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Coronavirus Cancels Baseball's Opening Day

Kenneth Schwartz

   Baseball stadiums across the U.S. wereuncharacteristicallyempty and
   silentThursday -- no cheers, no beers, no jeers for the umpires.

   The coronavirus outbreak forcedMajor League Baseball to cancel
   thespringtimetraditionof Opening Day, when teams playthe first of what
   are supposed to be 162 games for the right to goto the World Series
   inOctober.

   The 30 big league teams canceled thelast two weeks ofspring
   trainingandoriginallypushed opening day from March 26 until April 9.

   But with social distancing, nationwidelockdowns and no clear sign the
   coronavirusoutbreakwill ease anytime soon, baseball haspostponedthe
   2020seasonindefinitely, at a cost of what is likely to be billions of
   dollars.

   "Ourprimaryconcern isn't preparing for the baseball season," Seattle
   MarinersGeneralManagerJerryDipoto told reporters. "It'smaking sure we
   stay as healthy as we can and that we're doing our part in a public
   health crisis to not spread this thing any further than it already has
   or will."

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