It’s been 25 years since a World Series winner repeated as champion, 50 years since Carlton Fisk ended one of MLB’s greatest games and most important telecasts, 75 years since baseball introduced the first bullpen car and the rule to mandate the home team bats second and 100 years since Pittsburgh beat Washington through the worst weather conditions of a World Series Game 7: rain, mist, fog and a field described by the Washington Post as a “swampy bog.”
Happy new year, baseball fans. No sport is as informed by its past like baseball. While the Los Angeles Dodgers look fully capable of going back-to-back, the odds say you’re still better off taking the field rather than the Dodgers.
The biggest joys of a baseball season are always found in the surprises. But until then, to get you ready for 2025 here is what we know is coming. Be they milestones, schedule highlights, comebacks or trends to watch, here are 25 for ’25:
1. The return of Shohei Ohtani to the mound
You didn’t forget, did you? Before he blew out his elbow, Ohtani was one of the best pitchers in baseball. From 2021–23 he was 24–16 with a 2.84 ERA and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings. In that span he ranked second in ERA+, third in ERA, third in strikeout rate and fifth in winning percentage (for a Los Angeles Angels team without a winning record). The Dodgers will slow-play his return, especially since surgery to repair his non-throwing shoulder set back his rehab timeline. You might not see Ohtani on the mound until late April or May and he probably will make only about 20 starts in Los Angeles’s six-man rotation. But imagine if the Dodgers get to October with a rotation of Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow. Good luck, world.
2. The challenge system for balls and strikes
A sneak peek at the future of baseball is here. Every team (but not every ballpark) will get a trial run in spring training with the major league version of the system that has been used in the minors. The pitcher, catcher and batter each can challenge the pitch call by an umpire. Each team gets two challenges per game. (Challenges are retained if the appeal is successful.) Quickly, a video on the scoreboard shows whether the path of the pitch entered the strike zone, similar to line calls in tennis. The speed, accuracy and fan engagement should lead to calls to implement the system in the regular season this year. That’s not happening. But after proper review by MLB and the players, it should be in place for 2026.
3. The Decision, Roki Sasaki version
It’s coming between Jan. 15 and Jan. 23. Sasaki is not a finished product, and he will be under an innings limit in 2025, but the 23-year-old righthander with sick fastball movement and a nasty split has the ceiling of being one of the best pitchers on the planet. And he could be had for an international signing bonus no greater than $7.5 million and pitch this year in the majors at a minimum salary. Twenty teams sent interest to his agent, Joel Wolfe, which begs the question: why are 10 teams not even trying? Sasaki will soon narrow the field down in Round 2 and may visit the cities of teams that make the final cut. With careful handling, Sasaki has the stuff to be an instant sensation.
4. The first full season of Paul Skenes
The way Skenes finished the season (four earned runs and eight walks in his final seven starts) validated how well the Pittsburgh Pirates guided him through his rookie year. He averaged only four innings per start in his seven minor league outings, then pitched with at least five days of rest in all his major league starts. Will they pitch him on four days occasionally in 2025? Will they let him throw 180–190 innings this year, as he should have no problem reaching? His command, more so than his velocity, is what sets him apart. He could dominate MLB in 2025, starting with Opening Day, March 27 against the Marlins in Miami.
5. The Baseball Hall of Fame vote
Will Ichiro Suzuki be a unanimous selection? Will fellow first-ballot candidate CC Sabathia join him at what would be a huge induction ceremony in July? Will Billy Wagner, who fell five votes short last year, make it in his final try on the writers’ ballot? Will Carlos Beltrán (up 10.6% last year) continue to gain momentum after getting dinged for his role in the 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal? How much support is there for first-time candidates Dustin Pedroia and Félix Hernández? The answers will come Jan. 21.
6. Juan Soto returns to the Bronx
Circle May 16–18. This should be fun. Maybe Plan B for the New York Yankees turns out better than Plan A, which was to re-sign Soto. (Mets owner Steve Cohen was not going to be outbid.) That requires Max Fried and Devin Williams to stay healthy and Paul Goldschmidt to bounce back at age 37 from the worst season of his career. One thing is for sure: Soto is going to hit. Always has, always will. He has the highest floor of any hitter in baseball.
7. Rivalry weekend
In a schedule change, MLB increased the key interleague rivalry games (such as Mets-Yankees) from four to six. Eleven of the 15 series the weekend of May 16–18 are matchups between such key interleague rivals.
8. Major league baseball in minor league ballparks
The Athletics (no city affiliation; just the team nickname) are playing in West Sacramento and the Tampa Bay Rays are playing at the Yankees’ spring training site, George M. Steinbrenner Field. Both venues will be retrofitted to major league standards (lighting, clubhouses, training facilities, etc.) but it’s not a good look, especially given weather challenges (summer heat in West Sacramento, heat and rain in Tampa).
9. The return of Mike Trout
He is 33 years old and has not played more than 140 games in nine years. Over the past four years, injuries have kept him out of 59% of the Angels’ games. But don’t forget that in those four years Trout slugged .575 with a .951 OPS. There is plenty left in the tank, though in a different form than the classic version of Trout. He is a pull-side slugger who should hit 40–50 home runs—if he stays healthy.
