GABRIEL ROMERO / CONTRIBUTOR

With the World Baseball Classic in the books, baseball’s attention now turns to the MLB 2026 regular season. The 2026 MLB season officially began on March 25, as the San Francisco  Giants  will  host  the New York Yankees in a stand-alone Opening Day matchup.

The Los Angeles Dodgers enter as back-to-back World Series champions, chasing history as they look to become the  first  team  to three-peat since the turn of the century. Many contending teams stayed in the hunt, with nine big name players signing free agent contracts worth $100 million or more.

The excitement of a new season isn’t limited to die-hard fans. As for students at USD, the start of the baseball season doubles as a social occasion. With the Padres coming off of another playoff season and having the second highest total home attendance in the 2025 season, Toreros enjoy attending games.

USD junior Xochitl Felix captured what it feels like to see friends and classmates at Padres games.

“I see how hype Padres games are, and I for sure want to go see a game either this semester or next,” Felix said. “I see people posting pictures and it looks so fun when I see students at games, and I know it would be a great way to get members from the clubs I am in to enjoy events together.”

The dugouts will also look a lot   different  in  2026, with nine teams opening the season with new managers, the most  in  one  season in the modern era since 1901. The Giants’ Tony Vitello made history as the first college coach to move directly to managing in the big leagues without any previous professional experience. Vitello came straight from the University of Tennessee.

This season, the games themselves will look very different    from  previous  seasons.  The   biggest  rule  change   of  2026 is the debut of the   Automated  Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System. Each  team   receives    two   opportunities per game to challenge a ball or strike call instantly, with the result of the review displayed on the video board  for   the  fans   in the stadium and     broadcast to viewers if there is a potential reversal.

As for the calendar, Rivalry Weekend returns May 15-17, featuring regional interleague matchups across the country. Come September, the Yankees will host the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

With other major seasons leagues concluding throughout the country or pushing toward playoffs, attention shifts to  America’s pastime.

The Padres will open their season March 26 at Petco Park against the Detroit Tigers. Photo courtesy of @padres/Instagram