2018 Mets Schedule Released; What’s Noteworthy

Major League Baseball has released full schedules for the 2018 season. 

Before we get into the New York Mets specifically, it's interesting to note that for the first time since the late 60's, all 30 MLB teams will start the season on the same day. And, the opener will come in March.

March 29, 2018 is the scheduled opening day for every team. And, that's a Thursday.

It's a split from what we fans have been trained to expect for years, maybe decades. As far back as I can remember, there was always a Sunday night game on ESPN, and more recently there have also been a couple of games scheduled for that Sunday afternoon in early April or late-March. Then, on the Monday that followed, the remaining 20-some teams would play their first game of the year as well.

I've been told that before the Sunday-Night-season-opener-on-ESPN-tradition began, the Cincinnati Reds always played the first game of the season. It would come on a Monday afternoon and all other opening games would be played either later that day, or the next day.

For the Mets, they'll open at Citi Field on March 29th against the St Louis Cardinals. Again, that's a Thursday.

Another change this year is the schedule for the Mets-Yankees Subway Series. In recent years, the annual clash has been condensed to four-consecutive games, two played at Citi Field and two at Yankees Stadium. Next year, they'll meet at two separate times during the season, with each team hosting a full three-game series.

The Subway Series will unfold in Flushing in June (8th-10th), then the squads will meet again in the Bronx in July (22nd-24th). Both series are Friday-thru-Sunday.

Also noteworthy, the Mets will visit Fenway Park (Sept 14th-16th) for the first time since 2009. And, as most teams do, they finish with a flurry division games. In fact, in the Mets' final 23 games next season, the only series that won't be against an NL East foe is that aforementioned visit to Boston.