MLB releases new-look 2023 schedule

Earlier today, MLB released the schedule for the 2023 season, with notable changes coming to the format of the regular season. Next year will feature a more balanced schedule as agreed upon during the recent CBA negotiations, with each ballclub facing all 29 other teams in the league for at least one series. Let’s break down the differences and look ahead to what the Yankees can expect.

The new format exerts its influence from the word go, with New York opening their 2023 season at home against the San Francisco Giants on March 30th. Normally we’d have to wait a couple months before getting our first taste of interleague play; not anymore. With the regular season starting nine days earlier than this year (thanks to the lockout-induced delay), the Yankees’ final game of the 2023 campaign will be October 1st at Kansas City.

As I mentioned, this schedule represents MLB’s effort to bring more balance to the regular season, with all teams playing each other and more interleague play at the expense of fewer divisional games. Teams will now play just 52 games against divisional opponents — down from 76 under former schedules. This means no more 19-game marathons against the Red Sox, Rays, etc. for the Yankees. Instead, they will play 13 games split into two home series and two road series apiece against each of the Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, and Orioles, with the first meeting between New York and Boston not coming until June 9th at the Stadium.

The Yankees will play 64 games (down from 66) against the other 10 teams in the AL, 32 home and 32 away. This will break down into a home and road series against each of those remaining clubs — six games against six non-divisional AL teams and seven games against four non-divisional AL team. All this requires an explosion in interleague games — 46 up from just 20 under the previous format — to fill out the 162-game season. New York will play four games — two home and two away — against the Mets just as the did this season, and then one three-game series against each of the 14 other NL teams.

Other highlights of the schedule include every team playing on Opening Day, Jackie Robinson Day (April 15th), July 4th, and Roberto Clemente Day (September 15th). The Yankees are set to host the Twins on Jackie Robinson Day, the Orioles on Independence Day, and will travel to PNC Park to face the legend’s own Pirates on Roberto Clemente Day. The All-Star Game is scheduled for July 11th in Seattle.

All in all, there are some pretty consequential changes coming to the regular season going forward. So how do we feel about this new format? Do the Yankees benefit or suffer from the increase in interleague play? Will you miss the 19 games against each of the AL East opponents, or do you welcome diversifying the schedule? Let us know in the comments.