This is the 125th season of modern Major League Baseball, dating back to the 1901 formation of the American League. It is also the 150th season of Major League Baseball, dating back to the 1876 formation of the National League.
In a society that aggrandizes anniversaries that fall in fives and 10s, that¡¯s a big deal.
*Just hold off on those birthday celebrations, because, just as a baby turns 1 a year after he or she is born, the NL won¡¯t turn 150 or the AL 125 until next year. So you have plenty of time to buy MLB a present.
But the real story of this season, which began with the two-game Tokyo Series between the Dodgers and Cubs and now embarks upon the more traditional Opening Day featuring 14 games and 28 teams on Thursday, is not relegated to those historically significant markers of time. It will be written instead by the stars, squads and surprises that rise to the challenge of the 162-game grind and then the heightened atmosphere of another awesome October.
To guess the outcome of this story, we¡¯ve found, is generally a fool¡¯s errand. But as we enter Opening Day, these are the six(ish) plot points that are most tempting to track.
1a) The Dodgers¡¯ much-hyped bid for history
We haven¡¯t even reached the traditional Opening Day yet, and already the Dodgers are on pace to go 162-0. Yeesh.
While that magic mark won¡¯t happen, the sheer depth of proven talent and upside on this absurd L.A. club has people wondering if the 2025 Dodgers could challenge the record of 116 regular-season wins held by the 1906 Cubs and 2001 Mariners. The Dodgers were already set to get the full Shohei Ohtani experience with his return to pitching this year, but they also went out and added two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, a high-upside international acquisition in Roki Sasaki and two of the best relievers in the game in Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, among other moves.
The Dodgers won 111 games in 2022 with a lesser roster than what they have now, so 116 is a realistic possibility if they keep their foot on the pedal.
Of course, that¡¯s not the Dodgers¡¯ goal. It¡¯s a World Series repeat, something that hasn¡¯t been accomplished in MLB¡¯s expanded October schedule since the 1998-2000 Yankees dynasty. Here, too, the Dodgers are seemingly better positioned this year than last. Their rotation was in tatters going into the postseason in 2024, and they won, anyway. This '25 pitching staff goes into the year with so much quantity and quality that the Dodgers appear built to withstand the so-called hangover effects of their championship run.
But the beauty of baseball is that even a team as loaded as the Dodgers has only a 1-in-4 chance of winning it all, per FanGraphs¡¯ odds. Every team will be hungry to take down this super squad.
1b) The full Ohtani experience
Yes, this plays right into the first storyline, but Ohtani is always a story unto himself. This is arguably the greatest player the sport has ever seen, given his unique accomplishments, with a skillset that has no parallel in the modern game. Ohtani already launched his first homer of 2025, in his native land and with every eye upon him at Tokyo Dome, because of course he did.
Last season, while recovering from an elbow procedure, Ohtani was unable to pitch. So he made the absolute most out of his designated hitter duties, recording the first 50-50 (actually, 54 homers and 59 steals) season in MLB history. It was completely bonkers.
This year, Ohtani is returning to the mound, perhaps sometime in May (he¡¯s also rehabbed from surgery to repair a World Series shoulder injury on his non-throwing side). That will probably cause him to be less aggressive on the basepaths. So nobody¡¯s expecting another 50-50 (from Ohtani or literally anybody else, possibly for the rest of time).
As crazy as the DH season was, two-way Ohtani remains the main attraction. Thus far in his MLB career, Ohtani has a 157 OPS+. That¡¯s 57% better than league average and two points higher than the career marks of Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Mel Ott and Hank Aaron. Meanwhile, as a pitcher, Ohtani has a 142 ERA+. That¡¯s 42% better than league average and one point shy of the career mark of Roger Clemens.
Don¡¯t take this for granted. This is a singular player.
2) Juan Soto on the other side of the Apple
Juan Soto is a pretty special player, too. So special that the Mets gave him the richest pact in the history of pro sports ¨C 15 years, $765 million and not a single dollar deferred. They even threw in a Citi Field suite (which Soto won¡¯t be personally using, what with him participating on the field and whatnot)!
