There are reports today from Bob Nightengale at USA Today that the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season could be delayed until May. Quotes in the article state that MLB would like the players and all team personnel to be vaccinated before attending Spring Training in Florida and Arizona. Athletes aren’t going to be a top priority with the distribution of the vaccine, so the season delays seem inevitable right now. That could change with the quickness of the vaccine distribution and number of COIVD-19 cases in those particular states, all well as the country as a whole, but we won’t have a better idea until we see the effects over the next month or so. The much bigger issue seems to be with the ability to have fans at the games to avoid a repeat of this year. which would be costly to both owners and players, as well as the job cuts associated with the loss of game revenue.
The MLBPA (the Players Association) seems to be against a shorter season with the possibility of more lost pay, citing their ability to play the full schedule last year in the designated time period once they returned to action in July.
This all means that we could be in for more daily updates on the start of the season like the fun we all had following rumors each day in May/June.
