After weeks of negotiations and uncertainty surrounding Major League Baseball’s 2020 season, a return to play is finally in set. An abridged 60-game season is set to begin on July 23rd, with all 30 teams taking the field by July 24th.
The MLB announced the full schedule on Monday after over three months of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Full team-by-team schedules have been updated on MLB.com and are available here.
Opening Day lands on Thursday, July 23rd, and features the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals hosting the New York Yankees at 7:08 PM ET. At 10:08 PM ET, NL West rivals will clash as the Los Angeles Dodgers host the San Francisco Giants.
All 26 other teams will begin their season on Friday, July 24th with a slate of 14 games in total to be played.
While other North American sports leagues like Major League Soccer and the National Basketball Association have opted to play games at a single host complex amid ongoing coronavirus concerns, the MLB plans to go ahead with teams hosting games in their own stadiums.
The 2020 season will end at a typical time, on September 27th, with playoff set to begin on September 29th. The World Series is scheduled to begin on October 20th with the latest possible end date of October 28th if there is a seven-game series.
Baring any set setbacks, the 2020 NBA Finals will end no later than October 13rd, so there won’t be any risk of overlap. The 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League does not currently have defined dates, but it’s likely all three leagues will crown a champion in the month of October.
