MLB Schedule Changes: How will the new format impact the Yankees season in 2023?

The MLB has announced that starting in 2023, teams' schedules will be unlike anything they have ever seen. The schedule, released last August, reduces the number of intradivisional games that teams are set to play.

The number of games that MLB teams will play against teams in the same division is set to decrease drastically. In 2022, the teams played 76 of their 162 games against the teams in their division. It will decrease to 52 in 2023.

Conversely, the schedule dictates that all teams play with each other at least once a season. The number of games between the National League and American League teams is also set to increase from 20 per team to 46 in 2023.

"Interleague games in Yankee Stadium in 2023 (continued)" - @ Dom

The new system has implications for a number of teams. The New York Yankees were the second-best team in the AL last year. However, the Yankees were particularly strong against other teams in their division, the AL East.

Against AL East opponents, the Yankees had a record of 47-29, with 106 home runs and 351 total runs. It was certainly clear that they were the strongest team in their division.

Struggling teams like the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, who the Yankees saw 19 times each last season, will become less frequent in the lineup. The Yankees, like all other teams, will be exposed to a more varied skill set across both leagues of the MLB.

"MLB has announced the 2023 schedule, which will feature fewer divisional games and lots more interleague games. Mets will open the season against the Marlins in Miami on March 30. Yankees will host the Giants at home on the same date. Full Mets schedule right here." - @ Deesha

The Yankees will begin their 2023 season at home against the San Francisco Giants on March 30th. Due to the new schedule format, it will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2019.

The new MLB schedule will be a good test for the New York Yankees

The new schedule aims to break up mediocre teams that make the postseason by virtue of an uncompetitive division. Although the Yankees are not a mediocre team, they will be exposed to a wider array of skills as their schedule will see more teams at a lower frequency. Perhaps the new schedule will separate the pretenders from MLB's true powerhouses.