- 10 teams in 2 divisions of 5
- American Division: Angels, Astros, Orioles, Mariners, Royals
- National Division: Cubs, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Rockies
- 13 games per team (65 total games)
- Each team plays divisional opponents twice (4 opponents × 2 = 8 games)
- Each team plays inter-division opponents once (5 opponents × 1 = 5 games)
- Opening Day: Saturday, April 25, 2026
- Regular Season End: Sunday, May 31, 2026
- Duration: 37 calendar days (~5.3 weeks)
- Makeup Week: June 1–5, 2026 (reserved for rainouts)
| Date | Day | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| May 10 | Sunday | Mother's Day |
| May 23 | Saturday | Memorial Day Weekend |
| May 24 | Sunday | Memorial Day Weekend |
| May 25 | Monday | Memorial Day* |
*Memorial Day is blacked out from the initial schedule but remains available as a Sunday-style makeup day (5:00 PM games) if needed.
3 fields available: Moscariello Ballpark, Symonds Field, Washington Park
Some fields will have reserved dates/times due to high school baseball (Freshman, JV, Varsity) that will reduce weekday capacity. These reservations are not yet finalized and are not factored into the numbers below.
| Day Type | Time Slots | Games per Slot | Max Games/Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays (Mon–Fri) | 5:45 PM | 2 | 2 |
| Saturdays | 12:30 PM, 2:45 PM, 5:00 PM | 2 per slot | 5* |
| Sundays & Holidays | 5:00 PM | 2 | 2 |
- Max 2 games per timeslot across all fields (umpire availability constraint). This means 1 of the 3 fields sits idle each timeslot.
- *Saturday maximum is 5, not 6, because with 10 teams and a 1-game-per-day-per-team rule, only 10 of the 12 available team-slots can be used (5 games × 2 teams each).
- No team plays more than 1 game per day
- No team plays 3 days in a row
- No team plays more than 3 games in a given week
- Avoid a team playing 3 games in any 4-day window
- Avoid rematches within ~2 weeks of the first meeting
- Balance Sunday games roughly evenly across teams
- Balance pace of play — keep all teams within a similar number of games played at any point in the season (no team far ahead or behind)
- Balance home/away assignments across teams
| Day Type | Count | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 24 | Mon–Fri across 5 weeks (excludes Memorial Day) |
| Saturdays | 5 | Apr 25; May 2, 9, 16, 30 |
| Sundays | 4 | Apr 26; May 3, 17, 31 |
| Total | 33 |
| Day Type | Playing Days | Games/Day | Total Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 24 | 2 | 48 |
| Saturdays | 5 | 5 | 25 |
| Sundays | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Total | 81 |
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total games needed | 65 |
| Total game capacity (before field reservations) | 81 |
| Surplus slots | 16 |
| Utilization | 80% |
| Max games/team possible (3/week × 6 weeks) | 18 |
| Games needed per team | 13 |
With 65 games over ~5 weeks, teams will average 2.5 games per week. The 3-game weekly cap provides enough headroom to shift games between weeks as needed.
High school baseball reservations will reduce weekday capacity. Each reserved field-timeslot removes 1 potential game from a weekday. Estimated impact:
| Reservations Lost | Adjusted Capacity | Surplus |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 81 | 16 |
| 5 | 76 | 11 |
| 10 | 71 | 6 |
| 15 | 66 | 1 |
Up to ~14 weekday field reservations can be absorbed before the schedule becomes infeasible. Beyond that, Memorial Day (May 25) can be activated as a makeup day to add 2 more slots.
The schedule is feasible. 65 games fit comfortably into the available 81 slots (80% utilization) with a 16-slot surplus to absorb field reservations and leave open slots for rainout makeups. The constraint rules (max 3 games/week, no 3 consecutive days) are well within the capacity of a 5-week season for 13 games per team.
Key risks to monitor:
- High school field reservations: If more than ~14 weekday slots are lost, the schedule tightens significantly.
- Extended rain stretches: The June 1–5 makeup week provides a safety valve, and Memorial Day can be activated if needed.
- Umpire availability: The 2-games-per-timeslot cap limits midweek and Sunday capacity. A 3rd crew would not help on Saturdays (already capped at 5 games by the 10-team / 1-game-per-day limit) but could add a 3rd Sunday game or midweek game on fields not reserved for varsity practice.