All 30 teams will play one another in a season for the first time in the interleague era, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday as it released the schedule for the 2023 season.
As a result, division opponents will play each other just 13 times -- down from 19.
The new balanced schedule for 2023 has each team hosting a three-game series or playing a three-game series on the road against every team from the opposite league. Natural rivals -- like the Mets-Yankees, Dodgers-Angels and Cubs-White Sox -- will play each other four times, twice at home and twice on the road.
Previously, other than natural rivals, teams would participate in interleague play only against a single division from the opposite league. The changes mean not every team will visit every city each year, but they're all guaranteed one series against each team from the other league.
Additionally, teams will play one home and road series -- consisting of three or four games -- against teams from outside their division but in the same league. For example, the Mets will visit the Milwaukee Brewers on May 3-5, while hosting them for four games on June 26-29.
"The new balanced schedule will feature all 30 clubs playing each other for at least one series in 2023," MLB chief operations & strategy officer Chris Marinak said in a statement. "This new format creates more consistent opponent matchups as clubs compete for postseason berths, particularly in the recently expanded wild card round.
"Additionally, this fan-friendly format provides fans with the opportunity to see more opponent matchups, with a particular focus on dramatically expanding our most exciting Interleague matchups, and offers more national exposure to the star players throughout our game."
The regular season begins March 30 and ends Oct. 1.
Other highlights:
• All 30 teams will play on Jackie Robinson Day on Sat., April 15, including the Cubs visiting the Dodgers.
• The Tampa Bay Rays and the Dodgers will meet in St. Petersburg for three games from May 26-28, marking their first games against each other since the 2020 World Series.
• The St. Louis Cardinals will meet the Cubs for a two-game series at London Stadium on June 24-25, as previously announced. The All-Star Game will be played July 11 in Seattle.
• All 30 clubs will play on Roberto Clemente Day on Friday, Sept. 15, including the Pittsburgh Pirates hosting the Yankees at PNC Park.
The breakdown of the new balanced schedule:
Division games: There are 52 total games against divisional opponents, down from 76. Teams will play six or seven home/road games against divisional opponents.
Intraleague games: There are 64 total games -- 32 home and 32 away -- against non-divisional league opponents, down from 66. Teams will play six games against six league opponents and seven games against four league opponents. This is a reversal of the previous format, which had six games against four league opponents and seven games against six league opponents.
Interleague games: There are 46 total games against interleague opponents, up from just 20. Teams will play 42 games against other interleague opponents, including seven series (21 games) at home and seven series (21 games) on the road.