The Boston Red Sox passed their first test of the 2026 season as they shut out the Cincinnati Reds on Opening Day, 3-0.
Other than being kept off the scoreboard for the first six innings, the Red Sox looked sharp in every facet of the game. Garrett Crochet pitched a gem, the offense racked up 12 hits, and the bullpen kept Cincinnati scoreless for the final three innings.
As always, Opening Day left us with plenty to overreact to with 161 games left in the regular season. Here are five instant overreactions to Boston’s victory:
Garrett Crochet is ready for another Cy Young bid
The 2025 AL Cy Young runner-up looks poised for another run at the award this season. After a rough spring training, Crochet was in peak form in Cincinnati.
The left-handed ace allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out eight Reds hitters over six innings. His only hiccup in the outing was a sixth-inning bases-loaded jam, which he escaped with back-to-back Ks:
As long as he stays healthy, Crochet should join the likes of Tarik Skubal as a Cy Young finalist once again. His excellent outing is a great sign for a Red Sox rotation that is expected to be among baseball’s best in 2026.
Roman Anthony already looks like a veteran
Anthony wasted no time making his presence felt to start his first full MLB season. The 21-year-old smoked a single up the middle on the first pitch of the day:
Later, Anthony rocketed one at 110 mph right at Reds first baseman Sal Stewart to start the day 3-for-3. Stewart was hurt on the play, but he stayed in the game.
Sal Stewart is staying in the game after taking a 110.2 mph liner to the forearm 👏 🫡
The future superstar’s biggest moment came in the ninth, when he turned a strikeout into a walk by winning an ABS challenge to keep the inning alive. The next batter, Trevor Story, singled to add an insurance run:
Moments like that are what separate Anthony, once the league’s No. 1 prospect, from other talented prospects. He already looks and acts like a 10-year veteran, and that’s part of the reason many have him pegged as an MVP candidate in Year 2.
Lineup against lefties is a problem
Yes, the Red Sox tallied 12 hits, but a handful of them were infield singles, and they failed to score until left-handed starter Andrew Abbott exited the game after the sixth inning. Boston’s top three hitters against southpaws last year — Rob Refsnyder, Romy Gonzalez, Alex Bregman — aren’t on the roster, and it showed for most of the day.
The Red Sox need several players to step up against lefties this year. Wilyer Abreu should get the chance after sitting often against left-handers last year. Jarren Duran has historically struggled against southpaws, and Marcelo Mayer didn’t get to start due to his issues against lefties throughout the minors and in his brief MLB stint last year.
Boston was rightfully criticized for not adding another big right-handed bat to the lineup in the offseason. That could come back to haunt the club down the stretch, and Opening Day may have been the first hint that their issues against lefties still exist.
Marcelo Mayer showed why he belongs
Isiah Kiner-Falefa got the start at second base over Mayer due to the Reds starting a left-hander on the mound. Mayer pinch-hit for IKF in the seventh inning and made the most of his opportunity, drilling a double to deep center field. Ceddanne Rafaela drove him in with an RBI single to break the scoreless tie:
Later, Mayer laced a single to go 2-for-2 on the day. He plated the club’s second run on a Trevor Story single.
Mayer still has plenty of work to do against southpaws, but he can still make a tremendous impact both at the plate and in the field. He’s still capable of living up to expectations as a No. 4 overall draft pick, and any talk of him potentially not making the team out of spring training was silly. He should play an important role on Boston’s quest for a deeper playoff run.
Bullpen could be elite again in 2026
The Red Sox bullpen ranked second in MLB in ERA last season, and even if Aroldis Chapman doesn’t put up video-game numbers this time around, the group could be outstanding again in 2026.
Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and Chapman combined for three scoreless innings to complete Boston’s shutout victory. Slaten struck out two and walked one in the seventh, Whitlock struck out two and allowed one hit in the eighth, and Chapman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the year.
