2020 MLB Opening Day Will Reportedly Be Even Earlier in March and That's Entirely Insane
By Adam Weinrib
Can we...not...do this?
If you enjoyed the myriad of 20-degree chillfests and weather delays that accompanied the start of the 2019 season, you're gonna LOVE the way the 2020 season starts. According to reports, next year's Opening Day will take place on March 26, which means at least 2.5 weeks of unplayable temperatures.
The MLB season will begin in record fashion next year.https://t.co/ZqTgtlSwjP
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 17, 2019
You'll likely be sitting next to someone at Opening Day in Chicago, New York, or Boston on March 26 who will tell you it's "not that bad." That person will be lying. It will be that bad.
If you're the type of bizarre baseball fan who believes this marathon should involve some inhuman endurance element at the very beginning of the season, then good for you. But it's not good for the health of players for them to spend five weeks in sunny Florida, playing six innings per day, followed immediately by nine daily innings with their faces covered in latex ski masks. Why do you think so many bodies broke so early during the adjustment period this year? Why do you think Miguel Andujar's labrum snapped simply from diving into third base at an awkward angle?
Oh, today was Opening Day? It’s on a Thursday in March now?
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 28, 2019
This is, of course, not even to mention the element of "tradition" that seems so important to the people who'll also let you know that real baseball is played under cover of snow, sleet, and ice storms. Isn't Opening Day supposed to mean something? Isn't it supposed to be a grandiose reawakening, and a beacon that spring has arrived, and the summer isn't terribly far behind?
Why is it now crammed on a random Thursday in a month where winter weather is still raging? Who is this for? So we can end our regular season on Sept. 27? Thank you for that. Eternally thankful for that minor non-benefit.
At some point, we have to stop pushing this. No one's asking for this, and no one'll be satisfied when another season opens with very little fanfare, featuring plenty of early overuse injuries in an improper climate. Don't say we didn't warn you; if you don't hate it now, you will when it happens.