More top news >

Answer »

Opening Day starts are special, whether it’s a young pitcher getting his first chance in that spotlight or a veteran who has done it many times before. There’s the excitement, the pageantry and the chance to help your team begin the season in style.

Each year, only 30 pitchers are honored with such an assignment, and now we know who will be in that select group for 2023, heading into the full slate of openers on March 30.

Eight Cy Young Award winners and 21 All-Star hurlers will take the mound. And five pitchers will take the mound on Opening Day in a debut performance with their new clubs.

Bigger bases have Daniel Vogelbach thinking hard about swiping his first bag. His manager is not so sure.

MLB Pipeline’s fourth-ranked prospect always had a passion for baseball, even though several coaches along the way tried to sway him toward football and basketball.

“No moment is too big, I like to say,” Randy Arozarena said. “I just go out there and play the game I know how to play. I really enjoyed the tournament and had a lot of fun.”

When Japan’s formidable pitching staff faced hitters, whether from the Major Leagues or from other countries and federations, they had Kan Ikeda to thank for the game plan.

Long after the Byron Buxtons and Carlos Correas of the world have played their innings, showered and driven home, these are the players who don nameless jerseys with absurd numbers suited more for football wide receivers than for baseball players.

MLB Network brings you Yankees vs. Phillies at 1 p.m. ET, D-backs vs. Mariners at 4, and Guardians vs. Rockies at 9:30.

© 2023 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (peter.hovis@gmail.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com.

Please add info@mail.mlblists.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.