Pitchers and catchers report in a couple of weeks, and Opening Day is less than two months away. Baseball is almost back, triggering the release of the Atlanta Braves 2023 schedule.
https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1562488013229199361?s=20&t=mBDsLkAcux4XH39jFXkn9g
Once again, the team will open the season on a random weekday in the middle of the day. The Braves 2023 schedule begins on the road against the Washington Nationals on Thursday, March 30, at 1:05 ET. Atlanta will then travel to St. Louis for a three-game series and see old friend Chip Caray before returning home to host the Padres and Reds at Truist Park.
All of that is rather normal, but the rest of the season is not. The MLB is tinkering with the schedule and will test a new method in 2023. Each club will play 52 games against divisional opponents, 64 intraleague games, and 46 interleague games. For the first time ever, the Braves will play a series against each of the other 29 teams.
Last year, Braves Country witnessed the greatness of Shohei Ohtani for the first time; unfortunately, Mike Trout was injured. However, with this new-look schedule, fans of all teams can watch star players from the opposite league they wouldn’t usually have the opportunity to see. It should definitely generate more fan interest. Braves Country will hopefully be able to see both Ohtani and Trout in Atlanta in late July, among the rest of the game’s superstars.
The schedule change will also help teams like the Braves, who are in stacked divisions like the NL East. The Mets, Phillies, and Braves are among the best baseball teams and will have to battle it out. New York and Atlanta won 100+ games, while Philadelphia went to the World Series last year. Instead of playing them 19 times a season, they’ll play each other 13 times. It’s more fair on a competitive level across baseball, but we’ll miss out on more rivalry games.
Overall, I like the schedule change because of the stars coming to each stadium. Fans all over the country would love to see Ronald Acuna Jr. play baseball, and now, they’ll have that opportunity. It’s something that should’ve been done a long time ago.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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