The middle relief arms still have some question marks, but the back end of the Red Sox bullpen looks like it’ll be one of the team’s biggest strengths again.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 20: A detail view of a Spectrum SportsNet microphone during a Spring Training game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch on March 20, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers games will now be available to watch on FuboTV, thanks to a new carriage agreement with SportsNet LA that begins with the start of the 2026 season.
Opening day for the Dodgers is exclusively televised by NBC Sports, with the first SportsNet LA telecast coming Friday with the second game of the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. There are some exclusive national telecasts later in the season that haven’t yet been finalized, but SportsNet LA will televise over 140 games this season.
SAN DIEGO — Yu Darvish is beginning the season on the San Diego Padres' restricted list because the veteran right-hander wants to proceed deliberately in his recovery from elbow surgery while he contemplates his future, general manager A.J. Preller said.
Preller praised Darvish’s decision for its benefits to the team and its fans Thursday while he spoke in the dugout before opening day at Petco Park. But the GM also indicated the move doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll have more money to pursue another pitcher for the Padres’ seemingly thin rotation.
“Yu Darvish is a very special person, a very special player,” Preller said. “He’s very unique. This situation is unique. Somebody that’s thinking about the good of the organization, the team, the fan base. Wanting to get back, but you can’t put your heart into it, it would be very easy for him just to say, ‘You know what? I’m going to sit on the IL,’ and what that means for him from a compensation standpoint. He’s not doing that. He knows that his heart’s not quite into it, but he’s going to continue with the rehab process, and maybe we get to next year and he’s feeling in a different place and he wants to come back.”
Preller said the Padres had planned for this unusual move throughout the offseason, and it was finalized over the past several weeks in conversation with the commissioner’s office and the players’ union.
While on the restricted list, the 39-year-old Darvish doesn’t receive his salary — a condition that few major leaguers would accept voluntarily. Darvish was owed $43 million for the final three seasons of a $108 million, six-year contract: $15 million in 2026 and $14 million each in 2027 and 2028.
But Preller said the five-time All-Star from Japan cared more about being able to spend extra time with his family instead of participating in the daily grind of rehab work in San Diego.
Darvish isn’t definitely ready to retire, but he also isn’t quite certain he wants to go through the lengthy rehab grind required by a second major elbow surgery. He had Tommy John surgery in 2015.
“He’s been very straight-up throughout the offseason, after the surgery,” Preller said. “Just ultimately, he’s not really in a place to work at the level and ability that he wants to work at and he’s accustomed to working at. He wants to kind of do it at his pace. ... Just a great deal of respect for what he’s trying to do. I think he’s been very clear that if he can’t do things at the level from a preparation standpoint that he’s used to doing, he wants to make sure that he’s giving back to the team and the fan base.”
Darvish won’t pitch at all in 2026, but Preller couldn’t definitively say how long Darvish will spend on the restricted list.
Preller appeared to gently discourage the notion among Padres fans that the move could clear up payroll room for San Diego to sign one of the top remaining free-agent starting pitchers on the market, saying he had been aware of the likelihood of this move “throughout the whole offseason.”
“In terms of the planning for it, it doesn’t really change anything from our end,” Preller added.
Opening day starter Nick Pivetta and Michael King top the Padres’ rotation, but Joe Musgrove is starting the season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation after his own return from Tommy John surgery went slower than hoped.
“Not really putting a time frame on it,” Preller said of Musgrove’s return. “He’s just starting to play catch today. I know talking to him (Wednesday), he said he’s feeling great. It’s not like he’s been down for six to eight weeks, so hopefully he can get going here. But we’re not going to know until he gets through days like today. ... We’ll know a lot more in the next week to 10 days.”
The rest of San Diego’s rotation currently appears to be spring signees Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez alongside Randy Vásquez.
NORTH PORT, FLORIDA - MARCH 24: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays during a Grapefruit League spring training game at CoolToday Park on March 24, 2026 in North Port, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It appears that the cable pieces of the Braves television distribution are starting to fall into place.
