The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

has caused disruption to

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

across the world, mirroring its impact across all sports. Leagues across the world experienced delayed starts, cancelled seasons, limited or no fan attendance, game postponements, and other restrictions in 2020 and 2021. Most leagues, including

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, began to transition back to a normal schedule with fan attendance in 2021. Since then, few leagues have widespread restrictions in place, but players may still miss time if they contract the virus.

International competition

Professional

The

qualifying round Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

of the

World Baseball Softball Confederation World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC; french: Confédération internationale de baseball et softball) is the world governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, and Baseball5. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the Inter ...

-sanctioned 2021 World Baseball Classic, in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

scheduled in March 2020 was postponed on 12 March 2020. The tournament itself has been rescheduled tentatively to 2023, depending on a new collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the

players' union The Association Football Players' and Trainers' Union (AFPTU), commonly known as the Players' Union, in the United Kingdom was the original association that became the Professional Footballers' Association. Their stated aims were freedom of move ...

. On 30 June 2020, the WBSC announced that the

U-23 Baseball World Cup The U-23 Baseball World Cup is a biennial, professional-level, National Team, baseball world championship of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), replacing Baseball World Cup. The inaugural tournament was held in November 2014, in T ...

, scheduled to be held in September 2020 in Mexico, would be postponed until September 2021. On 23 February 2021, the WBSC announced that the

U-15 Baseball World Cup The U-15 Baseball World Cup is the 15-and-under baseball world championship that features national teams as authorized ("sanctioned") by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It began in 1989 as the World Youth Baseball Championship. I ...

and

Women's Baseball World Cup The Women's Baseball World Cup is an international tournament in which national women's baseball teams from around the world compete. Through its 2012 edition, it was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation; following the 2013 merger ...

, scheduled to be held in March in

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(US) and < ...

, had been postponed due to the "pandemic and associated international travel restrictions." On 1 October 2021, the two competitions were cancelled. On 2 June 2021, the

Chinese Taipei national baseball team The Chinese Taipei baseball team () is the national men's baseball team of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked second in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confeder ...

withdrew from the final round of the qualifiers for the 2020 Summer Olympics due to concerns related to player safety from COVID-19 in Mexico. On 8 June, the

Australia national baseball team The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand wi ...

withdrew from the same round due to logistical issues caused by COVID-19. On 29 July 2021, the WBSC announced that the

U-18 Baseball World Cup The U-18 Baseball World Cup is the 18-and-under baseball world championship sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and its successor, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), and was first held in 1981 in the United S ...

, scheduled to be held in September in

Manatee County, Florida Manatee County is a county in the Central Florida portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county ...

, would be postponed indefinitely due to a resurgence of the pandemic. On 31 August 2021, the WBSC announced that the

U-12 Baseball World Cup The U-12 Baseball World Cup is the under-12 baseball world championship sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and its predecessor the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), and is the most elite and highest level of co ...

, scheduled to be held in summer 2021 in

Tainan, Taiwan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of his ...

, would be postponed to summer 2022 instead.

Amateur

On 30 April 2020,

Little League International Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization2020 Little League World Series and its associated regional qualifiers would be cancelled due to the pandemic. This was the first cancellation of the tournament since its first edition in 1947. Then the following year, Little League Baseball announced that the

LLWS The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

and

Little League Softball World Series The Little League Softball World Series is a softball tournament for girls aged 10 to 12 years old. It was first held in 1974 and is held every August at Stallings Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina, Greenville, North Carolina, in the United St ...

would go on, but will be played with U.S.-based teams only. Two teams will qualify from eight U.S. regions for a 16-team LLWS, and two teams qualifying from five U.S. regions will compete in a 10-team LLSWS. A planned expansion of the LLBWS field to 20 teams and the LLSWS field to 12 teams has been postponed to 2022, and all other Little League division championships have been canceled.

By continent

Asia

Japan

On 26 February 2020,

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

announced that spring training would continue behind closed doors. On 9 March, the league announced that the start of its 2020 season, originally scheduled for 20 March, would be postponed until April. Eventually, the heavily modified season started on 19 June and was shortened from 143 games to 120 games. To maximize the number of intraleague games that could be played,

interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pr ...

and the All-Star Series were eliminated. Additionally, NPB's post-season, the

Climax Series The is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League (PL) will advance to compete for the championship in the Japan ...

