2025 Major League Baseball season
| 2025 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | March 18 – September 28, 2025 |
| Number of games | 162 |
| Number of teams | 30 |
| TV partner(s) | Fox/FS1 TBS ESPN/ABC MLB Network |
| Streaming partner(s) | Max Apple TV+ The Roku Channel ESPN+ |
| Draft | |
| Regular season | |
| Postseason | |
| World Series | |
The 2025 Major League Baseball season is scheduled to begin on March 18–19 with a two-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs held in Tokyo, Japan, before the regular season proper runs from March 27 to September 28. The 95th All-Star Game is planned for July 15 at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia, the home of the Atlanta Braves.[1]
The Athletics plan to temporarily relocate from Oakland to West Sacramento, California, for at least three seasons before permanently moving to Las Vegas.[2] The team will be branded as the Athletics, with no city name attached.
Schedule
[edit]Major League Baseball released its 2025 schedule on July 18, 2024. There are 162 games scheduled for all teams. The scheduling formula was modified this season to increase the number of games between "prime" Interleague rivals from four to six, playing two three-game series instead of two two-game series. May 16–18 has also been designated as "Rivalry Weekend", featuring 11 series of these "prime" Interleague rivals.[1][3]
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs are scheduled to open the season at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 18–19. Opening Day on the U.S. mainland is then planned for March 27.[1]
Managerial changes
[edit]General managers
[edit]Off-season
[edit]| Team | Former GM | Reason For Leaving | New GM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Giants | Farhan Zaidi | Fired | Buster Posey | On September 30, 2024, Zaidi was fired after a six-year tenure as the President of Baseball operations for the team. The same day, the Giants named former catcher Buster Posey as the new President of Baseball operations.[4] |
Field managers
[edit]Off-season
[edit]| Team | Former Manager | Interim Manager | Reason For Leaving | New Manager | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | Pedro Grifol | Grady Sizemore | Fired | TBD | On August 8, 2024, the White Sox fired Grifol. In two seasons as manager of the White Sox, he compiled a record of 89–190 (.319) with no playoff appearance.[5]
Sizemore was named as the interim manager on the same day Grifol and bench coach Charlie Montoyo were fired. This became his first managerial position.[6] |
| Cincinnati Reds | David Bell | Freddie Benavides | TBD | On September 22, 2024, the Reds fired David Bell. During his six seasons as the Reds skipper, Bell complied a record of 409–456 (.473) with one playoff appearance during the 2020 COVID-shortened season.
Benavides, the current bench coach, was named as the interim manager for the rest of the season. This is his first managerial position.[7] | |
| Miami Marlins | Skip Schumaker | N/A | TBD | On September 29, 2024, the Marlins announced that Skip Schumaker would not return as manager of the team for the 2025 Season. In his two seasons as the Marlins skipper, Schumaker compiled a record of 146–178 (.451), with one playoff appearance.[8] | |
| Contract expired |
Venues
[edit]On November 16, 2023, MLB owners approved the Athletics' relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas. The Athletics then announced on April 4, 2024, that the team would temporarily play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, from 2025 to 2027, with an option for 2028, while their new ballpark in Las Vegas is under construction.[2][9]
Uniforms
[edit]Anniversaries and special events
[edit]| Team | Special occasion |
|---|---|
| All Teams | Jackie Robinson Day (April 15) |
| Pink Ribbons for breast cancer awareness (May 11, Mother's Day) | |
| Patch for Armed Forces Day (May 19) and Camouflage caps for Armed Force's Day Weekend (May 18–20) | |
| Poppy for Memorial Day (May 26) | |
| #4 patch for Lou Gehrig Day (June 2) | |
| "Play Ball" patch in partnership with USA Baseball and USA Softball (June 14–16) | |
| Blue Ribbons for prostate cancer (June 15, Father's Day) | |
| National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum logo patches (July 19–21) | |
| Gold Ribbons for childhood cancer (September 1) | |
| #21 patch for Roberto Clemente Day (September 15) | |
| "MLB Debut" patch for players who play their first Major League game | |
| Atlanta Braves | 2025 MLB All-Star Game |
| 30th Anniversary of 1995 World Series Championship | |
| Baltimore Orioles | 30th Anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2131st consecutive game |
| 55th Anniversary of 1970 World Series Championship | |
| Chicago White Sox | 20th Anniversary of 2005 World Series Championship |
| Cincinnati Reds | 50th Anniversary of 1975 World Series Championship |
| 35th Anniverdary of 1990 World Series Championship | |
| Kansas City Royals | 40th Anniversary of 1985 World Series Championship |
| 10th Anniversary of 2015 World Series Championship | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 70th Anniversary of 1955 World Series Championship |
| 60th Anniversary of 1965 World Series Championship | |
| 5th Anniversary of 2020 World Series Championship | |
| New York Yankees | 25th Anniversary of 2000 World Series Championship |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 45th Anniversary of 1980 World Series Championship |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 65th Anniversary of 1960 World Series Championship |
| San Francisco Giants | 15th Anniversary of 2010 World Series Championship |
| Washington Nationals | 20th Anniversary Season |
Media rights
[edit]Television
[edit]National
[edit]This will be the fourth year of the existing seven-year deals with ESPN, Fox, TBS, Apple TV+, and MLB Network.[10]
Linear television
[edit]- Fox will continue to air their Fox Saturday Baseball and Baseball Night in America slate of exclusive weekend games. The network will also air the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. FS1 will also broadcast non-exclusive games.[11]
- TBS will continue to broadcast Tuesday Night Baseball. Most games are blacked out in the home markets of the teams playing, however, TBS is allowed to co-exist once with a team's local broadcast.[12]
- ESPN will continue to broadcast Sunday Night Baseball, with the option to show alternate broadcasts. The network also has the rights to the Home Run Derby.[13] Select games may air on ABC and ESPN2.