Now there is added heft to Soto¡¯s every trip to the batter¡¯s box. And let¡¯s face it, everything that happens in New York baseball is a big deal.
Soto¡¯s defection from one borough to another is a direct extension of the Mets¡¯ efforts to be the baseball darlings of the Big Apple under ambitious, aggressive owner Steve Cohen and his president of baseball operations, David Stearns, whose first season with his favorite boyhood team resulted in a surprise NLCS appearance.
Meanwhile, there is quite a hill to climb now for reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge and the Yankees, who reached the World Series for the first time in 15 years last fall but ultimately did not achieve that elusive 28th ring. Not only did Soto depart, but a litany of spring injuries included, most notably, staff ace Gerrit Cole¡¯s season-ending elbow ligament tear.
¡°Wicked¡± recently became the highest-grossing film based off a Broadway musical, bringing in $735 million at the box office. Soto is pulling in more than that by himself ¡ and bringing his own form of drama to the Big Apple.
3) New sensations
In 19 previous editions of MLB The Show, a single star player was chosen to grace the game¡¯s cover. But this year, the creators could not contain themselves. Together, Pirates ace Paul Skenes, Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson and Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz ¨C all of whom are 23 or younger ¨C represent an incredible wave of young talent that has taken over the sport.
Skenes already has a track record unmatched in MLB history: the first player to be chosen first overall in the MLB Draft one year and start the All-Star Game the next. He debuted last May and was pretty much the best pitcher in baseball from that point forward, with a 1.96 ERA that bested even that of Cy Young winners Tarik Skubal (Tigers) and Chris Sale (Braves) after his debut.
De La Cruz, the self-described ¡°Fastest Man in the World,¡± is a sleeper NL MVP candidate if he builds off his 25-homer, 67-steal season from 2024. And Henderson and Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who is only 24, are already both MVP-caliber players, having finished fourth and second, respectively, in the voting last year.
Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll, Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio, Mariners outfielder Julio Rodr¨ªguez, Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill, A¡¯s outfielder Lawrence Butler, Mets third baseman Mark Vientos, Tigers outfielder Riley Greene, Yankees catcher Austin Wells and Red Sox lefty Garrett Crochet are just a few members of the 25-and-under crowd who are already considered centerpieces on their squads, while the likes of Nationals outfielder James Wood, Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford, Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams and Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas are among those widely identified as breakout candidates.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned Sasaki is already an international sensation, while Tigers right-hander Jackson Jobe, Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews, Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw, Astros third baseman Cam Smith, Royals first baseman Jac Caglianone, A¡¯s shortstop Jacob Wilson, Yankees outfielder Jasson Dom¨ªnguez, Rangers right-handers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin are just some of the rookies who figure to have legit opportunities to impact their clubs on Opening Day or soon thereafter.
Need any more evidence that MLB has become a young man¡¯s game? Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has already been to four All-Star Games and will be at the top of next offseason's free agent board if not extended by the Blue Jays, just turned 26!
4) Many happy returns
Injuries happen. More than we¡¯d like. And they¡¯re already happening again this year. But 2025 does bring the awaited return of some important players.
The Braves lead the conversation here. In 2023, Ronald Acu?a Jr. became the first player in history with 40 homers and 70 steals, slugging and running his way to the NL MVP honor. But he tore his left ACL last May, just three seasons after tearing the ACL in his right knee. Acu?a might have to be more careful on the basepaths after another major knee repair, but his return ¨C possibly in May ¨C is highly anticipated.
Same goes for Spencer Strider, who looked like a Cy Young winner in the making prior to blowing out his right elbow just two starts into 2024. He¡¯s expected to join reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale in what could be a terrific Braves rotation in late April/early May.
The Rangers hope to get a full season out of one of the most dominant pitchers of all time in Jacob deGrom, a two-time Cy Young winner who has been limited to just nine starts (three at the tail end of last season) since signing a blockbuster five-year deal with Texas prior to 2023. He could help point the Rangers back to October after last year¡¯s hangover campaign.
