ESPN will open its Sunday Night Baseball schedule on April 4 when the Los Angeles Angels host the Chicago White Sox.
The game will feature the past two American League MVPs, with the Angels’ Mike Trout facing reigning MVP and White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu at 8:30 p.m. ET. The following week will feature National League MVP Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves hosting the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Braves have four appearances in the games that have been announced, with the New York Yankees and New York Mets each on three times.
The San Diego Padres will make their first Sunday Night Baseball appearances since 2007. The first is on April 25 at the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, followed by a May 16 game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Other games announced are: Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs (April 18), New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies (May 2), Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves (May 9), Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals (May 23), Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets (May 30), New York Mets vs. New York Yankees (July 4 and Sept. 12), Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees (July 15 and 18). All games will start at 7 p.m. ET, with the exception of the Sept. 12 Mets-Yankees game (8 p.m.).
ESPN will broadcast 11 games over the first six days of the season, including an exclusive, national telecast on Opening Night, April 1, when the Washington Nationals host the Mets.
This will be the 31st season for Sunday Night Baseball, which began when ESPN started doing MLB games in 1990. Joe Morgan, who was the analyst from 1990 to 2010, died on Oct. 11, while publicist Diane Lamb is retiring in January.