After the Dodgers took home the Commissioner’s Trophy in October, five months later, baseball season is finally back.
A lot has happened in the first few weeks of Major League Baseball. Between benches clearing, homerun robberies, the new automatic ball strike (ABS) system, and ejections, the season has had a hot start.
Starting with opening day, some players and teams look better than last year, some look worse, and some stayed the same. New players in new uniforms and new managers shows fans just how much has changed during this offseason.
If you are a baseball fan, you might have higher expectations for your team. Junior Madison (Madi) Kellogg is a Chicago Cubs fan and had high expectations until three starting pitchers got placed on the injured list (IL).
“It is not looking too promising but as the season goes on we could make a comeback and make a run like we did last year,” Madi said.
Over 100 players have already or previously been placed on the IL. Last year the biggest struggle for teams was injuries and it doesn’t seem like that will change.
Something that has changed is the official introduction of the ABS system challenging the umpires call of balls or strikes. Only catchers and hitters are allowed to challenge. When a challenge is called, a graphic of the exact location of the pitch appears on screen. The call can either be overturned or confirmed. This process only takes a few seconds and takes way less time than a bench clearing.
On April 7, the first 2026 bench clearing took place. The Angels and the Braves cleared the benches after Jorge Soler claimed Reynaldo Lopez tried to hit him. Soler charged the mound, threw some fists, and then proceeded to get tackled by Braves manager Walt Weiss.
That’s not the only exciting thing that happened, Jo Adell robbed three home runs in one game and Blue Jays manager John Schnedier got ejected from the World Series rematch.
As the season continues, records will be broken, home runs will be hit, and the unexpected will happen. This is only the beginning.
