It’s officially 2026. And when the calendar flips to a new year, that means Spring Training isn’t far away. With pitchers and catchers reporting in just a few weeks, excitement is building for a new baseball season.
With each new season comes a number of major events and milestones to look forward to, and 2026 is no exception. Here’s a look at eight things we’re really looking forward to this year:
The World Baseball Classic is back
For the first time since 2023, the World Baseball Classic will thrill fans all over the world as it returns for its sixth edition in ’26. There will be 20 teams in the WBC for the second consecutive tournament, with four pools of five teams each. And there are some stacked rosters in this year’s competition.
The United States’ roster features superstar sluggers like Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, as well as a phenomenal starting rotation that will include each 2025 Cy Young Award winner -- Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
Team Japan, the defending WBC champion, also boasts some tremendous talent, headlined by two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Other notable players slated to take the field for the Japanese squad include pitchers Yusei Kikuchi of the Angels and the Padres’ Yuki Matsui.
So far, 29 Major League players have been confirmed to be playing in this year’s WBC tournament -- that includes names such as Francisco Lindor (Puerto Rico), Salvador Perez (Venezuela), Vinnie Pasquantino (Italy) and Jarren Duran (Mexico).
The 2026 WBC is scheduled to open on March 4, with the semifinals taking place from March 15-16, and the championship game on March 17 (both semifinal games and the championship game will take place at loanDepot Park in Miami). Judging by the way the last WBC ended, we could be in for a dramatic tournament.
A full season of two-way Shohei
When Ohtani debuted for the Dodgers after signing with them on a then-record 10-year, $700 million contract, he was only able to contribute at the plate as he continued his recovery from a 2023 elbow surgery. Not that his offensive production was anything other than spectacular -- he became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in the same season.
The Dodgers won the World Series in Ohtani’s first year with the club, and then became the first team to repeat as World Series champions in a quarter century last year. Ohtani made his Dodgers pitching debut on June 16, and overall, he posted a 2.87 ERA over 14 starts on the season. At the plate, he slugged .622 with a career-best 55 homers to win his fourth career MVP Award (second with the Dodgers).
In 2026, it appears that all systems are go for the two-way sensation, meaning we’ll get to see Ohtani both on the mound and at the plate in a Dodgers uniform for a full season for the first time. Remember: just when we think we’ve seen it all from Ohtani, who very well might be the greatest baseball talent to ever live, he always seems to do something new to leave us awestruck.
30 years in the making: the All-Star Game returns to Philly
For the first time in three decades, the MLB All-Star Game will be played in Philadelphia. Citizens Bank Park has become well-known for its electric atmosphere and the big home-field advantage it has bestowed upon the Phillies, and this July, it will be the center of the baseball world during the 96th Midsummer Classic.
The last time the City of Brotherly Love hosted the MLB All-Star Game was in 1996 at Veterans Stadium, the Phillies’ home ballpark from 1971-2003. That year, the National League blanked the American League, 6-0, thanks in large part to an RBI double and a monster home run from MVP Mike Piazza -- who grew up in nearby Phoenixville, Pa., about 25 miles outside Philadelphia.
Who will shine among the constellation of baseball’s greatest stars this summer? With the Home Run Derby taking place at a hitter’s venue like Citizens Bank Park, followed by the All-Star Game the following night, one thing is for certain: it will be an exciting week in Philly.
What baseball dreams are made of
Following a hiatus as a major expansion and refurbishment of facilities took place on the site of the movie “Field of Dreams,” starring Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones and Amy Madigan in 1989, MLB will once again have games in Dyersville, Iowa, in 2026.
The first two installments of MLB at Field of Dreams were a tremendous success, with the White Sox taking on the Yankees in 2021, and the Reds and Cubs meeting there in ’22.
Tim Anderson’s unforgettable walk-off homer to win the inaugural Field of Dreams game launched the event with an incredible spark five years ago, and this year, it will be the Phillies and Twins matching up amid the Iowa corn fields on Aug. 13. The game will be streamed live on Netflix.
