Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney

It was an exciting first weekend of MLB action! Hunter Pence and Buster Olney discuss shaking off Opening Day jitters, how rookies dominated the conversation to start the season, first impressions of the ABS System, the San Francisco Giants starting 0-3, and how teams move on from losses. Then, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo stops by to talk about the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees sweeping their respective series to open the season, and the Los Angeles Dodgers treating the regular season like a dress rehearsal. Then, Sarah Langs plays The Numbers Game. Laters, Buster answers your questions during Bleacher Tweets.

0:00 Hunter Pence joins the show

3:39 Rookies rule first MLB weekend

5:59 Guardians Chase DeLauter

8:08 Tigers Kevin McGonigle

9:43 Reds Sal Stewart

11:23 JJ Wetherholt

13:08 ABS System initial impressions

18:18 Giants start 0-3

28:33 ESPN’s Jorge Castillo

29:06 Mets start 2-1

30:36 Juan Soto seems relaxed

33:05 Yankees & Blue Jays sweep

37:01 Is this Dave Roberts’ best Dodger team?

38:41 Sarah Langs

40:00 Bleacher Tweets

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Let’s overreact to MLB Opening Day 2026! Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez and Buster Olney discuss the joy of baseball’s return, why the overreactions to Aaron Judge’s first game don’t make sense, Paul Skenes getting knocked around with an assist from Oneil Cruz, all the rookies who shined in their debuts, if the Dodgers can win more than 102 games, another quality start from Tarik Skubal, Junior Caminero taking four walks, Jacob Misiorowski’s 11 strikeouts, and what Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s peers are saying about him after is 2025 postseason. Later, Buster answers your questions during Bleacher Tweets. 

0:00 MLB Opening Day 2026 overreactions

4:40 Yankees Aaron Judge overreactions

8:28 Pirates Paul Skenes 0.2 IP

9:19 Oneil Cruz’s costly mistake

13:49 Rookies shine on Opening Day

14:28 Tiger Kevin McGonigle

15:48 Mets Carson Benge

16:26 Cardinals J.J. Wetherholt

20:29 Can the Dodgers win 103 games?

25:05 Tigers Tarik Skubal quality start

26:56 Cubs extend Nico Hoerner

27:28 Brewers Jacob Misiorowski throws 11 Ks

28:25 Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ready to roll

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MLB Opening Day 2026 has arrived! Buster Olney and Hembo discuss the Chicago Cubs locking up Pete Crow-Armstrong to a six-year, $115 million deal, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ascending to superstar, MLB's No. 2 prospect Kevin McGonigle making the Tigers Opening Day roster, why Cinncinati Reds rookie Sal Stewart could be the rock of their lineup, if Wyatt Langford can make noise in the AL MVP race, and why Hembo is down on Tyler Glasnow after a stellar spring. Then, Pitching Ninja Rob Friedman stops by to talk about his new book "Unhittable: How Technology, Mavericks, and Innovators Engineered Baseball's New Era of Pitching Dominance," the best pitches in baseball, which pitcher he'd choose for a Space Jam "winner-takes-the-planet" game, why pitching is so different today, Japanese players bringing the splitter back in America, the prevalence of injuries among pitchers, and their friend Sarah Langs. Plus, Buster finishes the team previews with the Detroit Tigers, the Washington Nationals, the Tampa Bay Rays, the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Later, Buster answers your questions during Bleacher Tweets.
1:53 Cubs sign Pete Crow-Armstrong to six-year deal
5:26 Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr. primed for a monster year
10:18 Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle makes the roster
14:52 Reds Sal Stewart can bang
16:32 Rangers Wyatt Lanford for MVP?
19:54 Dodgers Tyler Glasnow looks good
22:31 Pitching Ninja
23:37 Best pitches in baseball
27:29 Shohei Ohtani hyperbole
30:52 How pitching changed?
49:34 San Diego Padres preview
51:13 Detroit Tigers preview
52:55 Arizona Diamondbacks preview
53:47 Washington Nationals preview
54:55 Tampa Bay Rays preview
56:22 Bleacher Tweets

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Opening Day is right around the corner. Buster Olney and Jesse Rogers discuss some of the storylines playing out at Spring Training while the World Baseball Classic wrapped up. The Rangers’ Wyatt Langford looks great, the Braves’ offense needs to get right and the Blue Jays are slow-playing Trey Yesavage. Then, Jesse shares his predictions for division and award winners, and his wild card teams. Next, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora stops by to talk about his thoughts on the World Baseball Classic, Wilyer Abreu looking sharp, which manager called him to talk about Roman Anthony, if the Red Sox have enough power in their lineup, and how he’s handling the back end of the rotation. Later, Buster answers your questions during Bleacher Tweets.

0:00 Welcome

0:56 Phillies sign Cristopher Sanchez to 6-year deal

5:26 Rangers Wyatt Langford looks great

8:04 Braves offense needs to perform

10:31 Blue Jays holding out Trey Yesavage

11:00 Making predictions for the 2026 MLB season

11:29 AL East

13:18 AL Central

14:19 AL West

15:41 AL Wild Card Teams

17:39 NL West

17:45 NL Central

18:28 NL West

18:49 NL Wild Card Teams

19:52 Are Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani MVP Locks?

20:54 Picking against Paul Skenes or Tarik Skubal for Cy Young?

21:30 Rookie of the Year picks

23:33 Red Sox Manager Alex Cora joins the show

24:02 Cora’s thoughts on the World Baseball Classic

28:39 Wilyer Abreu’s breakout performance at the WBC

30:09 Getting calls from other managers about Roman Anthony

32:14 Outlook on the 2026 Boston Red Sox

35:26 Other Headlines: Boston 2B Marcelo Mayer makes the team 

36:16 Bleacher Tweets

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Venezuela earns its first World Baseball Classic title, defeating Team USA 3-2 in a dramatic final game. Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian discuss what a fun tournament this edition of the WBC was, Venezuela taking down the United States and Japan on its way to a championship, the celebration that ensued, which players shined, the United States’ failure to get the offense going, and what they would change about the World Baseball Classic going forward. 

0:00 Venezuela beats USA 3-2 in WBC final

3:57 Eugenio Suarez has another big moment

6:25 Bryce Harper finds his swing

7:49 Cubs allow Daniel Palencia to pitch

9:05 Wilyer Abreu is a breakout candidate in 2026

11:04 Eduardo Rodríguez came up big

11:56 Nolan McLean was spinning it

13:55 Luis Arráez walks to get the late rally going

14:49 How did manager Omar López and Mark DeRosa perform?

16:06 What would you change about the WBC?

21:43 Milwaukee Brewers Preview

23:11 Headlines

23:44 Kansas City Royals Preview

25:06 Bleacher Tweets w/ more on Cubs OF Seyia Suzuki’s injury

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