First pitch: The 3 best cities for MLB Opening Day 2023
By Kevin Henry
Opening Day is on March 30, and all 30 MLB teams will be in action on that date as the 2023 season kicks off with plenty of storylines to follow.
While Opening Day is considered a national holiday for baseball fans, there are certain cities where this Opening Day will take on an extra level of significance. That could be because of heightened expectations for 2023 or the carryover from a thrilling 2022 season and the questions about if the franchise can follow up those moments again this season.
So which locations will be the best places to be on Opening Day? We took a look at the 15 teams who will be hosting games on March 30 and whittled our list down to three.
MLB Opening Day must-see: Cleveland Guardians at Seattle Mariners
It may be one of the last scheduled Opening Day games on March 30 (first pitch scheduled for 10:10 p.m. Eastern), but this game between two postseason teams from last year should be electric in the Pacific Northwest.
After breaking its 20-year playoff drought last season, the Mariners gave the eventual World Champion Houston Astros everything they had in the ALDS, including a pitching duel for the ages in the only postseason game played in Seattle last season. That extra-inning affair gave Mariners fans a taste of the postseason, and it’s something they want to experience again in 2023.
Look for an electric atmosphere in Seattle on Opening Day as a new-look lineup that includes Kolten Wong, Teoscar Hernandez, and AJ Pollock looks to prove that 2022 was anything but a fluke.