March Madness is rolling in college basketball, but Major League Baseball has its own version of madness in March: roster finalization, anticipation and preparation for a lengthy season — and a series of predictions to go with it.
The 2026 MLB season begins with the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees playing at Oracle Park at 5:05 p.m. PT (8:05 p.m. ET) on March 25. There's lots for the Giants hopeful to be excited for ahead of the 2026 season, but die-hards might not be so optimistic.
San Francisco has a new manager in Tony Vitello, a standout college baseball coach who rose to fame during his eight-year tenure at Tennessee, where he won an NCAA Tournament championship, two SEC Tournament championships and two regular-season titles.
It is his first year ever as an MLB manager, the Giants hiring him in October 2025. With zero MLB experience, the talk is whether Vitello is the answer to the Giants' recent mediocracy, or whether his hire puts a stamp on who they've been the last five years.
They didn't make any splash signings, but the Giants front office didn't just sit on their tails and hibernate during the winter. Despite not landing Japanese pitching sensation Tatsuya Imai, losing out on the sweepstakes to the Houston Astros, the Giants still managed to land effective players.
San Francisco brought in pitcher Tyler Mahle on a one-year deal, infielder Luis Arráez on a one-year deal, and Harrison Bader, to name a few.
Still, it'll be a roller coaster to see how they fare in the NL West against the San Diego Padres or arch rival Los Angeles Dodgers, who are coming off back-to-back World Series championships.
Here are some bold predictions for the San Francisco Giants during the 2026 season.
Giants aren't as mediocre, but will still (barely) miss wild card
Giants fans can expect some life out of this new-look Giants team. The new additions will provide temporary excitement, but this team doesn't seem to have addressed its main issues: the bullpen, a closing lineup that'll make noise, and securing the outfield.
Personal drive, momentum swings, other teams being bad, are all legitimate reasons why the Giants won't be as bad as some think. But none of their offseason moves scream out NL West title, let alone World Series title ... but they can be more competitive than previous seasons.
In 2025, the team was the definition of mediocre at 81-81. They were just outside of a wild card spot.
This season, they will win more games, but others will, too, after improvements to their teams. Not sure if this is even a 90-win team, but nothing is off the table.
The Giants finish just under 90 wins at 85-77, which might not be enough for a wild card berth but it does provide more excitement this season. There will be times throughout the season where you ask yourself whether this team is a contender.
Luis Matos, Bryce Eldridge, other prospects emerge
The Giants have been investing in their prospects and one of them will emerge as a rotational guy.
Bryce Eldridge is a 6-foot-7 first baseman who showed the potential he has in spring training, bombing a three-run home run. Was it a fluke or a sign of more to come?
In 40 at-bats during the 2026 spring training, Eldridge compiled nine hits, eights runs, a homer and 6 RBIs. His OPS was .830, with a batting average of .225.
The streaming giant's latest venture into the world of sports will include the actual Giants, of San Francisco, hosting the New York Yankees in an exclusive broadcast of the first game of the 2026 MLB season.
Netflix had to cobble together its announcing lineup from scratch, but the crew does feature some very familiar names to baseball fans.
Matt Vasgersian will handle play-by-play duties with former major Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and ex-Giants outfielder Hunter Pence offering commentary. Lauren Shehadi will report from the field.
In addition, former ESPN anchor Elle Duncan will lead the studio show, with Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo filling the pre- and postgame analyst chairs.
Netflix is also taking over the broadcast of the All-Star Home Run Derby, which will be contested July 13 in Philadelphia.
2026 MLB opener on Netflix
New York Yankees at San Francisco Giants
Date: March 25
Time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco
AccuWeather forecast: Partly cloudy with game time temperature in the mid-60s and wind gusts up to 31 mph. Chance of rain 0%.
Starting pitchers: LHP Max Fried (Yankees), RHP Logan Webb (Giants)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 02: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees gestures to fans after the game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Sunday, June 2, 2024 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Finally. It’s been 168 days since the New York Yankees’ 2025 campaign ended in Division Series disappointment at the hands of the eventual AL champion Toronto Blue Jays. That was a big ol’ bummer, but it’s ancient history now. The 2026 MLB season begins tonight with the Yankees and San Francisco Giants kicking off the festivities out in San Francisco! Most of the other teams will then have their Opening Days tomorrow (or Friday in some cases).
Look, we’re pretty excited around here to see what Aaron Judge, Max Fried, and company do tonight, and we have a whole bunch of fun stuff planned for the day. So let’s just do a straightforward prompt for our Question of the Day: Who will hit the Yankees’ first two homers of the season? (Let’s keep it to just Yankees, sorry to Rafael Devers.)
Why are we phrasing the question this way? Well it honestly wouldn’t be very interesting to just ask about the first homer since the vast majority of responses would probably be “Aaron Judge, dummy.” So tell us the first two! Now, that could just be “Aaron Judge and Aaron Judge” since it’s fair to predict that the three-time MVP goes deep twice. But this at least allows for more creative responses! Judge and Jazz? Rice and Stanton? A Tuffy Rhodes-esque dark horse?
Have at it! I’m personally keeping it simple and going with Judge and Stanton. Those big boys can hit ’em out of anywhere, even San Francisco.
Jeff will begin our day on the site by previewing the full three-game Opening Day series against the Giants, checking out each pitching matchup. I’ll have our staff Yankees/MLB-wide predictions up and you can make your own! Josh will run through the Yankees’ full Opening Day roster when it’s finalized, Jake will break down the soon-to-be-revealed lineup, Sam will celebrate a former Yankee-turned-coach for our birthdays series, and Jonathan will offer a refresher on the new Yankees coaches on the block.
