Commentary: Balanced schedule is great for MLB |
One of the most interesting new aspects of the upcoming season is that every MLB team will play every MLB team now.
In the past, every MLB team would play 76 games in their division (for the Cubs, that would mean games against the National League Central: St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds) — but with the new schedule that number has shrunk to 52. The 24 games lost in the division will mean each team will miss out on six games against each division opponent, one home series, and one road series. Formerly, every team would also play 66 teams against the rest of the teams in their league (for the Cubs, that means games against the rest of the National League. The East: Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies. The West: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies) and with the new schedule, that number has shrunk to just 64, so the schedule will look and feel fairly similar in this regard. Finally, the most significant change is interleague play. In the past, this would typically feature 20 games from the Cubs against other teams from the American League. The Cubs play the Chicago White Sox every year, which will continue. But instead of mixing the last 16 games against one division. Either the American League Central: Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins; American League East: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, and Baltimore Orioles; or American League West: Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers or Los Angeles Angels. But now, each National League team will play 46 games (a rise of 26) against American League teams. This means that the Cubs will travel to every MLB stadium far more frequently than before and will visit at least every two years each MLB stadium. That means fans all over the county can see the Cubs more often, and historic venues like Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, and Camden Yards will not have to wait the better half of a decade to see Chicago or other teams come to visit. MLB teams will not have to wait years to see All-Star players like Ronald Acuna Jr., Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper, or Juan Soto to come around their home team. Players like Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Aaron Judge, and Jose Ramirez will play at Wrigley Field more often. This is a great thing for baseball. While hardcore baseball purists will miss more traditional rivalries and notice the jumbling of all MLB teams players all over the stadium, this will give more fans a chance to watch more players play our great game — an excellent thing for the growth of the sport. Part of the reason fans don’t always know or appreciate the game all-stars is they rarely get to see them play — and baseball’s blackout restrictions make watching them difficult too, but now, a balanced schedule makes that possible. The other exciting caveat is that some teams in weaker divisions will not benefit from playing the bottom feeders so often, meaning their record might take a hit from playing better teams in better divisions. For example, a team like White Sox will not benefit from playing the weaker Royals, Twins, and Tigers as much and will have to face hard teams like the Mets, Braves, and Dodgers more than ever before. In addition, teams in strong divisions like the AL or NL East will not have to beat up on each other as much — and may benefit from playing teams from lesser divisions and vulture some wins. For example, the Blue Jays will have fewer games against the tough Yankees or Rays and more against the weak Diamondbacks, Reds, Pirates, and Rockies. The bottom line is that this should be an excellent thing for the MLB, and I can’t wait to see it all unfold.
