About a week ago, the CDC recommended that there be no large gatherings for at least eight weeks, pushing the estimated start of the MLB season to mid-May. But, there’s realistically no way the season gets going until Summer.
Come mid-May, if it’s safe, players and staff will return to camp to begin training again. Teams would need to play games, and by May, the weather is a huge factor in Florida. Teams would have to train early or late in the day, with games starting mid to late morning to finish before the daily thunderstorm. May begins the rainy season in Florida.
And for teams in Arizona, the heat could become unbearable. It’s bad enough in the late winter, but by May, temperatures frequently hit 100 degrees.
Could it be a possibility that teams resume Spring Training up north?
There are plenty of minor league stadiums and complexes in the Northeast for East Coast teams to go to, and others out in California for West Coast teams to go to. Now, there might be a bit more travel, but this might have to be an option with the weather in Florida and Arizona.
To accommodate all players, teams may also have to find local fields to conduct their training on. There are hundreds of players in each organization, and each player would need a place to practice and train.
This could potentially be a scheduling and planning nightmare, but it might be the only viable option. They could spend a few weeks up north before breaking for the regular season.
If all goes well, maybe we see baseball in June. My best guess is a 100-110 game season with the regular season ending in early to mid-October.