Tuesday, April 06, 1999

Fans come first on Opening Day

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People make the tradition

BY JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer

James Patrick White of Clifton greets fans in a Pete Rose head on the Cinergy Field plaza. (Craig Ruttle photos) | ZOOM |

        If it is true that time begins on Opening Day for baseball fans — especially for Cincinnatians, who by virtue of tradition always get to attend a home game — then Monday was an historic occasion.

        It was a day of firsts in the last Opening Day of the century.

        And, perhaps only in Cincinnati, where Opening Day still has the feel of a region-wide holiday, is there such a unique quality to so many of the people who attend this annual event.

        We set out to try to capture the essence of the day by trying to pinpoint the various fan “firsts” that occur to begin the 162-game season — first hot dog eaten, first foul ball caught, first whatever-we-happen-to-see at any given moment.

        Here are some of the “firsts” we saw, in chronological order ...

Matt Naylor of Anderson Twp. painted a baseball image on his face. | ZOOM |

        • First fan to fit the definition of a “seamhead”: Matt Naylor, 42, an engineer from Anderson Township.

        His face was painted as white as a brand-new baseball, complete with red stitches. His handlebar moustache was neatly trimmed and waxed. On his shirt, the Mr. Red, complete with pre-1968 facial hair, looked especially content. Naylor has been coming to Opening Day for 17 years, the last 10 in this makeup, and for the first time, nobody razzed him for his, or Mr. Red's, facial hair.

        “Postseason play this year,” he predicted.

        • First fan to inspire an outburst: James Patrick White, who wore a huge Pete Rose-head from his shoulders on up.

        His company is “Mr. Big Head” productions, and he also has a Michael Jordan head. White's business card reads: “Custom-made post cards and caricatures.”

        “Hey, Pete!” yelled fans, wherever the big head went.

        The best thing about the Pete Rose-head, besides the bad page-boy haircut and Fred Flintsone-shaped noggin' (both right on), was that it had the Pete Rose sneer, too.

Lonnie Stinson and son Derek, 3. | ZOOM |

        • First father-son combination: Lonnie Stinson, 29, and his three-year-old son, Derek, of West Chester.

        “I'm from Columbus, originally, but I'm not like so many fans up there who've switched to the Indians,” said Lonnie, who was attending his first opener with Derek. “My grandfather was a diehard Reds fans — listened on the radio all the time — and so am I.”

        And so will Derek be, if Monday was any indication — Reds hat, Reds shirt, blue glove, big smile.

        • First mother-daughter combination: Betty Tedesco, and her daughter, Janie, from Chicago.

        “My husband, Joe, is from Cincinnati,” she explained.

        So, you're a Reds fan or a Cubs fan, Betty?

        “Reds!” she said, enthusiastically.

        • First man in a suit wearing a Reds' cap: anonymous.

“Want to be in The Enquirer?” the man is asked.

        “No,” the man answers.

        “You're supposed to be at work?” the man is asked.

        “Right,” the man answers.

        • First foul ball in the seats off a Reds' bat: “caught” by Denny Brown, 52, of West Chester, in the blue seats, right-field line, section 118, bottom of the first inning.

        First, Kerry Ketring, 52, of Loveland, ducked, then Brian Freed, 24, of College Hill, missed it. The ball then deflected to Bob Springate, 46, of Harrodsburg, Ky., who also deflected it (“but I held onto the peanuts I had in one hand and the beer I had in the other,” he says) into the waiting arms of Denny Brown.

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