How long baseball season

The league and the players' union did not reach a new agreement regarding expanded playoffs for this year. In the absence of such a pact, the playoffs will once again feature five-team fields in both the AL and NL and begin with win-or-go-home Wild Card Games in both leagues. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. The Minor League season One effect of the pandemic was that the Minor League season was wiped out completely, as each team instead ran its own alternate training site in order to maintain a ready supply of roster replacements and provide hands-on instruction to some prized prospects.

The start of the Minor League season was again delayed in , due to safety reasons, with MLB clubs once again operating alternate training sites to keep roster replacements ready. However, a restructured, streamlined version of the Minors finally got underway on May 4. It's worth noting that things do look a bit different in the Minors in , after MLB announced that each level will be a testing ground for rule changes.

The goal of the program is to gauge the effect of the changes on issues such as the number of balls put in play, the pace and length of games and player safety. Among the rules: larger, less slippery bases at Triple-A , restrictions on infield positioning Double-A and a second pitch clock in the Low-A West.

The results of these changes will be studied to determine whether they merit consideration for future adoption in the Majors. A guide to the MLB season.

Share share-square Second, many high school athletes play multiple sports. While their seasons do overlap some, many states try to keep this overlap to a minimum to allow players to play more than one sport through their high school careers. Third, academics still take priority over athletics. While this is true at the college level as well, high school athletes do not have as much flexibility in their class schedules.

Playing a long, grueling schedule would put them at a disadvantage academically, and states do not want to put players in that situation. Weather is also a factor due to lack of indoor facilities in many areas. It is difficult to expect high schools in Michigan to start playing baseball in early February if they do not have access to indoor facilities. There are other factors that are also considered when determining the start and end dates for high school baseball teams as well as how many games they are allowed to play, but these are some of the main reasons the high school season is shorter.

The number of high school players who play summer ball after their high school season is over is growing exponentially. It has gained popularity because it allows players to develop their skills against stiff competition and to gain exposure for college recruiting. The length of the summer ball season varies from team to team. There are no regulations from states on how many games summer teams that are not affiliated with particular schools are allowed to play. Some teams begin their season at the first of June and play through the end of July.

We will do so again, together, as we work towards playing another safe and entertaining season in According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic , a number of players believe it is too late in the offseason to revise the schedule, which explains in part the reasoning behind the union's rejection. The two sides could revisit the idea of expanded playoffs and the universal DH, but the union remains opposed to the idea of expanded playoffs, according to Rosenthal.

Listen below:. It should be noted the MLBPA recently rejected an offer that would have given them the universal DH in exchange for an expanded postseason. The new game season proposal is essentially the same offer, only with eight fewer games and a delayed start.

For more information about our data practices consult our Privacy Policy. The Wall Street Journal 's Jared Diamond adds the expanded postseason would have included 14 teams, not 16 like the season. MLB's proposal seems reasonable enough on the surface, though the MLBPA would not be getting anything nearly as valuable as the expanded postseason is to the owners. An expanded postseason equals tens of millions in additional revenue to MLB. The union is already entitled to full pay for , which means they wouldn't have been getting much out of the rejected proposal.

As much as delaying the season would make sense for health and safety reasons, it comes down to money. MLB wants to play as many games as possible with fans in the stands, and delaying the season would help it do that now that vaccination distribution has begun. Spring training camps are scheduled to open in mid-February and Cactus League and Grapefruit League play will begin Feb. The regular-season opener is scheduled for April 1.