When Major League Baseball cancelled remaining Spring Training games and delayed the start of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it was with the initial hope of staging Opening Day on April 9.
That best-case scenario never manifested, as the spread of the coronavirus further impacted MLB and the United States economy as a whole. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended gatherings of 50 or more people be cancelled at least through May 10, MLB pushed back Opening Day a second time.
With the season’s original start date passing Thursday, it amounted to more of a pressing need for MLB and the MLB Players Association to reach an agreement on salary, service time issues and the 2020 Draft, among other issues.