Opening Day is Here!!!

It's Opening Day, one of the greatest days in the year for baseball fans!

22 of MLB's 30 teams will kick off the new season today. Two of the eight that aren't started last night, the Braves and the Phillies battled it out in the primetime opener on ESPN2. The Phillies had pregame festivities to celebrate their World Series championship season last year, but the Braves came in and stole their thunder. Two years in a row have the Braves opened the seasonon the road in the big opener game, last year at Washington in their new stadium. Mark Teixiera hit the first homer in the history of the ballpark, called by former President George W. Bush (he was in the booth at the time). With Teixiera no longer in Atlanta, Brian McCann provided ample power with a towering two-run shot into the upper deck in right field. A quieted and frustrated crowd then witnessed Brett Myers allow Jeff Franceour and Jordan Schafer solo homers in the next inning. Schafer, in his first MLB game, hit a homer in his first MLB at-bat. The last Atlanta Braves player to do that was Jermaine Dye in 1996. Derek Lowe shut out the Phillies through eight and sat watching as Mike Gonzalez struck out Raul Ibanez to end the game, despite giving up one run.

Can't get enought Opening Day coverage? Head to ESPN and ESPN2, where you can catch five games today, although I'm not sure what they will do about the PPD Rays at Red Sox game. You can see Johan Santana (right) and the Mets at the Reds, Cubs-Astros, Athletics-Angels, and Yankees-Orioles. To get the best game day studio coverage, tune to the brand new MLB Network, in its first season of coverage.