On March 28th the USA celebrates Opening Day in the MLB. The best baseball league in the world starts the new season with a betting scandal and a clear favorite. There is also a German there.
What’s up?
The new Major League Baseball (MLB) season begins on Thursday, March 28th with the traditional Opening Day. Each of the 30 teams plays 162 games in the regular season, followed by the playoffs. The final series between the champions of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) is called the World Series. The first games have already been played: title contenders Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres played two games in Seoul/South Korea last week (5:2/11:15).
MLB – The stars in focus: Who should you watch out for?
On Shohei Ohtani (29). The Japanese, an outstanding pitcher and batter, moved from the Los Angeles Angels to the Dodgers, where he signed a ten-year, $700 million contract. This season he can only be used as a batsman due to an arm injury. In addition, his friend, helper and translator was just fired by the Dodgers. He had accumulated $4.5 million in gambling debts, the money was transferred from Ohtani’s account. The baseball star denied any connection to the betting scandal on Monday. He was “shocked” when the allegations against his interpreter came to light. He stole from him and “told lies”. Ohtani also reiterated that he had never bet on sports, let alone baseball.
Who is the favorite to win the MLB title?
Number one among bookmakers is the Dodgers. They not only brought in Ohtani, but also another pitcher from the Japanese league in his compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto: The 25-year-old received a twelve-year contract worth $325 million – but his debut against the Padres was huge problems. After just one inning and five runs allowed, he was already subbed out.
Nevertheless, Yamamoto is part of the Dodgers’ star ensemble around Ohtani, outfielder Mookie Betts and first baseman Freddie Freeman. This trio is among the bookmakers’ top 4 favorites for the MVP award in the National League. In total, the Dodgers invested $1.1 billion in new contracts, the other 29 clubs combined $1.6 billion.
Who is the defending champion?
The Texas Rangers from Arlington near Dallas. After their surprising triumph last year, they are once again among the contenders for winning the World Series – but behind the Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees.
Do Germans play in the MLB?
Berlin’s Max Kepler is entering his tenth season with the Minnesota Twins. The Minneapolis franchise pulled its option on the 31-year-old outfielder in November. His salary is ten million dollars.
Who are the top earners?
According to his contract, Ohtani’s salary is $70 million per year – although he will only be paid around $2 million in each of the ten years for which he signed with the Dodgers. The rest ($680 million) is “deferred money”, meaning it will only be paid out after the end of his career – a common practice so that the clubs do not currently go (too) far over the salary cap (237 million in 2024). Behind Ohtani are pitchers Justin Verlander (Houston Astros), Max Scherzer (Texas Rangers/annual salary of $43.333 million each), outfielder Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) and pitcher Jacob de Grom (Rangers/40.0 each).
And what does the average person earn?
The average salary for an MLB player, including bonuses, was $4.525 million last year. The minimum salary for the new season is $740,000.
Which franchise will pay the most in the 2024 season?
The New York Mets have the biggest expense – paying their players a projected $297.9 million in 2024. They are followed by the Yankees (290.8) and the Astros (237.3) and Philadelphia Phillies (237.1). The owners of the Oakland A’s, who want to move to Las Vegas in four years, are the stingiest at $45.5 million.
Broadcast on TV and stream: Can the MLB be seen in Germany?
MLB games are shown by various providers, including Sport1+ (belongs to Sports1). Streaming services like Amazon Prime Video or DAZN offer packages in which the league broadcaster MLB.TV is included. Anyone who subscribes directly to MLB.TV completes, has access to all games of all teams – including playoffs.