Thanksgiving brings families together after long seasons and wild World Series finishes. Baseball and Thanksgiving are a perfect American pairing — a tradition passed through generations, from the morning parade straight into the games that carry you through the night. And if you’d rather skip three hours of football collisions and commercial breaks, this is the rare holiday that gives you baseball from the moment you wake up to the moment the leftovers disappear.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade begins at 8:30 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock — the same Peacock that will carry Sunday MLB games, Wild Card coverage, and All-Star Week programming starting in 2026. Telemundo airs the full Spanish simulcast, and later in the day it remains the go-to Spanish-language home for MLB highlights and international baseball coverage.
Now in its 99th year, the parade delivers 34 balloons, 28 floats, Broadway performances, the Rockettes’ 100th-anniversary routine, and a Santa finale — the perfect warm-up before baseball takes over the holiday.
Photo: His right arm encased in a cast after a recent operation, Joe DiMaggio turns southpaw to take his turn at the plate for his Thanksgiving dinner in New York, Nov. 27, 1947. The Baseball Writers Association of America voted Joe the Most Valuable Player in the American League this year for the third time, the honor having been conferred on him previously in 1939 and 1941. (AP Photo/John Lindsay)
Baseball has been part of the parade for generations, from expansion-team introductions to championship celebrations.
Photo: Yogi Berra stands in front of his home in Montclair, N.J. with 23 tons of potatoes delivered from North Dakota, Nov. 26, 1985. Berra had made a bet that North Dakota couldn’t produce enough potatoes to fill his front yard, and they proved him wrong. The potatoes will be distributed to hundreds of needy New Yorkers for Thanksgiving. (AP Photo)
MLB.com tracks the full history, but the highlights say it all:
In 1961, Casey Stengel introduced the brand-new Mets months before Opening Day. The Miracle Mets returned in 1969 after winning the World Series. Dave Winfield turned Thanksgiving into a concert in 1981 with his performance of “Manhattan.” In 1996, Derek Jeter and the Yankees celebrated their first title in 18 years. In 2011, Joba Chamberlain joined the Oneida Indian Nation float. And in 2024, TikTok briefly convinced fans the Dodgers would sneak in a float to troll Yankees fans after the World Series — a rumor that became instant holiday folklore.
MLB Network turns Thanksgiving into a full baseball marathon. Morning blocks of MLB Tonight give way to Ken Burns’s Baseball — 1st Inning at 9 a.m. ET, 2nd Inning at 11:30 a.m. ET, and 3rd Inning at 2 p.m. ET — the perfect long-form comfort watch while the house fills with food, family, and noise.
From there, the schedule rolls into Over The Plate, The Sandlot at 5 p.m., and two helpings of Countdown: 2025 Plays of the Year. And if the family’s still awake after pie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ends the night. Baseball becomes the all-day soundtrack whether anyone admits they’re watching or not.
Our Thanksgiving weekend marathon of Ken Burns's "Baseball" gets underway tomorrow!
1st Inning at 9am ET
2nd Inning at 11:30am ET
3rd Inning at 2pm ET pic.twitter.com/Z5qtGmOAnD— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 27, 2025
After dinner, real games begin. Winter leagues in Venezuela and Mexico bring packed stadiums, loud crowds, and meaningful baseball deep into the night.
🧢 CAR at ORI – 6 p.m. ET – Puerto La Cruz
🧢 ZUL at MAG – 6 p.m. ET – Valencia
🧢 LAG at LAR – 6 p.m. ET – Barquisimeto
🧢 MAR at ARA – 6 p.m. ET – Maracay
More LVBP coverage
⚾ MXC at JAL – 8:30 p.m. ET – Jalisco
⚾ NAY at CUL – 9:05 p.m. ET – Culiacan
⚾ HER at OBR – 9:10 p.m. ET – Obregon
⚾ MAZ at MOC – 9:30 p.m. ET – Los Mochis
More LMP coverage
2026 World Baseball Classic Schedule Guide & Winter League Website Ledger
George Altman, one of the most uniquely traveled players in baseball history, passed away this week at age 92. He is one of only three players ever to appear in the Negro Leagues, MLB, and Nippon Professional Baseball. A Kansas City Monarch at the start, a Cubs All-Star in 1961 and 1962, and a star in Japan with more than 200 home runs overseas, Altman’s career touched more baseball cultures than almost anyone in the sport’s history. His story is a reminder of how global baseball has always been — something this holiday, and this website, keeps alive.
Photo: The Chicago Cubs are shown at their Mesa, Arizona spring training camp, March 15, 1960. Front row, left to right: Billy Williams, Glen Hobbie, Jerry Kindall, Jerry Martin, Ben Johnson, Don Elston, Bob Anderson, George Altman, Moe Drabowski. Second row: Al Scheuneman, Ernie Banks, Tony Taylor, Bob Will, Elvin Tappe, Charlie Grimm, Lou Klein, Charley Root, Richie Ashburn, Del Rice, and Sammy Taylor. Third row: Moe Morhardt, Dick Drott, Ron Santo, Lou Johnson, Ken Hubbs, Sam Drake, Art Ceccarelli, Dale Long, Seth Morehead, Earl Averill, Harry Bright, Irv Noren, and Yosh Kawano. Back row: Nelson Mathews, Cal Neeman, Steve Ridzik, Dick Burwell, Walt Moryn, Joe Schaffernoth, Joe Schaffernoth, Moe Thacker, Art Schuit, Dick Ellsworth, Frank Thomas, and Dick Gernert. (AP Photo/Harold Filan)
Thanksgiving ends the same way every year — someone asks what your team should do next. This year, the easiest conversation starter comes from Toronto, where the Blue Jays just signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million deal, the largest free-agent contract in franchise history. With Cease joining Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, José Berríos, and Trey Yesavage, Toronto suddenly owns one of baseball’s best rotations heading into 2026. That move also reshapes the starting pitching market, influences Bo Bichette’s future, and puts pressure on teams like the Orioles to respond quickly as the Winter Meetings approach.
🇨🇦 Toronto Blue Jays Potential 2026 Starting Rotation
Kevin Gausman — Centennial, Colorado 🇺🇸
Trey Yesavage — Pottstown, Pennsylvania 🇺🇸
Dylan Cease — Milton, Georgia 🇺🇸
Shane Bieber — Orange, California 🇺🇸
José Berríos — Bayamón, Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Eric Lauer — Elyria, Ohio 🇺🇸 https://t.co/ijXS1en1wJ— World Baseball Network (@WorldBaseball_) November 26, 2025
So while the football game drones on in the background, turn the conversation back to baseball. Talk about your team’s rotation. Talk about Cease, the pitching market, the Winter Meetings, and the 2026 World Baseball Classic — where early bold predictions already have Venezuela pushing for its first-ever final and Paul Skenes positioned to become the tournament’s breakout ace.
Last night, we teamed up with @LegendsGlobal_ & @SCAN_Harbor (Supportive Children's Advocacy Network) to host a Thanksgiving Feast for several hundred local families at the Rev. T. Wendell Foster Rec Center, across the street from Yankee Stadium 🍽️💙 pic.twitter.com/O7JgJpstNr
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) November 22, 2025
Thanksgiving is a family holiday, and baseball is a family game. Today brings them both together, from the parade in the morning to winter ball at night — and all the baseball debates around the table in between.
Photo: A giant baseball player float moves down 7th Avenue during the Macy’ Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 28, 1946. (AP Photo/John Rooney)
