Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Play ball.
After months of haggling between Major League Baseball and the Players Association, of fans watching in fury from afar in a country ravaged by the coronavirus, baseball is returning.
“All remaining issues have been resolved and Players are reporting to training camps,” the Players Association said in a statement Tuesday, signaling they will be ready for July 1 resumption and hopefully a July 24-26 Opening Weekend.
The Giants will be reporting to Oracle Park for their version of summer training, with staggered times for player groups and increased clubhouse space among the many tweaks expected as they try to hold a safe camp during a pandemic. They had to shut down their Scottsdale facility last week, though all COVID-19 tests came back negative.
MLB is implemented a 60-game schedule without many of the discussed changes as the two sides were not able to reach a pact. The players will get their full prorated total for the 60 games before a postseason that will not be expanded (provided, of course, the virus allows them to complete the season and postseason).
Now MLB will work on a revised schedule in which the Giants only play NL and AL West teams to cut down on travel. The Giants will begin camp July 1 seeking to sort out their regular roster from a taxi squad and emarking on a sprint of a season that, in more normal times, would not allow them much of a chance.
Baseball’s back.
