Play Ball!

MLB Opening Day has finally arrived, and with it comes a sense of normalcy: 162 games on the schedule, stadiums will be at full capacity from the get-go, and the brief labor lockout is firmly in the rearview mirror.

⚾ But there are several changes... 

• The postseason field was expanded from 10 teams to 12 – three division winners and three Wild Card teams per league.
• Rather than a winner-take-all Wild Card game, the first postseason round is now best-of-three, with the top two seeds in each league receiving byes.
• The designated hitter (DH) rule now applies to both the American and National Leagues.

💰 You pay to win the game: This was the biggest-spending offseason in MLB history by far, with roughly $3.4 billion in contractual agreements reached despite a three-month pause due to lockout.

The biggest spender? The Texas Rangers, who set an MLB record for most money spent in an offseason – and did it basically with two players (shortstops Corey Seager and Marcus Semien), who together added up to $500 million in new contract money.

• Max Scherzer also became the highest paid player in league history, signing a three-year, $130 million deal with the Mets (~$43 million annually😳).

🏆👀 Looking ahead to October... The odds-on World Series favorites are the Dodgers (4.5 to 1). The Blue Jays and Astros are next (8 to 1 and 9.5 to 1), followed by the New York Mets and Yankees (both at 10 to 1).