10. 2,000 hits for Manny Machado
The San Diego Padres third baseman is 100 hits short of 2,000. He would become only the 55th player to reach 2,000 hits by age 32. Of the previous 10 players this century to get there at that age, five made it to 3,000 (Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Adrián Beltré, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter) and five did not (Robinson Canó, Edgar Rentería, Iván Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Roberto Alomar).
11. 1,000 RBIs for Bryce Harper
With 24 more RBIs, Harper will become only the fourth player with 1,000 RBIs, 1,000 walks and 100 stolen bases by age 32. The others are Mickey Mantle, Carl Yastrzemski and Barry Bonds.
12. 1,000 RBIs for Trout
Trout needs 46 RBIs for a grand, so why not get it in the same year as Harper, his fellow 2012 Rookie of the Year? Through 2019, Trout led Harper in WAR, 72.5 to 32.2. Since then, Harper leads Trout, 18.8 to 13.8.
13. The MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol
The Atlanta Braves play the Cincinnati Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 2. Lefthanded pull hitters will take aim at Turn 1. Righthanded pull hitters will try to go deep into Turn 2. Very cool. The idea of Elly De La Cruz stealing bags at the Speedway is perfect.
14. 4,000 total bases for Freddie Freeman
He needs only 134. How huge is that number? Freeman will become only the 10th first baseman with 4,000 total bases and 1,000 walks. Of the first nine to reach those thresholds, all are in the Hall of Fame except Albert Pujols, who is not yet eligible, and Rafael Palmeiro, whose candidacy was sunk by PED taint.
15. The Tokyo Series: Dodgers vs. Cubs
Los Angeles, featuring Ohtani (who is not expected to pitch in the series) and Yamamoto, take on Chicago, featuring Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki, March 18 and 19 at the Tokyo Dome to kick off the 2025 MLB season. How much does Japan love baseball? Game 2 of the 2024 World Series, with Yamamoto as the starting pitcher, drew a bigger audience in the morning in Japan (15.9 million viewers) than in prime time in the U.S. (13.8 million). The five-game World Series averaged a bigger audience in Japan (12.1 million viewers per game) than did the five-game 2024 NBA Finals in the U.S. (11.3 million per game).
16. The twilight of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer
Don’t count out Verlander, who turns 42 next month, and Scherzer, 40. They may not be front-of-the-rotation workhorses any longer, but they are fierce competitors who would be an asset to any contender. Verlander and Scherzer rank 10th and 11th, respectively, on the all-time strikeouts list. Next up for Verlander: Walter Johnson, 93 strikeouts away.
17. The comebacks of Jacob deGrom and Clayton Kershaw
Both pitchers are 36. They have five Cy Young Awards between them, but also only 10 starts last year. deGrom hasn’t thrown 100 innings since 2019. He should begin the year in the Texas Rangers’ rotation. Kershaw is not expected back from toe and knee surgeries until midseason.
18. 50 years of free agency
When arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled Dec. 23, 1975, in favor of pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally, he effectively ended baseball’s reserve clause. Owners appealed, and lost, forcing them to bargain with the players association on a system of free agency. Maverick A’s owner Charlie Finley wanted all players to be free agents every year, thus flooding the market and keeping prices down. Union chief Marvin Miller was too smart for that. And besides, other owners didn’t listen to Finley. The two sides came up with a threshold to qualify for free agency that exists to this day: six years of service time. The free-agent class next season is due to include Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, Bo Bichette and Devin Williams.
19. 450 home runs for Giancarlo Stanton
Sitting on 429 homers, Stanton needs 21 for 450 and another three after that to pass Carl Yastrzemski into 40th place on the all-time list. His path to 500 homers and the Hall of Fame are coming into focus.
20. 2,000 strikeouts for Stanton
With just 37 more punchouts, Stanton will become only the eighth player with 2,000 strikeouts. Goldschmidt, his new Yankees teammate, is not far behind; he is 121 strikeouts away from Club 2K.
21. The next wave of young pitchers
Technology has pushed pitching development so far ahead of hitting development. That trend continues. The next generation of plug-and-play strikeout pitchers who will impact 2025 include Jackson Jobe of the Detroit Tigers, Andrew Painter of the Philadelphia Phillies, Bubba Chandler of the Pirates, Caden Dana of the Angels and Kumar Rocker of the Rangers.
22. National League dominance
Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly wasn’t wrong when he talked about the path the Yankees had to the World Series last year. It was easier than getting through the NL, and that doesn’t change in 2025. Last year seven NL teams won 89 games. Only three AL teams did so. Of the 15 free agents who signed for $75 million or more the past two offseasons, 12 of them signed with NL teams.
23. The 50-year drought?
This is the 50th season of MLB baseball in Seattle, including one by the Seattle Pilots. The city has never hosted a World Series, the longest such drought by any metropolitan area. Among those playing the waiting game longest, Seattle is followed by Pittsburgh (45 years), Milwaukee (42), Baltimore (41) and Cincinnati (34).
24. The Mets retire David Wright’s No. 5
It’s the 10th number worn by a Mets player to be retired by the club, the first such single digit. It’s the eighth No. 5 to be retired and the first since 2007, when the Astros retired Jeff Bagwell’s No. 5.
25. A fantastic finish?
The regular season ends Sept. 28. Eight of the 15 matchups are among division rivals, including Orioles-Yankees, Diamondbacks-Padres and Cardinals-Cubs.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Top 25 MLB Story Lines, Milestones and Trends to Watch in 2025.