May 11, 2020 - Sports

MLB owners send plan for July start to players' union

Fenway Park in Boston remains closed. Photo: Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

MLB owners approved a proposal to send to the league's players' union that would start this year's baseball season without fans around the Fourth of July, AP reports.

Details: Under the plan, spring training would start in early to mid-June. Teams would then play roughy 82 regular-season games, mostly against teams in their own division. The playoffs would be expanded from 10 teams to 14 by doubling the number of wild cards in each league.

  • Teams in jurisdictions where they couldn't get permission to play in their home stadium would play in spring training stadiums or on neutral fields.
  • The All-Star Game, which is currently scheduled for July 14, would likely be canceled.
  • The proposal also temporarily expands the use of a designated hitter to the National League.

Yes, but: It's not going to be easy. A key aspect of the proposal involves players' salaries being paid through a 50/50 revenue split with the league.

  • An owners' proposal in 1994 that included a revenue split and salary cap led to a players' strike that saw the World Series get wiped out that year.

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