Under current rules, the Dodgers can pay Shohei Ohtani $700 million if both parties find the sum agreeable. (Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
The Major League Baseball Players Assn. is arguably the strongest union in the United States whose members include some of the most conservative athletes in professional sports. The owners of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams, who made their wealth through the workings of free enterprise capitalism, want to limit what players can be paid. This apparent political and philosophical irony will most likely lead to a shutdown of baseball at the end of this season.
Wednesday is opening day for the 162-game major league season. The 2025 season ended Nov. 1 with an 11-inning Dodgers victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in what was one of the most mesmerizing World Series ever. Last season, the Dodgers attracted more than 4 million fans for the first time. The Dodgers weren’t alone. More than 71 million fans attended major league games — the third straight season of growth. Over the last decade, league revenue has increased 33%.
And yet, despite all this good news about the health of baseball’s finances, team owners have threatened to lock the players out — essentially an ownership strike — at the end of this season over terms of a new collective bargaining agreement soon to be negotiated with the players union.
Major League Baseball, unlike the NFL, the NBA and the NHL, does not have a hard salary cap that limits what teams can spend on players. This is the key issue for the 30 team owners and Commissioner Rob Manfred, who argues that the system is “broken.” Small-market teams can’t effectively compete, Manfred insists, with economic behemoths like the Dodgers and Yankees. But over the past 10 seasons, 14 teams have made it to the World Series, so the league is not dominated by only a few big spenders.
Major leaguers and fans have weathered five player strikes and four owner lockouts since 1972. The 1994-95 strike lasted 232 days, canceling more than 900 games, including the World Series. Unlike in the NFL, where top players like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana crossed a picket line during the 1987 NFL Players Assn. strike, unionized baseball players have remained united. So far, no star players have been strikebreakers in baseball. Both Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers — the 2025 Cy Young Award winners for their respective leagues — also serve in players union leadership roles.
A recent report analyzing major league ballplayers' political affiliation found that among those who live in states that allow public access to voter registration records, nearly 54% of the players were Republicans compared with 8% Democrats. Why does a rightward-leaning membership retain such strong union loyalties?
For Miami Marlins pitcher Pete Fairbanks, who is also a member of the players union leadership, it comes down to recognizing that they stand on the shoulders of players who challenged the baseball establishment.
“If you look at the history of the union, we’ve had a foundation set for us,” Fairbanks said. “They fought for players’ rights and for the general betterment of the whole and it's the job of the veteran players to pass that history on to the younger players.”
Marvin Miller, a former Steelworkers Union leader, revolutionized the players’ union and baseball when he led the association from 1966 to 1982. He told the New York Times in 1999 that he was “irked” that many players did not know that it was the union that made their enormous salaries and benefits, arbitration and free agency possible. “When you don’t know your history, you tend to relive it,” Miller said.
Miller, who died in 2012, was a labor history buff who realized that highly skilled workers often developed elaborate ethical codes that promoted solidarity with other employees.
Bruce Meyer, the current executive director of the players association, puts the union’s fractious history with the owners at the center of his communications with players. He spent weeks talking with union members during spring training in Florida and Arizona, emphasizing the importance of unity in the ranks. “The bottom line is that our players have always been of the view that they are fighting not just for themselves but for their teammates and for the players that come after them,” Meyer said.
Manfred’s strategy as commissioner of Major League Baseball has been to talk directly with the players himself, especially the lower-earning younger players who he claims are being shortchanged. He argues that “10% of our players make 72% of the money,” numbers that Meyer disputes.
The commissioner is essentially telling players that their union has engaged in malpractice, losing touch with its own members while the economics of baseball changed around them. Meyer regards Manfred’s attempt to divide players as “standard management-labor tactics.”
Top agent Scott Boras said that, unlike in the NFL, baseball’s open salary system works for players because “your talent allows you to earn what you can earn without taking money from anybody else’s pocket."
Paradoxically, the union has embraced the principles of Adam Smith: Let the free market work. No one forced the Dodgers to pay Shohei Ohtani $700 million. Good for Ohtani, great for Dodger fans. And this year, the Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo will be a field sponsor at Dodger Stadium. The owners, who embrace team revenue sharing and luxury taxes and demand restrictions on salary competition, sound like socialists.
When labor-management disputes interrupt baseball, many fans undoubtedly feel like they are victims of a squabble between “millionaires and billionaires.” Ryan Long, a 26-year-old minor league pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles system and a union leader, thinks the players association should try to understand how regular working people feel about a potential lockout. “Whether it’s people selling hot dogs at stadiums or cleaning rooms at local hotels, the union should help in whatever way it can for other workers who may be hurt if baseball shuts down,” he said.
In late February at the Yankees spring training field in Tampa, I spoke with season ticket holder Richard Barnitt, who wore a shirt designed like a baseball, looking like he could be scuffed up and pitched. “There has to be some kind of cap because the Dodgers and the New York Mets had unlimited money,” he said. Another fan, Carlos Rodriquez, an airplane mechanic living in Tampa, disagreed. “I don’t think a salary cap would be fair to the players,” he said. “The players association does magical work for those guys.”
If locked out, the players are going to want support from fans, to whom a salary cap might sound reasonable. Owners will do what owners do: maximize profits and franchise values. The players union should find ways to show the fans they are not forgotten.
During a previous owners lockout, the association created a million-dollar fund to help pay the bills of stadium concession workers who were thrown out of work. They can do the same again, letting fans know that they understand that most Americans struggle paycheck to paycheck. And maybe Ohtani can chip in a couple hundred bucks — like former Dodger Mike Piazza did decades ago — for each home run.
