Spring is almost here and for baseball fans across the country, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. The 30 MLB teams are preparing for a season that begins with a unique start. For the first time since 1968, all teams will play their first game on the same day.
Opening Day 2023 is scheduled for Thursday, March 30, 2023. Baseball fans can look forward to 15 exciting games across the US.
The full MLB Opening Day 2023 schedule:
- Atlanta Braves @ Washington Nationals 1:05 pm ET
- San Francisco Giants @ New York Yankees 1:05 pm ET
- Baltimore Orioles @ Boston Red Sox 2:10 pm ET
- Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs 2:20 pm ET
- Detroit Tigers @ Tampa Bay Rays 3:10 pm ET
- Philadelphia Phillies @ Texas Rangers 4:05 pm ET
- Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds 4:10 pm ET
- Colorado Rockies @ San Diego Padres 4:10 p.m. ET
- Toronto Blue Jays @ St. Louis Cardinals 4:10 p.m. ET
- Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals 4:10 pm ET
- New York Mets @ Miami Marlins 4:10 pm ET
- Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Athletics 10:07 p.m. ET
- Arizona Diamondbacks @ Los Angeles Dodgers 10:10 p.m. ET
- Cleveland Rangers @ Seattle Mariners 10:10 pm ET
- Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros 7:08 pm ET
This year, the number of games each team will play and their opponents have changed, making the MLB schedule more balanced. The change in schedules also gives more variety to each team’s season. For the first time in history, each of the 30 teams will meet at least once during a single season.
MLB INTRODUCES NEW RULES FOR 2023 SEASON
In 2023, each team will play a total of 52 divisional games. This number is down from the 76 games of previous years.
The opening day of 2023 is March 30. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Expectations for Opening Day 2023:
While some teams experience more dismal Opening Day sales than others, on February 23, the Mariners announced a sold-out home game for March 30, 2023 against the Cleveland Guardians.
Expectations for MLB 2023:
Schedule adjustments aren’t the only regular season changes fans should be aware of. After minor league tryouts and discussion among a joint committee, this year’s athletes should expect bigger bases, defensive turn limits, a pitch time rule and more. However, the players are not happy with the new rules.
«Players live the game, day in and day out. The rules and regulations on the field affect their preparation, performance, and ultimately the integrity of the game itself,» according to an MLBPA statement. «Player leaders from across the league participated in on-field rule negotiations through the Competition Committee, providing specific and actionable feedback on the changes proposed by the Commissioner’s Office.
«Major League Baseball was unwilling to meaningfully address the areas of concern raised by players, and as a result, players on the Competition Committee voted unanimously against implementing the rules covering defensive changes and the use of of a launch timer».
Former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling, who is featured on OutKick’s podcast roster with his «The Curt Schilling Baseball Show», gave his opinion on the shot clock during an appearance on «Fox & Friends.»
«Let’s be very clear, the only pitchers that will be affected by the shot clock are pitchers that suck,» Schilling explained. «No good pitcher is going to bother about the shot clock.
«Good pitchers will never, ever be affected by the clock because good pitchers always work fast.»
MLB PLAYERS ASSOCIATION SAYS 2023 RULE CHANGES IMPACT ‘INTEGRITY OF THE GAME ITSELF’
All pitchers work at different rates, some are ready to go after throwing a pitch, while others are more methodical. That’s why MLB wants a status quo when it comes to time between pitches, which is why the shot clock is 15 seconds between pitches without runners on and 20 seconds when there are.
«If you put Ricky Henderson on first base and say, ‘Okay, the pitcher can’t throw now,’ what now?» he said. «It’s going to be a dramatic change. It might take a little bit of time to get the hang of it, but you’re going to see a significant change in the way the game is played.»
AL vs NL: what is the difference?
MLB is divided into two divisions, the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). There are a couple of 15 teams that belong to each division. To break that up a step further, each league is divided into three divisions, East, Central, and West.
The teams that make up the American League East are the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins are part of the AL Central. AL West includes the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers.
The Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Washington Nationals are in the NL East. The Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals are part of the National League Central. Lastly, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants are in the National League West.
In previous years, most teams played within their division, causing them to play the same team many times throughout the season.
STUDY CLAIMS MLB USED THREE DIFFERENT BASEBALLS IN 2022 AFTER ITS ADMISSION, TWO WERE USED IN 2021
This year, the MLB will present a more balanced schedule. (Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
intraleague vs interleague
There isn’t much of a change in the number of intra-league games each team will play. Intraleague games refer to teams that are from the same league, but are not divisional opponents. Typically, there are 66 intraleague games in an MLB season. Now there will be 64.
The biggest change from the 2023 MLB season is the number of interleague games that will be played. Interleague play refers to matchups between an American League team and a National League team. Normally, there are only 20 interleague matchups, but this year, that number has more than doubled with 46 interleague games played by each team.
All wins and losses will be counted the same, but fans should expect the postseason to be a bit different this year, with an additional team joining the mix from each league.
Normally, there are 10 teams (five from each league) that participate in postseason games. This year, there will be a greater total of 12 teams (six from each league) in the postseason.
PITCH CLOCKS, TURN LIMITS, LARGER BASEES AND MORE IN THE MLB IN THE YEARS TO COME
Each team will play one game on Opening Day 2023. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)
According to the MLB website, the number one seed in each division will be the team with the best overall record and the number two seed will be the second best winner in the division. The third place team will be the winner of the third best division.
The number four seed will be the team with the best record among the Wild Card teams. Fifth will be the team with the second best record among Wild Card teams and sixth will be the third best record among Wild Card teams. Teams placing first and second will receive a first-round bye and head directly to the Division Series.
One of the favorite games to watch on Opening Day is the Chicago White Sox against the defending 2022 World Series champion Houston Astros.
The Houston Astros won the World Series in 2022. (Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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