, was affected as well. The

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

reduced their post-season from two playoff series to one, while the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

cancelled their Climax Series altogether, instead opting to advance their regular-season champion directly to the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

. NPB Commissioner Atsushi Saito announced on June, fan entry admit within 5000 audience in ballpark, that start from 10 July, set on hand spray and thermo-temperatures measuring device in stadium entrance. According to NPB commissioner Saito announced on 12 September, the maximum spectator capacity increases from 11,000 to 20,000 from 19 September. On 4 March, the Japan High School Baseball Federation announced that the

National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament (選抜高等学校野球大会 ''senbatsu kōtō gakkō yakyū taikai'') of Japan, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" (春の甲子園 ''haru no kōshien'') or "Senbatsu" (センバツ ...

, scheduled to begin on 19 March, would take place without fans in attendance. However, on 11 March, the governing body of

high school baseball in Japan High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

declared that the tournament had been cancelled. The cancellation of the 2020 tournament marked the first time the contest was not organised since 1946, when the tournaments were not formally scheduled between 1942 and 1946, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. According to JHSBF chairman announced on 20 May, all games, including regional qualifying for the High School Baseball Tournament of Japan were called off, marking the first time since

. According to Japan Students, Baseball Association honour chairman announced on 9 October, a , was called off because of restrictions around the

Tokyo Metropolitan Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the pre ...

for the first time since 1988, when it was not held because of the illness involving

Emperor Shōwa Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

at the time.

South Korea

Opening Day of the

2020 KBO League season The 2020 KBO League season, also known by naming rights sponsorship as 2020 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League (), was the 39th season in the history of the KBO League. Season schedule The 2020 KBO League season schedule was released in December 2019. Op ...

was originally scheduled for 28 March 2020. The

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

announced in March that all ten exhibition games would be cancelled. The league later decided that exhibition games would be played starting 21 April with no spectators. The start of the regular season would also take place with no spectators, on 5 May.

Taiwan

The

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

-based

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

was scheduled to begin its 2020 season on 14 March. On 1 April, the league announced that opening day would take place on 11 April, without fans in attendance. Due to inclement weather on that date, games did not begin until 12 April. On 9 May, the CPBL began admitting spectators.

North America

Nationals players during the National Anthem

2020 season

On 12 March 2020,

suspended all

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

activities.

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

of the 2020 season, scheduled for 26 March, was postponed, as was the start of the regular season for Minor League Baseball, which was to begin on 9 April. In addition, the Mexico Series and Puerto Rico Series games were canceled; the former would have featured the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

playing the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

at Mexico City's

Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú (English: ''Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium'') is the home baseball stadium of the Red Devils of Mexico (Diablos Rojos del México) in Mexico City, inaugurated on March 23, 2019. With a capacity of 20,576 seats, it became t ...

, and the latter featuring the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

playing the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

Hiram Bithorn Stadium Hiram Bithorn Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Hiram Bithorn) is a baseball park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, built in 1962 and designed by Puerto Rican architect Pedro Miranda. It is operated by the municipal government of the city of San Juan. Its name ho ...

in San Juan. MLB also canceled the 2020 London Series games, which would have featured the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

playing the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is located ...

Also on 12 March, the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) announced the suspension of its baseball season and cancellation of the entire season, further adding an automatic

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

year without officially using a redshirt year. Seniors who would have exhausted their eligibility would not be charged a year, as most conferences had not begun their conference seasons. On 30 April, the 2020 Little League World Series and its other associated tournaments were canceled, and with it, the

Little League Classic The MLB Little League Classic is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) game held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, first played during the 2017 Little League World Series. The series is part of MLB's effort to get more children interested in and in ...

game between the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

scheduled for 23 August in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

was subsequently changed to a regular home game for the Orioles. Several summer collegiate baseball leagues were canceled entirely, while others postponed their starts from the beginning of June to the beginning of July. The

Portland Pickles The Portland Pickles are a collegiate woodbat baseball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the South Division of the West Coast League, a premier collegiate summer baseball league based in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. The ...

of the

West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...

announced that they would play without fans, while several other teams withdrew from their leagues entirely. In late May 2020, multiple members of the Fieras del San Fernando of the

Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League Liga de Beisbol Profesional Nacional (LBPN) is the professional baseball league of Nicaragua. The league consists of five teams with a 30 game regular season schedule that runs from November to December. Followed by a four team round robin, with ...

contracted COVID. Coach Carlos Aranda fell ill, was brought to a hospital in Nicaragua already unconscious and died. The deaths attracted attention to the government's response to the pandemic as Nicaragua was one of the few countries in which sporting events continued as scheduled. On 30 June 2020 the Minor League Baseball season was canceled outright. On 1 July, the 2020

