Now that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached consensus on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, it’s time to play ball.
The 2022 season is expected to open Thursday, April 7, for most teams — one week later than originally scheduled. But with new rules (National League adopts the designated hitter!), new faces on new teams (Welcome to L.A., Freddie Freeman!) and an expanded postseason (12 teams!), there are plenty of reasons to pay attention to the 162-game season.
Yes, despite the delayed start, all teams will play a full schedule — filling in teams’ mutual off days with doubleheaders or single one-and-done games. For example, in the middle of a two-series road trip, the Milwaukee Brewers will need to fly from Philadelphia back to American Family Field to host one game against the San Francisco Giants, and then head back east to Pittsburgh.
Regardless, here are 21 numbers to put you in the mood for a new season of the ol’ ballgame.
• 99: Number of days the lockout lasted (USAToday.com)
• 184: Number of regular season games that initially were cancelled prior to the lockout ending on March 10 (sportscasting.com)
• 2,430: Number of games on the regular-season schedule (CBSSports.com)
• 4: Number of consecutive seasons in which all 30 teams opened their seasons on the same day, prior to 2022 (sportingnews.com)
• 18: Number of teams that will celebrate Opening Day on April 7 (CBSSports.com)
• 12: Number of teams that will play their first game of the season on April 8 (CBSSports.com)
• 56,000: Seating capacity at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, baseball’s largest ballpark (888sport.com)
• 25,000: Seating capacity at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., baseball’s smallest stadium (888sports.com)
• 177: Cost, in dollars of two tickets, two hot dogs, two beers and parking at Wrigley Field in Chicago, the highest in all of baseball (gobankingrates.com)
• 65: Cost for the same at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., the lowest in all of baseball (gobankingrates.com)
• 1: Seed number of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2021 American League playoffs (MLB.com)
• 24: Number of “Friday Night Baseball” doubleheader games Apple TV+ will livestream for free during the first half of the season (apple.com)
• 570,000: Minimum salary, in dollars, for Major League Baseball players in 2021 (NY1.com)
• 700,000: Minimum salary for players in 2022, thanks to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (sportscasting.com)
• 780,000: Minimum salary for players by 2026 (sportscasting.com)
• 432,000: Maximum salary, in dollars, for Major League Baseball umpires (sportsnaut.com)
• 1: Estimated amount, in billions of dollars, that Major League Baseball teams lost during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (wallethub.com)
• 456,000: Amount, in dollars, that the Atlanta Braves’ 2021 World Series win cost Cobb County taxpayers, thanks to security and crowd management expenses, watch parties and a victory parade (AJC.com)
• 1973: First year the American League implemented the designated hitter rule (history.com)
• 3: Number of Wild Card teams from each league eligible for postseason play in 2022, up from two per league (MLB.com)
•0: Number of play-in games, previously known as Game 163, to decide playoff spots; playoff spots will no longer be determined based on tiebreaker formulas (MLB.com)
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