Two MLB games, two stadiums, one day! 2023 Daily Double opportunities

Citi Field and Yankee Stadium

If you’re an avid baseball fan like me, you’ve probably done a few ballpark road trips in your day. But have you had the opportunity to see two MLB games in two ballparks … in one day?

I call it the MLB Daily Double, and I’m looking at the 2023 major-league schedule to search for these types of opportunities.

Seeing two games at two parks on the same day is not an easy task, of course. There are only a handful of places around the majors in which you can do this, and then the schedules have to line up — something that only happens a handful of times each season.

In previous years, I limited my search for MLB Daily Double opportunities to the five markets that have two major-league teams: New York City, Chicago, the Los Angeles area, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Baltimore/Washington area.

All of these markets have two ballparks separated by 40 miles or less, making it reasonable for fans to travel between the two parks and not miss a moment of the action at either one, provided the start times for the two games are spaced out accordingly.

But at the behest of several readers, I’ve expanded these offerings in 2023 to include three pairs of MLB cities with parks that are less than 100 miles apart: Philadelphia-Baltimore, Chicago-Milwaukee and San Diego-Anaheim.

The distance and variables such as traffic make it more difficult to catch every moment of both games, but if you’re OK with the risk, then these three options are more than viable.

And lo and behold, there are decidedly more opportunities with these ballpark pairings, because MLB’s schedule-makers aren’t consciously trying to limit coinciding home dates the way they would with the five same-market pairings above.

So without further ado, let’s dive in! See below for the 2023 dates in which you can watch two MLB games in two parks in one day.

(Note: All times are local to the market; click on the link for each game to check out tickets via Ticketmaster.)

New York City

• Monday, May 1: Mets vs. Braves, 1:10 p.m.; Yankees vs. Guardians, 7:05 p.m.

If you’d like to see both of New York City’s MLB ballparks in one day, there’s just one chance to do so in 2023, and it comes at the beginning of May.

Note that while the NYC subway is by far the cheapest way to get from Yankee Stadium to Citi Field, or vice-versa, there’s no direct route between the two ballparks; you’ll have to travel into Manhattan and transfer lines — likely at Grand Central Terminal, where the 7 line that goes to Citi Field intersects with the 4 train to Yankee Stadium.

Plan on spending at least an hour traveling on the subway, so keep that in mind as you map out your plans for the day.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Nationals Park

Baltimore/Washington

• None

No chances to do a Beltway Daily Double this MLB season, which is too bad. But instead of looking south from Baltimore to the nation’s capital, you’ll have plenty of opportunities by heading north (or northeast, as it were) instead.

Baltimore/Philadelphia

• Wednesday, April 26: Orioles vs. Red Sox, 1:05 p.m.; Phillies vs. Mariners, 6:40 p.m.
• Saturday, July 15: Phillies vs. Padres, 1:05 p.m.; Orioles vs. Marlins, 7:05 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 19: Orioles vs. Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.; Phillies vs. Brewers, 6:40 p.m.
• Thursday, Aug. 10: Orioles vs. Astros, 12:35 p.m.; Phillies vs. Nationals, 6:40 p.m.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Citizens Bank Park are just short of 100 miles apart, which means you’d probably have to hustle a bit when factoring in traffic and parking.

The good news is there are four opportunities to watch games at both parks in the same day. And both parks are just off Interstate 95, so there’s little in the way of maneuvering as you travel from one to the other.

Amtrak connects the two cities as well, but particularly in Philadelphia, it’ll take a little bit of time and effort to get from the train station to the ballpark and vice versa — a disadvantage when you’re trying to get to two games in one day.

Guaranteed Rate Field and Wrigley Field

Chicago

• Thursday, April 27: Cubs vs. Padres, 1:20 p.m.; White Sox vs. Rays, 6:10 p.m.
• Monday, May 29: Cubs vs. Rays, 1:20 p.m.; White Sox vs. Angels, 7:10 p.m.

The Windy City was the site of my first-ever MLB Daily Double, when I saw Cubs and White Sox games on the same day. If you’d like to do the same thing in 2023, there are two opportunities, including one on Memorial Day.

Besides, Chicago might be the easiest place in the majors to do a Daily Double. Jumping between Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field is easy thanks to the Red Line of the “L” (aka the CTA subway). Get off at Addison for Wrigley and Sox/35th for Guaranteed Rate; the journey in either direction typically takes about 20-30 minutes depending on volume of passengers.