Kelly Candaele produced the documentary “A League of Their Own,” about his mother’s years playing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
A man uses the pedestrian bridge over the 110 Freeway that connects Chinatown and the area where Dodger Stadium is located. (Etienne Laurent / For The Times)
Dodgers fans generally hiss at the mention of Frank McCourt — the former owner took the team into bankruptcy, after all — but today is about tipping our cap to him.
Without him, fans would have no option to take public transit directly to Dodger Stadium. On his watch, the Dodgers helped secure government funding for the shuttle buses that provide free rides between Union Station and Dodger Stadium.
Sixteen years later, beyond the addition of a sister shuttle from the South Bay, that’s it.
The Dodgers boast the best team in the world. Shohei Ohtani is a tourist attraction. So is their historic ballpark. The Dodgers sold a record 4 million tickets last year.
In 1990, the last year Fernando Valenzuela pitched for the Dodgers, Los Angeles County unveiled a report that suggested ways to improve access to Dodger Stadium “for those who cannot or do not wish to drive.”
The options: a monorail, people mover, or light rail extension from the Chinatown Metro station; the shuttle buses that McCourt and Metro launched 20 years later; the gondola that McCourt first pitched in 2018 and continues to pursue; and a walking path.
A passenger exits the Chinatown Metro station in January. (Etienne Laurent/For The Times)
L.A. is all about the car. You will most likely drive to Dodger Stadium, and so will your children.
For decades, the Dodgers have promised to ease traffic by adding amenities that encourage fans to come early and stick around after the game. That has not materialized, and notorious congestion within and around the stadium is as much a tradition as Dodger Dogs.
What if you could walk, for real? What if you could head into the stadium along a beautifully landscaped and wide Dodgers-themed path, a blue ribbon of fans coalescing into a community, with decorations and food carts, shade and lighting, and chants of “Let’s Go Dodgers!” along the way?
You can walk now, sort of. It’s about a mile.
There's a map at the Chinatown Metro station displaying the pedestrian path toward Dodger Stadium. (Etienne Laurent/For The Times)
At one end of the Chinatown station, there is a map with a pedestrian route, in a glass case that faces away from Dodger Stadium. If you walk out of the station at the other end, or if you just start heading in the direction of Dodger Stadium, good luck finding the map.
There are Metro signs leading you back to the station from Dodger Stadium, but none leading you along the route there.
The Dodgers actually would prefer you did not take that route, or at least the last part of it. I walked it with Alissa Walker, whose Torched newsletter is the go-to place to learn how major sporting events impact the everyday lives of Angelenos.
We entered the Dodger Stadium property at an intersection with no crosswalks, where cars enter and exit the 110 freeway. We stood atop a dirt patch next to a crumbling curb.
“To go a very short distance safely with a feeling that you’re not going to die,” Walker said, “is very difficult.”
With Game 3 of the World Series underway at Dodger Stadium last October, a few folks scurried across a pedestrian bridge with LED lights and blue glow sticks.
The bridge connects Chinatown with Dodger Stadium, traversing the 110. Without this bridge, there is no walking path to Dodger Stadium.
“Our goal was, just by adding some lights, to make the really dark path at the top of the bridge at night a little bit brighter, so that it felt a little less scary,” transit advocate Jeremy Stutes said, “and to add a little bit of fun and whimsy.”
Glow sticks forming the "LA" logo of the Dodgers were placed on a pedestrian bridge over the 110 Freeway connecting Chinatown to the area where Dodger Stadium is located during the World Series and for several months after. As of last week, the glow sticks were no longer there. (Etienne Laurent/For The Times)
From the Chinatown Metro station, the bridge is three blocks up College Street and one block down Yale Street. It’s an easy walk, and for now you pass an elementary school, a church, a row of Chinese restaurants, a dirt lot where a hospital once stood, parking lots, and an auto repair facility with a Dodgers flag hung on a wall.
When I did the walk last week, the trash at the foot of the bridge included a plastic cup, socks, a piece of rotting fruit, a half-full bottle of tequila, and half of a turkey sandwich, peeking out from torn plastic wrapping that indicated the sandwich had gone bad three days earlier. On the bridge: shopping bags, a pair of flip-flops, stray clothes scattered at one end, and graffiti everywhere.
A sign painted on the sidewalk indicates the direction toward the Chinatown Metro station. (Etienne Laurent/For The Times)
That was the point those volunteers made last October: Clean up the bridge and light up the bridge — as they did for three days — and fans will walk there.
“It’s not that it’s not used,” Stutes said. “It’s not designed to be a safe space to use as an alternative to driving.”
When you cross the bridge, you can turn right or left along Stadium Way to get to a stadium entrance.
Turn right, as the map tells you to do, and you’ll encounter decaying sidewalks, with cracked and buckled concrete that turns a modest uphill walk into an obstacle course. Once you get onto the stadium grounds, the paint is fading along the pedestrian path, which offers you no protection from passing cars.
Turn left, and you’ll have to walk part of the way in the street, on an unprotected bike lane. You also could walk along the road behind the Fire Department training center, a path with no sidewalks and passing fire trucks. Either route takes longer than the one on the map, but you would enter Dodger Stadium through a pair of protected and brightly painted pedestrian paths. (That entrance, along Vin Scully Avenue, is a quarter-mile from Sunset Boulevard, where two Metro bus routes stop.)
If the primary choices for getting out of Dodger Stadium after a game are car congestion or Dodger Stadium Express shuttle bus congestion, a downhill walk to Chinatown Metro station — 12 minutes, Metro says — would be a nice option. That’s why those folks lit up the bridge over the freeway during the World Series.
“The lights were just a fun way,” transit advocate Kevin Dedicatoria said, “to show, ‘Hey, here’s a bridge so you don’t have to play, ‘Dude, where’s my car?’ or have to worry about waiting for the bus.’”
