In just about 72 hours, the San Francisco Giants will kick off the 2023 season against the New York Yankees. This is the best time of year to be a baseball fan* because everything is perfect, shiny, and new. There are so many possibilities — nothing’s set in stone*, and the team can wind up being whichever version you’ve predicted them to be.
But that first month of the season looks tough. At the Yankees, at the White Sox — who got better by simply subtracting Tony LaRussa — home against the Royals and Dodgers, at Detroit and Miami, then an eight-game homestand versus the Mets and Cardinals before ending April with a two-game series against the Padres in Mexico City.