The News always comes down in a navy blue image with white text on it, so this is definitely a big deal. The Atlanta Braves and Xfinity aka Comcast have reached a deal to carry BravesVision, the Braves’ owned and operated network. BravesVision will be available for the customers in Atlanta’s television footprint, which contains Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and western North Carolina. I’m not familiar enough with Xfinity to know if BravesVision will require an extended tier package. But I don’t think you have many free options on channel 1254, unless it’s an all-audio channel featuring the smooth sounds of the 70s and beyond. Reportedly, the Braves’ insistence on being on a base tier has been a sticking point in negotiations.
Yesterday it was announced that the Braves agreed to terms with Spectrum. There are around ten cable companies in Braves Country, but it appears they’ve agreed with the major ones. I would be surprised if the other cable companies didn’t find a deal this week. You’re covered with Gray TV on Friday, and FOX on Saturday. So Sunday is the first day you’ll need to be covered with BravesVision (or Braves.tv). We’ll keep you informed as the cable picture continues to clear.
Mike Tauchman underwent surgery Thursday morning to repair the meniscus tear in his left knee.
Everything went as planned according to Jon Heyman of the NY Post, and the veteran outfielder is now expected to miss six weeks before working his way back into game action.
Tauchman was in the mix for a Mets roster spot before going down with the injury late in camp.
He was putting together a strong showing, spending time in all three outfield positions and racking up a .371 OBP across 13 Grapefruit League games.
New York will instead lean on Tyrone Taylor and Jared Young as their outfield depth behind Juan Soto, Luis Robert Jr, and Carson Benge for the time being.
They did also make an addition early in the day Thursday, bringing back Tommy Pham on a minor league deal.
Tampa, FL: New York Yankees' Luis Gil throws live batting practice during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images) | Newsday via Getty Images
Whether due to injury, poor performance, or the quirks of a 162-game schedule, a team generally needs far more than five starters to make it through a season (11 different pitchers started games for the 2025 Yankees). Each month during the season, we take stock of the Yankees’ options to join the starting rotation through the Rotation Depth Inventory. With Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt all starting the season on the IL, the team’s depth could be tested early. Let’s take a look at the the team’s top options should they need someone to fill in.
Luis Gil
An argument could be made that Luis Gil is not depth at all. The Yankees will begin the season with a four-man rotation, taking advantage of some early off-days to carry an extra reliever until their 14th game, at which point they will presumably need to add a fifth starter. Gil carries the inside track due to his pedigree, but his role with the Yankees has become increasingly uncertain. After taking home AL Rookie of the Year honors with a breakout 2024 campaign, Gil missed most of 2025 with a lat strain. When he did return, the results were strong (4-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 starts) but the team grew concerned with his underlying metrics, as his fastball velo dipped and fastball shape got out of whack, dropping his strikeout rate a full 10 percent.
This spring was a similar story for Gil — decent enough results, unresolved concerns about his ability to miss bats. His last outing was his most encouraging for pitching coach Matt Blake. “We feel good about the adjustment he made going into the last outing,” Blake said. “He got the quality of the fastball back — the velo up, the miss. All of those things are important to see. Now it’s just a matter of what that looks like the first couple of weeks of the season.”
That last piece is key. Despite Gil’s strong positioning to assume the fifth starter role once it opens up, the Yankees will be monitoring how he looks in the interim. If he backslides, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the team could look elsewhere to fill in until Cole and Rodón return.
Elmer Rodríguez
While the fireballing Carlos Lagrange got the headlines this offseason, it’s Elmer Rodríguez who’s actually next up in the pecking order. After he was named by Baseball America as the Yankees’ 2025 Minor League Player of the Year, the team added him to its 40-man roster, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft and giving him a key leg up in the depth charts. Since he won’t require an existing spot to be vacated, Rodríguez could be easily promoted for a spot start or two and sent back down afterwards.
Acquired from the Red Sox before last season for Carlos Narváez, the right-hander zoomed through the minors, rising from High-A all the way to Triple-A by the end of the year while striking out the second-most batters across the minors. Named the Yankees’ No. 3 prospect before the season by MLB Pipeline, Rodríguez features a fastball that tops out in the high 90s alongside three promising breaking pitches that would give him legitimate options to work with in a big-league rotation.