McCourt hails from Boston, where the local subway drops Red Sox fans a few short blocks from Fenway Park. When McCourt owned the Dodgers, I asked him if he could envision a subway or light rail extension to Dodger Stadium.
He’d love it, he said then, but the Dodgers were a private business, and government should pay for public transit.
Homes line a street in Eylsian Park, where Dodger Stadium is located. (ETIENNE LAURENT/For The Times)
It was a fair point. The Dodgers pay taxes. In an era where teams regularly demand stadium and arena deals that exempt them from property tax, the Dodgers have paid $12.8 million in property taxes over the past three years, according to Los Angeles County tax collection records.
Would demand for public transit amid a car culture justify the investment? The Dodger Stadium Express indicates it could: Ridership has just about quadrupled since its inaugural season, from 122,273 in 2010 to 463,147 last year, according to Metro.
Even along the poorly maintained, poorly lit and poorly advertised pedestrian path, Metro said more than 700 riders returned to the Chinatown station on each of the three nights of World Series home games last year.
“As seen in social media videos during the 2025 postseason, the walking path continues to explode in popularity,” Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo said.
Next steps?
“It’s astonishing to me that the Dodgers have not taken it upon themselves, as this great community partner, to fix this problem,” Walker said. “It is the city’s responsibility, but the Dodgers should be doing this, as part of what they want to represent to this community.”
The walking path includes segments along city streets, a Caltrans bridge, and Dodger Stadium property. Just who is the responsible party?
A Caltrans spokesman said the city is responsible for maintaining the bridge. A spokesman for the city’s department of street services did not provide an answer. A spokesman for the Dodgers declined to comment.
You could almost hear the sigh from city councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, whose district includes Dodger Stadium.
“That’s what my job is: to bring people and agencies and organizations together to accomplish a goal,” Hernandez said. “We’re already in conversation with all these entities.
“We’re looking at some of the things we can enhance to make this a more walkable and accessible option for people.”
City Council member Eunisses Hernandez, center, talks with Circle outreach workers in Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
How much might those enhancements cost?
Without a look at a city-commissioned Dodger Stadium traffic mitigation study, expected to be completed this fall, Hernandez said she could not put a price tag on it.
“What I can tell you,” she said, “is that it will be less than half a billion dollars, for sure.”
By year’s end, the Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote on McCourt’s gondola project, estimated to cost $500 million and proposed as privately financed. Last November, the council voted 12-1 to urge Metro to kill the project.
Metro granted its approval, but with conditions that included a requirement to explore supplementing the gondola with other Dodger Stadium transit options, including more buses along Sunset Boulevard and a designated walkway from there to the stadium.
The walking path proposed in that 1990 study would have avoided Sunset Boulevard and the current Stadium Way routes — the ones with crumbling sidewalks, or no sidewalks at all — by using escalators and walkways to get fans up and down the hill between Lookout Drive, just off Stadium Way, and Dodger Stadium.
“Pedestrians could be directed through Chinatown,” the study read, “where numerous restaurants, shops and pedestrian amenities are provided.”
It’s hard to sell Chinatown businesses on the benefits of the gondola when fans would ride between Union Station and Dodger Stadium, soaring over Chinatown. It would be easier if a walking path led at least some of those fans through Chinatown, even if only on the way back from the game.
Even if the gondola system really can accomplish what its proponents say it can — loading 35 people into a cabin every 23 seconds — thousands of riders leaving when the game ends could mean a long line to board.
One of the entrances to Dodger Stadium on Stadium Way, the easiest access when walking from Chinatown Metro station. (Etienne Laurent/For The Times)
“Also,” the 1990 study said, “passenger waiting following a game is psychologically perceived as being three to four times longer than actual waiting time.”
From this perspective, McCourt might win a few council votes by funding a first-class walking path. The cost, I’m told, would depend on what the enhancements include: signs, lights, trees, shade canopies, sidewalk repairs, escalators, and so on. For something close to $5 million — one one-hundredth of the projected cost of gondola construction — McCourt likely could do an exceptional job.
Is there any sign of progress here? Happily, yes.
In an internal report last December, Metro said Zero Emissions Transit (ZET) — the nonprofit organization now shepherding the gondola project — is pursuing ways to link pedestrians and bicyclists to the transit system and to Dodger Stadium. Those potential improvements include sidewalk repairs and a revitalized pedestrian pathway from the Chinatown Metro station to the bridge across the 110 and then across Stadium Way, to Lookout Drive and the hill above.
“Dodger Walk is envisioned as a series of switchbacks,” the report said, “inspired by the original walking path up Lookout Mountain that existed prior to the construction of Dodger Stadium."
Whether such switchbacks would make the walk to the stadium longer or shorter than the current path remains to be determined.
In a statement, ZET said: “We embrace and include active transit solutions to increase pedestrian and bike access throughout the project area.” In particular, ZET said, it was “supportive” of a walking path to Dodger Stadium.
The Metro report cautioned the concepts “are in the early planning stage,” so L.A. might get an extravagant walking path, a utilitarian one, or none at all.
Here’s hoping McCourt gives us a path of some kind — whether the city approves the gondola or not — because a pretty walk generations can enjoy would be a prettier civic legacy than driving a team into bankruptcy.
George Serrano cheers during the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2025 home opener against the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
For many fans, Major League Baseball's opening day is somewhat of an unofficial holiday. Though this year offers a different viewing experience.
Instead of turning on ESPN or a regional sports channel to catch their favorite team, there will only be one game kicking off the season, and it will be streaming exclusively on Netflix.
