Hello and welcome back to Baseball Bash!  It has been a while, but an exciting development is happening soon in Major League Baseball: Opening Day!  In fact, as of the writing of this blog, it is tomorrow, March 30th!  There is certainly a lot to look forward to this year, one especially including the first season with the rule changes(mentioned in previous blogs) and how they will affect the quality and time of the games.  Let’s take a look at some of the matchups:

Hello and welcome back to Baseball Bash!  It has been a while, but an exciting development is happening soon in Major League Baseball: Opening Day!  In fact, as of the writing of this blog, it is tomorrow, March 30th!  There is certainly a lot to look forward to this year, one especially including the first season with the rule changes(mentioned in previous blogs) and how they will affect the quality and time of the games.  Let’s take a look at some of the matchups:

Yankees vs. Giants

The New York Yankees(my team) play against the San Francisco Giants in the Bronx in one of two games to kick off Opening Day at 1:05 pm.  The pitching matchup is very interesting: long-term Yankee ace Gerrit Cole faces off against Logan Webb, a pitcher who recently emerged as one of the best.  Interesting storylines to keep track of for the game includes a few with Aaron Judge.  This will be his first game as captain of the Yankees

after signing a nine-year, 360 million dollar deal with them this past offseason.  He is the first Yankee captain since Derek Jeter, so this title holds deep significance for Yankee fans in NYC and the rest of the world.  On top of that Aaron Judge was majorly considering signing with the San Francisco Giants this offseason as this was his favorite team growing up and he would’ve been able to play close to home.  However, citing “unfinished business” among other things, Judge decided to stay in New York and become the captain.  

Another is that of young shortstop Anthony Volpe.  Volpe recently made the Opening Day roster for the Yankees at just 21 years old, which was the same age that Derek Jeter was called up as well.  He had a stellar Spring Training, with mind-boggling plays like this:

ANTHONY VOLPE WHAT A PLAY pic.twitter.com/wwhXcBoO8M

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) March 28, 2023

For the Giants, they had an underwhelming offseason.  One connection they have to New York other than Judge, however, is Michael Conforto.  Conforto was a longtime player of the Yankee crosstown rival New York Mets and is able to return to New York City for his first game.  That will be an interesting storyline to follow too.

Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox

We are staying within the AL East with this matchup, but this will be an interesting one too.  The pitching matchup will feature veterans Kyle Gibson vs Corey Kluber, both veteran pitchers that joined their respective teams this offseason.  I expect this game to be an offensive battle.   

When it comes to the Orioles, their offseason was dormant.  No big moves or blockbuster trades.  However, two exciting young players are looming for the Orioles, and they are in the form of Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman.  The young infielder and catcher(respectively) bring great arm talent along with stellar batting numbers.  This is the first full year for both of them and I expect both to breakout in a major way for Baltimore.

For the Red Sox, their story is of loss.  They lost superstar shortstop Xander Bogaerts to the San Diego Padres and are now relying more on third baseman Rafael Devers, who just signed a long term deal, to be the centerpiece of their offense.  They were also able to acquire Justin Turner, who should definitely help the offense reach new heights next year.  While I don’t see them winning their division, they definitely have the possibility of being more competitive than last season.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Texas Rangers

This game sees a vintage pitching matchup with Aaron Nola facing off against Jacob DeGrom.  DeGrom, who was a longtime Met and built his reputation there, is now on the Rangers after signing a five-year, 185 million dollar contract with them this past offseason.  DeGrom is no stranger to the Phillies as his previous squad, the Mets, play them many times every year which gives him valuable experience for this opening day matchup.

For the Phillies, the main story is of injuries.  Superstar outfielder Bryce Harper is still recovering from surgery while Rhys Hoskins suffered a torn ACL during spring training and the team is expecting to have only Harper back in a few months.  The offense still is able to feature new star shortstop Trea Turner, who just came off of an excellent World Baseball Classic performance.  Other prominent stars that they still have is catcher J.T. Realmuto and slugger Kyle Schwarber.  It is to be determined how this core, along with the entire team, will do without Harper and Hoskins.

For the Rangers, all the attention seems to be on DeGrom.  DeGrom has been very injury prone during the past few years and has not really been able to pitch full seasons, so Rangers fans definitely are wishing he can give them “DeGrominant” performances all season.  It will be interesting to see how he does in a new team that certainly is nothing like the New York Mets.

With Opening Day coming up, there is a lot to look forward to.  Will a team go for a surprise run to start the season?  Will there be surprising signings?  All we can do now is wait and take it all in now that baseball’s back.  Until then, thank you for reading another edition of Baseball Bash, and I will see you soon!