MLB to return in July, players approve health and safety plan
The 2020 season is expected to begin July 23 or 24
MLB owners and players reached an agreement Tuesday night on health and safety protocols for a 60-game season that will begin in late July, concluding weeks of contentious negotiations on a return to play.
Players will return to team facilities for training camp on July 1. The 2020 season is expected to begin July 23 or 24.
MLB MANDATES 60-GAME SEASON AFTER PLAYERS REJECT OFFER
“All remaining issues have been resolved and Players are reporting to training camps,” the MLB Players Association said in a statement on Twitter.
MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred mandated a 60-game season earlier this week after the players union rejected an owners’ proposal of the same length. Negotiations stalled over player compensation and a push by owners for players to waive their right to file a grievance over the terms of a resumption of play.
MLB owners approved Manfred’s call for a 60-game season Monday evening. Players will receive full prorated salaries amounting to 37 percent of their expected full-season pay prior to the pandemic.
“Major League Baseball is thrilled to announce that the 2020 season is on the horizon,” Manfred 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.”
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Games are expected to proceed without fans in attendance for the foreseeable future, costing MLB a significant revenue source. The season will consist mostly of divisional play between MLB teams and interleague series against teams in the same geographic region, the league said.
MLB was forced to suspend play in mid-March after the worsening pandemic resulted in shelter-in-place orders and bans on mass gatherings.