On Wednesday, the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants will face off at Oracle Park. Retired baseball stars Barry Bonds, Anthony Rizzo and Albert Pujols, led by former ESPN anchor Elle Duncan, will be in the broadcast booth.
And for one of the many Netflix touches — "Thing," the lovable detached hand from the streamer’s Addams family spinoff “Wednesday,” will be throwing the first pitch.
It's the latest example of a streaming platform finding its way into live sports programming. All of the major services, including Amazon Prime, Max, Peacock, Paramount+ and others, carry some combination of professional sports packages for their subscribers.
For Netflix, this marks the first time an MLB opening day game will be seen globally, as Netflix reaches nearly a billion viewers in more than 190 countries and in 50 languages.
For Gabe Spitzer, Netflix's vice president of sports, it's a chance for the streamer to "work together with a league to grow that audience" beyond just the die-hard sports fans. “Maybe casual fans are tuning in, or someone who's watched a baseball documentary on Netflix thinks, ‘Oh, I'll check out the Yankees Giants game because it's live.’ That's our ultimate goal,” he said.
Netflix also turned Christmas Day into an event in 2024, paying $150 million a year for the rights to stream two NFL games on the holiday. The 2025 late-afternoon game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions was the most-streamed NFL game in history with 27.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
The opening-day game is part of a larger three-year deal the league has with Netflix, which is paying $60 million annually for a package that also includes the Home Run Derby and the annual Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa. The games became available when ESPN decided to opt out of its deal (the Walt Disney Co. unit negotiated a new package that gives the network 30 games and expanded streaming rights).
The MLB events will help inform Netflix about whether to pursue a larger package when the league's larger media rights contract, which includes the World Series on Fox, comes up for renewal after the 2028 season.
The streamer is also expected to engage in talks for a larger commitment with the NFL when the league exercises its option to reopen its media rights contract after the 2029-30 season.
But for now, the Netflix sports strategy is creating large-scale live events, which Spitzer calls “meaningful water-cooler conversation” for a global audience.
The streamer and the league worked together to make the Yankees-Giants game happen one day early and present it in prime time Wednesday night. As the sole game being played that day, Spitzer said it's “truly the launch of the season.”
“As we continue to grow baseball around the world and reach younger fans, Netflix is an ideal partner to help us further expand the sport’s fan base with its ubiquitous streaming service," Kenny Gersh, MLB's executive vice president of media and business, said in a statement. "They are approaching their first-ever MLB game with great energy and creative marketing. We are excited to work with them in joining MLB’s collection of elite media partners.”
Lee Berke, a sports media consultant, understands Netflix’s venture into live sports as a way to “elevate the profile of a particular game and give it a Netflix spin — making it something you would only see on Netflix.”
“Every sport is looking now for events that can be of interest to heighten fan awareness, sponsor and distributor interest during the course of a season,” said Berke, pointing out the NBA Emirates Cup — an in-season tournament sponsored by the Dubai-owned airline — and NHL’s Four Nations Cup. “Everybody's trying to come up with a variety of events, because they drive interest, they drive business and revenues. It sort of feeds on itself.”
As the sports industry continues to open itself up for these spectacle-driven games, it provides additional television opportunities for media giants such as Netflix, Berke said. In the end, Berke said, these games are overall beneficial to the industry.
To Berke, the only lingering fear is that game events could further fragment audiences, as different sports now span across several streaming platforms and networks. The upside is they have the potential to help sports leagues capture audience attention, maximize revenue and offset rising expenses.
“Let's be honest, if you're Netflix, you're looking to attract and retain subscribers. ... This is another tool in the toolbox for helping build growth and sustain subscribers,” Berke said. “The great consistent intellectual property out there that draws audiences year after year is sports, and if you find the right combination of them, it can help you drive your business.”
To aid this live sports push, Netflix recently recruited Duncan, the former anchor for ESPN "SportsCenter," to lead Netflix’s sports coverage. At ESPN, she said, it was “a very well-oiled machine that's been very successful" for decades with “a tried and true way” of doing things.
But as she transitions from a traditional TV network to a streaming service, Duncan's responsibility is different. It's no longer about serving a domestic audience of baseball superfans; she has to keep a sports-curious, global audience in mind.
“If you're watching ESPN, chances are you're a really die-hard sports fan, but Netflix is for everyone,” said Duncan. “How do we hook people who are more interested in watching 'Love is Blind' into a sports show?”
The baseball game will stream Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific time.
Times staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
CLEARWATER, FL - MARCH 20: Pittsburgh Pirates Infielder Konnor Griffin (75) reacts to a hit ball during MLB Prospects game between the Detroit Tigersx and the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 20, 2026 at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a potential generational hitting prospect in Konnor Griffin. The 19-year-old made headlines this spring for his prodigious power, but he also hit just .171 overall. As a result, he was optioned to Triple A even though the team is already starting extensions talk, reportedly.
Did the Bucs make the right decision for their budding star?
Cast your vote, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with the results.
Still, in a season where one game can make a significant impact even amid the backdrop of 161 others, USA TODAY Sports' power rankings moved a bit on its axis as the game's Opening Day(s) bear down March 25-27.
Kyle Tucker is still very rich, Paul Skenes still very good and Tony Vitello still untested beyond the rigors, such as they are, of the Cactus League. With that said, a look at updated power rankings as this six-month crucible gets underway:
Part of the return for Danny Jansen, the 2022 Red Sox second round pick got off to a tough start in the Jays organization, posting a .581 OPS in Vancouver after the trade. He bounced back last year, though, trimming his strikeouts and showing some pop on his way to a .273/.359/.427 line that was 19% better than the Northwest League average.
