ESPN and MLB are expanding their Opening Day schedule for the 2016 season. Instead of just airing one game on Sunday and then three or four on Monday, ESPN will air three games on Sunday and four on Monday, with all ten Postseason teams from this past season represented. The marquee matchup is a World Series rematch on Sunday Night Baseball, as the Mets travel to Kauffman Stadium to take on the World Champion Royals.
ESPN will cover 7 Opening Day games during first two days of 2016 regular season on Sunday, 4/3 & Monday, 4/4. pic.twitter.com/VItDXzA7RU
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) November 19, 2015
The rest of the schedule for the two days is also quite solid, featuring four interdivisional matchups and two interleague matchups (one of which is the aforementioned Mets-Royals game on Sunday night).
The two days worth of games kicks off at 1 PM on Sunday, as the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals take on the team that has finished second in the division behind them over the last three years and has hosted three straight NL Wild Card games, the Pittsburgh Pirates. At 4 PM, the AL East champion Toronto Blue Jays travel to Tropicana Field to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. Finally at 8:30 PM, the World Series rematch between the Mets and Royals begins.
On Monday, the day starts with a rematch of the AL Wild Card game as the New York Yankees host the Houston Astros at 1 PM. Three hours later at 4 PM, the AL West champion Texas Rangers welcome the Seattle Mariners to Arlington. At 7 PM, the San Diego Padres will host the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Finally, the Chicago Cubs, winners of the NL’s second Wild Card, travel to Anaheim to take on the Los Angeles Angels.
This schedule is pretty loaded, and the decision to begin the season with three games on Sunday as opposed to one is a pretty good one. 11 of the 14 teams that will be featured over the two days finished above .500 in 2015. The only matchup of teams that finished at or above .500 last year that isn’t featured on either day is Orioles-Twins. ESPN also showed some admirable restraint in not featuring the Nationals (against the Braves), Red Sox (against the Indians), or Giants (against the Brewers) on either day.
What a world – the Royals and Astros are featured in two of these games, and they actually deserve to be there.
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About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.