Substituting for his son, a former lefty first baseman at Yale named George Bush throws the Great American Ball Park’s ceremonial first pitch when the Reds make their debut in their new ballpark. The former president and the sell-out crowd of 42,263 flag-waving fans enjoy the patriotic pregame ceremonies and then watch the Pirates rout Cincinnati, 10-1.

The commissioner’s office announces teams will pay tribute to the U.S. Armed Forces during the seventh-inning stretch of all home openers by having `God Bless America’ performed. Although the song has been part of all games since the September 11th terrorist attacks, it will be heard only in major league ballparks at the home openers, Sunday, and holidays games.

Able to maintain the organization’s “long-standing philosophy,” which lets Cablevision customers choose whether or not to receive paid programming, the cable giant agrees to a one-year interim deal to offer YES Network to New York Yankees fans for a fee, ending a bitter and costly yearlong feud. The arrangement makes YES a premium channel, instead of a basic cable channel, which the new network had previously mandated and would have made every subscriber pay for the channel regardless of the viewer’s choice.

Vladimir Guerrero is suspended for three regular-season games and Marlin starter Brad Penny for five due to igniting an exhibition game bench-clearing brawl earlier in the week. After being hit in the chest by the Marlins’ starter’s first-inning pitch, the Expo All-Star outfielder, with his bat in his left hand, swung his right fist around Matt Treanor, the Florida catcher trying to restrain him, missing Penny, who retaliated with a punch which also missed its mark.