Cincinnati Reds 2015 Schedule Released

Looking forward is human nature. While the Cincinnati Reds are still on tab to play in 18 more games during the 2014 season, with the release of the 2015 schedule, fans are already clamoring for what might be. Let’s take a closer look at what is on the docket for the 2015 version of the Redlegs:

Their season will open at home (of course) on Monday, April 6, as the Pittsburgh Pirates come to town. Following this new strategy by Major League Baseball for teams to play as many divisional opponents as possible in the opening and closing month, April is stacked with National League Central foes. The Reds will play every team in the division at least once (with Pittsburgh being the only team they don’t play twice), before finally playing the Atlanta Braves in Georgia on April 30. In conclusion, the first 22 games come against the NL Central.

From that date until June 11, they will play exactly one series against a NL Central opponent (the Pirates). May is a unique month due to the two off-days on both Monday and Thursday, featuring one week where they get both with a trip to Missouri sprinkled in. And no, not St. Louis. With the Redlegs scheduled for the American League Central in 2015, they will head to Kansas City on May 19-20 for a quick, two-game set.

Their first interleague series of the year will be in Chicago. Again, not against the Cubbies. They will hit up the south side for a three-game set on May 8-10, and will also get an entire three-game set in Cleveland on May 22-24, reviving a lengthy Ohio Cup showdown.

Smack dab in the middle of June (the 15^th-18^th), the Reds and the Detroit Tigers will play the terrifically exciting two away, two home, split four-game set. To round out the month, Cincinnati welcomes in the Minnesota Twins for a three-game set at Great American Ball Park as the calendar flips to July.

Hell with everything else, let’s focus on the All-Star Game in July. Once the Reds finish up with the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, July 5, those in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area have over a week to plan the party of the summer down at GABP. The Home Run Derby Contest (which 99% of people who don’t get to watch Reds games are more excited for) will take place on Monday, July 13. The next night will of course be the 86^th installment of the mid-Summer Classic. Just to keep the Ohio pride following through the weekend, the Indians will make their annual trip down-state to southern Ohio.

You may be asking yourself what have we forgotten to mention. That would be the West Coast swing. No longer are the days where Cincinnati was the West Coast swing, but now at least the schedule makers are kind enough to do it in one shot. August 7-16 will feature series in Arizona, San Diego and Los Angeles, all before returning home to a nice day-off.

The downside of having so many clubs in California and the southwest area is that it can’t be done all in one trip. So in September, the Redlegs will have to trek back out to San Francisco for a three-game set, which guarantees two things: 1) it is going to be absolutely freezing when those games are played, and 2) they are going to be exhausted, considering their most recent off-day will have been nearly two weeks ago when the series concludes.

Cincinnati will play only two non-divisional series all of September, with one being the trip to San Francisco, and the other, the now seemingly traditional home series with the New York Mets in the year’s ninth month.

The final home game at GABP (hopefully, just for the regular season) will be on Thursday, October 1, against the Chicago Cubs. After that, the club will travel up the Ohio to Pittsburgh to eventually conclude their season on October 4.

There we have it. Feel free to over-analyze any part of the schedule, as I’m sure some will feel duped or wronged.

Personally, I’m excited about the Reds’ trip to Chicago and Kansas City, along with Detroit, as these are clubs that they do not meet with very often. No matter what happens, the fresh 162-game schedule has been released and this is just the beginning of knowing the Redlegs fate.