MLB, NASCAR, NHL
prepare for major delays.
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball pushed back opening day until mid-May at the earliest on Monday because of the new coronavirus after the federal government recommended restricting events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement following a conference call with executives of the 30 teams.
“The clubs remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins,” the commissioner’s office said in a statement.
There’s no telling at this point when games will start. The All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 14 could be in jeopardy.
MLB called off the rest of the spring training schedule Thursday and said opening day, which had been scheduled for March 26, was postponed for at least two weeks. Teams and players agree that two to four weeks of additional spring training will be needed before the regular season begins.
Under an agreement last week, between MLB and the players association, players are allowed to decide whether to stay at spring training or go home, but some teams have ignored that deal and told players to leave.
The players’ association sent an email to agents on Monday saying that for players who went home or to their team’s regular-season city it would pay $1,100 allowances through April 9 to players on 40-man rosters as of March 13. That amount also would go to players with minor league contracts at big league spring training who were on 40-man rosters at the end of last season.
The union is negotiating with MLB over resetting the dates for players with optout clauses in their deals, and the sides are likely to agree on a roster freeze. They are discussing the possibility of payments to major league players who have not reached the point of big-money deals to make up for paychecks they won’t be getting in April and May.
This year marked the earliest opening day other than for international games. As it stood, Game 7 of the World Series would have been Oct. 28, and teams and players could push the postseason into November.
Any change to the 162game schedule would necessitate bargaining over an array of issues, including when and how much players get paid and how much major league service they are credited for. Service time determines eligibility for free agency and salary arbitration.
MOTOR SPORTS
NASCAR has suspended its season until May as part of the CDC’s recommendation to postpone gatherings for the next eight weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision came after at least two Monday conference calls between the sanctioning body and its team owners. It affects seven total races — Atlanta and Homestead had already been postponed.
“The health and safety of our fans, industry and the communities in which we race is our most important priority,” NASCAR said.
The series plans to return to the track at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia on May 9.
“We intend to hold all 36 races this season, with future rescheduling soon to be determined as we continue to monitor this situation closely with public health officials and medical experts,” NASCAR said. “What is important now transcends the world of sports and our focus is on everyone’s safety and well-being as we navigate this challenging time together.”
NASCAR first said it would run last weekend and this weekend without spectators, but reversed course Friday and postponed the races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR had not addressed anything beyond Homestead until Monday’s announcement.
IndyCar and Formula One both canceled last weekend’s season-opening races, IndyCar has suspended the season through the end of April and F1 said upcoming races in Bahrain, Vietnam and China are postponed.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway early Monday said it is planning for all contingencies but also is prepared to run its events in May. The Indy 500, scheduled for May 24, typically draws more than 300,000 fans.
The speedway — and now the season — are scheduled to open the first week of May. Roger Penske, the new owner of IndyCar and the speedway, hopes to open the speedway a few days before the May 9 race on the road course to build in test days. Penske wants teams as prepared as possible for the Indianapolis 500.
NHL
The NHL significantly pushed back its timeline of when it can potentially resume playing by several weeks, if not a month or more, as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic.
The league and NHL Players’ Association told players Monday they can go home — even outside of North America — and must self-isolate through March 27 while the season is on hold. But the NHL also cautioned that it will not be able to even provide guidance on the potential reopening of team practices for another 45 days, which could push any potential return to play into May.
The NHL said “depending on world developments,” consideration will be given to reopening facilities after the self-quarantine period ends in late March but practices for the 31 teams would not happen late April — at the earliest.
“I think in light of the CDC recommendations, it’s hard to foresee that we’re looking at much happening here in March or even April, in my opinion,” NHL player agent Jay Grossman said.
That’s a major switch from Friday, when the league held out the possibility of players being able to return to team facilities and working out and skating in small groups.
The latest decision leaves open questions as to whether the NHL can complete its regular season, which was suspended Thursday with 189 games remaining, and whether it might have to alter its playoff format to avoid the postseason from pushing into the summer months.