How many regular season games are played in MLB

Posted on by Jim Smarts

The 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) season is currently up and running right now. Teams across the league are working towards achieving their respective goals while planning for a potential World Series outing. Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals are some of the teams pushing for top honours this season.

Of course, the 2020 and ongoing 2021 MLB season has been marred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans were forced to stay away from live games while pre and post-season activities have undergone major changes.

So let’s take a small recap of the 2021 (Major League Baseball) MLB regular season schedule.

How many regular-season games are played in the MLB?

As of 2021, the Major League Baseball (MLB) season schedule generally consists of 162 games for each of the 30 teams in the American League (AL) and National League (NL). That target can be missed when rainouts prevent teams from playing all their games within the scheduled regular season. Those games are made up only when they affect playoff qualification or standing.

During the average MLB season, there are around 2,430 regular-season games played each year. On days when each MLB team is playing, there are 15 games per day. So, as a whole, the MLB organises 2,430 games per year (excluding post-season).

How different is the 2021 MLB regular season?

The 2021 postseason schedule is not yet official. While the playoffs were expanded from 10 to 16 teams for 2020, that agreement was only one year.

Last season did not begin until late July 2020. All teams played a 60-game schedule while adhering to MLB’s strict COVID rules.

This year, MLB rosters once again feature 26 players, after expanding in 2020. The roster size will increase to 28 players later during the season in September. There will not be a limit to how many pitchers can be on a team’s roster.

Teams across the league will also be allowed to have a “Taxi Squad” of up to five players on all road trips. This is so that they have reinforcements available in the event of injuries or COVID-related issues.

Each of the 30 organizations within the league is announcing plans regarding attendance as the season progresses. That also depends on evolving local policies and restrictions across America. Tune in to MLB.com for the latest on league COVID-19 protocols.