Major League Baseball joined the NBA, NHL, MLS and other professional sports leagues last month in temporarily suspending operations due to concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
For MLB, that led to the cancellation of all remaining Spring Training games and an initial two-week delay to the start of the regular season.
MLB has since postponed the 2020 season until the middle of May, at the earliest, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that large gatherings of 50 or more people be put off through at least May 10.
Even if the league is able to resume play shortly after those guidelines expire, the prospect of a full 162-game regular season has effectively been ruled out.
Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood shared his belief that a meaningful season can still be salvaged as long as a minimum of 81 games are scheduled, via SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio:
“It’s a tough question, really. At the end of the day, playing at all will be a win and I’ll be happy with however much baseball we get to play. The good thing is I know, from what I’ve heard through the grapevine, is that if we had to start Game 1 as late as Aug. 1, you could still get half of the season plus the playoffs in. That’s a ways away. I think anything more than a half-a-season, you take that to the bank and feel good about it. Start getting below 81 games, you have to think a little bit harder about that.
As Wood noted, there is still a path for MLB to get in half a season’s worth of games even if Opening Day doesn’t take place until Aug. 1. However, all indications are that the league is looking to get back players back on the field much sooner than that.
Depending on when the season is able to start, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has already expressed an openness to scheduling an abundance of doubleheaders to make up as many games as possible.
The possibility of the regular season extending into late October is also on the table. This would entail the postseason and World Series taking place in November, with games being held in warm weather cities.
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