Red Sox expect 2021 MLB season to start on time

With spring training supposed to begin in a matter of weeks, Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox are expecting and planning as if the baseball schedule will start on time.

After the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to spring training last year, ultimately pushed the start of the season four months and shortened it to a 60-game sprint, there are no guarantees. But as Bloom and company get ready to go down to Fort Myers to begin spring training ahead of the scheduled 2021 opener on April 1, the chief baseball officer seems confident the season will start on time and that a full 162-game season will be played.

“Every indication we’ve gotten is yes on both of those,” Bloom said. “This continues to be a situation none of us have dealt with. It’s totally unprecedented, and there are factors beyond all of our control, everybody affiliated with baseball. Every indication we’ve gotten is we’re ready to roll mid-February and we’re going to play the full season as scheduled, so that’s what we’re getting ready for.”

On Monday, the Cactus League in Arizona informed MLB of its desire to delay spring training because of rising COVID-19 cases in Maricopa County. But the Cactus League does not have the authority to make that decision, which would obviously have a domino effect in potentially delaying the season again and creating a litany of other complicated issues.

As the Red Sox and MLB work toward playing in a safe environment this season amidst the ongoing pandemic, Bloom wasn’t sure when the Red Sox would get vaccinated. Vaccinations have started rolling out in a first phase to frontline healthcare workers, but it’s unclear when and how quickly everyone else across the country will be vaccinated.

“We still don’t know,” Bloom said. “We haven’t gotten any guidance on that. Our hope is that it happens as soon as possible, but only in a way that’s appropriate in the context of how these are being rolled out throughout society.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/39frnRC