Rodríguez is slated to start the year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and, with a hot start, could force his way into the conversation for New York, particularly if the team has to contend with more injuries.
Carlos Lagrange
As mentioned, Carlos Lagrange has quickly become a darling of the New York media, featuring a fastball that’s reached 103 and would make him a unique weapon in a big-league rotation. The eye test is backed up by the experts: MLB Pipeline named him their No. 2 Yankees prospect before the season. In addition to his all-world heater, the right-hander features a slider, a cutter, and a changeup that have promise.
After rising to Double-A last season, Lagrange could likely do with some more seasoning. He’ll start the year at Triple-A, where he’ll have the chance to do exactly that. While not likely to get promoted early, if the 21-year-0ld can back up his stuff with results at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre he should be in play for a role with the Yankees at some point this year, either in the rotation or the bullpen.
Ryan Yarbrough & Paul Blackburn
When it comes to a spot start, a nontraditional strategy is always in play as well. Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn have combined for 162 career starts and, while each is expected to begin the year in the bullpen, they’ve stretched out to pitch multiple innings during spring training and could serve as an opener or bulk reliever, working with other pitchers to piece together a bullpen game. It’s also plausible either could segue into a more traditional starting role if they make several outings in a row of increasing length, which is essentially what the Yankees did with Yarbrough last year.
With Luis Gil waiting in the wings, Carlos Rodón eyeing a return as early as April, and Gerrit Cole hoping to be healthy shortly thereafter, the Yankees will look to bridge the gap to their sidelined All-Stars without having to dip into their depth any further. If they do need to turn elsewhere, they have talented youngsters and experienced veterans who should be able to fill in capably for short stretches but might not be ready to shoulder a starter’s full workload.
Mets rookie Carson Benge made quite the first impression on Thursday, blasting his first career home run in his MLB debut.
The 23-year-old took Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Justin Lawrence deep in the bottom of the sixth inning on Opening Day, launching a breaking ball over the right-center field wall to push New York's lead to 10-5.
Benge had gone 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts before recording his first hit with the solo home run.
He became just the second Met to hit a home run in their MLB debut on Opening Day, joining Kaz Matsui in 2004. He also joins teammate Brett Baty as players to hit a HR as their first career hit (although, Baty did it in his first AB).
The Citi Field faithful rewarded the right fielder with a curtain call to celebrate the special moment.
Oh, and to add to the excitement, Francisco Alvarez kept Mets fans on their feet by crushing a home run of his own in the next at-bat.
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves are leaning on Chris Sale to provide much-needed stability for a rotation that has been decimated by injuries this spring.
Sale, 36, will start Atlanta’s season-opening game against Kansas City. It will be Sale’s second-straight opening day start and seventh of his career.
Sale, who won the 2024 NL Cy Young Award in his first season in Atlanta, never has been more important for a team’s hopes entering a season. A devastating series of injuries to starting pitchers has forced first-year manager Walt Weiss and the Braves to remake the rotation behind the left-hander.
The bad news began at the start of spring training when right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow. Schwellenbach had surgery on Feb. 18 to remove “loose bodies” in the elbow and rotation candidate Hurston Waldrep had a similar procedure later in the month.
On March 9, the Braves announced left-hander Joey Wentz, another rotation candidate, would miss the season after he tore the ACL in his right knee while covering first base in an exhibition game.
On Monday, the Braves said right-hander Spencer Strider, one of the team’s top starters, will start the season on the injured list because of a strained oblique.
Schwellenbach and Waldrep could return around the middle of the season. The Braves are hopeful Strider, who was placed on the injured list retroactive to Sunday, may return in April.
For now, Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder are expected to line up behind Sale. Rookie Didier Fuentes, who made the opening day roster as a middle reliever after an impressive spring, could be needed as a starter. JR Ritchie, who will open the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, is another option.
There is some irony that Sale is almost the last man standing from the Braves’ original projected rotation. He hasn’t been known for good health in his 15-year career with the Chicago White Sox, Boston and Atlanta.
