After months of uncertainty and delay due to COVID-19, Major League Baseball (MLB) will finally open its season, with two games on Thursday, 23 July. The defending MLB champions Washington National will host the New York Yankees at 7 pm in the American League, while the National League champions Los Angeles Dodgers will host arch-rivals San Francisco Giants at 10 pm. Both times are US Eastern Summer Time (Greenwich Mean Time minus 4 hours).
The shortened regular season will see each of the 30 teams play 60 games instead of the 162 of the ordinary schedule.
The 2020 MLB season will open behind closed doors, while each club will begin the season with 30-player rosters, that will decrease to 26 as the season progresses.
Each club will select its roster from a pool that includes up to 60 players. The players not on active rosters will be assigned to a taxi squad and will receive developmental work. The Minor League Baseball (MiLB) season was cancelled, so no other activity will be possible for players under contract.
Both the American and the National League feature 15 participating teams, split into three Divisions (East, Central, West). Each team will face only the Division rivals and the clubs participating in the same geographic Division in the other league (i.e. American League East vs National League East etc).
NEW RULES in a shortened MLB season
MLB and the Players Association (MLBPA) revealed that 28 out of 30 organizations had players and/or staff members who tested positive to COVID-19 tests conducted during the pre-season.
Yasiel Puig, who was an All-World Team center fielder at the U-18 IBAF World Cup 2008 tested positive just days after coming to terms with the Atlanta Braves. He commented on social media: "I urge everyone to take this pandemic seriously, this can happen to anyone…Wear a mask, social distance and follow your local protocols."
The 2020 season will also go in the history books for witnessing the first MLB female coach. Alyssa Nakken, a former softball All-American, coached at first base for the San Francisco Giants during an exhibition game against the Oakland A's.
The Giants announced Nakken's hiring in January. She is responsible for developing, producing and directing a number of the organization's health and wellness initiatives. She will be remembered as the first woman to coach on an MLB field.
Cover picture is courtesy of The Boston Globe
