DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers will play their full 162-game regular season schedule in 2022 as part of the new labor agreement between players and owners, according to reports.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred canceled the first four series of the regular season, claiming those games would not be made up due to the ongoing lockout and delayed start to spring training. But a full schedule nonetheless ended up being part of Thursday’s agreement, multiple reports say.
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For the Tigers, that meant the following games were (briefly) wiped from the schedule:
- Four games at the Seattle Mariners from March 31-April 3.
- Three games at the Oakland Athletics from April 4-6.
- Three games against the Chicago White Sox from April 8-10, including Opening Day at Comerica Park on April 8.
- Three games against the Boston Red Sox from April 11-13.
Under the new agreement, MLB’s regular season is scheduled to begin April 7, which was an off day for the Tigers. That likely means Opening Day in Detroit will return to its original date: April 8 against the White Sox.
The games scheduled beyond April 8 will likely be played as planned.
As for making up the seven canceled Tigers games against the Mariners and Athletics, the league will have to get creative. The Tigers only make one trip each to Seattle and Oakland per season, so there’s no obvious built-in doubleheader dates.
It’s possible the Mariners and Athletics will have to play doubleheaders when they make their only trips to Detroit this season, with some matchups being “away” games for the Tigers despite being at Comerica Park.
The Tigers have a trip to Los Angeles to play the Angels from Sept. 5-7, with an off-day on Sept. 8. The Mariners also have Sept. 8 off, so that’s a possible option to play one makeup doubleheader.
All games played during doubleheaders will be nine innings long, unlike during the last two seasons, according to reports.