Major League Baseball (MLB) is back. Just as it has since 2023, MLB opening day took place on the final Thursday of March, which fell on March 26 this year. With this year’s rendition of Opening Day (and weekend) came a new, game-changing rule and some major headlines, creating an exciting start to the season.
The New ABS Challenge System: After being used in the minor leagues since 2022 and in spring training last year, the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System has made its MLB debut. The introduction of the system puts to bed centuries of arguments regarding balls and strikes that get absolutely nowhere. Finally, only batters, catchers and pitchers will have the ability to appeal ball and strike decisions made by home plate umpires throughout a game. To prevent the game from slowing down too much, MLB has capped teams at two challenges for the first nine innings. If the game goes to extras, each team gets an additional challenge. Overall, the system is supported by fan polling, as it was just approved by the Joint Competition Committee in September. Only time will tell if fans and players approve this rule change in the long run, but it certainly has promise.
Paul Skenes Struggles: After winning last year’s National League Cy Young, expectations couldn’t have been higher for Paul Skenes as he entered Thursday’s opening day game against the New York Mets. Skenes opened the year as the odds-on favorite (+210) to repeat as the Cy Young winner. However, in what was supposed to be a high-powered opening day pitching duel between Skenes and Mets’ new ace Freddy Peralta, the new-look Mets took Skenes off the mound early. The Pirates’ ace didn’t even make it through the first inning, as he was pulled after posting two outs and allowing five runs on 37 pitches, causing his Cy Young odds to plummet to +260. Pittsburgh fans will be anxiously tuned in the next few weeks to see if Skenes can turn it around, or if he enters into a full-on third-year slump.
Six Opening Weekend Walk-offs: Though they seem to be rare, walk-offs were rampant in the opening weekend. Six teams posted walk-off victories, including five on Saturday, March 28. Among those teams were the St. Louis Cardinals, the New York Mets, the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves, the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays, who won both of their first two games thanks to walk-offs.
Standout Rookies: Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami and Cleveland Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter joined some exclusive competition over the first three games of their respective careers. Murakami put the league on notice as he hit three home runs in his first three games, though the White Sox did lose all three to the Milwaukee Brewers. DeLauter actually one-upped Murakami by slugging four home runs over those three games. Murakami and DeLauter joined Trevor Story in 2016 and Kyle Lewis in 2019 as the only players to hit three home runs in their first three games of a season. While it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to sustain this pace, fans of both teams certainly have a lot to be excited about with these two rookies.
Mike Trout’s Elite Weekend: Coming into the season, future Hall-of-Famer Mike Trout, now 34 years old, faced some serious doubt due to his history of injuries, his subsequent lack of availability and his rising age. A man who was once the league’s undisputed best player was left off MLB Network’s preseason top 100 players list. After this weekend, however, it seems Trout has quieted some of those doubters for the time being, as he hammered two home runs, walked seven times and even stole a base. The stolen base might surprise some, given Trout’s rising age, but he’s determined to reach elite sprint speeds this season.
“I’m going to get to 30, because I got more in the tank. But the 29.9 surprised me,” Trout said regarding his sprint speed in feet per second.
For reference, Statcast considers 30 feet per second to be elite speed. For now, fans are taking a wait-and-see approach on whether or not Trout is truly poised for another elite season, but he’s given us all reason for optimism.
MLB Opening Weekend gave fans a long-awaited, exciting start to the season, and we can only hope that the rest of the season continues to live up to the hype.
