Key Dates For The 2024 MLB Season: Pitchers and Catchers, Spring Training, Opening Day

When do pitchers and catchers report? When does spring training and Opening Day happen? Joey looks at the key dates for the 2024 MLB season: pitchers and catchers, spring training, and Opening Day.

Baseball season is right around the corner, and pitchers and catchers will officially report in the coming days. It has been a wild offseason, to say the least, which saw superstar Shohei Ohtani land with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million deal. 

With the Dodgers and San Diego Padres kicking off the season a week before everyone else, they will be the first teams to report to spring training. Then, the other teams will report a couple of days later. 

So, when do pitchers and catchers report? When does spring training and Opening Day happen? Let's dive in and find out. 

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When Do Pitchers and Catchers Report? 

Pitchers and catchers will report on different days for different teams, but the Dodgers will be the first on Friday, February 9. Then, the Padres' pitchers and catchers will hold their first workout two days later on Sunday, February 11. Both teams will head to Arizona for the Cactus League. 

Yoshinobu is here. #DodgersST pic.twitter.com/laD2jz8tjV

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 8, 2024

The rest of the 28 teams will either report on Wednesday, February 14, or Thursday, February 15. 18 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies, will report on that Wednesday. The other 10 teams will hold their first workout on that Thursday. Some key teams include the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, and Toronto Blue Jays. 

Full-squad workouts will then occur five days later from when pitchers and catchers first report. So, the Dodgers' full first workout will be February 14, while the Yankees' first squad workout will be February 20. 

When Does Spring Training Start?

Spring training is broken up into two different leagues: the Cactus League held in Arizona, and the Grapefruit League held in Florida. The first spring training game will take place on February 22 between the Dodgers and the Padres. 

Four more spring training games will be played on February 23 (Padres vs. Dodgers, White Sox vs. Cubs, Royals vs. Rangers, and Diamondbacks vs. Rockies) before everyone plays on February 24. By February 24, every team will have played at least one spring training game. 

Both the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues will last until March 26, with nine matchups set for the final day. After that, most teams will set out for their season opener only a few days later. 

When is Opening Day? 

The first game of the regular season will begin on March 20 between the Dodgers and Padres in Seoul, South Korea. The two teams will start a two-game series overseas that counts toward their regular season record. Both teams will then head back to spring training for three more exhibition matchups. 

49 days until Opening Day pic.twitter.com/cuX772ZqOI

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) February 8, 2024

With the Dodgers and Padres playing in South Korea to open the season, the schedule will look slightly different for the MLB than in years prior. But Opening Day is officially set for Thursday, March 28, with all 30 teams in action. 

We have some exciting matchups for Opening Day, which includes the Braves against the Phillies, the Blue Jays against the Rays, the Yankees against the Astros, and the defending champion Rangers at home against the Cubs. The regular season will officially end on September 29. 

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