Most years, Opening Day for Major League Baseball is a time for fans to pile into the stands and welcome the return of America's pastime. But the coronavirus pandemic and the need for social distancing to prevent its spread necessarily kept seats empty and fans watching from home. In their place, teams populated their stadiums with cutouts, creating a fun bit of make-believe for the start of a new MLB season.
Of course, it also created opportunities for trolling between teams, as Hall of Famer Chipper Jones put in an appearance at Citi Field to haunt the Mets in their own ballpark, albeit this time just in cardboard form:
🗣 "LARRY! LARRY!"
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 24, 2020
😎🤟 pic.twitter.com/g0FiFTOjN2
At least one Mets fan got into the spirit of the thing by deciding Opening Day would also be Dog Day at the ballpark:
Close to 5,000 people purchased cardboard cutouts of themselves for @Mets games at Citi Field this season.
— Avish Sood (@AvishSood) July 19, 2020
One person bought a cutout for their dog and it's pretty great. pic.twitter.com/8f1XJjie3h
On a more serious note, the Mets honored late sports photographer Anthony Causi of the New York Post by putting a cutout of him in his familiar perch at the ballpark:
The Mets have put up a cardboard cutout of Anthony Causi in the photo pit ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XU6XQwWmSL
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 21, 2020
In Houston, Astros "fans" crowded the Crawford Boxes:
#Astros fans, join the crowd at MMP!
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 22, 2020
Fan cutouts are being installed, but you can still get a seat for the 2020 season at https://t.co/W18UplUSO2. #ForTheH pic.twitter.com/cWLoiHwxsd
And in Cleveland, the classic ballpark proposal made an appearance:
She said yes! 💍
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 25, 2020
Wow. What a moment! pic.twitter.com/sF6vdmXu5x
Enthusiasm for the cutouts even crossed sports. as 49ers tight end George Kittle has joined other celebrities (including his own quarterback and Guy Fieri) in the stands in San Francisco:
The closest I can get to @JimmyG_10 talking to me in the offseason ... @E40 knows what's good tho! Good luck tonight @SFGiants 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/6Xs5kQ5ONv
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) July 24, 2020
Across the Bay, the Oakland A's did one better, putting former Coliseum vendor Tom Hanks back in the stands, ready to supply his fellow cutouts for all their hot dog needs:
I'm loving the cardboard cutout of fans at #MLB games, but I will give the A's bonus points for the concessions hot dog guy! #MLB #MLBOpeningDay #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/5hKLDuoO79
— Jersey Joe (@JerseyJoe50) July 25, 2020
Also in attendance was another blast from the franchise's past: former owner Charlie Finley's famous mascot for the team, Charlie-O the mule:
Oakland, in a nut shell... (yea, I have to learn how to screenshot instead of taking pics of TV) pic.twitter.com/Z1PSAcuPIG
— Taylor Blake Ward (@TaylorBlakeWard) July 25, 2020
Of course, with all of these cutouts crowding the stands, you could be forgiven if you started seeing double:
The cutouts are duplicating. Life finds a way. pic.twitter.com/hKYOUUX1ux
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) July 24, 2020
But on Chicago's South Side, one super fan made sure you'd be able to pick him out of the crowd... by being the crowd:
White Sox fan Paul Garrett bought 100 cardboard cutouts of himself! He'll be cheering on the White Sox near the visitors dugout. pic.twitter.com/hj8TJbyhpP
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) July 22, 2020
