The Major League Baseball (MLB) season schedule consists of 162 games for each of the 30 teams in the American League (AL) and National League (NL), played over approximately six months—a total of 2,430 games, plus the postseason. The regular season runs from late March/early April to late September/early October, followed by the postseason which can run to early November. The season begins with the official Opening Day, and, as of 2018, runs 26½ weeks through the last Sunday of September or first Sunday of October. One or more International Opener games may be scheduled outside the United States or Canada before the official Opening Day. It is possible for a given team to play a maximum of 22 games in the postseason in a given year, provided the team is a wild card and advances to each of the Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series with each series going the distance (3 games in the Wild Card series, 5 games in the Division Series, 7 games each in the League Championship Series/World Series).
The regular season is constructed from series. Due to travel concerns and the sheer number of games, pairs of teams are never scheduled to play single games against each other (except in the instance of making up a postponed game); instead they play games on several consecutive days in the same ballpark. Teams play one mid-week series and one weekend series per week. Depending on the length of the series, mid-week series games are usually scheduled between Monday and Thursday, while weekend games are scheduled between Thursday and Monday. Teams play for 26½ weeks. Due to the mid-week all-star break in July, teams are scheduled to play 27 weekend series and 25 mid-week series for 52 total series (16 divisional series, 20 inter-divisional series, 16 inter-league series). A team's road games are usually grouped into a multi-series road trip; home series are grouped into homestands.
Beginning with the 2023 season, teams play a balanced schedule as follows: thirteen games are played against each of the other four teams in their own division (52 games total), six or seven games against each of the other ten teams in their own league (62 games total), six games against one "geographic rival" from the other league, and three games against each of the other fourteen teams from the other league, for 48 total interleague games. Under this schedule, divisional games consist of two, three or four-game series, intraleague games consist of three or four-game series, and the interleague games consist of two three-game series against the geographic rival (one series home and one away) and a single three-game series against the other interleague opponents (the home team alternating every year).
Note that rainouts and other cancellations are often rescheduled when needed during the season, sometimes as doubleheaders. However, if two teams are scheduled to meet for the final time in the last two weeks of the season, and the game is cancelled, it may not be rescheduled if there is no impact on the divisional or wild card races. Both examples occurred in 2024. The September 29 game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians was cancelled due to rain. As the game was scheduled on the last day of the regular season, and it did not affect the postseason seeding for both teams, the game was not rescheduled. In contrast, two NL East division games between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves needed to be made up following the last day of the regular season because it played a part in the wild card race involving the Mets, the Braves, and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
From 1953 to 1981, Harry Simmons was responsible for devising the Major League Baseball schedule. Henry and Holly Stephenson, a husband-and-wife team, were in charge of constructing the MLB calendar for over two decades (1981–2004). For the 2005 schedule, the MLB selected the Sports Scheduling Group, a small company located outside Pittsburgh, to craft the schedule for that year. Each year, the MLB considers the scheduling proposals from various external groups.
The upcoming MLB regular season schedule is usually released while the current regular season is ongoing, typically after the All-Star Game or later. In contrast, the National Football League, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association release their schedules in the offseason.
19th century This account gives the length of the major league "championship season" schedule by league and year. During this era, there were a number of different leagues that would be deemed Major League.
Prior to the first league schedule in 1877, member clubs scheduled their own matches by mutual arrangement, including championship games necessarily with member clubs, other games with members, and games with non-member clubs. Some may have practically dictated their arrangements with some others, but there was no central control or coordination.
The listed years are those in which the league revised its schedule. For example, the National League (NL) scheduled 84 games during 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1882 – that is, four seasons from 1879, ending before 1883, the next listing. 1876 is listed here for convenience although the NL did not schedule games (see 1871 to 1876, below).
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–1875) The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–1875) did not schedule games, nor did it control the number of teams, a major reason for its demise after the 1875 season. Clubs paid a $10 entry fee, later $20, to enter the Association for one season, and thereby declare for that year's national championship. Without continuing membership or heavy investment, there was little to deter a team from breaking a commitment, and though it happened, it was mainly due to clubs going out of business.
This list shows the clubs that played the highest number of games in each season. The teams with the most games played often had higher attendance rates.
1871: 33 games (Mutual, New York) 1872: 58 games (Lord Baltimore) 1873: 60 games (Boston) 1874: 71 games (Boston) 1875: 86 games (Hartford)
The leading numbers of games played to a decision were 33, 54, 59, 71, and 70 decisions; by the listed teams except the Mutuals in 1872.
National League (first 25 years of 1876–present)
The National League organized for 1876 on a different basis than the NAPBBP, granting exclusive memberships to eight clubs that would continue from year to year – it was generally expected, if only because membership would be profitable. But in its first season in 1876, the new league followed its predecessor in merely agreeing that each club would play a certain number of matches to a decision (excluding ties) by a certain date. Boston played 70 games with its quota of ten decisions against every rival. The others achieved 56 to 68 decisions with 64 to 66 for the four western teams as the teams from New York and Philadelphia (eastern) abandoned their schedule-concluding road trips.
