The 2026 MLB season is off and running, and we should all enjoy it. The game we all love could look much different in a year. That is, if games are being played at all. There’s an overwhelming sense around the league that this is the final season of its era, with massive change coming to the sport.
Over the last 20 years, baseball has transformed into a fully modern game despite resistance from multiple corners. Instant replay has become a seamless staple, embraced by virtually everyone. Analytics, advanced stats and biomechanics have taken hold, becoming the foundation of player development. This generation gave us bat flips, strikeout struts and increasingly elaborate closer entrances. We lived through COVID-ball, learned to speak in spin rates and expected stats, witnessed unprecedented international growth and started streaming games. We watched the sport remake itself in real time, adding a pitch clock, enlarging bases, expanding the playoffs and embracing the shift, then ditching it just as quickly.
