Major League Baseball (MLB) is an American professional baseball organization and the oldest of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams play in Major League Baseball: 15 teams in the National League (NL) and 15 in the American League (AL). The NL and AL were formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues cooperated but remained legally separate entities until 2000 when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
Baseball's first openly all-professional team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who were founded in 1869. Before that, some teams had secretly paid some players. The first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 is known as the dead-ball era, during which players would rarely hit home runs. Professional baseball in the United States survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression and World War II. Shortly after the war, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier.
The 1950s and 1960s were a time of club expansion and relocation for the AL and NL. New stadiums and artificial turf surfaces began to change the game in the 1970s and 1980s. Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among MLB players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, including at least one player from each team.
Today, MLB is composed of 30 teams: 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. Teams play 162 games each season and five teams in each league advance to a four-round postseason tournament that culminates in the World Series, a best-of-seven championship series between the two league champions that dates to 1903. Baseball games are broadcast on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America and in several other countries. MLB has the highest total season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 69.6 million spectators in 2018.
MLB also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises lower-tier teams affiliated with the major league clubs. MLB and the World Baseball Softball Confederation jointly manage the international World Baseball Classic tournament.
MLB is the second-wealthiest professional sport league by revenue after the National Football League (NFL).
Teams and regional broadcasters[]
American League[]
| Division | Team | Location | Stadium | Flagship TV station | Flagship radio station |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Baltimore Orioles | Baltimore, Maryland | Oriole Park at Camden Yards | MASN, MASN 2 | WBAL-AM, WBAL-FM, WIYY-FM |
| Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | NESN | WEEI-FM (English) WAMG (Spanish) | |
| New York Yankees | New York City, New York | Yankee Stadium | YES Network, Amazon Prime Video | WFAN-AM/WFAN-FM (English) WADO (Spanish) | |
| Tampa Bay Rays | St. Petersburg, Florida | Tropicana Field | FanDuel Sports Network Sun (English) FanDuel Sports Network Sun en Español (SAP) (Spanish) |
WDAE, WHNZ (English) WGES (Spanish) | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Rogers Centre | Sportsnet/Sportsnet One (English) TVA Sports (French) |
CJCL (English) CHMP-FM (French) | |
| Central | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Guaranteed Rate Field | Chicago Sports Network | WMVP (English) WRTO (Spanish) |
| Cleveland Guardians | Cleveland, Ohio | Progressive Field | MLB Local Media | WTAM/WMMS (English) WARF (Spanish) | |
| Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Comerica Park | FanDuel Sports Network Detroit | WXYT-FM | |
| Kansas City Royals | Kansas City, Missouri | Kauffman Stadium | FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City | KFNZ-AM, KFNZ-FM | |
| Minnesota Twins | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Target Field | MLB Local Media | WCCO-AM, KMNB-FM (English) KMNV/KMNQ (Spanish) | |
| West | Athletics | West Sacramento, California | Sutter Health Park | NBC Sports California | KNEW, iHeartRadio (A's Cast) (English) KIQI (Spanish) |
| Houston Astros | Houston, Texas | Minute Maid Park | Space City Home Network | KBME/KTRH (English) KLAT (Spanish) | |
