MLB could return in mid-June, early July

Baseball’s regular season could make its anticipated start sometime between mid-June and July 4, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

With MLB season delays rolling into a second month, league officials are optimistic that they can schedule an 80- to 100-game regular season that crawls into late October with a postseason stretching into late November or early December.

That some states — Colorado, Georgia and Minnesota, for example — are lifting stay-athome orders infused optimism into an otherwise plainly uncertain timeline for the sport’s resumption. The Arizona plan raised a number of red flags for some baseball players, mostly due to the required long-term isolation from family and friends and logistical impracticality.

But lifted state restrictions could allow baseball to be played in more locations across the country. If the reopening trend continues, the games could be played in up to 20 home ballparks, Rosenthal reports.

“Or it could start in Florida, Texas and Arizona, then take a break after say, five weeks, to reassess the viability of moving to other locations. Even states hit hardest by the virus — New York, Michigan, California — might welcome the return of baseball in empty parks, citing it as an example of life returning to normal,” Rosenthal wrote.

One thread that remains is that the season will start in some capacity without fans in attendance. New York Yankees team president Randy Levine said in a Fox Business segment that an entire made-for-television season simple isn’t feasible.

“How can we get into our parks as soon as we can with all the appropriate mitigation — social distancing, taking temperature checks, wearing masks, wearing gloves,” Levine said to host Maria Bartiromo. “I think it’s all doable because I think that, to have games just on TV for the whole season for many, many reasons is not practical.”

At this rate, a limited number of fans could be allowed in ballparks located in states where COVID19 is under control come August or September,

Rosenthal says — though, nothing is certain. Fans entering ballparks may need to wear masks and gloves. They may also need to be subjected to temperature checks when they enter and exit the ballpark.