Royal Opener

If Americans have mythologized anything, it’s baseball. And if baseball needs a goddess, Persephone would be an apt one: reborn in the spring, blooming in the summer and, with the return of the Yankees as World Series champs, descending back to Hades in the fall. The perpetual woes of the Royals may make fans wonder if they’re Sisyphus, doomed to push a losing team uphill season after season, but hope springs eternal on Opening Day. The Royals host the Detroit Tigers for the home opener. The first pitch flies at 3:10 p.m. Tickets (available at royals.com or by calling 800-676-9257) range from $9 for the nosebleeds to $240 for seats so good, the vendors sell ambrosia instead of hot dogs. Oh, and Sluggerrr? Totally Cerberus.

Mon., April 5, 3:10 p.m.; Wed., April 7, 7:10 p.m.; Thu., April 8, 1:10 p.m.; Fri., June 4, 7:10 p.m.; Sat., June 5, 6:10 p.m.; Sun., June 6, 1:10 p.m.; Fri., Sept. 3, 7:10 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 4, 6:10 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 5, 1:10 p.m., 2010