Speaking of Cy Young winners, 2022 NL honoree Sandy Alcantara is back with the Marlins after his 2023 Tommy John repair. And with two seasons remaining on his contract, he could be a hot commodity at the July 31 Trade Deadline.
There¡¯s plenty more where that came from. We already mentioned Ohtani¡¯s return to the mound. Meanwhile, the Orioles are getting back their elite closer, F¨¦lix Bautista, the Rays hope to return ace Shane McClanahan (though he had a nerve issue crop up in his triceps late in camp), and the Brewers get back two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff. On the position player side, MVPs Mike Trout (Angels) and Christian Yelich (Brewers) come into 2025 healthy after their strong 2024 seasons were interrupted by injury.
Oh, and let¡¯s not forget a return in the dugout. Potential Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona ¡°retired¡± from the Guardians after 2023 due to an array of physical ailments. But he¡¯s rested and ready to guide an intriguing Reds team that is also getting important young second baseman Matt McLain back from shoulder surgery.
5) The superlative Senior Circuit vs. the wide-open AL
In recent decades, the All-Star Game, which this summer will take place at the Atlanta Braves¡¯ Truist Park, has been utterly dominated by the AL, which has won 17 of the last 21 Midsummer Classics.
But the NL is the league accumulating the most star power of late, continuing this winter with Soto¡¯s move to the Mets, Corbin Burnes bolting Baltimore for the Diamondbacks and Kyle Tucker getting dealt from the Astros to the Cubs.
This contributes to the NL having five teams ¨C the Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, Mets and D-backs ¨C projected by FanGraphs to win 85 games or more, whereas the AL has just two (the Yankees, at 85.8, and Mariners, at 85). Conversely, the NL has seven teams projected to finish under .500 while the AL has only four. Fourteen of the 15 AL teams are projected to finish within 10 games of each other (only the White Sox, coming off a historic 121 losses, fall outside that range).
So the NL is, seemingly, more top-heavy, whereas, in the AL, it feels like just about anything can happen. The Yankees and Astros have occupied 11 of the last 16 available ALCS spots, but both clubs look a lot different because of a lot of moving parts in the offseason.
6) Unusual environments
This season is only two games old, and we¡¯ve already witnessed an incredible baseball environment at Tokyo Dome. But there is more to come.
This season will also feature the MLB Speedway Classic, a regular-season game between the Braves and Reds on Aug. 2, taking place not at a baseball stadium at all but at historic Bristol Motor Speedway. Not only will this be the first MLB game played at a car racetrack, but it will be the first AL/NL game played in the state of Tennessee. With a capacity north of 150,000, Bristol could bring a new all-time attendance record for a baseball game, currently held by a Dodgers-Red Sox exhibition that took place before 115,300 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2008.
In addition, two teams will play their home games this season at Minor League venues, as a temporary measure.
As the Athletics are between homes, having closed up shop at the Oakland Coliseum at the end of 2024 and not yet broken ground on their planned new digs in Las Vegas, the club had already arranged to play the next three seasons in West Sacramento, Calif., at Sutter Health Park, the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. It was shaping up to be a unique setting ¨C MLB games in an MiLB park that holds around 14,000 people. And it should be a fun one, as the A¡¯s, who bring an interesting upstart roster into 2025, sold out their season tickets before Spring Training even began.
But then a hurricane blew through St. Petersburg, Fla., last fall, shredding the fabric roof of the Tampa Bay Rays¡¯ home at Tropicana Field and rendering the ballpark unusable for 2025. So the Rays scrambled to work out an arrangement with the AL East rival Yankees to use their Spring Training facility, George M. Steinbrenner Field, as their ¡°home¡± ballpark, making the roughly 11,000-seat ballpark, which is also home to the Single-A Tampa Tarpons, the second MiLB park in use in the 2025 MLB season.