Major League Baseball recently announced plans to push ahead with a shortened 2020 season amid the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced a season of 60 games after months of negotiations between the league and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA).
After the two sides completed the health and safety protocols, players signed up for a second “spring training” this week. From today’s perspective, the MLB opening day 2020 will take place on July 23, but no official schedule has yet been published.
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the league is expected to announce the regular season schedule next week after the MLBPA has agreed. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the schedule will be announced on Monday. In the meantime, here’s a refresher on what we already know about the MLB 2020 season plan:
The schedule will be regional
MLB teams will play 40 games in their division and 20 interleague games. The teams would only compete against rivals in the division and the corresponding geographical division in the other league to keep the games regional. For example, Astros and Dodgers play against each other, as do other teams in AL West and NL West.
This will limit travel in hopes of reducing the likelihood of a COVID-19 outbreak. The new regional flight schedule will also eliminate the need for overland flights during the regular season.
Yankees Nationals on opening day
The highlight of the opening day is the Yankees at Nationals Park against the World Series defending champion. It’s a matchup that is likely to result in an ace between Gerrit Cole from the Yankees and Max Scherzer from the Nationals. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Dodgers are expected to receive rival Giants in the other nationwide televised game on July 23.
Last season, the Yankees had 103 regular season wins and 306 home races before losing to the Astros in six games in the ALCS. The Nationals naturally ran in the postseason of last year, defeating the Brewers in the NL Wild Card Game, Dodgers in five games in the NLDS, and defeating the Cardinals before overtaking the Astros in seven games in the World Series.
Red Sox in Fenway for the opening day
The Red Sox are reported to start their 2020 campaign at Fenway Park. The Red Sox started their second round of training on Friday. The club opened a camp of 48 players selected for the season from its 60-player pool of qualified players.
The Red Sox will start the shortened season with a squad without Mookie Betts for the first time in six years after the club swapped their local MVP for the Dodgers. They will also start the 2020 season with the luggage of a scandal and a new manager in Ron Roenicke.
White Sox-Cardinals for Field of Dreams game?
From today’s perspective, MLB plans to play in the Field of Dreams stadium in Dyersville, Iowa. The game is scheduled for August 13th on the diamond on which the 1988 film “Field of Dreams” was shot. The game was originally planned as a matchup between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. But now the Cardinals could replace the Yankees in the game because a Yankees-White Sox series would violate the spirit of the newly created MLB schedule, which limits the teams to playing their rivals and geographic counterparts.
The league announced that construction on the site will continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The baseball court was planned to hold up to 8,000 fans, but it is unlikely that anyone would be able to participate. An official announcement has not yet been made.
