Mariners 2023 Schedule is gonna be tough to get used to

The 2023 schedule has been released for the Seattle Mariners. This isn’t going to be a straight recap of the release, as that’s boring. Sure, I’ll talk about some of the highlights and potential interesting games, but we all have eyes and can just look over the schedule to see who they play and where they will be.

What I want to look at are the changes that were made. There are two massive things that stand out. The number of divisional games that each team will be playing, as well as the Intraleague games and how those will play out.

The Mariners 2023 schedule is out, and things are looking a bit different

In the past, teams have been playing 19 games against each team in their division. With five teams in each division, it made for a bit of simplicity in creating the schedules. However, nearly half a team’s season (76 of 162) was against just their division. Well… no more.

The Mariners will only play 13 games apiece against the rest of the AL West. That cuts it from 76 to 52 games. It’s good and bad. Texas is getting better, Houston is really good, Oakland is bad, and the Angels are a mismanaged and poorly ran group of clowns who are wasting Ohtani and Trout.

So, where will these other 24 games be made up?

They will still play a home and a road series against the rest of the AL teams, either six or seven games. That doesn’t change. However, they will be playing each team in the NL now. ALL OF THEM. It’ll be a three-game set against every single team in the NL, as well as 2 two-game sets against the Padres, one in Seattle and one in San Diego. It’s weird seeing that Colorado will be in Seattle in the middle of April, which is the Mariners first NL matchup.

As if the Mariners didn’t travel enough already. They travel the 2nd most miles in baseball in 2022, and it’s unlikely to change much in 2023 other than increasing the number of miles they’re going. Also, it’s really stupid that the top four teams are all in the AL West.

Maybe instead of changing the schedule, they should re-align the teams

The Mariners will open against the Guardians on March 30th, playing a three-game set against Cleveland. In case you forgot, the Mariners will also be hosting the All-Star game on July 11th, followed up by 10 games at home after the break. It’ll be a nice long stretch at home for Seattle during the middle of the season, and a nice way to recharge.

Another highlight to me is that not only do the Mariners have two series to open the year at home, but they also finish with two series at home at the end of the year. They will play three against Houston and finish up with four against Texas.

I know that next season is still a long way off and that we should all be focused on the team finishing out the 2022 season. For those who are trying to schedule events for 2023, it sure is nice knowing when they play. Go Mariners!