| Los Angeles Angels | Anaheim, California | Angel Stadium | FanDuel Sports Network West, FanDuel Sports Network SoCal | KLAA/KSPN (English) KWKW (Spanish) | |
| Seattle Mariners | Seattle, Washington | T-Mobile Park | Root Sports Northwest | KIRO-AM, KTTH (English) KBRO (Spanish) | |
| Texas Rangers | Arlington, Texas | Globe Life Field | TBA | KRLD-FM, KRLD-AM (English) KFLC (Spanish) |
National League[]
| Division | Team | Location | Stadium | Flagship TV station | Flagship radio station |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Atlanta Braves | Atlanta, Georgia | Truist Park | FanDuel Sports Network South/FanDuel Sports Network Southeast | WCNN/WNNX |
| Miami Marlins | Miami, Florida | LoanDepot Park | FanDuel Sports Network Florida (English) FanDuel Sports Network Florida en Español (SAP) (Spanish) |
WINZ/WZTU-HD2 (English) WAQI (Spanish) | |
| New York Mets | New York City, New York | Citi Field | SNY, WPIX-TV | WHSQ (English) WINS-FM HD2 (Spanish) | |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Citizens Bank Park | NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus, WCAU-TV | WIP-FM, WPHT (English) WTTM (Spanish) | |
| Washington Nationals | Washington, D.C. | Nationals Park | MASN, MASN 2 | WJFK-FM, WFED | |
| Central | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | Marquee Sports Network | WSCR (English) WRTO (Spanish) |
| Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Great American Ball Park | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | WLW | |
| Milwaukee Brewers | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | American Family Field | MLB Local Media (English) WYTU-LD (Spanish) |
WTMJ-AM, WKTI | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | PNC Park | SportsNet Pittsburgh | KDKA-FM/KDKA-AM | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Busch Stadium | FanDuel Sports Network Midwest | KMOX-AM (English) WIJR (Spanish) | |
| West | Arizona Diamondbacks | Phoenix, Arizona | Chase Field | MLB Local Media (English) KPHE-LD (Spanish) |
KTAR, KMVP-FM (English) KBMB (Spanish) |
| Colorado Rockies | Denver, Colorado | Coors Field | MLB Local Media | KOA-AM, KHOW (English) KNRV (Spanish) | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Los Angeles, California | Dodger Stadium | Spectrum SportsNet LA (English) Spectrum SportsNet LA (SAP) (Spanish) |
KLAC (English) KTNQ (Spanish) | |
| San Diego Padres | San Diego, California | Petco Park | MLB Local Media | KWFN (English) XEMO (Spanish) | |
| San Francisco Giants | San Francisco, California | Oracle Park | NBC Sports Bay Area, KNTV | KNBR-AM/KNBR-FM (English) KXZM (Spanish) |
National broadcasters[]
Regular season[]
| Program | Play-by-play announcer(s) | Analyst(s) | Reporter(s) | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday Night Baseball | Karl Ravech (primary), Jon Sciambi (select games) | David Cone, Eduardo Pérez | Buster Olney (primary), Tim Kurkjian (select games) | ESPN ABC (select games) ESPN2 (select games) |
| Michael Kay, Kevin Connors (select games) | Alex Rodriguez | N/A | ESPN2 (Megacast of select games) | |
| Jon Sciambi, Roxy Bernstein, Dave O'Brien, Sean Kelley, Kevin Brown, David Jageler | N/A | ESPN Radio | ||
| Saturday Game of the Week | N/A | |||
| MLB on TBS Sunday | Brian Anderson, Bob Costas, Don Orsillo, Matt Winer | Ron Darling, Jeff Francoeur | Lauren Shehadi, Matt Winer, Heidi Watney, Hazel Mae, Allie LaForce, Jahmai Webster, Meredith Marakovits, Kelly Crull | TBS |
| MLB Network Showcase | Bob Costas, Matt Vasgersian, Stephen Nelson, Rich Waltz, Brian Kenny, Adnan Virk | Tom Verducci, Dan Plesac, Hunter Pence | Tom Verducci, Jon Morosi, Amy Gutierrez, Alanna Rizzo | MLB Network |
| MLB on Fox | Joe Davis, Adam Amin, Kevin Burkhardt, Aaron Goldsmith, Len Kasper, Don Orsillo, Brandon Gaudin, Alex Faust, Kevin Kugler, Jeff Levering, Kenny Albert, Cory Provus | John Smoltz, A. J. Pierzynski, Eric Karros, Tom Verducci, Mark Sweeney, Dontrelle Willis | Ken Rosenthal, Tom Verducci, Tom Rinaldi | Fox FS1 |