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

season was cancelled, citing that the league's reliance on ticket sales for team revenue made playing games behind closed doors economically unviable. A shortened 60-game

2020 Major League Baseball season The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball (ML ...

began on 23 July; all neutral site games were cancelled, and no game was played outside of the

Contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

(including international neutral site games, and the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

playing most of their home games at

Sahlen Field Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the ...

in Buffalo (home of the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, a Blue Jays minor league affiliate) rather than

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it ...

due to Canadian travel restrictions). The schedule limited games to divisional opponents to reduce travel, with interleague games played against corresponding divisions (i.e.

AL East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

vs.

NL East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

) rather than the annual alternating cycle. New temporary rules were enacted, including social distancing violations with umpires and opposing players being classified as

unsportsmanlike conduct Unsportsmanlike conduct (also called untrustworthy behaviour or ungentlemanly fraudulent or bad sportsmanship or poor sportsmanship or anti fair-play) is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sport ...

, the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

using

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

s for all games, and a modified version of the

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

tiebreaker In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests. General operation In matches In some situations, the tiebreaker may consi ...

where each half-inning begins with a runner on second base. It was later decided for health and safety reasons, games in doubleheaders would also be shortened to seven innings (a rule standard in minor league play). The postseason was expanded to 16 teams, with the top two teams in each of the six divisions, as well as the top two remaining teams based on regular season records, advancing to the best-of-three "Wild Card Series" round (which replaced the usual

Wild Card Game The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Major League Baseball postseason, postseason. A single wild card game was first ...

). The winners advanced to the eight-team Division Series round as normal. Approximately 40 regular season games were cancelled due to outbreaks within teams. It was later announced that in an effort to diminish the impact of further outbreaks, all postseason games would be centralized at one of several venues in California or Texas beginning with the Division Series round, and that the entirety of the

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los Ang ...

would be held at

Globe Life Field Globe Life Field is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. It is located just south of Choctaw Stadium, the Rangers' former home ballpark. History Background On Ma ...

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, new home of the Texas Rangers. All games throughout the season were played behind closed doors, with the only exceptions being the 2020 National League Championship Series and 2020 World Series at Globe Life Field (which offered limited in-person attendance). After Game 6 of the World Series,

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

third baseman

Justin Turner Justin Matthew Turner (born November 23, 1984) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dod ...

stormed onto the field with his teammates to celebrate his team's championship, despite having been removed from the game in the eighth inning after testing positive for COVID-19. Turner later apologized for the incident, and

Commissioner of Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

Rob Manfred Robert Dean Manfred Jr. (born September 28, 1958) is an American lawyer and business executive who is serving as the tenth Commissioner of Baseball, commissioner of Major League Baseball. He previously served as MLB's chief operating officer. Man ...

announced that no actions would be taken, citing Turner's apology and admitting that "we all have made mistakes as we navigated these unprecedented challenges and have tried to learn from those mistakes so they are not repeated." Temporary rules for the postseason tiebreaker,

, and

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

are still in use as of the 2022 season. The Wild Card Series was officially implemented in 2022, with only 12 teams instead of 16 teams. The top two division winners earn a bye to the Division Series. The third-place division winner plays the third-best non-winner based on record, and the first and second placed non-division winners playing in the other round, using the same best-of-three Wild Card Series format.

2021 season

Sahlen Field - Toronto Blue Jays (51325049130)

Major League Baseball returned to a full 162-game season for

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, but some protocols and scheduling changes from the 2020 season remain in place, including shortened doubleheader games, and interleague games being played against teams from the corresponding region. No games are scheduled outside the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

or Canada. The Blue Jays hoped to return to Rogers Centre if travel restrictions permitted, but instead began the season at their spring training home of

TD Ballpark TD Ballpark, originally Dunedin Stadium at Grant Field, is a baseball field located in Dunedin, Florida. The stadium was built in 1990 and holds 8,500 people. It is the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays ...