- MLB Network will continue to broadcast games daily. While most games will be simulcasts of the home teams' regional sports network broadcasts, select games will be produced by the network under its MLB Network Showcase banner. All games are blacked out in the home markets of the teams playing.[14]
Streaming
[edit]- ESPN+ continues to hold the rights to stream selected games. These games will be blacked out in local markets.[15]
- Max will continue to simulcast TBS' games on its Bleacher Report Sports Add-on tier.[16]
- Apple TV+ continues to hold the rights to Friday Night Baseball.[10]
- This will be the second season that MLB Sunday Leadoff will be streamed on The Roku Channel under a multi-year deal.[17]
- The league's MLB.tv will continue to stream out-of-market games, and all of Roku's games.[17]
Postseason
[edit]During the postseason, the ESPN networks (including ABC) (with Spanish–language simulcasts on ESPN Deportes) will air all four Wild Card Series.[13] TBS (with Spanish-language simulcasts on MLB Network) will then broadcast the National League Division Series and the National League Championship Series,[12] and Fox Sports (Fox and FS1, with Spanish-language simulcasts on Fox Deportes) will broadcast the American League Division Series, the American League Championship Series and the World Series.[11]
Local
[edit]The Chicago White Sox, the NBA's Chicago Bulls, the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, and Standard Media will launch the Chicago Sports Network in October 2024, replacing NBC Sports Chicago as their regional broadcaster.[18][19]
Diamond Sports bankruptcy
[edit]This will be the third season affected by the February 2023 bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group, owners of the Bally Sports regional sports networks.
The Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Texas Rangers' contracts with Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Wisconsin, Bally Sports North, and Bally Sports Southwest, respectively, expired at the end of their 2024 regular seasons.[20][21][22] The Rangers were reported to be developing a "direct-to-distributor" model, which would involve an ad-hoc network for game broadcasts distributed directly to television providers (similar to MLB Local Media, except produced in-house by the team), and a streaming platform that would carry the games and ancillary content.[23]
On October 2, 2024, Diamond Sports announced it was ending its contracts with eight more MLB teams through bankruptcy court. Teams being dropped include the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Rays. The announcement means that the Atlanta Braves are the only MLB team to continue to have a television contract with Diamond Sports for the 2025 season. Diamond Sports has not ruled out signing new contracts with the affected teams.[24]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "MLB announces 2025 regular season schedule". MLB.com. July 18, 2024.
- ^ a b Drellich, Evan; Rosenthal, Ken (April 4, 2024). "Oakland A's to play in Sacramento's Sutter Health Park beginning in 2025 ahead of move to Las Vegas". The Athletic. Archived from the original on April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ "2025 MLB schedule release: Most exciting series, key dates". ESPN.com. July 18, 2025.
- ^ "Giants dismiss Zaidi, name Buster Posey pres. of baseball ops". MLB.com.
- ^ Merkin, Scott (August 8, 2024). "White Sox dismiss Grifol; search underway for new manager". MLB.com. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ Merkin, Scott (August 9, 2024). "'Grateful' Grady Sizemore named interim White Sox manager". MLB.com. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ "Reds part ways with manager Bell after six seasons". MLB.com.
- ^ "Marlins part ways with 2023 NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker". CBS News. September 29, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Nevada governor signs A's stadium funding bill". KLAS. June 15, 2023. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Ozanian, Mike (March 9, 2022). "MLB Deals With Apple And NBC Sports Are Worth A Combined $115 Million Annually". Forbes. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ a b "MLB, Fox complete multiyear agreement". MLB Advanced Media. September 24, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ a b Brown, Maury (September 24, 2020). "TBS And MLB Reach TV Rights Extension For 2022-28 Reportedly Worth $3.75 Billion". Forbes. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ a b Brown, Maury (May 14, 2020). "ESPN's 7 Year 392 Billion Renewal With MLB Starts In 2022". Forbes. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ Paulsen (September 18, 2022). "News: Gus Johnson, Pac-12, LIV Tour and more". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ^ Feauz, Alex (March 28, 2024). "ESPN+ Unveils Major League Baseball Game Schedule for March and April". ESPN Press Room. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^ Roth, Emma (September 19, 2023). "Max will start offering a live sports tier in October". The Verge. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Spangler, Todd (May 13, 2024). "Roku Scores Exclusive MLB Sunday Games Package, Streaming for Free in U.S. and Elsewhere". Variety. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Powers, Scott; Lazerus, Mark (May 4, 2024). "Blackhawks, Bulls, White Sox partnering with media group for new broadcast home". The Athletic.
- ^ Libit, Daniel (June 3, 2024). "Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks to Launch Chicago Sports Network". Sportico. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ Frankel, Daniel (February 2, 2024). "Diamond and MLB Mediate Deals to Keep the Rangers, Twins and Guardians on Bally Sports Through the 2024 Season". Next TV. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Phill (February 9, 2024). "Twins officially will remain on Bally Sports North this season". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Diamond Sports Group won't carry 11 MLB teams in 2025". ESPN. October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
- ^ "Texas Rangers developing direct-to-distributor model, ending relationship with Diamond". Sports Business Journal. September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ Crupi, Anthony (October 2, 2024). "Diamond Sports Group Plans to Drop All MLB Teams Except Braves". Sportico. Retrieved October 2, 2024.