Major League Baseball announced Monday that the start of the 2020 regular season will be pushed back even further following Sunday’s recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
A news release says the CDC has urged a nationwide halt of any gatherings consisting of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Opening Day, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, March 26, had already been postponed for two weeks as of last Thursday.
Commissioner Rob Manfred conducted a conference call on Monday with all 30 Clubs, and in a statement announced that Opening Day “will be pushed back in accordance with that guidance” from the CDC.
In the statement, MLB said it will keep fans updated on decisions regarding plans for the 2020 schedule in the days and weeks ahead. It said the clubs will play as many games as possible once the season begins.
Following his call with the Clubs, Manfred reiterated that the league was taking a wait-and-see approach with regard to the regular-season schedule.
Manfred also said the league will not announce an alternate opening day at this point. Manfred said he is going to see how things develop.
Manfred discussed the status of ongoing operations at each of their Spring Training facilities, emphasizing that there should be “no organized activities” at those complexes.