Miguel Cabrera took a trot, eventually, in the snow at Comerica Park. Mookie Betts started the champion Los Angeles Dodgers with a hit at Coors Field. And the Bleacher Creatures did their thing at Yankee Stadium.

All-Stars on the diamond for opening day, fans in the socially distanced stands eager to cheer them.

Along with the hits, runs and errors, there was a stark reminder of what baseball went through last year.

The New York Mets’ game in Washington — a prime pitching matchup between Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer —was postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo later said three players had tested positive for the virus and a fourth was considered a “likely positive.”

Major League Baseball had 45 games postponed because of the coronavirus last season during the shortened, 60-game schedule, when fans weren’t allowed. No games were lost in spring training this year, but that streak didn’t last long.

At Fenway Park, the opener between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore was called because rain was in the forecast. They’ll start up Friday instead.

There were flurries in Cincinnati, where St. Louis newcomer Nolan Arenado singled during a six-run burst in the first inning during an 11-6 win.

And the field looked better suited for snowballs than baseballs in Detroit where it was 32 degrees when Cabrera connected for the first home run of the new MLB season and the 488th of his career. The flakes were coming down so hard, Cabrera couldn’t tell if the ball left the park, and he slid into second base, just in case.

A quick note for weather watchers: Yes, MLB has tried in the past to open the season with all games in warmer climates and cities with domes. Fact is, it doesn’t work out that easily. Teams don’t always enjoy starting out on the road.

The crowd varied at each park. There were 10,850 fans at Yankee Stadium, limited to 20% of capacity.