Possibly the New York Yankees and definitely some MLB team owners are asking MLB to shorten the 2021 season so that most players could be vaccinated before the start of the season. They are proposing a 140 game season that would start during May. This according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Last season Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred shortened the season to just 60 games because of the coronavirus surge. That move and the health protocols put in place allow the season to be completed almost unscathed. However, the season was completed until the World Series with no fans in the stands causing all teams to have huge revenue losses. With the upcoming season, there is no clarity as to what a season will look like and if fans will finally be allowed in the stands somehow.
The MLB Players’ Association does not approve of this tentative plan; as they hope to start on time and play the entire 162-game slate, they obviously want full pay after having their pay prorated this past season. However, even though the MLBPA says they can start safely on time, the owners are skeptical and do not want to risk teams becoming infected before players have been vaccinated.
“I don’t see a snowball’s chance in hell that spring training can start with protocols in place,” an anonymous National League owner told USA Today. “I think there will be significant pressure for players to get the vaccine first before they go to spring training, and if that has to be moved back to April and play 130 games, so be it. But to have 162 games, and start spring training at the normal time without players being vaccinated, that’s just crazy.”
With the coronavirus running ramped across the country, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. One vaccine against the deadly virus has been approved, and one is close behind. The CDC guideline says that health care and nursing home workers and patients should be first to get the vaccine. That to be followed by front-line workers and those older Americans with pre-existing conditions to follow. Young, healthy baseball players will likely near the last to get the vaccine.