Baseball Killed Opening Day. Kingsford Wants To Bring It Back.

With Opening Day Stretched to Three Days, Kingsford and All-Time Great Johnny Bench Petition Baseball To Bring Back Opening Day

News provided by

Kingsford Charcoal

Mar 30, 2016, 07:02 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., March 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For more than 100 years, it's been our unofficial national afternoon off. The moment when "wait 'til next year" becomes "this is our year." Baseball's Opening Day.

The only problem: it doesn't exist anymore.

This year, with an eye clearly fixed on television ratings and revenue, Opening Day has become Opening Days. Three days to be exact, with eight teams debuting on Sunday, 20 on Monday and two more on Tuesday. And "day," in many cases, actually means the more TV friendly "night." Now, the folks at Kingsford are asking fans to rally to bring our National Day of Playing Hooky back.

Kingsford® Charcoal, with the help of the great Johnny Bench, has created a petition asking the powers that be to bring back the real Opening Day: 30 teams playing in 15 cities on one glorious afternoon. Kingsford and Bench are making a simple request: let TV rule every other night of the season, but let Opening Day remain Opening DAY.

And knowing that it's rude to ask without offering something in return, Kingsford is making this offer: If baseball steps up and goes back to the traditional Opening Day, Kingsford will delight the local fans by doing what it does best: Hosting Opening Day BBQs in all 15 cities next year.

Fans can join Bench and Kingsford by signing the petition to Bring Back Opening Day at Kingsford.com. Kingsford will share the petition with the league in hopes that they will restore tradition and bring back Opening Day for the 2017 season.

"We love baseball on TV – the more the better," said Matt Gregory, General Manager of Kingsford Charcoal. "But Opening Day is special. It's about family and friends coming together, savoring a special afternoon – and, yes, maybe firing up the grill. With these changes, we've lost the tradition of an entire nation coming together. We are asking for it back. And offering some amazing 'Que if the league takes us up on it."

To help spread the word – and convey the range of emotions fans are feeling – Kingsford and Bench have imagined a few new renditions of the beloved baseball anthem – at youtube.com/grilling – in hopes of rallying baseball fans across the country to join the cause.

"There's just nothing better than getting together with friends, firing up the grill and celebrating the start of baseball season – whether you're at the stadium parking lot or your own backyard," Bench said. "Nationally televised night games are great for the sport, but Opening Day is special – it's tradition, and you don't mess with tradition."

About Kingsford Charcoal
The Kingsford Products Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Clorox Company, headquartered in Oakland, Calif. The Clorox Company is a leading multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products with about 7,700 employees worldwide and fiscal year 2015 sales of $5.7 billion. Clorox markets some of the most trusted and recognized consumer brand names, including its namesake bleach and cleaning products; Pine-Sol® cleaners; Liquid Plumr® clog removers; Poett® home care products; Fresh Step® cat litter; Glad® bags, wraps and containers; Kingsford® charcoal; Hidden Valley® dressings and sauces; Brita® water-filtration products; and Burt's Bees® natural personal care products. The company also markets brands for professional services, including Clorox Healthcare® and Clorox Commercial Solutions®. More than 80 percent of the company's sales are generated from brands that hold the No. 1 or No. 2 market share positions in their categories.

Clorox is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, a community of global leaders committed to sustainability. The company has been broadly recognized for its corporate responsibility efforts, including, most recently, two U.S. EPA Climate Leadership Awards for Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management and inclusion among the top 40 companies on the 2015 Newsweek Green Rankings and CR magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2015 list. The Clorox Company and The Clorox Company Foundation contributed approximately $15 million in combined cash grants, product donations, cause marketing and employee volunteerism during the past year. For more information, visit TheCloroxCompany.com, the CR Matters Blog and follow the company on Twitter at @CloroxCo.

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