Coffey has MLB average raw power right now, and probably has room on his 6’1”, 190lb frame for another half grade of growth. His swing does a good job of using that power, producing a lot of line drive and low fly contact, leading to the hope that he can produce above average game power. His contact ability is fringy, and he especially struggles with breaking balls. That may prove to be a major Achilles’ heel as he continues to move up the levels and begins to face pitchers who can regularly throw quality sliders and curves for strikes.
Coffey mostly played third this year, and he profiles as an above average defender there with the plus arm to go with. He can also play second and while he’s not a true shortstop he can fill in there in an emergency. In the best case scenario, Coffey proves himself able to adapt to spin and becomes a low average high slug regular at third. More likely, he’s a power over hit utility infielder who needs to be sheltered from righties with good breaking balls.
23. Tim Piasentin, RHP, Age 19 (DOB: 3/25/2007, Happy Birthday Tim!), Grade 35+/40, 2025: High School
Piasentin is a local boy for me, having been drafted in the fifth round last year out of Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks, Alberta. He was the consensus top Canadian prospect in the 2025 draft, and it took three quarters of a million dollars to buy him out of a commitment to the University of Miami.
Power is what got him taken that high. Piasentin is a well built 6’3” and 205lbs, and he produces 70 grade bat speed that leads to light tower flies in batting practice. He has some feel to hit, but his contact ability is fringy and he profiles as a three true outcomes type hitter. He’s a below average runner and may not stick at third base long term due to his size and just ok athleticism, but his plus arm would be an asset in right field if he had to move.
It’s a prototypical slugger package, with the potential to be a middle of the order hitter if everything comes together. That’s a long ways away with a lot of questions to answer between now and then, though, as he’ll being his pro career this spring at the complex level.
22. Austin Cates, RHP, Age 22 (DOB: 5/20/2003), Grade 35+/40, 2025: NR
A seventh round pick out of UNLV in 2024, Cates hasn’t drawn a lot of heat yet, but he’s produced big results so far in his pro career. In 25 appearances between A and A+ last season, he struck out 113 against 33 walks in 109.2 innings, with a 3.12 ERA and peripherals that back it up.
Cates pitches with a short stride and a high release, allowing him to create big backspin on his fastball. It sits just 90-93 with the odd 95, but the spin induces near elite vertical carry and big arm side run for a four seamer. I think it can play above average, especially if he adds another tick of velocity after already adding a couple MPH since college. His main secondary is a splitter with similar arm side movement but 14 inches of vertical drop, and he can locate it down or just out of the zone for both called and swinging strikes. His slider is a clear third pitch, but it’s been effective because of its contrast to his other two offerings. He commands everything to an above average level, living in the zone while avoiding the heart of the plate.
If all that sounds a little like Trey Yesavage, well, no, because Trey throws 98. But you can see the outlines of a poor man’s version of the same general skill set here. Where Yesavage is a potential ace, Cates profiles more as a #5 barring an unexpected leap in his stuff. That’s still a very valuable outcome, though, and Cates has so far passed the tests that have been set for him.
21. Adrian Pinto, Age 23 (DOB: 9/22/2002), Grade 35+/40, 2025: 13th
Pinto has been a prospect crush of mine for going on four years now, since he was acquired as part of the Randal Grichuck trade with the Rockies. At just 5’6” and listed at 156lbs (though he’s surely somewhat heavier than that now), Pinto somehow generates slightly above average raw exit velocities with his long-ish, whippy swing. It’s a full body effort, but he’s a superior athlete with great hands and he manages to corral it enough to still make average rates of contact. His approach is aggressive, but he has an idea of the zone and has at times run high walk rates while always limiting his strikeouts. Over the past two seasons he’s learned to get the ball off the ground a little more and the whole package has come together to produce extremely loud results. Mostly at Vancouver, he’s put up a .310/.376/.588 line that was 64% better than the Northwest League Average across 197PA.
Aaaaaand, there’s the reason he’s down here at 21. Pinto has manage to appear in just 45 games over the past two years, 35 the year before that, then 47 before that. The injuries have been diverse, including ribs, hamstrings, and quads among others, but the overall conclusion seems to be simple: he’s small and he plays extremely fast and hard, and that takes a toll. He’s the kind of athlete whose body can do things it can’t sustain, and so he ends up on the IL.
At 23, the clock is ticking on Pinto’s career. He has the twitch and hands to be an above average defender at second base, and his above average speed looks like it could translate to centre field as well. That gives him multiple ways to get into an MLB lineup at premium positions, where he has the potential to be an above average producer. He needs to stay on the field to make any of that a concern, though.
An MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint. Still, it never hurts to get off to a fast start.
Opening Day marks the starting line for 30 teams on their 162-game race to the postseason. A win is obviously the goal, but a loss to start the season isn’t the end of the world. Just look at some of the teams that have lifted the Commissioner’s Trophy.
In the 123-year history of the World Series, a majority of champions have started their title runs with an Opening Day win. However, a handful of recent World Series winners have proven that an Opening Day defeat is more than surmountable.
Let’s look back through over a century of MLB history and see how eventual World Series champions fared on Opening Day.
How many World Series winners lost on Opening Day?
Forty-one of the 121 World Series winners lost their first game of the season.
It was not a common trend in MLB’s early days. Between 1903 and 1934, six teams lost on Opening Day and went on to win it all.
The impact of a team’s Opening Day result noticeably dropped at the turn of the century. Since 2000, eventual World Series winners are just 15-11 on Opening Day.
What is the worst start to the season for a World Series winner?
The Atlanta Braves made history in 2021 by becoming the first MLB team to start a season 0-4 and wind up winning the Fall Classic.
Five other teams in MLB history overcame 0-3 starts to a season on their way to a championship. Six more started 0-2.
