Shaking it up: Major League Baseball reveals schedule for 2023... SACRIFICING the number of in-division games so that EVERY TEAM will play each other next season
- Each team plays 14 series against interleague teams, evenly split home & away
- League officials hope this will make the Wild Card race more competitive
- This cuts the number of games between divisional rivals like Yankees-Red Sox
Published: 17:14 EST, 24 August 2022 | Updated: 17:15 EST, 24 August 2022
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
The 2023 schedule released by Major League Baseball on Wednesday might look the same in some ways. There are still 162 games per team, spread from spring to fall, with a brief pause for the All-Star break, and October, as always, the goal.
But make no mistake: The new, more balanced 2023 schedule, which will begin with Opening Day on March 30, is a massive change for the sport.
• Schedules: AL | NL
No longer is each team’s slate significantly skewed toward division opponents. Instead, the schedules will feature more variety. For the first time in modern MLB history, every team will play every other team at some point.
This altered schedule structure will have significant effects on the postseason and the product. So let’s dive into the specifics of this schedule change by answering questions you might have about it.
Why has MLB moved to a balanced schedule?
With the postseason format having already been expanded in 2022 to include three Wild Card spots in each league, it is more important for teams across each league to play more similar schedules. All wins and losses are counted the same, so a more balanced schedule conceivably limits the advantage a team from a weak division has over a team from a deep division in the Wild Card race.
But there is also entertainment value to having all teams face each other at least once, 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.
“This new format creates more consistent opponent matchups as Clubs compete for Postseason berths,” MLB chief operations and strategy officer Chris Marinak said in a release, “particularly in the recently expanded Wild Card round. 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.”
Is the 2023 schedule truly “balanced”?
Not in the strictest sense, no. Teams will still play more series against individual division opponents than any individual opponent from another division. But the schedule is nowhere near as weighted toward division play as it was previously.
How many games will each team play against division opponents?
Each team will play 52 games against division opponents, decreased from 76 under the previous schedule structure.
This will include 13 games [across four total series] against each division opponent, decreased from 19 [across six series]. That’s seven home games and six away games [or vice versa] against each opponent for a total of 26 home games and 26 away games.
How many games will each team play against non-division league opponents?
Each team will play 64 intraleague games [32 home games and 32 away games], decreased from 66.
Teams will play six games against six league opponents and seven games against four other league opponents. This is the reverse of the previous format, in which teams played six games against four league opponents and seven against six league opponents.
How many Interleague games will each team play?
This is the biggest change, with 46 total Interleague games for each team [AL vs. NL and vice versa], an increase from 20.
Teams will play a home-and-home series [four games total] against their natural Interleague rivals [Yankees vs. Mets, Dodgers vs. Angels, Cubs vs. White Sox, etc.] and another 42 games against other Interleague opponents, including seven series [21 games] at home and seven series [21 games] on the road.
How long was the schedule “unbalanced”?
The unbalanced schedule we are familiar with today was first introduced in 2001. That year, teams began playing anywhere from 16 to 20 games against each division rival. Prior to that, the AL had played under a more balanced schedule since its 1977 expansion from 12 to 14 teams, while the NL had played under a more balanced schedule since its 1993 expansion from 12 to 14 teams.
Interleague Play, however, had never been balanced the way it will be with the 2023 schedule.
What impact will the balanced schedule have?
Though the travel will be quite a bit different under the more balanced schedule and rescheduling postponements against non-division opponents can be more challenging, this arrangement should be a fairer one in terms of settling both division and Wild Card races. As a result of the adjusted schedule, teams within the same division and within the same league will have more common opponents.
The new schedule could also impact how front offices approach roster construction. With fewer division games, there might be less emphasis on acquisitions targeted specifically because of how they match up with particular division rivals or how they play in particular ballparks within the division.
What are some other notable aspects of the 2023 schedule?
- The 2023 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be held on July 11 at T-Mobile Park — the first Midsummer Classic in Seattle since 2001.
- If weather permits, Opening Day on March 30 would be the first in which every MLB team opens on the same day since 1968.
- All 30 clubs are also scheduled to be in action on the Fourth of July.
- The Cardinals and Cubs will play a two-game series at London Stadium on June 24-25 as part of the MLB World Tour, which will bring MLB teams and players to the league’s global base over the next four seasons.
- The Phillies and Nationals will meet in the 2023 Little League Classic at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa., on Aug. 20.
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