MLB on Wednesday released the complete 2019 schedule for all 30 teams. Let's dig in with some key takeaways: The regular season will open on March 20-21 with the Japan Series at the Tokyo Dome. The Mariners and Athletics will be the combatants. Traditional Opening Day will take place on March 28, which makes it the earliest traditional Opening Day in MLB history. For the second straight year, all 30 teams will be in action, which makes it a true Opening Day. Here are those Opening Day matchup (start times to be determined): Yep, that's some March baseball in Minnesota. Now for some other highlights from the 2019 schedule: Interleague play will pair the AL East vs. NL West, AL Central vs. NL East, and AL West vs. NL Central. That's in addition to the usual interleague rivalry matchups (e.g., Yankees-Mets, White Sox-Cubs, etc. ). will pair the AL East vs. NL West, AL Central vs. NL East, and AL West vs. NL Central. That's in addition to the usual interleague rivalry matchups (e.g., Yankees-Mets, White Sox-Cubs, etc.). World Series rematches include Yankees-Diamondbacks, Royals-Mets, Rangers-Cardinals and Red Sox-Rockies. include Yankees-Diamondbacks, Royals-Mets, Rangers-Cardinals and Red Sox-Rockies. Monterrey, Mexico will host one spring training series and two regular season series for a total of six games. The Rockies and Diamondbacks will play during the Cactus League season on March 9-10, the Reds will play the Cardinals a two-game regular season set on April 13-14, and the Angels and Astros will play a two-game series on May 4-5. will host one spring training series and two regular season series for a total of six games. The Rockies and Diamondbacks will play during the Cactus League season on March 9-10, the Reds will play the Cardinals a two-game regular season set on April 13-14, and the Angels and Astros will play a two-game series on May 4-5. Just three games will take place on June 3, which is the day of the 2019 MLB Draft . . On June 13 -- two days before the start of the 2019 College World Series -- the Royals will host the Tigers at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. It'll be the first MLB game ever to be played in the state of Nebraska. -- the Royals will host the Tigers at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. It'll be the first MLB game ever to be played in the state of Nebraska. The Angels will visit the Cardinals at Busch Stadium starting on June 21. That will occasion Albert Pujols' return to St. Louis for the first time as a visiting player. Pujols signed a a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Angels following the 2011 season. for the first time as a visiting player. Pujols signed a a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Angels following the 2011 season. On June 29-30, the Red Sox and Yankees will play at London Stadium . Those will be the first-ever MLB games played in Europe. . Those will be the first-ever MLB games played in Europe. The 90th All-Star Game will go down on Tuesday, July 9th at Progressive Field in Cleveland. will go down on Tuesday, July 9th at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The third annual Little League Classic is scheduled for Aug. 18. The Pirates will host the Cubs in Williamsport, Penn. is scheduled for Aug. 18. The Pirates will host the Cubs in Williamsport, Penn. Sept. 29 will be the final day of the regular season. The schedule features 12 intra-divisional contests. As well, the Rangers will host the Yankees in the final regular season game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. We've of course got a lot of 2018 left -- including, you know, the postseason -- but this should whet the baseball enthusiast's appetite for next year.<doc-sep>Jeff Chiu/Associated Press Major League Baseball announced the schedule for its 2019 regular season on Wednesday. Manny Randhawa and Chad Thornburg of MLB.com reported the campaign will begin with a series between the AL West rival Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners in Tokyo on March 20-21 ahead of the standard Opening Day on March 28, the earliest date in league history. MLB moved the starting date up beginning in 2018 to accommodate three or four additional off days for each team during the course of the 162-game season. No other changes have been made to the format for 2019 after a brief discussion earlier in the year about the possibility of reducing the number of contests. In April, commissioner Rob Manfred told the Associated Press Sports Editors a shorter schedule, which was mentioned by Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, would also mean reduced pay for players, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. "I think that Anthony's comments were realistic in the sense that he linked the fact that if, in fact, you're going to go to 154 games or some lower number of games, that players would have to be participants in that process," Manfred said. "They're going to work less, they're probably going to make less." There were never substantial discussions about dropping the total from 162 for 2019, though. Video Play Button Videos you might like The 2019 MLB All-Star Game is scheduled for July 9 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.<doc-sep>FILE PHOTO: Apr 7, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; A general view of the opening day logo on the field before the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports Tokyo is host to 2019 Opening Day in Major League Baseball. The Opening Series featuring the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will be played March 20-21, with traditional Opening Day held stateside on March 28 with 10 division matchups. In June, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will play a series in London Stadium, site of the 2012 Olympics, marking the first time the American League East rivals meet outside their home markets. The Yankees have a full 81-game home schedule, meaning the London series counts Boston as the home team. Four regular-season games will be played in Monterrey, Mexico. The St. Louis Cardinals will oppose the “host” Cincinnati Reds on April 13 and April 14, and the Los Angeles Angels will bat last in games against the Houston Astros on May 4 and May 5. Former St. Louis Cardinals MVP Albert Pujols is scheduled to make his first ever trip to Busch Stadium as a visitor when the Los Angeles Angels visit the Cardinals (June 21-23). Pujols left the Cardinals as a free agent in 2011, signing a $254 million deal. The Chicago Cubs won’t have to worry about weather for their opening series, which will take place in Arlington, Texas, against the Rangers beginning March 28. The Yankees visit the Los Angeles Dodgers in an interleague series August 23-25. It will be their first visit to Dodger Stadium since 2013. --Field Level Media<doc-sep>
Major League Baseball has released the 2019 schedule. Spoiler alert: each team will play 162 games, most will be at night, some will be during the day and all will be bunched in groups of 2-4 games called “series” in order to maximize travel efficiency. Unless you’re the Seattle Mariners, of course, in which case you’ll be doing dumb things like flying from Anaheim to Minneapolis and then back to Oakland in one road trip and then going from Dallas to Chicago to Houston in another. Seattle is geographically challenged and there is nothing that can be done about that, but my lord does the scheduling computer, ~Sched-LöR~ seem to hate them. Apart from the usual stuff in the schedule we have these components: The season will technically begin with the 2019 Japan Opening Series,featuring the Oakland Athletics hosting the Seattle Mariners at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. That’ll be on March 20-21, when everyone else is still in spring training. Traditional Opening Day, featuring all 30 Major League Clubs, will take place on Thursday, March 28th. The earliest Opening Day ever, not counting foreign series; Certain teams getting Friday off, most likely for Collective Bargaining Agreement-mandated travel-related days off. This year we’ve seen a lot of odd Wednesday off-days for the same reason. ; We’re also going to see the much talked about London Series between the Yankees and the Red Sox on June 29 and June 30, with offdays built in before and after; Albert Pujols will play his first games back in St. Louis since leaving via free agency lo those many years ago. It’ll take place in late June; and The Royals and Tigers will play in Omaha in June in honor of the College World Series. There will be other things not yet incorporated into the schedule such as the Sunday night games and a planned Mexico series involving the Angels. The whole thing wraps up Sunday, September 29. Follow @craigcalcaterra