How Many Games In The MLB Season? Start Date, New Rules, Schedule Changes For 2020 Baseball

After months of ugly negotiations between the league and the players’ union, it appears that there will indeed be baseball this year. The two sides finalized the details Tuesday for the 2020 MLB season—albeit an abbreviated version—to be played.

Instead of a traditional 162-game season, MLB will be limited to a 60-game season in 2020. That means each team will play 37% of its usual schedule.

“Major League Baseball is thrilled to announce that the 2020 season is on the horizon,” Commissioner Robert Manfred said. “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.”

Two-thirds of each team’s schedule will be divisional matchups. The remaining 20 games will be interleague contests with the same geographical division (AL East vs. NL East).

Training camps can start on July 1, and the regular-season will begin on July 23 or July 24. Spring training was halted on March 12, exactly two weeks before Opening Day was supposed to be held.

The trade deadline has been moved from July 31 to Aug. 31. The regular-season is scheduled to end on Sept. 27.

The league and the MLBPA had discussed potentially expanding the playoffs to 16 teams, but the postseason will only feature 10 teams, which has been the case for the last eight years.

A couple of rules changes have been implemented. There will be a universal DH, meaning pitchers won’t be in the lineup when games are played in National League ballparks this season. In order to avoid long extra-innings games, a runner will be on second base to start each inning from the 10th-inning on.

Major-league rosters will start with 30 players and eventually be trimmed down to 26.