After an offseason that looked like it may never end due to a complex labor dispute, the Major League Baseball season begins this Thursday. Let’s take a look at some things to keep an eye on this weekend.

The 2022 season appears as if things will finally be back to normal, in regards to global pandemics at least. Baseball fans are back to seeing headlines focusing on teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers spending enough on payroll to build an entire military, rather than worrying about rosters suffering COVID-19 outbreaks.

The Atlanta Braves are coming off of their first World Series crown since 1995 and are looking poised to defend their title. The Braves may have lost star Freddie Freeman to free agency, but picked up a younger and — dare I say — equivalent replacement at first base in Matt Olson.

The Braves get things started on Thursday at 8:10 p.m. against the Cincinnati Reds, who recently made headlines by getting rid of their young talents Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez. 

Staying within the NL East, fans will get an early preview of some familiar faces in new places, as 8-time MLB All-Star Max Scherzer will take to the mound in his New York Mets debut against the  Washington Nationals in their season-opening series. 

There are warranted causes for concern going into Opening Day, most notably being that of young stars. The league has struggled with its aging fanbase and attempting to push marketable, young stars to expand its reach. While some stars have emerged, this is still a major league issue for the sport.

Fernando Tatis Jr. has quickly become one of these faces of the sport, yet he won’t be in action for quite some time. The San Diego Padres phenom – who recently signed a 14-year, $330 million extension – will likely miss the first three months of the season due to surgery to repair a fractured wrist.

The cause for said injury? A dirt bike crash.

To make matters worse, Tatis’ explanation for the situation didn’t provide any relief either. When asked about the accident, Tatis responded, “Which one?”

For an organization that has struggled to dethrone divisional powerhouses like the Dodgers, the Padres cannot allow their superstar, who they just poured one-third of a billion dollars into, to be going on high-speed joy rides in the desert. 

Even worse, MLB executives have to be watching in horror from league headquarters in New York as they fail time and time again to capitalize on these young stars. Only time will tell how detrimental this proves in the Padres’ efforts to nestle themselves at the top of what is arguably the best division in baseball. 

Traveling across the country, the AL East is poised for yet another exciting battle for the division. Last year’s champions, the Tampa Bay Rays, were left with a bitter taste in their mouths after getting bounced by the Boston Red Sox in the AL Divisional Series.

The Rays are still without stud pitcher Tyler Glasnow, but offseason additions to the pitching staff like Corey Kluber should help out the dimension of their dynamic that ultimately let them down in the postseason. 

As for the New York Yankees, one has to wonder if they will make it past the Wildcard Game this season. Some shuffling took place amongst the roster, but it will likely once again be a matter of whether the Bronx Bombers can keep up with the Rays and Red Sox.

To make things even more chaotic in this powerhouse of a division, the Toronto Blue Jays could very realistically take the crown this year. The only MLB team north of the border has been steadily improving, with an offensive core that is ready to explode.

The last area of major interest is that of the AL West. While the Houston Astros have had their way in this division over the past half-decade, their opponents were anything but complacent this offseason.

The Oakland A’s may have sold off half of their assets in a glorified garage sale, but the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers got busy on the market. It’s clear that they mean business in 2022. 

In addition, the Los Angeles Angels casually return arguably the two best players in all of baseball, two-way Shohei Ohtani and outfielder Mike Trout. Whether or not they can turn this talent into a playoff appearance is yet to be seen, though

Now that we’ve gone over some of the top headlines going into the season, let’s see some of the top Opening Day matchups.

1:05 p.m.- Red Sox vs. Yankees 

4:05 p.m.- Mets vs. Nationals

8:10 p.m.- Reds vs. Braves

9:38 p.m.- Astros vs. Angels

These are merely a few games that will have interesting storylines involved, but there will be plenty of action during the first weekend of action. 

There were times when it looked like an MLB season may not happen at all so fans are relieved to have baseball back in any form they can get. The 2022 season looks to be one of the most exciting in recent memory, so make sure to follow along with all the excitement of America’s pastime. 

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