Baseball is back.
Finally.
On Tuesday, Major League Baseball and the players association hammered out the final health and safety protocols and set a schedule for the 2020 season. Players will return to spring training camp by July 1, and the 60-game regular season will start on July 24.
According to a statement by the MLBPA: "All remaining issues have been resolved and players are reporting to training camps."
Originally, MLB set a 5 p.m. deadline for the union to tell the league if players agreed to its health protocols and if players could report to spring training by July 1. The latter point was not a problem, but the two sides continued talking and negotiating beyond 5 p.m. to work out the safety aspect. At 8:41 p.m., the MLBPA confirmed a deal had been reached.
The league issued the following statement to announce the season, reiterating that healthy and safety remain "MLB's foremost priorities":
2020 @MLB regular season announced; players to report on July 1st; openers anticipated for July 23rd or 24th in 60-game season pic.twitter.com/w72vagahLx
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 24, 2020
