March 26, 2020 was supposed to be the earliest opening day in history for the San Diego Padres as well as the rest of Major League Baseball.
That was before the coronavirus pandemic forced MLB — and virtually the entire sports world — to shut down indefinitely.
Spring training games in Arizona and Florida were canceled March 12, one day after the NBA suspended its season when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. MLB originally postponed the start of its 2020 season for two weeks, but the start date was pushed to an indefinite date as states across the country began banning large gatherings of people to slow the spread of the coronavirus.