MLB reveals schedule for 2023… REDUCING in-division games so EVERY TEAM will play each other
Major League Baseball released its schedule for 2023 on Wednesday, calling it ‘more balanced’ and a ‘massive change for the sport.’
The schedules slightly scale back the amount of games against division opponents, while allowing for more interleague games in the season.
Divisional games played in the season will see a massive drop in frequency – with only 52 games against division opponents, down from 76 in the previous schedule.
Intraleague (i.e. NL East v. NL Central, AL West v. AL East, etc.) games also saw a drop, with 64 scheduled compared with 66 this season.
The biggest change comes in the form of American League v. National League ‘interleague’ play – with 46 total games up from 20 last season.
The new MLB calendar will allow for more interleague matchups, such as Angels-Dodgers
Natural interleague rivalries – such as Yankees-Mets, Angels-Dodgers, or White Sox-Cubs – will be played across a two game home-and-home series (four games total).
Additionally, each team will play 21 games at home against interleague opponents, with 21 games on the road against different opponents from the opposite league.
Per mlb.com, this change was brought about to balance the schedule and bring more parity to the Wild Card race by making it harder on teams from weaker divisions.
It will also drive up the ‘entertainment value’ by having each team play each other in the season, ‘as opposed to loading up the schedule with division matchups.’
‘That means 29 fan bases getting to watch their clubs face Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts and the other great stars of the sport.’
Certain interleague rivalries, like Yankees-Mets, will be played in two home-and-home series
‘This new format creates more consistent opponent matchups as Clubs compete for Postseason berths, particularly in the recently expanded Wild Card round.’ MLB chief operations and strategy officer Chris Marinak said in a release.
‘Additionally, this fan-friendly format provides fans with the opportunity to see more opponent matchups, with a particular focus on dramatically expanding our most exciting Interleague matchups, and offers more national exposure to the star players throughout our game.’
Every pro has a con, and for Major League Baseball, while this could lead to a more competitive Wild Card and playoff season, they make certain games much rarer.
This new schedule reduces the number of times we see the great rivalries of the sport, including Giants-Dodgers, Cubs-Cardinals, Mets-Phillies, and – possibly most important – Yankees-Red Sox.
Using Yankees-Red Sox as an example, the two heated rivals had six series scheduled against each other for a total of 20 games in the 2022 season, including a matchup on opening weekend.
In the 2023 season, the Yankees and Red Sox play only four series and 13 games against each other, with Boston having more games at home.
Moreover, the teams don’t face off for the first time next season until June 9th – making the 2023 season the longest the two teams have had to wait to face each other since 1996.
Great rivalries such as Yankees-Red Sox won’t be played as often to accommodate the change
