After a harrowing journey, Major League Baseball finally is ready to exchange lineup cards to signal the start of action.
(Actually, there won’t be any such exchanges thanks to the coronavirus, but you get the idea.)
When commissioner Rob Manfred and the MLB Players Association agreed on terms of their COVID-conscious health and safety protocols on Tuesday night, they formalized the restart of this most unusual season. Players must report to spring training, most of which will be held at team’s ballparks, by July 1, with the intention of holding Opening Day on July 23 or July 24 and running a 60-game regular season — assuming the pandemic doesn’t worsen to the point of causing a shutdown.
“Major League Baseball is thrilled to announce that the 2020 season is on the horizon,” Manfred said in a statement. “We have provided the Players Association with a schedule to play 60 games and are excited to provide our great fans with Baseball again soon.”
“All remaining issues have been resolved and Players are reporting to training camps,” the PA said in a statement.
Hence they go forward in what will be a most unusual campaign. While the length will be record-settingly short even if it concludes, what will really stand out is the way the game will be played in order to protect the participants from the coronavirus.
As expected, the universal designated hitter will be used to protect pitchers; as things stand now, pitchers will return to hitting in the National League for 2021. And as a method of managing the length of games and limiting participants’ exposure to one another, the minor league rule of starting extra innings with a runner on second base will be utilized, though not for the postseason. The three-batter minimum for pitchers, which Manfred instituted before the shutdown, will stick.
In the interest of halting the spread of germs, pitchers can bring a wet rag to the mound as a healthier alternative to licking their fingers.
“The health and safety of players and employees will remain MLB’s foremost priorities in its return to play,” the league said in its statement. “MLB is working with a variety of public health experts, infectious disease specialists and technology providers on a comprehensive approach that aims to facilitate a safe return.”
A flurry of other regulations will go into effect, from roster management (they’ll start at 30 and dwindle down to 26, with designated taxi squads) to an Aug. 31 trade deadline to the schedule (the standard six divisions will exist, with regional travel only) and much more.
In the coming days, teams will learn if any high-profile players opt out, either because they are high-risk (in which case they’ll get paid with service time) or because they don’t deem this mini-season worth the effort and aren’t feeling particularly cooperative following the exchange of accusations and insults with the owners. These players would give up their salaries. Any of the latter defections would further hurt this season’s credibility, which already has taken a beating thanks to the bitter, torturous talks that brought things to this point and faces immense challenges in navigating the disease that has spiked in important baseball states like Arizona, Florida and Texas.
For all of the obstacles that loom, however, baseball has arrived at one of its most hallowed mileposts: Pitchers and catchers — and infielders and outfielders — will re-report next week.