How Many Games Are Played In Major League Baseball?
Wondering how many games are played in Major League Baseball? Here’s a look at the regular season schedule.
Introduction
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization, and the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams play in the National League (NL) and American League (AL), with 15 teams in each league. The NL originally consisted of eight teams, while the AL had nine teams. Both leagues expanded to 10 teams in 1961, then each further expanded to 12 teams in 1969.
The regular season
The regular season consists of 162 games for each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams. These games are typically played over a period of six months, from April to October.
Spring training
Spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to audition for roster and position spots, and gives established players practice time prior to competitive play. An important goal of spring training is to avoid injuries to the regular players while they are preparing for the upcoming season.
The postseason
Including the postseason, each team in Major League Baseball plays 162 games.
The regular season is played over six months, from April to October. Each team plays 162 games during the regular season, which is divided into a first half and a second half.
The first half of the season starts in late March or early April and ends on July 31. The All-Star Game is held in July, during the break between the first and second halves of the season.
The second half begins on August 1 and ends on October 3. After that, four teams from each league advance to the postseason playoffs.
Conclusion
With 162 games in a Major League Baseball regular season, that’s a lot of baseball! But, how did we get to this number of games? Let’s take a look.
In 1892, the National League (NL) was founded with 8 teams and played a 154 game schedule. The American Association (AA) was also founded that year and had 8 teams playing a 140 game schedule. In 1900, the NL increased their schedule to 155 games and the AA folded. The NL then increased their schedules to 158 games in 1904 and to 160 games in 1906.
In 1913, the NL reduced their schedule back to 154 games while the new Federal League (FL) played a 140 game schedule. After the FL fold in 1915, both the NL and American League (AL) went back to playing 158 games per season through 1918.
In 1919, both leagues increased their schedules back to 160 games where it has remained ever since with one exception. In 1972, due to a players’ strike, only 824 of the planned 2028 games were played resulting in a 106-game season for each team.
