Here are 6 dates to know on the 2025 schedule
Andrew Simon
@AndrewSimonMLBWinter isn't over just yet, but the 2025 Major League Baseball season will be here before you know it. Here are six key dates you should mark on your calendar:
March 18-19: Tokyo Series
The 2025 season will begin in Japan at the Tokyo Dome, with the Dodgers and Cubs squaring off in the Tokyo Series presented by Guggenheim. In the latest installment of MLB¡¯s World Tour, a season opener will take place in Tokyo for the sixth time in MLB history. This will also be the 25th anniversary of the first regular-season games being held in Japan, when the Cubs faced the Mets at the Tokyo Dome on March 29-30, 2000. Since then, the site has also played host to openers in 2004 (Yankees vs. Devil Rays), 2008 (Red Sox vs. A¡¯s) and 2012 (Mariners vs. A¡¯s).
Therefore, this will be the Dodgers¡¯ first time playing in Japan, though the franchise has previously participated in three international series (2014 in Sydney, Australia, 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico, and 2024 in Seoul, South Korea.) This will be the Cubs¡¯ third time playing internationally, after the 2000 Tokyo Series and the 2023 London Series.
The Dodgers, of course, have a proud history of Japanese players, from Hideo Nomo¡¯s arrival in 1995 to Shohei Ohtani¡¯s MVP season in 2024. While it is of course too early to know these teams¡¯ exact 2025 Opening Day rosters, the Tokyo Series figures to feature at least four natives of Japan: Ohtani and right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers, as well as left-hander Shota Imanaga and outfielder Seiya Suzuki for the Cubs. (Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also was born in Japan.)
The Dodgers also will be embarking on their title defense, looking to become the first team since the 2000 Yankees to repeat. They will do so with a new ace atop the rotation (free agent acquisition Blake Snell), facing off against a Cubs team with a new bat in the middle of the lineup (trade acquisition Kyle Tucker).
March 27: Opening Day
While the Cubs and Dodgers will kick things off earlier, MLB¡¯s traditional Opening Day presented by Chevrolet will feature 28 of the 30 teams in action. The 14-game slate is the earliest Opening Day in MLB history, excluding special international series. (The season opened on March 28 in both 2019 and ¡®24.)
Only the Rays and Rockies will be off, after their game was moved from March 27 to March 28 in order to provide additional time to prepare George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. That facility, the Spring Training home of the Yankees, will serve as the Rays' home park in 2025 due to the damage that Tropicana Field sustained during Hurricane Milton last October.
Among the Opening Day highlights: Pirates pitching phenom Paul Skenes could make his first Opening Day start, with the Bucs set to begin the 2025 season in Miami. There will also be some notable faces in new places, such as Juan Soto with the Mets (at Astros), Corbin Burnes with the D-backs (vs. Cubs), Garrett Crochet with the Red Sox (at Rangers) and Willy Adames with the Giants (at Reds).
Besides Mets-Astros and Rockies-Rays, there will be three other season-opening Interleague matchups: Brewers-Yankees, Twins-Cardinals and Tigers-Dodgers. The four divisional matchups will be Orioles-Blue Jays, Phillies-Nationals, Guardians-Royals and Athletics-Mariners.
May 16-18: Rivalry Weekend
One key change for 2025 is that prime Interleague rivals will play six games against each other (two three-game series), up from four games (two two-game series) last year. (As a result, each club will have two fewer total games against non-division league opponents.) While the balanced schedule implemented in 2023 means that every club now plays each of the other 29 every season, most Interleague opponents only play each other for one series. In 2025, each club will host the same Interleague opponents as in 2023, while the 2024 host pairings will repeat in ¡®26.
This year, May 16-18 will bring ¡°Rivalry Weekend¡± across MLB, with 11 of the 15 series being matchups between prime Interleague rivals. That includes Mets-Yankees, featuring Soto's return to the Bronx. Also on the list are Angels-Dodgers, White Sox-Cubs and Cardinals-Royals, among others. The four non-Interleague matchups -- including Pirates-Phillies and Astros-Rangers -- also will have a regional flavor.
July 15: Atlanta All-Star festivities
After the 2024 All-Star Game in Texas, the Rangers officially handed off the host baton to the Braves, who are ready to ¡°make Atlanta shine¡± in 2025. The 95th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will take place on Tuesday, July 15, at Atlanta¡¯s Truist Park.
Truist Park opened in 2017, taking over for Turner Field, which hosted Atlanta¡¯s prior All-Star Game in 2000. This will be the third Atlanta ballpark to host a Midsummer Classic, as Atlanta Stadium was the site of the 1972 game.
After the All-Star break, the schedule will resume on Friday, July 18. Among the series slated to open the second half are the Yankees visiting Atlanta and the Red Sox traveling to Wrigley Field.
Aug. 2: Start your engines
Less than three weeks after the All-Star Game, the Braves will take part in another exciting event. Bristol Motor Speedway, the iconic racetrack, will play host to the MLB Speedway Classic presented by BuildSubmarines.com. Tickets are now on sale for the game between the Braves and Reds, which will be the first AL or NL contest played in the state of Tennessee.
Bristol Motor Speedway began hosting races in 1961. Legendary drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Sr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon have claimed victories there, and now dynamic young MLB stars such as Ronald Acu?a Jr. and Elly De La Cruz will try to do the same.
In addition to racing, Bristol Motor Speedway also has hosted other events, including a college football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech in 2016. To prepare for baseball, a diamond will be built across the track and infield, primarily between Turns 3 and 4.
Sept. 28: Wrap it up
The 2025 regular season will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 28. If any division titles come down to the final series, they could well be decided in head-to-head fashion, with 16 of the 30 teams facing a divisional foe to conclude the schedule. Among those matchups will be Orioles-Yankees in the AL East, Cardinals-Cubs in the NL Central and D-backs-Padres in the NL West.