Start yearTotal GamesSchedule187670 quota of up to 10 games × 7 opponents – matches independently scheduled by clubs (as with the NAPBBP)187760contraction – 12 games × 5 opponents187984expansion – 12 games × 7 opponents18839814 games × 7 opponents188411216 games × 7 opponents188612618 games × 7 opponents188814020 games × 7 opponents1892154expansion – 14 games × 11 opponents189313212 games × 11 opponents189815414 games × 11 opponents
American Association (1882–1891)
Start yearTotal GamesSchedule18828016 games × 5 opponents188398expansion – 14 games × 7 opponents1884110expansion – 10 games × 11 opponents1885112contraction – 16 games × 7 opponents188614020 games × 7 opponents
The AA expanded its schedule to 140 games two years before the National League did so. After 1891 this incarnation of the AA dissolved with four teams bought out and four others joining the NL, nominally creating one big league, the "National League and American Association" of 12 clubs.
Union Association (1884)
1884: 112 games = 16 games × 7 opponents
Players' League (1890)
1890: 140 games = 20 games × 7 opponents
20th & 21st centuries This account gives the originally announced length of the major league "championship season" schedule by league and year.
This does not include later announced curtailments of play by war (1918) or by strikes and lockouts (1972, 1981, 1994). The schedules for 1995 were revised and shortened from 162 to 144 games, after late resolution of the strike that had begun in 1994 required a delay in the season to accommodate limited spring training.
National League Start yearTotal GamesSchedule1900140contraction – 20 games × 7 opponents190415422 games × 7 opponents191914020 games × 7 opponents192015422 games × 7 opponents1962162expansion – 18 games × 9 opponents1969162expansion & league splits into 2 divisions:18 games × 5 opponents in-division (90 games),12 games × 6 opponents interdivision (72 games)1993162expansion:13 games × 6 opponents in-division (78 games),12 games × 7 opponents interdivision (84 games)1994162league splits into 3 divisions – schedules based on 1993 alignments1995162NL East and NL Central divisions: 13 × 4 opponents in-division (52 games), 12 games × 7 opponents interdivision and 13 games × 2 opponents (110 games) NL West division: 13 × 3 opponents in-division (39 games), 12 games × 7 opponents interdivision and 13 games × 3 opponents (123 games)1997162interleague play introducedNL East and NL Central divisions: 12 × 4 opponents in-division (48 games), 11 games × 9 opponents interdivision within same league (99 games), 3 games × 5 opponents interleague (15 games) NL West division: 12 × 3 opponents in-division (36 games), 11 games × 10 opponents interdivision within same league (110 games), 4 games × 4 opponents interleague (16 games)1998162unbalanced alignment – opponents schedules vary every season, with 11 to 13 games per opponent in-division Start yearTotal GamesSchedule1998162NL East division: 12 games × 4 opponents in-division (48 games), 9 games × 10 opponent and 8 games × 1 opponent interdivision within same league (98 games), 3 games × 4 opponents and 4 games × 1 opponent interleague (16 games) NL Central division: 11 games × 4 opponents and 12 games × 1 opponent in-division (56 games), 9 games × 9 opponents and either 11 or 12 games x 1 opponent interdivision within same league (92 or 93 games), 3 games × 3 opponents and 2 games × 2 opponents or 3 games × 4 opponents and 2 games × 1 opponent interleague (13 or 14 games) NL West division: 12 games × 4 opponents in-division (48 games), 8 games × 1 opponent, 9 games × 9 opponent, and 12 games × 1 opponent or 8 games × 1 opponent, 9 games × 8 opponents, and 11 games × 2 opponents interdivision within same league (101 or 102 games), 3 games × 4 opponents or 3 games × 3 opponents and 4 games × 1 opponent interleague (12 or 13 games)1999162NL East division: 12 games × 2 opponents and 13 games × 2 opponents or 12 games × 1 opponent and 13 games × 3 opponents in-division (50 or 51 games), 9 games × 8 opponents and either 7 games × 3 opponents or 7 games × 2 opponents and 8 games × 1 opponent interdivision within same league (93 or 94 games), 3 games × 4 opponents and 6 games × 1 opponent interleague (18 games) NL Central division: 12 games × 3 opponents and 13 games × 2 opponents or 12 × 2 opponents and 13 games × 3 opponents in-division (84 or 85 games), 9 games × 7 opponents and either 7 games × 3 opponents or 7 games × 2 opponents and 8 games × 1 opponents interdivision within same league (84 or 85 games), 3 games × 5 opponents or 3 games × 3 opponents and 6 games × 1 opponent interleague (15 games) NL West division: 12 games × 2 opponents and 13 games × 2 opponents, or 12 games × 1 opponent and 13 games × 3 opponents, or 13 games × 4 opponents in-division (50, 51, or 52 games),