Sale made only 31 starts for the Red Sox from 2021-23. He missed the 2020 season after having Tommy John surgery. He made only two starts in 2022 after he fractured a rib and then broke his left pinkie. His final season with Boston ended in August 2023 when he broke his right wrist riding a bicycle.
Sale was 7-5 with a 2.58 ERA with Atlanta last season, when he landed on the injured list on June 21 with a fractured left rib cage and didn’t make his next start until Aug. 30.
Sale posted a 2.75 ERA this spring and said he is excited to make another opening day start.
“I feel like it’s an honor,” Sale said. “I’ve always taken it very seriously and I just appreciate it. You can say it’s just another start but opening day, there’s something really special to it. It’s like the first day of school. It is very different than all the other ones so I definitely appreciate it and I’m thankful for it, I’m excited for it.”
The start will come three days before Sale’s 37th birthday.
Sale is 25-8 with a 2.46 ERA in 49 starts and one relief appearance with the Braves. He made the All-Star team in 2024 and 2025, raising his career total to nine.
NORTH PORT, FLORIDA - MARCH 24: Manager Kevin Cash #16 of the Tampa Bay Rays walks back to the dugout after relieving Garrett Cleavinger (not pictured) in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves during a Grapefruit League spring training game at CoolToday Park on March 24, 2026 in North Port, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Sep 3, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore (52) pitches against the Athletics during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
It’s finally time to play some baseball games that count. The St. Louis Cardinals kick off the 2026 season at Busch Stadium as the Tampa Bay Rays come to town. According to MLB.com, Matthew Liberatore will start the game for the Cardinals while the Rays will send Drew Rasmussen to the mound. This will also be the major league debut for Cardinals phenom (or at least we hope) JJ Wetherholt.
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 08: Detroit Tigers mascot Paws runs with the Tigers Win banner following their 9-3 victory in Game 4 of the ALDS series between the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday October 8, 2025 at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Detroit Tigers vs. San Diego Padres
Time/Place: 4:10 p.m., Petco Park SB Nation Site: Gaslamp Ball Media: Detroit Sportsnet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network Pitching Matchup: LHP Tarik Skubal (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
* Note: Stats in the table below are Fangraphs’ 2026 projections for both players
Welcome back to baseball that matters! It truly is the first day of spring when you can toss the red exhibition jerseys aside and play baseball for real. It’s Garrett Crochet ready to knit it up on the mound against an old friend in Tito and the Reds. Let’s play ball!
⚾️ First Pitch: 4:10pm ET — Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: A general view of the National Anthem prior to the game on Opening Day between the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on March 27, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Detroit Tigers at San Diego Padres, March 26, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 26: Drake Baldwin #30 of the Atlanta Braves hits against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning at Truist Park on September 26, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Earlier today, new manager Walt Weiss spoke with the media ahead of his debut as manager of the Atlanta Braves. We’ll have more to talk about later as far as quotes from him (and Chris Sale and Matt Olson as well) but for now, the biggest news of that presser is that we got a bit of an idea of what the lineup is going to look like tomorrow.
Weiss told the media that Drake Baldwin will be in the lineup as the DH for Opening Day against the Royals. Jonah Heim will be the starting catcher for Opening Day as well. This’ll be Heim’s first Opening Day start since 2024 when he was with the Texas Rangers and although he’s clearly being utilized in a bit of a depth situation while Sean Murphy continues to be on the mend, Heim should still be pretty excited about being the backstop for Opening Day.
This also means that Walt Weiss is going to try to get Baldwin’s bat in there as much as he possibly can as evidenced by the Designated Hitter appearance. This also means that he’s sticking to his guns when it comes to keeping Mike Yastrzemski from starting against lefties, as he would’ve been a prime candidate for the DH role heading into this season.
