Blue Jays: Important dates to know for the 2023 MLB season

As the 2023 season approaches, there are several dates for fans of the Toronto Blue Jays to circle on their respective calendars.

From former players making their return to the Rogers Centre to important rivalry games, here are some important dates to know for the 2023 MLB season.

Openers and early promos

The Blue Jays start their season on the road, and symbolic of the balanced schedules being introduced this season, will start at the home of a National League opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals, on March 30th, with the first pitch flying at 4:10pm.

After playing the first nine games on the road, in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Los Angeles respectively, the Jays will return home and play the Detroit Tigers in their home opener on Tuesday, April 11th. The fun doesn’t stop as the next day, the first 20,000 fans will get their hands on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Gold Glove bobblehead featuring the young star in his signature stretch at first base.

Rivalries renewed

After the trio of games against Detroit, the Rays come to town for the first divisional series of the season April 14th-16th.  On the road again, the bluebirds play their initial string of games in the Bronx with the New York Yankees from April 21-23.

Next, the club will return home for a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox, the first of which features a Jordan Romano-Danny Jansen victory handshake bobblehead. Teoscar Hernández will return to the Rogers Centre when the Seattle Mariners come to town for three contests April 28-30.

Following that homestand, the Jays take on the Red Sox for the first time in 2023, with a three-game series at Fenway Park from May 1-3. 

A sneaky-important early 10-game test will take place from May 12-21 when the Braves, Yankees, and Orioles will be welcomed into the Rogers Centre.

Hey big spenders!

The offseason was dominated by a pair of teams that threw money around like nobody’s business, The New York Mets, and the Texas Rangers. John Schneider’s crew will make the short trip to Citi Field to take on the former June 2-4, while they’ll be deep in the heart of Texas for a three-game set with the Rangers Jun 16-18.

They may have lost out on Carlos Correa, but the San Francisco Giants did add Mitch Haniger, Sean Manaea, Michael Conforto, and former Jay Ross Stripling and they’ll be in Toronto from June 27-29. 

ASG & other key dates

The All-Star break will run from July 10-13 with home run derby on July 10th, MLB draft July 7-11 and the game itself being on the 11th at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Next up will be an exciting pair of series at home against Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Gabriel Moreno and the Arizona Diamondbacks; and Manny Machado, and the free-spending San Diego Padres July 14-20.

Then, the Jays will make the annual pilgrimage to Seattle (July 21-23) for a four-gamer that always is among the more electric atmospheres of the season.

The four games in Baltimore from July 31st-August 3rd is important enough on its own merit, but considering it takes place during the trade deadline, it could see some new Blue Jays make their team debuts as well.

Stretch drive

A trio of games at Coors Field (Sept. 1-3) versus the Rockies should be a fun way to kick off September while four games hosting the Rangers (Sept. 11-14) will be the last non-divisional games of the season. Afterwards, it’ll be three with Boston at home from September 15-17, then three on the road in New York (Sept. 19-21) and Tampa Bay from the 22nd-24th.

The season will end at the Rogers Centre with three more games against the Yankees (Sept. 26-28) and the final series with the Rays will be played between September 29th and October 1st.  The MLB playoffs are scheduled to start on October 3 and the World Series would commence on October 28 and, if it goes the distance, game seven would be on November 4.