This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola's Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. LOUIS -- There will undoubtedly be a sea of red as the Cardinals host the Marlins today for their home opener. Just don’t be surprised to hear a few pockets of Miami Blue cheering loudly for the visiting ballclub this weekend.

Jake Burger, who grew up 15 miles west of downtown St. Louis in the West County neighborhood, will be making his Busch Stadium debut. He expected a long ticket list, so his wife, Ashlyn, and his dad, Mike, were handling the requests. The final tally was 57 tickets over the three-game weekend series.

“It's crazy just to be able to be there for an Opening Day, not just like play there, but be there for Opening Day,” Burger said. “It's like the stars aligned a bit.”

Burger attended nine or 10 games a season as a kid, idolizing Scott Rolen and Albert Pujols. His dad and his grandfather, Terry, took him to games until high school, when he went with his friends. Nearly 13 years ago, Burger got the chance to take the same field in the Home Run for Heroes derby. But his fondest memory is sitting below Big Mac Land in left field as David Freese belted a walk-off homer against the Rangers in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.

Now four seasons into his big league career, Burger has come full circle.

After watching right-handers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly in middle and high school, Burger played with them on the White Sox. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker was a member of the Cardinals' World Series-winning ballclub in 2011. In one photo that Burger’s mom, Shannon, shared with him ahead of the series, Schumaker is with his son, Brody, at the championship parade.

Today, Burger returns to his roots and love for baseball. He will experience the spectacle of a St. Louis home opener for the first time. There’s the tradition of the franchise’s living Hall of Fame members -- both from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the club’s Hall of Fame -- in attendance for a pregame ceremony adorned in bright red jackets. And don’t forget about the Budweiser Clydesdales taking a lap around the field.

“Probably just the atmosphere,” Burger said. “It's such a great baseball city and their fans are unbelievable. Growing up with so many of them, it's diehard. I would say also just my grandpa being able to be there and watch me live for the first time.”