MLB delays Opening Day until at least May, many Mariners have headed home
The circumstances surrounding baseball seem to change by the hour, and MLB sent out another new directive Monday as it works to slow the spread of COVID-19: Baseball will be back, but not until May at the earliest.
MLB commisioner Rob Manfred conducted a conference call with the 30 clubs Monday morning, and a later release stated the league would follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest recommendation to restrict events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks.
Opening Day had been tentatively scheduled for April 9 after the originally planned March 26 date was scrapped last week, but now the league is looking as far out as the second week of May for its earliest start date. It’s possible the season could be delayed even longer.
“MLB will keep fans updated on decisions regarding plans for the 2020 schedule in the days and weeks ahead,” the statement reads. “The clubs remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins. We will continue to monitor ongoing events and undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts, and urge all baseball fans to follow suit.”
MLB has remained dedicated to playing a full 162-game season up until to this announcement, but that is becoming less and less of a possibility as the days pass.
For example, if the season were to begin exactly eight weeks from Monday, Opening Day would be set for May 11. Without any off days or the usual All-Star break in July, teams would finish up the regular season in the third week of October. Last season on May 11, the Seattle Mariners were playing Game No. 42.
A shortened season seems inevitable at this point — especially considering teams have no directive for when they can begin working out in full groups again.
While some players are currently permitted to remain at their club’s spring training facility, a leaked memo sent to all 30 clubs Sunday significantly limited allowed activities.
Players on the 40-man roster, and non-roster players requiring medical treatment for injuries have been permitted to stay, but all other non-roster players were asked to return to their offseason residences “to the extent practical,” with clubs requiring to make suitable accommodations for intentional players as needed. All minor league players were sent home last week when spring camps were suspended. It has also been recommended all non-essential staff return to their club’s home city.
Clubs that have players on the premises are “not permitted to hold or organize any group workouts, practices, skill or conditioning sessions, or any other player activities at their facilities.”
They are to have players stagger their times at the facility to work out, and implement hygiene and social distancing practices.
When camps were shut down last week, most of the players on Seattle’s 40-man roster, as well as its non-roster invites and several staff members, had elected to remain in Peoria, and were expected to return the club’s facility Sunday for limited workouts after a deep cleaning of the complex was conducted Saturday.
But, the non-roster invites were sent home over the weekend, and a club source said only 25-30 players remained at the complex as of Monday, working out at staggered times to avoid large groups. The remaining staff has also been significantly trimmed down. That number could drop further in the coming days.
“Obviously this crisis is very new,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said Friday. “The world is changing fast.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 11:20 AM.
