It's the most wonderful time of the year for sports fans because Major League Baseball is back. All 30 MLB teams are playing on MLB Opening Day 2023. Four of the games will be nationally televised while the others will be available locally and on MLB.TV.
Whether you're watching the 2022 World Series champion Houston Astros take on the Chicago White Sox, or catching the San Diego Padres (MLB.com's pre-season pick to take home the 2023 World Series championship) as they face off against the visiting Colorado Rockies, there are plenty of games to choose from.
Here's everything you need to know about watching your MLB Opening Day 2023.
When is MLB Opening Day 2023?
MLB Opening Day 2023 is Thursday, March 30.
For the first time since 1968, all MLB teams are going to play their first game of the season on the same day, meaning that there are going to be 15 games throughout the day.
Nationally televised Opening Day 2023 games
This year there are four Major League Baseball games airing on national television for Opening Day:
- San Francisco Giants at New York Yankees, 1:05 pm ET/10:05 am PT on MLB Network
- Philadelphia Phillies at Texas Rangers, 4:05 pm ET/1:05 pm PT on MLB Network
- Los Angeles Angels at Oakland A's, 7:07 pm ET/4:07 pm PT on MLB Network
- Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros, 7:08 pm ET/4:08 pm PT on ESPN
Both ESPN and MLB Network are available through a traditional cable TV subscription plan.
MLB Network can be accessed on TV, tablet or mobile device using login information from your cable provider. If you've cut the cord, you might consider subscribing to MLB.TV so that you can stream games from anywhere, all season long.
There are more options to stream ESPN through live TV streaming services, like FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV and Sling TV. ESPN Plus is also going to have a live stream of one of the Opening Day games — the Philadelphia Phillies vs Texas Rangers at 4:05 pm ET/1:05 pm PT; a subscription to ESPN Plus is required to stream the game.
How to watch MLB Opening Day 2023
Here's the complete list of all 15 games being played on Opening Day and how you can watch them. Keep in mind that your team may be subject to a blackout on MLB.TV or only available in your local market.
- Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals, 1:05 pm ET/10:05 am PT, MASN, BSSE
- San Francisco Giants at New York Yankees, 1:05 pm ET/10:05 am PT, YES Network, MLBTV, NBC Sports Bay Area
- Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox, 2:10 pm ET/11:10 am PT, NESN, MSN2, MLBTV
- Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 pm ET/11:20 am PT, MARQ, BSWI, MLBTV
- Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays, 3:10 pm ET/12:10 pm PT, BSDET, MLBTV
- Philadelphia Phillies at Texas Rangers, 4:05 pm ET/1:05 pm PT, BSSW, NBC 10, MLBTV
- Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds, 4:10 pm ET/1:10 pm PT, BSOH, ATTP, MLBTV
- Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres, 4:10 pm ET/1:10 pm PT, BSSD, AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain, MLBTV
- Toronto Blue Jays at St. Louis Cardinals, 4:10 pm ET/1:10 pm PT, SNET, BSMW, MLBTV
- Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals, 4:10 pm ET/1:10 pm PT, BSKC, BSNO, MLBTV
- New York Mets at Miami Marlins, 4:10 pm ET/1:10 pm PT, SNY, MLBTV
- Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros, 7:08 pm ET/4:08 pm PT, ESPN
- Los Angeles Angels at Oakland A's, 7:07 pm ET/4:07 pm PT, NBCSCA, MLBTV
- Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, 7:10 pm ET/4:10 pm PT, SNLA, MLBTV
- Cleveland Guardians at Seattle Mariners, 7:10 pm ET/4:10 pm PT, ROOT Sports
Things to know about MLB Opening Day 2023
What's new for the 2023 MLB season?
New for the 2023 MLB season are rule changes that have already made quite an impact on the game throughout spring training.
The first big rule change revolves around the pitch clock. Pitchers will have 15 seconds to throw the ball when the bases are empty and 20 seconds when runners are on base. Hitters must be in the batters box with eight seconds left.
New shift restrictions require that all four infielders have their feet on the dirt when the pitcher is on the rubber and two infielders must be on either side of second base when the pitch is released.
The other big change in 2023 has to do with the bases moving from 15 inches to 18 inches.
What's new with the 2023 MLB schedule?
The 2023 MLB season will be more balanced with more interleague games as part of the collective bargaining agreement that ended the players' strike in 2022.
According to the new scheduling rules, teams will play five fewer games against division opponents and instead play one series against every team in the other league. There will be 56 total games against a team's four division opponents made up of 14 games (seven home and seven away) against each division rival.
Additionally, there will be 46 interleague games, including four games against a geographic rival and three games each against the remaining 14 teams, with ballparks alternating annually.
What this means is that fans will be able to see more teams and more players on a regular basis, and it's likely to leave a positive impact on the schedule this season.
