Major League Baseball announced the schedule for the 2020 MLB season on Monday. The Opening Day will take place on July 23rd with a match between the New York Yankees and the defending World Series champions Washington Nationals.
Besides Yankees and Nationals, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers will also take the field on the same day. All other teams will have their opening games the day after, on July 24th.
Considering the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and decision to play only 60 games in the regular season, MLB had to get creative with the schedule. In order to minimize the health risks and limit the travel, the league decided to have teams play their regional opponents, but that won’t affect the divisions.
In a 60-game setting, a team will play 40 games in their division, while its remaining 20 games will be based on its most proximate regional opponents. The best example are Chicago Cubs, who will play interleague games versus American League Central teams Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Minnesota Twins.
MLB hopes to commence the postseason on September 29th and have the Game 1 of World Series on October 20th. The potential Game 7 of the World Series is scheduled on October 28th.
The league previously announced that the All-Star game wouldn’t take place this year due to specific circumstances. Los Angeles Dodgers, who were set to host this year, will instead welcome the game in 2022.
