Baseball begins shortened season

COVID-19 expert Dr. Anthony Fauci tossed out the opening pitch when the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals played the star-powered New York Yankees on Thursday night. The Yankees beat the Nationals 4-1. Superstar outfielder Mookie Betts, in his Los Angeles debut, joined the Dodgers on opening day to clobber the San Francisco Giants 8-1. The new 60-game season starts after months of wrangling between players and owners to agree on terms for the 2020 Major League Baseball season.

What changes did the league make? No fans will sit in ballparks this year. Telecasts will show virtual spectators in the stands, and loudspeakers will play crowd noise. Some stadiums will put up cardboard cutouts in seats. The National League will use designated hitters for the first time ever. Extra innings will begin with a runner on second base to accelerate the game’s pace. And to prevent spreading the coronavirus, MLB has banned spitting, including of sunflower seed shells.

Dig deeper: Read Sharon Dierberger and Lynde Langdon’s analysis in Muse of the long, hard road to 2020 baseball.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its original posting.