Baseball is back. MLB says 60-game season will start July 23 or 24

Major League Baseball has announced the 2020 regular season will open approximately one month from now, on July 23 or 24.

“Major League Baseball is thrilled to announce that the 2020 season is on the horizon,” league commissioner Rob Manfred said in a news release. “We have provided the Players Association with a schedule to play 60 games and are excited to provide our great fans with Baseball again soon.”

The players are expected to report to training camps by July 1.

The MLB Players Association confirmed the season would happen in a short tweet Tuesday night: “All remaining issues have been resolved and players are reporting to training camps.”

Normally, the 30 MLB teams each play 162 games from late March or early April to late September or early October, followed by a postseason.

But the 2020 baseball season never got started because of the coronavirus. The teams and the players’ association have been negotiating for weeks on how to restart the season.

MLB said the players’ association has accepted health and safety protocols to guide baseball’s return to play.

“MLB is working with a variety of public health experts, infectious disease specialists and technology providers on a comprehensive approach that aims to facilitate a safe return,” the release said.

The news release said many games on the schedule will be played within teams’ divisions to cut down on travel. Most teams will conduct training camps in their home cities, the release said.

The news release didn’t address how the postseason would be played.

MLB announced Monday that the clubs had unanimously voted to proceed with the 2020 season under the terms of their agreement with the MLB Players Association from March.

According to the March agreement, if a partial season is played, players would receive a prorated salary. The March agreement also said that both MLB and the MLBPA would make their best effort to schedule as many games as possible for the 2020 season.