NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is delaying the start of its season by at least two weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak and suspended the rest of its spring training game schedule.
Opening day had been scheduled for March 26.
MLB had continued to play into Thursday and the announcement came while some exhibitions were still going on. But baseball changed course after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he strongly recommended to local authorities and organizers that they limit all mass gatherings.
“MLB and the clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular season schedule,” the commissioner’s office said in a statement.