MLB: No baseball until at least mid-May
Marwin Gonzalez #9 of the Minnesota Twins reacts after lining out to the New York Yankees to end the fourth inning in game three of the American League Division Series at Target Field on October 07, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ((Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - Baseball will happen at some point this year, but not even Major League Baseball itself knows yet when that will be.
Commissioner Rob Manfred conducted a conference call with all 30 teams Monday morning as concerns for Coronavirus grow across the country and world. The Centers for Disease Control announced Sunday night it does not recommend public gatherings of at least 50 people for at least the next eight weeks to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Manfred announced that the start of the MLB season, which was set to be at the end of the month, has been pushed back as a result. All team facilities will also be shut down.
That means that, at the earliest, MLB teams wouldn’t get back together to resume baseball activities until at least the middle of May. MLB canceled the remainder of Spring Training late last week, and the Minnesota Twins left Fort Myers, Fla. Many players went home, some traveled back to Minneapolis and a few stayed in Florida.
“MLB will keep fans updated on decisions regarding plans for the 2020 schedule in the days and weeks ahead. The clubs remaining committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins. We will continue to monitor ongoing events and undertake precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts, and urge all baseball fans to follow suit. MLB extends its best wishes to all the individuals and communities who have been impacted by the Coronavirus,” Manfred said in a statement.
Former Minnesota Twins player Trevor Plouffe posted on Twitter Monday he thinks it could be July before we see baseball again, and it may not involve fans.
The Twins were scheduled to open the regular season at the end of March on the West Coast against the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners. At this point, we don’t know when Opening Day will be, where it will be or who the opponent is.