Chicago/Milwaukee

• Friday, April 7: Cubs vs. Rangers, 1:20 p.m.; Brewers vs. Cardinals, 7:10 p.m.
• Friday, April 21: Cubs vs. Dodgers, 1:20 p.m.; Brewers vs. Red Sox, 7:10 p.m.
• Saturday, April 22: Cubs vs. Dodgers, 1:20 p.m.; Brewers vs. Red Sox, 6:10 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 26: Brewers vs. Tigers, 12:40 p.m.; Cubs vs. Padres, 6:40 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 10: Brewers vs. Dodgers, 12:40 p.m.; Cubs vs. Cardinals, 6:40 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 24: Brewers vs. Astros, 12:10 p.m.; Cubs vs. Mets, 6:40 p.m.
• Friday, May 26: Cubs vs. Reds, 1:20 p.m.; Brewers vs. Giants, 7:10 p.m.
• Friday, June 16: Cubs vs. Orioles, 1:20 p.m.; Brewers vs. Pirates, 7:10 p.m.
• Friday, July 21: Cubs vs. Cardinals, 1:20 p.m.; Brewers vs. Braves, 7:10 p.m.
• Friday, Aug. 4: Cubs vs. Braves, 1:20 p.m.; Brewers vs. Pirates, 7:10 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 5: Cubs vs. Braves, 1:20 p.m.; Brewers vs. Pirates, 6:10 p.m.

Fancy seeing Cubs and Brewers games in the same day? Well, there are 11 chances to do so in 2023, far more than any other pairing on this list.

If you’ve unfamiliar with this part of the country, Chicago and Milwaukee are separated by about a 90-minute drive, and Wrigley Field and American Family Field in particular are just under 90 miles apart. So while it won’t be easy considering the traffic and parking variables, it’s definitely doable to see games at both locations in one day.

• Wednesday, June 21: Brewers vs. Diamondbacks, 1:10 p.m.; White Sox vs. Rangers, 7:10 p.m.
• Thursday, July 6: Brewers vs. Cubs, 1:10 p.m.; White Sox vs. Blue Jays, 7:10 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 26: Brewers vs. Reds, 1:10 p.m.; White Sox vs. Cubs, 7:10 p.m.
• Thursday, Aug. 9: Brewers vs. Rockies, 1:10 p.m.; White Sox vs. Yankees, 7:10 p.m.
• Thursday, Sept. 14: Brewers vs. Marlins, 1:10 p.m.; White Sox vs. Twins, 6:10 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 27: White Sox vs. Diamondbacks, 1:10 p.m.; Brewers vs. Cardinals, 6:40 p.m.

Getting from American Family Field to Guaranteed Rate Field might prove a bit tougher considering you’ll have to travel through the heart of Chicago, but there are six opportunities to do same-day MLB games with this pair of parks.

Note that in September, the nighttime games start earlier, thus reducing the time you have to travel between ballparks. But if you’re OK with missing some of the action at either place, these Daily Doubles are definitely achievable.

Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Los Angeles/Anaheim

• None

Unfortunately, the Dodgers and Angels don’t play home games on the same day at times that would allow for a Daily Double in this MLB season. However, there is another way to do a Southern California Daily Double — and dare I say, it’s a much more scenic option.

San Diego/Anaheim

• Wednesday, June 7: Padres vs. Mariners, 1:10 p.m.; Angels vs. Cubs, 6:38 p.m.
• Monday, Aug. 7: Padres vs. Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.; Angels vs. Giants, 6:38 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 6: Padres vs. Phillies, 1:10 p.m.; Angels vs. Orioles, 6:38 p.m.

Petco Park and Angel Stadium of Anaheim are separated by 95 miles, nearly all of it along Interstate 5 — which straddles the Pacific Ocean at times in between. So not only will you get a chance to see some of the most beautiful ballparks in MLB, but you’ll also see some of the best scenery in Southern California.

It’s also possible to take Amtrak between San Diego and Anaheim, with both train stations a short walk from their cities’ respective ballparks. However, note that the train tracks are currently closed in between due to landslides, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll reopen in time for baseball season.

For a special California-centric Daily Double, take note of the August date, when you can see four of the state’s five MLB teams in action.

Oracle Park and Oakland Coliseum

San Francisco/Oakland

• Monday, May 29: Giants vs. Pirates, 2:05 p.m.; A’s vs. Braves, 5:07 p.m.

There’s one opportunity to do a Bay Area MLB Daily Double in 2023, and it comes on Memorial Day with the Giants hosting an afternoon tilt and the A’s playing in the early evening. Note, however, that these first-pitch times are close enough that it’s very likely you’ll miss some of the action at one if not both parks.

The good news is, shuttling between the Giants’ Oracle Park and the A’s RingCentral Coliseum is quite easy. While the BART system is well-known and often used by visitors, note that it doesn’t run by Oracle Park. The closest BART stations in San Francisco (Embarcadero, Montgomery Street or Powell Street) are all more than a mile away.

If you want to take public transit to Oracle Park’s doorstep, use S.F.’s Muni rail system, which has a line running along the Embarcadero from the famous Ferry Building to the ballpark.

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Will you do an MLB Daily Double in 2023? Let us know by dropping a comment below or sending us an email to [email protected].


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Craig Summerill
Craig Summerill
1 year ago

Wow. What an awesome article. Such a cool idea. I had never considered watching MLB before, but after looking through this, I am definitely adding a trip like this to my sports travel bucket list

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