Cody Glenn-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — An April 9 Opening Day always seemed like a pipe dream, and now it is a dead one.
Baseball announced Monday it would push back its Opening Day for a second time, following the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid crowds of 50 or more people for eight weeks. If Major League Baseball can reopen at its earliest, it would be May 11. More likely, players will need a second spring training and a starting date would be pushed back until late May or June.
Of course, the coronavirus has opened all windows and thrown out all plans.
Teams “remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins,” the release said, suggesting MLB will try to jam in as many as possible — possibly without crowds.
In the face of a global pandemic, the originally pushed-back plan entailed picking up the schedule as it was, and thus the Giants would have opened April 9 against the Diamondbacks. It is unclear whether the schedule will now be redrawn.