Texas Rangers: MLB delays 2020 season due to Coronavirus concerns

On Thursday, MLB announced a delay to the start for the season for the Texas Rangers and the rest of the league due to concerns over the Coronavirus.

The start of the Texas Rangers 2020 season and their unveiling of Globe Life Field will have to wait a few more weeks. Major League Baseball announced on Thursday that the start of the 2020 regular season would be pushed back at least two weeks due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. In addition, all remaining Spring Training activities have been suspended. The league joins the NHL, NBA, MLS and other various leagues across the country in taking significant preventative measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Wednesday, March 11th has been dubbed by many as ‘The Craziest Day in Sports’ after a number of collegiate leagues across the US made decisions to make limitations to spectator numbers or scheduling changes for the remainder of their athletic seasons. Additionally, a handful of games in professional leagues were making preparations to play games in alternate locations or behind closed doors, including the Texas Rangers who had jointly announced that their season opening series at the Seattle Mariners would not be played in Seattle.

The preventative measures escalated on Wednesday night though when the National Basketball Association made the decision to suspend their season indefinitely following the reported contraction of coronavirus by Utah Jazz center, Rudy Gobert. Shortly thereafter news broke that the National Hockey Association was likely headed towards a similar decision, one they have since announced. Jeff Passan of ESPN.com was the first to break the news that Major League Baseball was planning to delay the start of the season.

In addition to the measures taken by Major League Baseball, the Texas Rangers also announced that the Chris Stapleton concert featuring Willie Nelson scheduled for Saturday, March 14th has been postponed. The concert was to be the first public event at Globe Life Field and act as a sort of official unveiling for the new ballpark. As of now, there is no official date for the start of the MLB season but two weeks from today would be Thursday, April 9th. Additionally, whether the season will operate as a full season or will be reduced from the normal 162-game schedule. If the schedule were to remain the same, it would mean the postseason pushing well into November, a variable that is no doubt being discussed.