2026 MLB Season Thread

Welcome back to the greatest, most fun baseball community in the world! Last year was amazing entertainment. This year promises to be even better. Because we are officially in The Year of the 3 Here are some things to look forward to:

1. Tarik Skubal Goes For 3rd Straight Cy Young, and 3rd Straight Triple Crown!
2. The Los Angeles Dodgers attempt to win 3 straight world series.
3. Aaron Judge goes for 3rd MVP award. So does Bryce Harper (who also wears #3 and is 33 years old)!
4. Ohtani chases a 3rd consecutive 50-hr season!
5. A player might complete the second ever 3-straight 30-30 seasons! (J-Ram and Witt Jr. enter the season with 2). Bonds had three consecutive 30/30 seasons from 1995-1997.
6. The best pitcher of the modern era enters his 3rd season! (Skenes), so does Chourio and Langford.
7. Both active members of the 3,000 strikeout club (Verlander, Scherzer) are chasing down the #3 spot for active wins!
8. Japan is going for their 3rd straight major international final victory in the WBC (2021 Olympics, 2023 WBC, 2026 WBC)!
9. Kenley Jansen sets his sights on becoming the 3rd member of the 500 save club! Go Tigazz!!
10. The 3 Naylor brothers (Josh, Bo, Myles) could all be in the majors together if Myles is called up. NOT the First time in history! Shockingly, this has happened many times before. The Alou brothers--Felipe, Matty, and Jesus--played outfield in the major leagues at the same time for more than a decade. In 1963, all three played for the same team (SF Giants)! The Dimaggio brothers --Joe, Dom, and Vince--all played in the major leagues at the same time in the early 1940s before Dom and Joe lost time to WWII. The Boyers played together in 1956. Bengie, Jose, and Yadi Molina all played in the majors from 2004-2010.
11. The A's will play in their 3rd home in 3 years!

And now, without further hello, I present to you the 2026 MLB Season Thread: Year of the 3!!!, brought to you by our sponsors, and by All-inMclovin.

( Original #3)

In honor of Tuma's photo of Babe Ruth, here is an interesting side by side. Babe Ruth slow - YouTube

Tap to unmute

Babe Ruth slow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLbKXZe-Ns4)mustangrays (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW0FbhXqoVCDl-5nKUOM9mg) mustangrays9 subscribers

Ichiro Suzuki SLOW MOTION Baseball Swing Hitting Mechanics Instruction Home Run Japan - YouTube

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Ichiro Suzuki SLOW MOTION Baseball Swing Hitting Mechanics Instruction Home Run Japan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl3kfpWARRk)PastimeAthletics (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz-dIECsdZicV1xKBmns5ZA) PastimeAthletics28.1K subscribers

Not identical, of course. Babe's hand load is much more pronounced and his bat path is more geared to lifting the ball. Ichiro's leg kick is higher. Even so, there are more similarities than differences, and a lot more similarities than you would expect from such different hitters. They both started with their feet unusually close together. They both had a very pronounced cocking of their hips and relatively long strides. And they both were much more out over their front foot at the point of contact than your average hitter is today.

by Tuma m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59229909#post59229909)

5. A player might complete the first ever 3-straight 30-30 seasons! (J-Ram and Witt Jr. enter the season with 2)

Bonds had three consecutive 30/30 seasons from 1995-1997. Soriano had four such seasons in five years, but never three in a row.

Thanks for that correction, Rococo. I normally cross-reference different A.I. for important matters, but was in a bit of a rush this morning.

by Tuma m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59229909#post59229909)

10. The 3 Naylor brothers (Josh, Bo, Myles) could all be in the majors together if Myles is called up. First time in history!

One more correction. Shockingly, this has happened many times before. The Alou brothers--Felipe, Matty, and Jesus--played outfield in the major leagues at the same time for more than a decade. In 1963, all three played for the same team (SF Giants)! The Dimaggio brothers --Joe, Dom, and Vince--all played in the major leagues at the same time in the early 1940s before Dom and Joe lost time to WWII. The Boyers played together in 1956. Bengie, Jose, and Yadi Molina all played in the majors from 2004-2010.

Verlander and Mad Max currently are 1 and 3 in wins among active pitchers.

@All-inMclovin: Feel free to clean up this disaster of an OP. (GROK has been benched.)

by Tuma m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59229909#post59229909)

3. Aaron Judge goes for 3rd MVP award. So does Bryce Harper (who also wears #3 and is 33 years old)!

I highly doubt Harper happens. If anyone is interested in a storyline out of Philly, other than Schwarber is awesome, is Wheeler and Painter... or if Aiden Miller is the SS late in the season as that is apparently a thing. EDIT: But nice season starter post!

by Tuma m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59229987#post59229987)

@All-inMclovin: Feel free to clean up this disaster of an OP. (GROK has been benched.)

I liked the OP!

