At 8:11 P.M. on April 4th, 2005, ace pitcher Randy Johnson hurled the first pitch of the 2005 Major League Baseball season in Yankee Stadium (see chart). So starts another year of baseball and an amazing study in the applications of astrology in the mundane realm. While the New York Yankees decisively defeated the Boston Red Sox 9 - 2 in the season opener, that outcome does not provide a clear look at what will unfold during the season.
True, the Yankees had their pride and reputation tarnished last year as the Red Sox overcame the "curse," that had plagued them since 1918 (Curing Curses), coming back to beat the Yankees after being virtually dead by falling three games to none. This year the Yankees sought to restore their highly touted attributes of "mystique" and "charisma." On the cold damp night starting the 2005 season Yankee fans snatched their confidence back from the clutches of last October's defeat. Red Sox fans shrugged and thought, "got 'em right where we want them."
Meanwhile, the baseball season commenced with a troublesome Mercury retrograde. This backward movement in the horoscope's 6th house of routine, drill and duty, shrugs off the outcome like a good fan should. Mental errors were made. Veteran players lost focus - both Mercury influences. Commentators during the game commented that the game was not turning out as expected. "Of course," adds Mercury, sitting in the color commentor's chair. "I'm retrograde." You can bet, should you be so inclined, that the teams with the highest payrolls, biggest stars and the best of everything may not end up in the coveted World Series come season's end.
Mercury's backward track also suggests some surprising trades during the season - and remarkably someone could return "home" suggests Saturn in Cancer, much to the shock of many. Home themes - family, lifestyle, children, needs of parents - could dominate trades based upon changing minds, life circumstances and "mistakes." A bit over a year ago with Saturn early in the domestically driven sign, two famous Yankees - one even "retired" traded in their lifestyles for the good down home living of Texas. You can ask Gemini Andy Pettite and Leo Roger Clemens how that turned out. Petitte spent most of last year injured and Roger the Rocket signed for an obscene sum of money in the off season (more on that in a future Stars of the Diamond).
Notable in the horoscope of Baseball's 2005 Season is the tight conjunction of the Moon and Mars in Aquarius in the 4th house on approach to Neptune. Some might argue a year of home field advantage lines the pockets of those wagering on the game. Still, a larger issue persistently gains attention and clouds baseball's horizon in this pattern. The controversy over performance enhancing drugs - steroids - even flagged the attention of Congress as the preseason commenced. Mars refers to the process of injection and it cozies up to Neptune, the lord of drugs and illusions. Add to this a trine to Jupiter, the magnifier of all things, retrograde in the 12th house of non-disclosure and nasty revelations certainly will come to light. Records of prowess, power and achievement stand to be broken this year. Can baseball allow those who are less than what they seem to be in reality to surpass previous marks? Not likely. But we shall see. With the justifications possible and twists and turns of logic likely with Mercury's influence anything is possible. To show how forthright they are, Baseball banned Virgo Alex Sanchez for ten days given a positive test for steroids. Not a major star that fell, but a token of doing the right thing.
The determining force really comes through the Sun to Venus conjunction in Aries. This conjunction in any sign refers to an emphasis on money. Sharply opposing Jupiter, this 6th house placement promises to clean it all up while taking care of everything that no one really needs to know about, so says the 12th house. Will fans watch? Yes. Will they buy their tickets, peanuts and crackerjacks? Yes again. Whether baseball corrodes in the early months of the season under the drug scandal or not, it will endure. That's what institutions do. They'll do it because the people will come.