MLB starts with ABS challenge, television expansion and uncertain future
The 2026 MLB season begins this Wednesday with a stellar game between the Yankees and Giants, in addition to other topics
The Major League Baseball (MLB) season starts on Wednesday with a stellar game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, which will debut the automated balls and strikes challenge system (ABS) and a new bet on television broadcasts and that will activate the clock for the end, in December, of the collective bargaining agreement between the team owners and the players.
Left-hander Max Fried will start for the Yankees and right-hander Logan Webb for the Giants in what will only be the tenth game in San Francisco between the two old rivals and Manhattan neighbors. New York leads the series 16-8 and has won seven of its previous nine visits to Oracle Park.
The clash will mark the debut of Tony Vitello as manager of the Giants. The former coach of the University of Tennessee team became the first Major League manager to come directly from a college program without any experience as a professional player or coach.
The ABS era begins
In addition, the first of the 2,430 games of the largest regular series in the professional leagues, it will be the first in the era of ABS, the automated system that will allow hitters, pitchers and catchers to challenge the umpire’s calls for balls and strikes. Each team will be assigned two claims (which they will keep if they win the challenge) during the first nine innings and at least one in extra innings.
Our companion Jesse Rogers provided updated details of the ABS rule.
New television agreements
On the other hand, the duel between the Yankees and Giants will mark the debut of Netflix in Major League broadcasts. The streaming platform signed a three-year agreement to join AM850FOX, NBCUniversal and TBS as the Major Leagues’ national broadcast partners.
In the movement, AM850— which extends its relationship with MLB to 39 years — received a national package of midweek games throughout the season and acquired the rights to sell MLB.TV, the league’s streaming service outside its home market. Besides, AM850 maintains its international rights, with emphasis on Latin America.
On Thursday, when the Yankees and the Giants rest, 22 other clubs will debut: The Pittsburgh Pirates will visit the New York Mets, the Chicago White Sox will face the Milwaukee Brewers, the Washington Nationals will face the Chicago Cubs, the Minnesota Twins will face the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox will face the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Angels will face the Houston Astros, the Detroit Tigers will face the San Diego Padres, the Tampa Bay Rays will face the St. Louis Cardinals, the Texas Rangers at the Philadelphia Phillies, the Cleveland Guardians at the Seattle Mariners and the two-time champion Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The last to debut, on Friday, will be the Athletics against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, the Kansas City Royals against the Atlanta Braves and the Colorado Rockies against the Miami Marlins.
Dominican arms on Opening Day
Led by Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, five Dominicans represent the Latin Americans in the lineup of pitchers who received the honor of starting their teams’ first game.
Sanchez, who just signed a six-year extension with the Phillies after finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award race last season, will face the Rangers and right-hander Nathan Eovaldi at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
The other Dominicans designated to start their teams’ first game are right-handers Sandy Alcántara (Marlins), Freddy Peralta (Mets), Luis Severino (Athletics) and José Soriano (Angels).
The Dodgers, who beat the Yankees and the Blue Jays in the last two editions of the World Series, start the campaign looking to be the first club with three consecutive championships since the Bronx Bombers won in 1998, 1999 and 2000. No National League team has claimed the title in three straight years.
End to labor peace?
The 2026 season is the last guaranteed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The five-year pact will end on December 1, leaving the next seasons in the air, the World Baseball Classic and the possible participation of Major League stars in the 2028 Olympic Games.
To try to understand what the end of the CBA means, colleagues Jeff Passan, Alden Gonzalez and Jesse Rogers They answered the most frequently asked questions from fans.
To mark on the calendar
Among the most important dates of the new season, it is worth highlighting:
On April 15, Jackie Robinson Day, there are 15 games scheduled, including the Mets’ visit to the Dodgers in Los Angeles. AM850 will begin its annual schedule of Major League Baseball broadcasts in the United States with the game that commemorates the breaking of the racial barrier in 1947.
All 30 teams will play on Lou Gehrig Day, Tuesday, June 2, including the Yankees hosting Cleveland at Yankee Stadium. From June 8 to 12, the Athletics will host two consecutive series, against Milwaukee and Colorado, at Las Vegas Ballpark, the 10,000-seat home of their Triple A branch. The Athetics, who provisionally play in Sacramento, California, will move to a new stadium in Las Vegas that will be inaugurated in 2028. The celebration of the World Cup this summer in the United States forced MLB to make some modifications to the schedule. Seattle will host Boston for a doubleheader on Saturday, June 20 due to a FIFA World Cup match at Lumen Field on Friday, June 19.
Additionally, due to the World Cup, baseball will have off days in Arlington, Texas on (Wednesday, June 17 and Friday, July 3), Philadelphia (Friday, June 19), Kansas City (Saturday, June 20 and Friday, July 3) and Seattle (Wednesday, July 1). The All-Star Game will be held on Tuesday, July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence. The midseason classic continues the tradition of 1976, when Veterans Stadium hosted the All-Star Game in the nation’s bicentennial year.
The Yankees and Mets will meet at Yankee Stadium from September 11-13, marking the second time the New York teams have met on September 11, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks that, in addition to killing thousands of people, destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the Big Apple.
Roberto Clemente Day, Tuesday, September 15, will feature 15 games, including the Pirates and Brewers at PNC Park. Since 1973, MLB has dedicated a day to the memory of the historic Puerto Rican player who is a member of the Cooperstown Hall of Fame with celebrations in all stadiums.
Clemente, an extraordinary player who had three thousand hits, led the National League in batting four times and won 12 Gold Gloves for his defensive excellence in right field, reached the level of eternal myth, surpassing player and man, when he died in a plane crash while carrying humanitarian aid for the victims of the December 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua.
The last day of the 2026 regular season will be Sunday, September 27, with nine divisional matchups, before moving on to the start of the playoffs, with the wild card series, on Tuesday the 29th. The World Series will begin on October 23 and, if it reaches seven games, will conclude on October 31.
And before I dry the champagne on the faces of the champions, we could talk about the labor war between team owners and a bleak future for the game.