Walt Weiss also mentioned that Ronald Acuña Jr. would be batting leadoff and indicated that that’ll probably be where he stays. “First thing I said to him [in an office meeting] was ‘Do you want to hit first, second, or third?” So based on the fact that it now seems all-but-confirmed that Acuña will be leading off thanks to Weiss’s comments following that little question, it sure seems like Acuña will be at the top of the order as well and starting in right field.
So with just over 24 hours between now and the first game of the regular season, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of what Walt Weiss’ first official lineup card as manager of the Braves will look like. We know Acuña will be leading off and batting first, we know Drake Baldwin will be DH’ing and we know that Jonah Heim will be catching. What do you think the rest of the lineup will look like?
Los Angeles, CA - March 27: George Serrano, of Los Angeles cheers after watching the opening ceremony and the F-15C Eagles and F-35As flyover the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2025 home opener with the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) | Los Angeles, CA - March 27: George Serrano, of Los Angeles cheers after watching the opening ceremony and the F-15C Eagles and F-35As flyover the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2025 home opener with the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Dodgers second title defense begins in earnest tonight.
From the Grand Tour of 2025, which spanned three countries, two continents, and took every last day of the season — and then some — to this new campaign, with a traditional length Spring Training. What a luxury. The Dodgers had the best record in the Cactus League, which seems off because they did not have 28 ties, but whatever, I hope someone gave them a little cactus for the memes.
After seeing friends and acquaintances gripe about how much they spent on Opening Day tickets, I thought I would take a look. After seeing Loge tickets for over $500 directly from the team, I thought I would check the secondary market, starting with TickPick. I am not sponsored by them; I just abhor paying garbage fees if I can help it.
What I found did not surprise me in the least: one could look at a seat-map range for tonight’s game and be forgiven for thinking the postseason had already started. I have seen ticket prices ranging from $200 to $800 and more, depending on location.
For Opening Night, the Dodger tax is in full effect, with everyone paying like a road fan on Thursday. I have seen the groans and complaints as knowledge of prices has become more widespread. I had the following benign reaction to the news:
In my travels, I have long grown accustomed to paying out the nose for Dodgers tickets. With mild reductions to both the floor and ceiling of prices, I could swap tonight’s prices for games in San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, New York (both Queens and the Bronx), Seattle, West Sacramento, etc.
That assertion aside, I have full sympathy for anyone experiencing sticker shock. It stinks.
Granted, these prices are absolutely adorable compared to Game 1 of the 2025 season, but at least I had the good fortune to be in Tokyo when I plunked down the price of two used cars for my tickets to Game 1 and Game 2 of the 2025 campaign.
One consolation for the financial pain was that the games were an actual showcase international event that somehow spawned a mediocre documentary that one can literally start streaming on CNN’s streaming platform today. The Tokyo Series mattered, unlike the abomination that played out in San Francisco last night. The logic of “Netflix paid us money” is likely the only justification for starting the 2026 campaign with two literal also-rans.
Incidentally, the ticket for 2025’s Game 1 cost more than the ticket for 2025’s Game 179, albeit not by much. The sticker price for both tickets was comparable; it was just that capitalism (and the corresponding demand) exploded as planned.
Regardless, I understand the argument that the Dodgers have succeeded so much that they are now on the cusp or have started negatively affecting those who would just like to enjoy the ride: the casual fan.
The rush hour train is crowded
As someone who does not go to Los Angeles regularly, I do not find the influx of bandwagon and casual fans a big deal. Success breeds a party everyone wants to attend until they are priced out. No one wants to pay a premium price for games that do not, hence the modest attendance for the Freeway Series’ finale on March 24.
We do not have to rely on anecdotal evidence for this claim either. Michael Duarte of the California Post reported on March 19 about the booming prices of baseball tickets in 2026, focusing in part on how the Dodgers are leading the way:
Baseball is booming and so are the ticket prices. In 2026, ticket prices depend on where you sit and which team you’re watching.
Here in California, the divide isn’t subtle. It’s as large as the Grand Canyon.
The Los Angeles Dodgers don’t just lead Major League Baseball in ticket prices this year, they honestly belong in another economic category altogether.
