MLB to delay Opening Day for two weeks minimum

Baseball (Jay Schyler Raadt, Wikimedia Commons)

Major League Baseball has decided to delay Opening Day for at least two weeks because of  Coronavirus according to ESPN.They have also decided to suspend spring training effective immediately in a decision that was made on Thursday. Under MLB’s latest decision, the earliest they will start the season is April 9.

Major League Baseball followed the positions set by the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association, which decided to pause their respective seasons. According to Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has stated the NBA will wait 30 days before the league will resume play. That will make it April 11, 2020 as the earliest date the NBA will resume.

Prior to the decision by MLB on Thursday, the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics were looking at alternative places for games. All three teams play in locations where the Coronavirus are considered hot spots. There are 457 cases of Coranvirus in Washington state and 191 cases in California. Of the 191 cases in California, there are 48 cases in the Santa Clara County, which is in the northern region of the state near San Francisco and Oakland.

It will now be interesting to see if Major League Baseball decides to give any of their teams any more spring training games before they start the regular season. My guess is no. Interestingly, it was the Athletics that had the best record in the Cactus League at 13 wins and eight losses. The Philadelphia Phillies had the best record in the Grapefruit League at 14 wins and five losses.