Dunedin, Florida Dunedin is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The name comes from ''Dùn Èideann'', the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Dunedin is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area and is ...

before returning to Sahlen Field beginning in June. On 16 July, the team received a National Letter of Exemption from the Canadian government allowing home games to return to Toronto, effective with the contest of 30 July. Strict health protocols were in place for visiting teams and attendance was limited to 15,000 fans per game. Minor League Baseball, which had extensive retooling during the offseason, revealed its original schedule for the season on 18 February. It included staggered starts for the Triple-A level (6 April or 8 April) and all other levels (4 May). Triple-A teams would play 142 games each, and all other teams would play 120 games each. All games were played in six-game series at a single ballpark, with one day off during each series. Originally, no postseason play was planned, but on 1 July MiLB reversed course and announced that the top two teams in each league from Low-A to Double-A, based on winning percentage, played a best-of-5 series. The Triple-A level had two separate championships: one for the teams with the best regular-season record, and the other for the winners of 10-game mini-tournaments called the "Triple-A Final Stretch." On 3 March, MLB informed its minor-league organizations that the start of the Triple-A season would be postponed until sometime in early May, at the same time of those of other levels. Players assigned to Triple-A teams would be sent to alternate training sites, which were used by MLB organizations in 2020 as well. On 12 February 2021, the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

announced that a smaller, indoor ceremony would replace the usual outdoor event. The inductions of

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

Larry Walker Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder. During his 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. I ...

Ted Simmons Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a catcher for most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1968–1980), the Milwau ...

, and

Marvin Miller Marvin Julian Miller (April 14, 1917 – November 27, 2012) was an American baseball executive who served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players ...

had already been postponed by one year when that ceremony was canceled outright. Unrelated to the pandemic and because no candidates met the year's election criteria, no new members were inducted in 2021. On 9 June, HOF officials announced a change to an outdoor ceremony with a limited number of tickets available, with the event scheduled for 8 September. On 5 April 2021, the Texas Rangers held its home opener at

with around 38,000 fans, after having announced that it would not limit capacity for the game. This came as the state of Texas removed capacity limits for businesses state-wide. Despite criticism from health officials and U.S. president Joe Biden, there were no significant spikes in cases tied to Rangers games, and cases had been declining in the state. By May 2021, as restrictions eased across the country due to vaccination progress and a resulting reduction in caseloads, teams have gradually increased their spectator limits, and more teams announced plans to remove restrictions. Prior to the start of the season, MLB and the MLBPA announced that they would allow teams to ease their COVID-19 protocols if at least 85% of their "tier 1" staff (such as players) are fully-vaccinated. Early on the morning of 26 June, the NCAA announced that

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

had to withdraw from the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

due to multiple positive tests and required contract tracing. On 25 June, the Wolfpack had lost to Vanderbilt with only 13 players available.

2022 season

Most Major League Baseball restrictions were lifted by the 2022 season, and the season began without any COVID-related delays or attendance restrictions for the first time since 2019. The season also marked the return of television and radio broadcast teams to road games, with some teams such as the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, and

sending their broadcasters to call away games in person. Other broadcast teams, such as the

MASN The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between two Major League Baseball franchises, the Baltimore Orioles (which owns a controlling 77% interest) and the Washington Nationals (which ...

teams covering the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

and

, initially chose to remain remote for road games in 2022, but quickly retreated following fan backlash. Some teams, like

NESN New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports network, regional sports cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which ow ...

commentators, decided between remote and in-person broadcasting on a series-by-series basis. The

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

' lead commentator

Matt Vasgersian Matt Vasgersian ( '; born 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and FOX Sports. In the past, he has served as an an ...

called games from

MLB Network The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox Com ...

's studios in New Jersey to accommodate his day-to-day contributions to the channel. While few MLB-imposed restrictions remained in place by 2022, players and personnel still had to comply with local ordinances relating to the pandemic. As the regular season approached,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's worker vaccine mandate posed a threat towards the ability of unvaccinated Yankees and Mets players to play games at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

and

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

. On March 24, following campaigning for the decision by Yankees and Mets executives, New York City mayor

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York C ...

announced an exemption to the vaccine mandate for professional athletes and performers, allowing unvaccinated players on the two teams to play games within the city. During the 2022 season,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's border vaccination requirement remained in place, barring unvaccinated players from playing against the

. The travel restriction created a notable impact for division rivals, with Boston pitcher Tanner Houck missing a scheduled start in Toronto as a result. For the third consecutive season, COVID-19 was the direct cause of at least one game postponement. That occurred on May 11, when the last game of a three-game series between the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

and the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

was postponed due to numerous positive tests among the Guardians, including manager

Terry Francona Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox fo ...

Oceania

In September 2021, the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

announced that the start of its upcoming season would be delayed until November due to COVID outbreaks. In October 2021, the Australian Baseball League announced that the season would be canceled.

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic, state=collapsed 2020 in baseball 2021 in baseball 2022 in baseball