The remaining 109 World Series champions either won on Opening Day or picked up a victory in the second game of the year. That includes the 1933 New York Giants, who remain the only World Series winners to tie their season opener.
How every World Series winner fared on Opening Day
Here is the Opening Day result for every World Series winner in MLB history:
1903 Boston Americans: Won 9-4 vs. Philadelphia Athletics
1905 New York Giants: Won 10-1 vs. Boston Beaneaters
An MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint. Still, it never hurts to get off to a fast start.
Opening Day marks the starting line for 30 teams on their 162-game race to the postseason. A win is obviously the goal, but a loss to start the season isn’t the end of the world. Just look at some of the teams that have lifted the Commissioner’s Trophy.
In the 123-year history of the World Series, a majority of champions have started their title runs with an Opening Day win. However, a handful of recent World Series winners have proven that an Opening Day defeat is more than surmountable.
Let’s look back through over a century of MLB history and see how eventual World Series champions fared on Opening Day.
How many World Series winners lost on Opening Day?
Forty-one of the 121 World Series winners lost their first game of the season.
It was not a common trend in MLB’s early days. Between 1903 and 1934, six teams lost on Opening Day and went on to win it all.
The impact of a team’s Opening Day result noticeably dropped at the turn of the century. Since 2000, eventual World Series winners are just 15-11 on Opening Day.
What is the worst start to the season for a World Series winner?
The Atlanta Braves made history in 2021 by becoming the first MLB team to start a season 0-4 and wind up winning the Fall Classic.
Five other teams in MLB history overcame 0-3 starts to a season on their way to a championship. Six more started 0-2.
The remaining 109 World Series champions either won on Opening Day or picked up a victory in the second game of the year. That includes the 1933 New York Giants, who remain the only World Series winners to tie their season opener.
How every World Series winner fared on Opening Day
Here is the Opening Day result for every World Series winner in MLB history:
1903 Boston Americans: Won 9-4 vs. Philadelphia Athletics
1905 New York Giants: Won 10-1 vs. Boston Beaneaters
Five straight double-digit midweek wins to start the season have given way to back-to-back embarrassing losses for the No. 2 Texas Longhorns with the latest coming at Schroeder Park on Tuesday after head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s team took a seven-run lead before giving up nine unanswered in a 9-7 defeat by the Houston Cougars.
Command issues continued for Max Weiner’s pitching staff after moving freshman right-hander Sam Cozart to the weekend bullpen despite a solid start by sophomore right-hander Jason Flores, who allowed one hit over three scoreless innings, hitting two batters before departing after Texas took a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Freshman right-hander Brody Walls worked around a one-out double in his first inning, entering the game again after the Longhorns scored three runs in the fourth only to allow a one-out bunt single, hit the next batter with his first pitch, and then issue a four-pitch walk.
When redshirt junior Ethan Walker came out of the bullpen, the junior college transfer traded a run for an out, but couldn’t limit the damage when Houston standout Tre Broussard drove in two runs with a single to center field to make it 7-3.
A 1-2-3 sixth inning from Walker was the final scoreless inning for the Longhorn relievers as junior right-hander Hudson Hamilton gave up a solo home run to former Texas outfielder Easton Winfield on his second pitch to start the seventh inning. Winfield entered the game hitting .200.
On an 0-2 pitch to the next hitter, Hamilton gave up a double down the left-field line before managing a strikeout, but lost the strike zone in walking the next batter on four pitches.
With senior right-hander Max Grubbs into the game, the defense for the Longhorns misfired when a throwing error by junior catcher Andrew Ermis allowed an unearned run to score, although Grubbs was able to retire the final two batters of the inning.
The eighth inning went even more poorly for Texas. Graduate left-hander Cal Higgins replaced Grubbs to start the frame and induced a groundout to second base by the leadoff batter, then allowed the game-tying home run on the next pitch.
Winfield continued to torment his former team with an infield single that prompted Schlossnagle to call in junior right-hander Thomas Burns. In a sign of things to come, Burns struck out the first batter he faced on an 0-2 pitch that hit him, gave up a four-pitch walk, and allowed an 0-2 RBI single. After walking Broussard, Burns couldn’t find the strike zone at all on another four-pitch walk to hand the Cougars a two-run lead heading into the ninth inning.
The Texas batters went down 1-2-3 in the ninth to end a poor hitting performance that only featured three hits for the Longhorns, who were able to take advantage of 11 walks and three errors by the Cougars, but also stranded 10 base runners in going 2-for-12 (.167) with runners on base, 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position (.167), and 1-for-6 (.167) with the bases loaded, missing multiple opportunities to create a bigger, more secure lead.
But after the last several weeks, it’s not clear how big of a margin is actually secure with a bullpen that is suddenly in chaos as the back end has melted down with multiple poor appearances from two of the experienced, high-leverage arms — Higgins and Burns, who are both struggling to throw strikes and are giving up big hits when they do manage to find the zone.
The bottom line is that Texas has lost two straight midweek games to teams with extremely mediocre records in addition to blowing consecutive Friday night leads in conference play. So there’s mounting concern heading into the Red River Showdown that begins on Thursday against No. 8 Oklahoma in Austin, exacerbated by a shaky offense that doesn’t feature many options for Schlossnagle with the injury to sophomore outfielder Jonah Williams and the 2025 MLB Draft defections of Jack Moroknek and Kaleb Freeman.
MLB New York Yankees pitcher Osvaldo Bido | New York Yankees via Imagn Images
The Atlanta Braves reunited with right-hander Osvaldo Bido after claiming him off waivers from the New York Yankees. Though he has yet to formally suit up for Atlanta, 30-year-old Bido was previously claimed by the club in December and designated for assignment 10 days later.
