A solution was finally reached more than three months after Major League Baseball cancelled the remainder of Spring Training and delayed the start of the 2020 regular season because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
After the Players Association voted to reject the 60-game proposal from team owners, they agreed to reporting for the start of Spring Training 2.0 by July 1, and came to terms with MLB on health and safety protocols.
On Tuesday night the league officially announced commissioner Rob Manfred had imposed a 60-game season. “Major League Baseball is thrilled to announce that the 2020 season is on the horizon,” he 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.”
The news was met by widespread celebration from fans and players alike. Justin Turner, Gavin Lux and Kiké Hernandez were among the Los Angeles Dodgers who shared reactions on social media.
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Teams will hold camps at their home ballparks, and Opening Day of the 2020 season is expected to be Thursday, July 23, or July 24. For now the plan remains for regular-season games to also be played at respective MLB stadiums.
However, MLB was recently said to be considering using Southern California as a bubble due to multiple outbreaks of the coronavirus at Spring Training facilities. The thinking behind a bubble concept is games would be played at Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, Petco Park and select universities.
While the season will entail teams playing 60 games, schedules are not yet set. The Dodgers can expect to face each National League West opponent 10 times, and also play teams from the American League West for the remaining 20 games.
That of course amounts to the Dodgers facing the Houston Astros for the first time since MLB announced their findings after conducting an investigation into electronic sign-stealing. Several Dodgers were critical of not only the Astros’ misconduct, but MLB’s punishment as well.
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