Major milestones ahead
Several players are within striking distance of some major milestones in 2026. Three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge, as well as superstars Harper, Freddie Freeman and Manny Machado are all nearing the prestigious 400-home run club.
Judge, the most fearsome slugger in the game today, is just 32 homers shy of the mark. He’s hit 53 or more homers in three of the past four seasons, including an AL-record 62 in 2022. If he’s healthy for most of the 2026 campaign, he seems to be a lock to reach the 400-homer milestone this year.
Harper, meanwhile, is 37 homers away. While he’s been hampered by injuries for much of the past several years, a healthy season could mean 40 or more home runs for the two-time NL MVP. Freeman is 33 homers shy of 400, and Machado is 31 homers away.
The number 400 isn’t the only special number within reach for notable players in 2026. Schwarber and Eugenio Suárez are each closing in on 250 career homers. Ohtani is only 20 home runs shy of 300 for his magnificent career, and other players who could reach 300 career homers this year include Lindor, Pete Alonso, Mookie Betts, José Ramírez, George Springer and Matt Olson.
With 14 more homers, Ronald Acuña Jr. would join the 200-homer/200-steal club (he’s got 205 stolen bases entering 2026). And veteran closer Kenley Jansen, who recently signed with the Tigers, is 24 saves away from becoming the third pitcher in MLB history with 500 saves (also Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman).
The ABS Challenge System makes its regular-season debut
Following several years of experimentation in the Minor Leagues and in Spring Training, the Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) Challenge System will make its regular-season debut this year.
Players will now have the option of challenging specific pitch calls by the home plate umpire, with the result being tracked by HawkEye technology and transmitted almost instantaneously to the stadium videoboard and to viewers at home via broadcast by a 5G private network from T-Mobile’s Advanced Network Solutions.
Considered a middle ground between so-called “robot umps” that would call every ball and strike and the long-standing tradition of the natural human error that comes with human umps, the ABS Challenge System gives teams the opportunity to request a quick review of some of the most important ball-strike calls in a given game.
Youth is served in the manager’s chair
The 2026 season will bring with it a bevy of new managers, particularly of a younger demographic. A total of nine managers were hired across MLB this offseason: Kurt Suzuki (Angels), Walt Weiss (Braves), Tony Vitello (Giants), Blake Butera (Nationals), Craig Albernaz (Orioles), Craig Stammen (Padres), Skip Schumaker (Rangers), Warren Schaeffer (Rockies) and Derek Shelton (Twins).
Of those nine, six are first-time managers -- Suzuki, Vitello, Butera, Albernaz, Stammen and Schaeffer. The average age of that group is 41 years, with Butera being the youngest, at 33. And Vitello is the first MLB manager to be hired directly from the college ranks.
Each new manager will face his share of challenges in 2026, but it will be particularly intriguing to see how the “youngsters” fare in their first taste of managing at the Major League level (Schaeffer’s experience as interim manager for Colorado last season notwithstanding).
Will we see bounce-back performances from underperforming '25 teams?
Two of the clubs with new managers as referenced above are the Braves and Orioles, teams that underperformed based on expectations last season.
Atlanta entered the 2025 campaign having reached the postseason in seven consecutive years before missing the playoffs entirely last fall. And Baltimore, coming off two consecutive postseason appearances following a six-year drought, also missed playing in October despite high expectations entering the season.
Another club that could be added in this category? The Mets, owner Steve Cohen’s behemoth that missed postseason play after signing superstar Juan Soto to the largest contract in the history of sports. A connection between two of the three teams discussed here? Alonso, who rose to stardom with the Mets, has joined the Orioles as Baltimore seeks to rebound.
Will any or all of these teams be back with a vengeance in 2026? That remains to be seen, but it will surely be fascinating to watch.