The #Braves today claimed RHP Osvaldo Bido off waivers from the New York Yankees, and placed LHP Joey Wentz on the 60-day injured list with a right knee ACL tear.
This spring, he’s appeared in seven games, recorded one win, and posted a 1.29 ERA. With the Braves’ pitching staff dealing with multiple injuries, he could see action sooner rather than later.
In addition to this move, the Braves also placed southpaw Joey Wentz on the 60-day injured list with a torn ACL.
More Braves News:
The Braves wrapped up spring training with a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, closing the door on a 21-7-2 record.
Brian Snitker will be inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame on April 25.
Apr 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) greets right fielder Aaron Judge (right) during player introductions against the Pittsburgh Pirates n the 2025 Opening Day game at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: By all accounts, the AL East is going to be a dogfight yet again. The Yankees bring a lot of talent to that fight, with two-time defending MVP Aaron Judge and a top of the pitching rotation that rivals anyone in baseball. There are still real questions with the roster though, starting with presumptive leadoff hitter Trent Grisham and whether he can replicate his contract year last season. The back end of the rotation is also eyebrow-raising, especially until we know more about Gerrit Cole’s return.
MLB.com | Patrick Brown: Speaking of Cole, he made his second spring start in the Yankees’ final exhibition game yesterday. He was touched up by Alex Bregman for a solo home run, but struck out the other three hitters he faced in the first, and got two outs in the second inning for a total of 26 pitches. It’s unclear when exactly in the first half of the season Cole comes back, but we can at least be optimistic based on what we saw from him in camp.
New York Post | Andrew Crane ($): The Yankees are in a pretty good run of developing starting pitching, with Luis Gil winning Rookie of the Year two years ago, Cam Schlittler breaking out in 2025, and even Will Warren being seen as a competent part of the MLB rotation while tying for the AL lead in starts. There may be even more to come, with Elmer Rodríguez and Carlos Lagrange both impressing in their own way while in spring training. There will certainly be opportunities in both the rotation and bullpen over the course of the long upcoming season, and continuing their strong starts to the year while at Triple-A Scranton will have them on the big-league roster sooner or later.
NJ.com | Randy Miller: As the dust settled on an 8-3 win over Chicago yesterday, the Yankees made a small trade with the Washington Nationals, sending non-roster invitee Zack Short to the Nats for cash considerations, joining fellow infielder Jorbit Vivas, who himself was just dealt to DC two days ago. Best of luck to Zack with his new org, if nothing else there should be plenty of opportunities for MLB playing time, as I think the Nationals are going to s t r u g g l e.
Also, another end-of-spring-training move saw reliever Osvaldo Bido claimed off waivers by Atlanta after pitching with the Yankees in camp. The news had already broke that he would not be in the 2026 bullpen (Cade Winquest, Jake Bird, and Brent Headrick got the final spots with Luis Gil headed to Triple-A), but it sounds like he’ll have a better chance at bullpen time elsewhere.
Pro tip: When Caleb Bonemer is sizing you up, pitchers, get real scared. | (Photo by Julia Jacome/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Caleb Bonemer 6´1´´ 195 pounds Age: 20 2025 South Side Sox Top 100 Prospect ranking 17 2025 High Level Winston-Salem (High-A) Age relative to high level -3.1 SSS rank among all shortstops in the system 1 Overall 2025 stats (Low-A/High-A) 107 G ⚾️ 12 HR ⚾️ 64 RBI ⚾️ .281/.401/.473 ⚾️ 29-of-37 (78.4%) SB ⚾️ 75 BB ⚾️ 101 K ⚾️ .938 FLD% ⚾️ 4.3 WAR
The White Sox drafted Caleb Bonemer in the second round in 2024. Drafted out of high school in Okemos, Mich., his selection might have been predestined: Not only was Bonemer an Area Code affiliate of the White Sox, but on the day Bonemer was born fellow infielder Tadahito Iguchi launched a three-run homer to help defeat Boston, 5-4, in Game 2 of the 2005 ALDS.
In both his junior and senior seasons, Bonemer earned the Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year award. Bonemer signed with the White Sox for $2,997,500 rather than attending the University of Virginia.
Bonemer made his pro debut in 2025, with a somewhat surprising/aggressive assignment to Kannapolis. The shortstop immediately laid to rest any concerns about rushing him, as he utterly destroyed Low-A pitching. After untold highlights and numerous citations from South Side Sox as minors Player of the Week, Bonemer packed his bags and headed up to Winston-Salem, where he would play more than three years young for the level. All Bonemer did then was up his slugging to an outrageous (.611) degree, mashing seven extra-base hits in 11 games.
Heading into 2026, Bonemer is a consensus No. 1 overall prospect in the eyes of most prognosticators, and reaching as high as No. 26 among MLB prospects according to Baseball Prospectus, No. 27 at Baseball America.
Expect Bonemer to start in Double-A Birmingham this season, and if you doubt his ability to club his way to Charlotte before season’s end, you just weren’t paying attention in 2025.
2026 Top 100 Prospects no longer in the system 15. Peyton Pallette, RHRP (lost to Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft) 31. Gage Ziehl, RHSP (traded to Boston on Feb. 1, 2026) 43. Ronny Hernandez, C (traded to Boston on Nov. 18, 2025) 51. Drew Dalquist, RHRP (declared free agency, signed Triple-A deal with San Diego Padres) 66. Andre Lipcius, 1B (declared free agency) 84. Caleb Freeman, RHRP (declared free agency, signed Triple-A deal with Toronto Blue Jays) 90. DJ Gladney, RF (declared free agency, signed Double-A deal with New York Yankees) 98. Luis Pineda, C (declared free agency)