| MLB Game of the Week Live on YouTube | Scott Braun | Yonder Alonso (primary), Carlos Peña (select games), Dan Plesac (select games), C. J. Nitkowski (select games) | Amy Gutierrez (primary), Brett Dolan (select games) | YouTube |
| Friday Night Baseball | Wayne Randazzo (Crew 1), TBA (Crew 2), Scott Braun (fill-in) | Chris Young and Hannah Keyser (Crew 1), Hunter Pence and TBA (Crew 2), Cliff Floyd (fill in for either Chris Young or Hunter Pence), Dan Plesac (fill in for Hunter Pence), Carlos Peña (fill in for Chris Young) | Brooke Fletcher (Crew 1), Heidi Watney (Crew 2), Tricia Whitaker (fill-in for Brooke Fletcher), Lauren Gardner | Apple TV+ |
| MLB Sunday Leadoff | TBA | One color commentator representing each team playing | Ahmed Fareed | Peacock NBC (first game only) |
All-Star Game and postseason[]
| Game | Play-by-play announcer(s) | Color commentator(s) | Reporter(s) | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major League Baseball All-Star Game | Joe Davis | John Smoltz | Ken Rosenthal, Tom Verducci, and Tom Rinaldi | Fox |
| Jon Sciambi, Roxy Bernstein, Dave O'Brien, Sean Kelley, Kevin Brown, David Jageler | Doug Glanville, Marly Rivera (fill-in), Tim Kurkjian (fill-in) | N/A | ESPN Radio | |
| Home Run Derby | N/A | |||
| National League Wild Card Series | Karl Ravech | David Cone and Eduardo Pérez | Buster Olney | ESPN ESPN2 ABC |
| Michael Kay | Alex Rodriguez | Alden Gonzalez | ||
| American League Wild Card Series | Jon Sciambi | Doug Glanville | Jesse Rogers | |
| Dave Flemming | Jessica Mendoza and Tim Kurkjian | Coley Harvey | ||
| National League Division Series | Joe Davis | John Smoltz | Ken Rosenthal | Fox FS1 |
| Adam Amin | A. J. Pierzynski | Tom Verducci | ||
| American League Division Series | Bob Costas | Ron Darling | Lauren Shehadi | TBS |
| Brian Anderson | Jeff Francoeur | Matt Winer | ||
| National League Championship Series | Joe Davis | John Smoltz | Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci | Fox FS1 |
| American League Championship Series | Brian Anderson | Ron Darling and Jeff Francoeur | Lauren Shehadi | TBS |
| World Series | Joe Buck | John Smoltz | Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci | Fox |
| MLB Postseason on ESPN Radio | Jon Sciambi (select NLDS and NLCS games and World Series from 2015 to present), Dave O'Brien (Wild Card series and select ALDS games), Karl Ravech (select NLDS games), Kevin Brown (Wild Card series), Roxy Bernstein (Wild Card series) | N/A | N/A | ESPN Radio |
International broadcasters[]
| Country | Partner |
|---|---|
| Africa | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | ESPN |
| Americas | |
| Hispanic America Caribbean |
ESPN |
| Argentina | Fox Sports |
| Brazil | ESPN |
| Canada | Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN, RDS |
| Colombia | Telecaribe, IVC |
| Dominican Republic | Teleantillas, Coral 39 |
| Mexico | Fox Sports, Imagen Televisión |
| Panama | TVMax |
| Puerto Rico | ESPN, Fox Sports, TBS, WAPA 2 Deportes |
| Venezuela | IVC, Televen, Venevisión, Bym Sport, SimpleTV |
| Asia | |
| Central Asia | TBD |
| Indian subcontinent | Star Sports |
| China | BesTV, Bilibili, Kuaishou |
| Japan | NHK, Fuji TV, J Sports, SPOTV NOW, Abema |
| Macau Malaysia Philippines Singapore South Korea Thailand Vietnam |
SPOTV |
| Taiwan | CTS, DAZN, EBC Foreign Movies, ELTA Sports, Videoland Sports |
| Europe | |
| Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Georgia Moldova Ukraine |
TBD |
| Austria Germany Liechtenstein Luxembourg Switzerland |
Sport1, DAZN |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia North Macedonia Montenegro Serbia Slovenia |
Arena Sport |
| Czech Republic | O2 TV Sport |
| Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden |
Viaplay |
| Estonia Latvia Lithuania |
Go3 Sport |
| France | beIN Sports |
| Georgia | TBD |
| Hungary | SportTV |
| Ireland | TNT Sports |
| Italy San Marino |
Sky Sport |
| Netherlands | ESPN |
| Spain Andorra |
Movistar Deportes |
| United Kingdom | TNT Sports, BBC |
| Middle East and North Africa | |
| Middle East and North Africa | beIN Sports |
| Oceania | |
| Australia New Zealand Pacific Islands Papua New Guinea |
ESPN |