Manfred hopes stadiums will be at full capacity by midsummer

Fans return to major league stadiums for openers on Thursday amid pandemic attendance restrictions in most places, and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred can envision filled ballparks by midseason.

“I hope by midsummer that we have ballparks that are unrestricted and we have full fan access,” Manfred said Wednesday during an interview with The Associated Press.

Last year’s shortened regular season was played entirely without fans, who were allowed back only for the NL Championship Series and

World Series, and then in limited numbers for games moved to a neutral site in Arlington, Texas.

“For most clubs, this will be another year of significant losses. It’s not going to be the $2.5 to $3 billion that we had last year, but there will be significant losses if we continue in the mode where we don’t have full fans,” Manfred said.

Manfred thinks most players could be vaccinated against COVID-19 by midMay.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros said Monday their players will be offered vaccines before openers, and the San Francisco Giants said some of their players already had received shots.

“I am pleased that we have gotten here,” Manfred said. “I think the players and the club people did a tremendous job during spring training, a continuation of what they did last year. And I’m just hopeful we’re going to be able to play a season that looks like normal.”

He thinks fans long to return to ballparks.

“I see this season as a huge opportunity for baseball,” he said. “We’re an outdoor sport. I think it’s safe or safer to go to outdoor activities. Everybody seems to agree on that. And I think that there’s pent-up demand for entertainment products, and we’re going to do everything we possibly can to take the best opportunity to take advantage of that.”