The Blue Jays Are Bringing Back 4:00pm Saturday Home Games in 2018

Earlier this year, there was some speculation whether the Blue Jays were thinking about making some start time changes to their 2018 schedule. Namely, moving the typical 1:07pm first pitch time for Saturday home games to 4:07pm or possibly even 7:07pm.

After taking some feedback from their fans (in the form of ticket holder surveys), the Blue Jays heard loud and clear. Yes, the club is bringing back 4:00pm Saturday home games in a big way.

The Jays released their 2018 schedule today which features 4:07pm start times for nine of their Saturday games next season at the Rogers Centre. A full breakdown of these featured games below.


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Blue Jays 4:07PM Saturday Home Games

DateStart TimeOpponent
March 314:07PMYankees
April 284:07PMRangers
May 124:07PMRed Sox
June 164:07PMNationals
July 74:07PMYankees
August 114:07PMRays
August 254:07PMPhillies
September 84:07PMIndians
September 224:07PMRays

 
In total, there are nine 4:07pm start time for Saturday home games (with three weekday 4:07pm games on April 18th, July 25th and September 26th), but there are still four 1:07pm Saturday start times.

This past Saturday, the Blue Jays featured their sole 4:07pm home game of the 2017 campaign and I’d say this shift was met with overwhelming positive response. Saturday’s game was just under three hours and wrapped up around 7:00pm, which leads perfectly into an evening in downtown Toronto.

Update: The Blue Jays address these schedule changes here. The club is moving Jr. Jays Saturdays to Jr. Jays Sundays. Every Sunday home game will remain as the usual 1:07pm start time, plus the club will host three Jr. Jays Weekends.

Blue Jays.com

Ian Hunter

Ian has been writing about the Toronto Blue Jays since 2007. He enjoyed the tail-end of the Roy Halladay era and vividly remembers the Alex Rodriguez "mine" incident. He'll also retell the story of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS to his kids for the next 20 years.