The average minimum ticket price at Dodger Stadium sits at $76.57, nearly double the MLB average of $34.82…
…On average across the league, when the Dodgers come to town, the cheapest ticket in the ballpark jumps to $62.51. The only other team in that stratosphere is the rival Yankees.
Mr. Duarte is not exactly reporting breaking news here, especially as to the road front. Factor in the average ticket price, the $45 parking fee (unless you booked ahead of time, saving $5), the prices for food and drink (heaven forbid, alcohol), and one is looking at a several-hundred-dollar expenditure for a family of four or more to see the Dodgers in person.
It is widely believed that the Dodgers pulled in over $1 billion in revenue last year, topping the four-million mark in attendance for the first time in franchise history. Note that I did not say “profit,” but given the team’s perception problem, the distinction will likely be lost on most. I have harped on this point before: does the team need to extract every nickel and dime it can out of its fanbase?
Would a five-dollar hot dog, a refillable soda, and capping the prices of certain tickets really break the franchise and critically slow the Dodgers’ financial juggernaut?
Echoes of a bygone age
I remember when I was so broke that I could only cobble together the funds to go to a single game at Dodger Stadium a year. If you came back to tell me in 2012, after seeing Chris Capuano “pitch”, that 14 years later I would be working for a site I was then intermittently reading and going to 17 Dodgers games in seven cities, words fail me as to how badly I would handle that hypothetical social interaction.
I would probably see it as a unique form of bullying; that’s how broke I was during those days.
In baseball’s golden age, seating was seen as a great democratic (small d) equalizer, as you would have members of different social and economic classes jumbled together to watch baseball. That horse is so far gone from the figurative barn that it has died from old age from running free.
There is no going back; if you want a better view, you have to pay for it. Baseball teams have been catering to the 1% of earners, its whales, for a long time now.
A modest proposal
If I could change one thing about the operation of the Dodgers (I can’t) or if the Dodgers were interested in the public relations boon that would arise from following my advice (they are not and they will not), I would implement the following changes on ticket prices for the regular season going forward:
No bleacher seat should cost more than $25 out the door.
No upper deck seat should cost more than $40 out the door.
I am being entirely arbitrary, operating purely on the vibes, as the children say. I simply asked myself what 2012-me would have considered fair. If the Dodgers’ economic engine is wholly dedicated to running on the backs of those sitting in the literal cheap seats, so be it. But without looking into the team’s financial books, I suspect that all the corporate and sponsorship money, along with the media deal, are largely keeping the proverbial ship afloat.
Plus, imagine the public-relations bonanza if the team announced such a move; it would flummox the naysayers with a single announcement. Two additional steps would be needed to thwart scalpers and others who would seek to ruin a good thing. Oddly enough, one step comes from what I have seen other franchises do, and the other step comes from the Savannah Bananas, of all people.
This year, when obtaining my Phillies tickets directly from the team, they were initially geolocked to residents of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. I do not live in Pennsylvania, and I was prompted to call the ticket office. I did, and ten minutes later, after declaring that I was not a scalper and that I was only after one ticket for one game, the transaction was completed with nary a feather ruffled.
Generally, a setup like the one described above thwarts, or at least slows, the automated computer bot that can react faster than a human. The only way to ensure these tickets would not fall into the hands of mass sellers who would then feel free to raise the price as much as they want, to take a page from the Savannah Bananas, who were inspired by how music acts combat scalpers: by cutting out the middleman and becoming the only outlet to sell tickets.
Such measures would mean more work and less profit for the Dodgers, which is likely a non-starter. The situation seems likely to hit a breaking point with people’s finances, especially in a rapidly spiraling economy. Where that breaking point actually is is anyone’s guess.
Feedback on Dodger Stadium Express
For those going to games at Dodger Stadium in the next week or two, I would greatly appreciate feedback (posted in the comments of this essay or on BlueSky) on the wait times to get to and leave Dodger Stadium after games. There were changes implemented in the final third of the 2025 season, and I am working on a follow-up analysis essay for which I need to crowdsource anecdotal data, as I am physically unable to collect it myself.