Aaron Judge is going for his third MVP in a row, and fourth overall.

bump for soft tossing

IN for unreasonably optimistic Braves expectations, and the inevitable disappointment.

by Rococo m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59230002#post59230002)

I liked the OP!

Except no JAYS in it!:shocked:

TJ or anybody else, Have you checked into how to get MLB.tv through T-Mobile this year? Seems very convoluted from what I can find. I already have ESPN Unlimited through my TV provider. So that’s good, at least. According to that, if you are a current MLB.TV subscriber and renewing, this new ESPN subscription requirement won’t apply to you. Again, though, it’s unclear whether this applies to fans who receive MLB.TV as season-ticket holders or get it by being a T-Mobile customer. The T-Mobile deal is still in place, as far as I know, but… who knows for sure, with this new system.

Regardless, this is insanely confusing for fans. No doubt, several MLB.tv subscribers will be fooled into paying for an ESPN Unlimited subscription they don’t need, either by failing to cancel during the one-month free trial or paying the $30 per month when they already have ESPN Unlimited included in their pay TV bundle.

Twitter Embed (https://x.com/tigers/status/2021291048895488383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2021291048895488383%7Ctwgr%5E0356ea5f671ede34813a804cac826dc4b75dd686%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwoplustwo.com%2FSporting-Events%2F13tro%2F2026-MLB-Season-Thread)

(https://twitter.com/tigers)

Detroit Tigers (https://twitter.com/tigers)@tigers (https://twitter.com/tigers)· Follow (https://x.com/intent/follow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2021291048895488383%7Ctwgr%5E0356ea5f671ede34813a804cac826dc4b75dd686%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwoplustwo.com%2FSporting-Events%2F13tro%2F2026-MLB-Season-Thread&screen_name=tigers)

(https://x.com/tigers/status/2021291048895488383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2021291048895488383%7Ctwgr%5E0356ea5f671ede34813a804cac826dc4b75dd686%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwoplustwo.com%2FSporting-Events%2F13tro%2F2026-MLB-Season-Thread) The Tigers have signed three-time American League Cy Young and nine-time All-Star RHP Justin Verlander to a one-year contract for the 2026 season.

Welcome home, JV!

(https://x.com/tigers/status/2021291048895488383/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2021291048895488383%7Ctwgr%5E0356ea5f671ede34813a804cac826dc4b75dd686%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwoplustwo.com%2FSporting-Events%2F13tro%2F2026-MLB-Season-Thread)

6:31 PM · Feb 10, 2026 (https://x.com/tigers/status/2021291048895488383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2021291048895488383%7Ctwgr%5E0356ea5f671ede34813a804cac826dc4b75dd686%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwoplustwo.com%2FSporting-Events%2F13tro%2F2026-MLB-Season-Thread)

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Expand Tweet HE'S COMING HOME EVERYONE!!!!!

by Tuma m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59229909#post59229909)

7. Both active members of the 3,000 strikeout club (Verlander, Scherzer) are chasing down the #3 spot for active wins!

????? They're 1 and 2 Gerrit Cole is 3rd in active wins with 153. So very soon we will see an era with no active 200 wins pitchers. We will likely see a leader below 170. Gausman (auto corrects to Gay man) is the leader in wins under age 35 with 112. Peralta (auto corrects to Pets) is the leader in wins under age 30 with 70.

by Rococo m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59229979#post59229979)

Verlander and Mad Max currently are 1 and 3 in wins among active pitchers.

Kershaw shouldn't be considered active, how long do they keep him on that list? I believe he's suiting up for USA for WBC. Big time rooting for Verlander to make a miraculous run at being the last 300 win pitcher ever. Being approximately my age, he's one of the last pitchers who looks like a man to me. Once you get older, pro athletes start looking like 'boys' instead of 'men'

Since WWII, fifteen MLB players have recorded a season with at least 90 HRs+SBs. Name them.

by Carnivore m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59230175#post59230175)

Big time rooting for Verlander to make a miraculous run at being the last 300 win pitcher ever.

That would be amazing but it's almost impossible to imagine Verlander banking another 34 wins. After looking at the list of active pitchers, I think that it is entirely possible that Verlander, Kershaw, and Max end up as the last 200 game winners in the major leagues. I guess you never know about someone like Skenes. Sale or Berrios (less likely) might get there if they pitch into their 40s. Cole might get there if he has a super successful recovery from a second TJS. But I would say that each of those people is well below a 50% chance to get to 200 wins.

by Rococo m (https://www.twoplustwo.com/post?postId=59230178#post59230178)

Since WWII, fifteen MLB players have recorded a season with at least 90 HRs+SBs. Name them.

Shohei Ohtani

1. Shohei Ohtani -- 113 in 2024, which I believe is the fifth highest single season total since WWII.

Acuña went 40/70. Surely Bonds did it, Alfonso Soriano too probably.

Inb4 Skenes is traded to the Dodgers and Livvy becomes a Laker girl. I’ll fix the OP later.

And the OP is fixed. That’s what I’m here for. Wholesome Modding and OP fixing.