What is the story about?
Good
morning again.
- With Opening Weekend here and the World Baseball Classic behind us, Stephen J. Nesbitt, Mike Vorkunov and Evan Drellich ask if MLB has surpassed the NBA as the second-most popular league in the US? (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Jared Diamond examines whether or not MLB has a competitive problem. The answer depends on how you frame the question.
- The Athletic polled their own writing staff on their predictions for the 2026 season. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Dan Szymborski reveals Fangraphs’ final ZiPS predictions for win totals in 2026.
- The Fangraphs staff also make some bold predictions for 2026.
- What needs to go right for every team this year. I always like looking at what these kinds of articles predict for the Rockies and then wonder why they didn’t just write “anything?”
- The CBS Sports baseball staff has the biggest question for every team this year.
- The percentage of foreign-born players is the lowest since 2002.
- Keith Law predicts the end-of-the-season Award winners. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Julian McWilliams has five under-the-radar storylines for 2026.
- Dodger Miguel Rojas defends the team, saying other teams just want an excuse for not winning.
- Ben Lindbergh calls the Pirates and the Athletics everyone’s favorite dark horses. What has to happen for those teams to live up to their billing?
- Ryan Blake writes thanks to teammates Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, the Mariners are the runaway favorites in the AL West.
- Major League third-base coaches say that the new rules limiting them to the coaches’ box is putting them in harm’s way from line drives. (The Athletic sub. req.) Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal with the story.
- Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez made the first successful Automated Ball-Strike challenge in history.
- Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski set a new team record with ten strikeouts on Opening Day.
- The Brewers got some bad news as outfielder Jackson Chourio went on the injured list with a broken left hand. Chourio was hit by a pitch in the hand during the WBC.
- The Mets have signed outfielder Tommy Pham to a minor league deal.
- Dodger Stadium got its official renaming of UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.
- MLB revealed the top 20 selling player uniforms since the end of last year.
- And finally, each team’s most interesting stadium giveaway,
