Major League Baseball Could Cancel 2020 Season

President Donald Trump may have ended the 2020 baseball season before the man in blue had an opportunity to cry, "Play Ball."
The president advised the elderly to stay indoors and all people to limit gatherings to no more than 10 people to check the spread of the novel coronavirus, a guideline his 16-strong task force had already broken by attending his press conference Monday.
“People are saying July, August, something like that,” Trump said when asked how long the epidemic may take to flatline. That forecast helped send stock markets into one of the steepest dives in history, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping nearly 3,000 points, or nearly 13%.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred conducted a conference call on Monday with all 30 Clubs, and in a statement released later in the afternoon the league announced that Opening Day “will be pushed back in accordance with that guidance” from the CDC.
“We’re not going to announce an alternate opening day at this point,’’ Manfred told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Cardinals camp in Jupiter, Florida, after a conference call with all 30 team owners and club presidents. “We’re going to have to see how things develop. I think the commitment of the clubs is to play as many games in 2020 as we can, consistent with the safety of our players and our fans."

Manfred discussed the status of ongoing operations at each of their spring training facilities, emphasizing that there should be “no organized activities” at those complexes during the call last week.
At that time MLB announced the start of the 2020 regular season would be pushed back even further following Sunday’s recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Baseball was hoping it would be back in business following the eight-week closing CDC then recommended. Mid-May was the earliest possible date being considered then.
MLB's regular season ends Sept. 30. If the president is right, and CDC guidelines are followed, that would leave one month of baseball, then the playoffs. Baseball officials can decide if that is a best or worse case scenario.

MLB said it “will keep fans updated on decisions regarding plans for the 2020 schedule in the days and weeks ahead,” adding that the clubs remain committed to playing “as many games as possible” once the season begins.

“We will continue to monitor ongoing events and undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts, and urge all baseball fans to follow suit,” MLB said in the statement.