Thursday was the first round of the long-anticipated 2022 Masters.
It was also Opening Day in Major League Baseball.
About two hours west of Augusta National Golf Club, where Tiger Woods is the headliner, the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves hosted the Cincinnati Reds to kick off the baseball season.
Joey Votto, an All-Star entering his 16th season, wore a microphone for the ESPN2 telecast, which produced some pretty great moments on live TV.
“Each and every one of these Opening Days are special, and they just make you feel so young,” Votto told ESPN2. “Opening Days in Major League Baseball don’t disappoint. And I’m so grateful that I get to be a part of this year’s.”
Later in the game, after a second-inning strikeout, Votto said he wouldn’t be late on another fastball. He wasn’t late on his RBI single an inning later to give the Reds a 2-0 lead in a game they went on to win 6-3.
In the fourth inning, after greeting Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies at first base, Votto started talking golf and the Masters.
Votto also did some play-by-play of a strikeout while standing at first base.
ESPN had previously put mics on MLB players for spring training games and Fox has done it for some MLB All-Star Games.
Dave Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer contributed to this article.
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