BASEBALL IS BACK!!
The Major League Baseball Players Association informed the league Tuesday evening that players will agree to the league’s outline for a 2020 season.
Things are now forced to move quickly, as players will now report for a second spring training on July 1, with an opening day for the 60-game season on July 24. Health and safety protocols have yet to be finalized, but a decision needed to be made by 5 pm Tuesday to ensure a season would be played.
The MLB owners voted Monday night to have commissioner Rob Manfred impose a season (result was a unanimous decision). The league and players have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement for a 2020 season after weeks of negotiations (or… arguments). While there will undoubtedly be more talks surrounding future talks of salaries that will most likely mean even more negotiating for future seasons, baseball has finally joined the rest of the sports world with a plan to get back on the field.
The regular season is expected to end the last week of September, while a postseason (league will continue 10-team usual structure) should wrap by the end of October.
A few months after the league canceled original opening day plans, the league had submitted a 67-page proposal outlining all the safety and testing protocols that would be installed this season. Not much detail has been made public concerning those regulations, though the two sides were suggested to be closer than not, with the league bending to players’ requests for greater access to medical and training equipment.
MLB has already ordered all spring training sites to be closed and sanitized, and personnel must test negative for COVID-19 before being allowed to return. At the end of the day, it’s a step forward, as the league will be able to join the rest of the sports world in return to play.
