MLB Commissioner To Implement 60 Game Schedule
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred will implement a 60 game schedule after the league and MLB Players Association failed to reach an agreement on how (and when) to return to the field, according to ESPN.
The owners and players agreed in March that if the negotiations reached an impasse, the commissioner would have the right to implement the schedule.
The current plan calls for players to report to their home stadiums beginning on July 1st for a second "spring training," with games set to begin on July 24th.
The players will now have to vote on the health and safety protocol, which has a Tuesday evening deadline. Players also must decide whether July 1st is a reasonable timeframe to report to training camp.
If the season does indeed get underway, teams would play 60 games in approximately 66 games before a normal postseason featuring ten teams. If there is a "second wave" of COVID-19 cases in the fall, the postseason may be played at a neutral site.
The traditional spring training was abandoned in mid-March due to the pandemic, with players and owners bickering over money for the next three months.