MLB Announces Exciting 2025 Regular-Season Schedule
In a grand revelation coinciding with the final day of the 2024 All-Star break, Major League Baseball (MLB) has officially announced its 2025 regular-season schedule. Baseball aficionados can now access each team's individual itinerary on their respective official websites.
Opening Overseas in Tokyo
The 2025 season promises a historic start, with the action kicking off overseas at the Tokyo Dome on March 18-19. This international spectacle will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers taking on the Chicago Cubs, marking MLB's thrilling return to Japan after a six-year hiatus. The previous occasion was in 2019 when the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners opened their season in the Japanese capital.
Adding to the spectacle, the Dodgers will showcase two of their international stars, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. On the other side, the Cubs will field Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki, ensuring that the games are not just a contest but a celebration of baseball's growing global influence.
Earliest Traditional Opening Day in History
Stateside, the traditional Opening Day will commence on Thursday, March 27, featuring an unprecedented early start for the league. All 30 teams will be in action, making it the earliest Opening Day in the annals of baseball history. However, fans will see only four divisional matchups on this landmark day.
The Oakland Athletics' 2025 campaign will begin with a four-game series in Seattle. Notably, the Athletics are set to make history by playing their first-ever game in Sacramento on Monday, March 31, as part of a three-game series against the Cubs.
Highlighting the Season: The Tokyo Series
The Tokyo Series stands out as the sole international series on the 2025 MLB schedule. While initial plans had included games in Paris, those ambitions did not come to fruition, making the Tokyo series all the more significant as MLB continues to expand its global footprint.
Rivalry Weekend
A signature feature of the 2025 schedule is "Rivalry Weekend," slated for May 16-18. This weekend will be a showcase of intense competition, featuring 11 series involving traditional division rivals alongside four thrilling geographic rivalries. In a departure from the norm, several interleague rivals will face off in six-game sets instead of the usual four, heightening the stakes and intensifying the competition.
All-Star Festivities in Atlanta
The 95th All-Star Game will be held at Atlanta's Truist Park on Tuesday, July 15, promising to be a mid-season extravaganza. The festivities will also include the Futures Game on July 12, offering fans a glimpse of the sport's brightest upcoming talents. The highly anticipated Home Run Derby is scheduled for July 14, followed by the 2025 draft beginning on July 13, turning the All-Star break into a festival of baseball excellence.
Season's End and Postseason Beginnings
The regular season will conclude in a fittingly dramatic fashion, with all 30 teams in action on Sunday, September 28. This final day will feature eight crucial divisional matchups, setting the stage for what promises to be an electrifying race to the finish. The postseason will subsequently commence on Tuesday, September 30, as the race for the World Series title begins in earnest.
As fans eagerly await the first pitch, the 2025 MLB season is poised to be a thrilling journey from its historic opening in Tokyo to the high-stakes drama of the postseason. With globally recognized stars and fierce rivalries, it promises to be a year that will captivate baseball enthusiasts worldwide.