What to Expect for the 2023 MLB Season

The Houston Astros will be defending their championship when the 2023 MLB season begins on Thursday, March 30. If weather permits, Opening Day 2023 will be the first time every MLB team opens on the same day since 1968. The 2023 schedule release includes several big moments for fans of America's Pastime and a massive change to how games are scheduled.

Highlights of the upcoming season:

• 4th of July: This Independence Day, all 30 clubs are scheduled to take the field.
• 2023 Little League Classic: On Sunday, August 20, the Phillies will take on the Nationals at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
• 2023 All-Star Game: The 93rd All-Star Game will take place at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on July 11.
• MLB World Tour: The Cardinals and Cubs will play a two-game series at London Stadium on June 24 and 25
• Roberto Clemente Day: On Friday, September 15, all 30 clubs will take the field, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, who will host the Yankees at PNC Park. 
  
• Jackie Robinson Day: On Saturday, April 15, 15-games will take place across the league, which will be highlighted by the Chicago Cubs visiting the Los Angeles Dodgers.

2023 MLB Schedule Changes

New for the 2023 season, the MLB schedule will be a balanced affair. Teams have been playing an unbalanced schedule since 2001. Under the unbalanced schedule, teams played anywhere from 16 to 20 games against each of their rivals within their division. 

Balanced Schedule

For the first time, the MLB schedule will be balanced for each team. The league announced that each team's schedule wouldn't be skewed towards divisional rivals and for the first time in modern history, every team will play every other team at some point. With the changes, fans across the league will have a chance to watch Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, and the rest of the sport's biggest stars at their favorite team's ballpark.

Fewer Divisional Games

Usually, each team plays 76 divisional games; however, under the new schedule, teams will play 52 games against their divisional rivals. Each team will play 13 games across four total series against each divisional opponent, which is a decrease from the usual 19 games across six series. To further break it down, teams will play 6 or 7 home and 6 or 7 away games against each opponent for a total of 26 home and 26 away games.

Less Intraleague Play

The new schedule will modify each team's play against non-division league opponents. For the upcoming season, teams will play 32 home games and 32 away games for a total of 64 intraleague games, which is a decrease from the usual 66. The format has changed as teams will play 6 games against 6 league opponents and 7 games against 4 other league opponents.

More Interleague Play

Under the old format, each American League and National League team went head-to-head 20 times. Now, Interleague play has increased to 46 total games for each team. Each team will play a home-and-home series (4 games total) against their "natural" Interleague rivals. Those rivals would include Yankees-Mets, Dodgers-Angels, Cubs-White Sox, and more. They'll play another 42 games against other Interleague opponents, which includes seven series (21 games) at home and seven series (21 games) on the road.

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