MLB schedule redesign long overdue

The 2023 MLB schedule is going to be awesome.

The quality of play on the field at PNC Park may vary and either be similar to 2022 or improved, but the visitors will pack a different punch more frequently than ever.

MLB released each team’s 162-game schedule Wednesday with the highlight being the most obvious pleasure to baseball fanatics: less division games and more against the opposing league.

For the first time in modern MLB history, all 30 teams will play each other during the course of the season.

Division competition will be decreased from 76 to 52 games, or 19 games to 13 against a club’s four division opponents. The total adds up to a balanced 26 home and away games spreading between teams.

In short, as a result, the Pirates will now have the opportunity to play the likes of Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Vlad Guerrero Jr, Julio Rodriguez, Jose Altuve, and others on a yearly basis.

It balances out the schedule similar to the NBA and NHL, especially with baseball playing and additional 80 games.

The idea to play each team every season is a design way overdue and exciting for baseball. It just makes too much sense.

Does playing the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds less make division competition less intense? It could make it more important to beat those other clubs with less opportunities in route to a division title.

Teams across the National and American Leagues will experience new venues on a more consistent basis and showcase the games top talent.

It provides Trout and Ohtani the chance to play more often on the east coast and in the midwest in earlier time slots than late-night west coast baseball. This could help to grow the game to new heights and engage a young generation willing to cling on to baseball.

Excitement will fill PNC Park in 2023 when the Chicago White Sox are in town for the home opener, the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Guardians are in town, as well as a second-straight year playing the New York Yankees. The Bucs will celebrate Clemente Day on September 15 to begin a three-game set against New York.

So fasten your seat belt and enjoy the ride. 2022 still has plenty of baseball left to offer, but a new era is on its way. Like the early reviews of the schedule, the Pirates hope their fortunes could be as action packed and eye opening as the release of dates on a calendar to fill an action-packed summer at the ballpark.