Photo: Ron Valle
The Cincinnati Reds will return to Great American Ball Park on March 30, 2023.
Ready to to look ahead to (hopefully) brighter baseball days? Cincinnati Reds single tickets are now on sale.
The 2023 MLB season comes with a twist – each team will meet each other on the field at least once. In addition, all 30 franchises are scheduled to play opening day on March 30 – the first time every team will do so on the same date since 1968.
As a National League team, the Reds typically have played just 20 games a season against American League teams; in 2023, that number will increase to 46. Teams will play a total of four games against their "natural" interleague rival, which is a team from the opposite league that's within close distance. For the Reds, that means taking on the Cleveland Guardians from the AL.
The Reds' 2023 season
The Cincinnati Reds will kickstart the 2023 season with a home opener against NL Central opponent the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 30 at Great American Ball Park. The teams will have March 31 off before continuing the series April 1 and 2. The Reds then immediately will welcome division opponents the Chicago Cubs for a three-game home series April 3-5.The Reds will take on "natural" interleague rival the Cleveland Guardians in Cincinnati Aug. 15 and 16. The teams will meet again in Cleveland Sept. 26-27 for a series billed as the Ohio Cup.
Other AL opponents fans can see at Great American Ball Park include the Tampa Bay Rays (April 17-19), Texas Rangers (April 24-26), Chicago White Sox (May 5-7) and New York Yankees (May 19-21), Toronto Blue Jays (Aug. 18-20), Seattle Mariners (Sept. 4-6) and Minnesota Twins (Sept. 18-20).
All MLB teams will take a mid-summer break for the 93rd All-Star Game, scheduled for July 11 at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners (former Reds pitcher Luis Castillo was Cincinnati's sole designee for the All-Star Game in 2022; he was traded to Seattle less than two weeks after that, where he helped the Mariners win the American League Wild Card).
Notable 2023 promotions
The Reds have a slate of promotions and special game days in the works for next season. On July 15, former pitcher Bronson Arroyo will be inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame as the Reds take on the Milwaukee Brewers, and ticket holders will get a free Arroyo bobblehead. Arroyo also is on the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, as is former third baseman Scott Rolen.
There are five post-game concerts on the Reds' schedule, representing a number of music genres. Shows are included with the price of a ticket and will begin shortly after the game ends. Country group Zac Brown Band will kick off the concert series on June 2, with game ticket proceeds benefiting the Hop on a Cure Foundation, which researches a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or "Lou Gehrig’s disease). The Reds will battle the Milwaukee Brewers before the show.
Detroit rapper Quinn XCII will perform after the June 23 game with the Atlanta Braves. Australian Christian pop duo For King & Country will take the stage on Aug. 5 (Washington Nationals). Next, soft-rock cover band Yacht Club Review will perform on Aug. 18 (Toronto Blue Jays). Award-winning pop-country group Lady A will round out the series on Sept. 9 (St. Louis Cardinals).
Ticketholders also will receive giveaways before some games, including a replica model of Great American Ball Park on April 15 (Philadelphia Phillies), a Johnny Bench Funko POP! collectable on May 6 (Chicago White Sox), a Joey Votto bobblehead on June 3 (Milwaukee Brewers) and a Reds Hawaiian-style shirt on July 22 (Arizona Diamondbacks).
Looking back at 2022
The Cincinnati Reds posted its second-ever 100-loss season in 2022, ending with a record of 62-100. The losing also kept more fans at home, with the team experiencing its lowest season attendance since 1984 – just 1,395,770 people saw the Reds play at Great American Ball Park in 2022.
Fans who worried that the year would not be a legitimate push for playoff glory raised more than $4,000 ahead of Opening Day for a billboard urging Reds owner Bob Castellini to sell the team to someone who would invest in winning (before the season, Castellini said that he wanted to concentrate on developing younger players at a smaller payroll, forcing a series of veteran cuts and trades). That I-75 billboard and fans' growing lack of trust in the team elicited a sharp response from the Reds' chief operating officer – and Bob Castellini's son – Phil Castellini, who told 700 AM WLW radio that Cincinnatians essentially just had to deal with it when the team repeatedly refuses to pay for productive veteran players. Phil Castellini later walked back his comments.
It looks like the Reds may be stacking 2023 with even more prospects, minor-league graduates and second-chancers, possibly to the consternation of Reds fans who haven't seen a division championship since 2012. Early during the off-season, the Reds traded infielder Kyle Farmer to the Minnesota Twins and acquired infielder Kevin Newman from the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Dauri Moreta. On Nov. 28, general manager Nick Krall signed catcher and Covington Catholic High School graduate Luke Maile to a one-year deal.
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