Last month, we reported that the Yanks and Indians would be opening the new Yankee Stadium on April 16. Today the Yankees released their preliminary scheduled and confirmed this early report. So mark your calendars for that third Thursday in April.
For the most part, these 2009 schedules — available here — contain few surprises. After numerous snowed out and rained out early April games, the season doesn’t start until April 6. The Yankees’ first game in Baltimore, and it is the first of four home openers of which the Yanks will partake in the season’s first ten games. They also help open Kansas City’s home season on Friday, April 10 and the Rays’ home season on Monday, April 13.
Otherwise, there are few surprises. The Yanks draw the Phillies, Mets and Nationals at home for interleague play and will travel to CitiField, Miami and Atlanta at which point Chien-Ming Wang will hopefully not attempt to run the bases. Boston will make its first appearance in the new stadium on May 5 when they drop in for a two-game set. They don’t return until August, and the Yanks play 10 games against the Red Sox over the last 8.5 weeks of the season.
Now that we know when the games are, I wonder if anyone will be able to get tickets. I guess we’ll find out later this winter.