Spring is almost here and for baseball fans around the country, it's the most wonderful time of the year. The 30 MLB teams are gearing up for a season that is kicking off with a unique start. For the first time since 1968, every single team will play their first game on the same day.
Opening day 2023 is set for Thursday, March 30, 2023. Baseball fans can expect 15 exciting games around the U.S.
This year, the number of games each team will play, and their opponents have changed, making for a more balanced MLB schedule. The change in schedules also gives each team's season more variety. For the first time in history, each of the 30 teams will play each other at least once during a single season.
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In 2023, each team will be playing a total of 52 divisional games. This number is down from 76 games in previous years.
While some teams experience more sad Opening Day sales than others, on Feb. 23, the Mariners announced a sold out game at home for March 30, 2023 against the Cleveland Guardians.
Adjustments to the schedules are not the only regular season changes fans should be aware of. After testing in the minor leagues and discussion among a joint committee, athletes this year should expect larger bases, defensive shift limits, a pitch timer rule and more. However, players are not happy with the new rules.
"Players live the game - day in and day out. On-field rules and regulations impact their preparation, performance and, ultimately, the integrity of the game itself," according to an MLBPA statement. "Player leaders from across the league were engaged in on-field rules negotiations through the Competition Committee, and they provided 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 that Players raised, and as a result, Players on the Competition Committee voted unanimously against the implementation of the rules covering defensive shifts and the use of a pitch timer."
Former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling, who is part of the OutKick podcast lineup with his "The Curt Schilling Baseball Show," gave his thoughts on the pitch clock during an appearance on "Fox & Friends."
"Let’s be very clear, the only pitchers that will be affected by the pitch clock are pitchers that suck," Schilling explained. "No good pitcher is going to be bothered by the pitch clock.
"Good pitchers never, never will be affected by the clock because good pitchers always work fast."
MLB PLAYERS ASSOCIATION SAYS 2023 RULE CHANGES IMPACT ‘THE INTEGRITY OF THE GAME ITSELF’
All pitchers work at different paces, with some that are ready to go after making a pitch, while others are more methodical. Because of that, MLB wants a status quo when it comes to time between pitches, which is why the pitch clock of 15 seconds in between pitches with no runners on base and 20 seconds when there are.
"If you put Ricky Henderson on first base, and you tell him ‘OK, the pitcher can’t throw over now.’ Now what?" he said. "It’s going to be a dramatic change. It might take a little bit to catch on, but you’re going to see a sizable change in the way the game is played."
The MLB is split into two divisions, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). There are an even 15 teams that belong to each division. To break that down a step further, each league is further divided into three divisions, East, Central and West.
The teams that make up the AL East are the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins are all part of 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 all are in the NL East. The Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals are all part of NL Central. Lastly, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants are in the NL West.
In past years, teams mostly played within their division, causing them to play the same team many times through the season.
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There isn't too much of a change to how many intraleague games each team will play. Intraleague games refer to teams that are from the same league, but are non-division opponents. Normally, there are 66 intraleague games in an MLB season. Now there will be 64.
The biggest change of 2023 MLB season is the number of interleague games that will be played. Interleague games refer to match ups between a team in the AL and a team in the NL. Normally, there are only 20 interleague matchups, but this year, that number has more than doubled with 46 interleague games being played by each team.
All wins and loses will be counted the same, but fans should expect the postseason to be slightly different this year, with one additional team joining the mix from each league.
Normally, there are 10 teams, (five from each league) that participate in postseason play. This year, there will be an increased total of 12 teams, (six from each league) in the postseason.
PITCH CLOCKS, SHIFT LIMITS, LARGER BASES AND MORE COMING TO MLB IN FUTURE YEARS
According to the MLB website, the number one seed from each division will be the team with the best overall record and the number two seed will be the second-best division winner. The third place team will be the third-best division winner.
The number four seed will be the team with the best record among the Wild Card teams. In fifth will be the team with the second-best record among Wild Card teams and the sixth will be the third-best record among the Wild Card teams. The teams that are in first and second will receive a bye for the first round and head right to the Division Series.
A favorite game to watch on Opening Day is the Chicago White Sox vs defending 2022 World Series champions, the Houston Astros.
