Ian Happ made sure the Major League Baseball season started with a bang.

Happ sent the very first pitch of the season into the seats in Miami, and somewhere locally Cubs superfan Rob Nunley was probably smiling.
Happ’s homer was just one of many highlights during the MLB debut.

Newest Yankee Giancarlo Stanton looked great in pinstripes, homering twice – leading some to wonder if New York should hold a second retirement ceremony for Derek Jeter, once their beloved shortstop and now the Marlins owner who orchestrated Stanton’s trade to the Bronx Bombers.

The Atlanta Braves flirted with the first-ever 162-0 season when Nick Markakis completed a late rally with a walk-off, three-run homer at SunTrust Park. Sadly, the dream of perfection didn’t last 24 hours. After an 8-5 victory, the Braves dropped a 5-4 decision in 11 innings to the Phillies. Maybe next year Atlanta.

Matt Davidson, previously unknown to 99 percent of baseball fans, even became a household name on opening day. The White Sox DH slugged three homers against the Royals, putting him on pace to blow away Barry Bonds’ record of 73 homers in a season. Odds are though, Davidson won’t stay on his pace of 486 dingers, but there’s always a chance.

Thursday also marked the first time I’ve watched more than a few innings of opening day since Jason Heyward debuted in 2010. I thought he was going to be the next Ken Griffey Jr. He may have made as much money as the Kid, but that’s probably where the comparisons will end.

I've been closed off to baseball for a long time. There was no local team and I usually gravitated to former Vols in the pros. Sadly, there was no Peyton Manning equivalent in the MLB (sorry Todd Helton).

Also, I got cut from the baseball team when I was a freshman in 2000 and I started watching Spurs games from October to June for the last 18 years. Pick any of those three reasons.

I decided to give America’s Pasttime another chance this season. Well, more like America’s fantasy Pasttime.

I joined a fantasy baseball league with friends, which immediately made me realize I have no idea who is good anymore. I ended up drafting Bryce Harper with my first pick, mostly because he’s the only name I recognized.

I also ended up with Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich, which I found out later were key components to a 77-win Marlin team.  So I got that going for me, which I guess is nice.

Hopefully the highlights keep rolling. I promise to keep paying attention, at least until Kawhi Leonard plays basketball again.