past World Series titles and many Hall of Fame players, endured 20-consecutive losing seasons, from 1993 to 2012. This marks the longest streak of seasons with losing records in professional sports history. However, after careful planning, restructuring, and analysis of its players and the competition, the Pirates have had more recent winning seasons and playoff appearances.

These baseball teams and their fans did not abandon the cause, drop all of their players, or give up on proven baseball strategies for success. They kept plugging away. Team management reviewed the team’s status every year. They changed players as needed, sometimes in a planned way, and sometimes because of a sudden injury. They adjusted their rosters and their strategies to fit the situation and the competition.

Investors

Baseball had been around for a very long time, having evolved from rudimentary bat-and-ball games already being played in England in the mid-18th century, but Major League Baseball began in 1876. Stocks had been traded, but the stock market’s first index – the Dow Jones Industrial Average – was created in 1896.

And since the DJIA was created, only one of the original member companies still remains in the DJIA: General Electric. As with all stocks (and baseball teams), GE has had good and bad years, has adjusted its holdings, its personnel, and its strategies. And every year, the company keeps plugging away.

The stock market as a whole, including GE and many other companies, has experienced its fair share of up and down years. It crashed in 1929, lasted through the Great Depression, and weathered various financial crises due to wars, oil prices, foreign asset bubbles, currency adjustments, the housing market, and 9/11.

However, just like baseball teams, year in and year out, whether in good times or bad, companies and investors continue to show up for business. After careful planning and as-needed adjustments, they remain hopeful. Wise investors do not abandon the cause or proven financial strategies for success.

Conclusion

Despite bad seasons or strings of bad seasons, each team’s fans hope for the best. Fans don’t drop their teams. Baseball team owners don’t abandon ship just because things are not going as planned (well, sometimes they abandon cities, but that’s another story altogether). Successful team owners and managers keep level heads, carefully adjust their rosters and their strategies, and stay hopeful. Even when they don’t win championships, they still win games.

Successful investors would be wise to follow the same strategies. Remain level-headed, plan carefully, allocate resources, examine the market, and then succeed.

Financial advisors remind clients to review their investments at least yearly, usually at the end of the year. However, in the spirit of hopefulness, what if we asked clients to review their investments on Baseball’s Opening Day, when “Hope springs eternal”?

I’ll bring some peanuts and Cracker Jack…

Distributed by Financial Media Exchange.