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2020 MLB Season Suspended over Coronavirus fears

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March 16 Update

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred held a conference call with owners of the 30 Major League clubs today. Following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the league said the opening of the baseball season would be pushed back at least eight weeks, making the earliest possible start to the 2020 season sometime in mid-May. The clubs, MLB said, remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins.聽

Major League Baseball on Thursday joined other major sports in immediately suspending spring training due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league also announced that Opening Day would be pushed back at least two weeks.

Following a call with the 30 Clubs, and after consultation with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. today announced that MLB has decided to suspend Spring Training games and to delay the start of the 2020 regular season by at least two weeks due to the national emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic. This action is being taken in the interests of the safety and well-being of our players, Clubs and our millions of loyal fans.

MLB will continue to evaluate ongoing events leading up to the start of the season. Guidance related to daily operations and workouts will be relayed to Clubs in the coming days. As of 4:00 p.m. (ET) today, forthcoming Spring Training games have been cancelled, and 2020 World Baseball Classic Qualifier games in Tucson, Arizona have been postponed indefinitely.

MLB and the Clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular season schedule. MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as possible.

Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our players, employees and fans. MLB will continue to undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts. We send our best wishes to all individuals and communities that have been impacted by coronavirus.

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Major League Baseball

March 12, 2020

The Red Sox followed with their own statement in support of the league’s decision and announcing that all Fenway Park and JetBlue Park tours and events have been suspended indefinitely. The club said Season Ticket holders will be issued a credit on their account for all un-played games.

Baseball’s move, which seemed unlikely just a week ago, became almost expected following Wednesday’s NBA decision to suspend its season indefinitely. Earlier on Thursday, the NHL likewise suspended their season.


Post-Papi Era Starts With A Win

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The first game of the Post-Papi Era was a satisfying Red Sox win in a rare visit to Boston by the Pirates for the start the 2017 campaign. 

Amid the pomp and ceremony of a new Sox season there were Patriots and fireworks (thanks to an Andrew Benintendi blast over the right field wall), and even well wishes from David Ortiz himself, albeit through social media, not in person.

The Sox, held scoreless into the fifth inning, suddenly erupted for the entirety of their runs, all coming with two outs. After a triple by the club’s 2016 triples leader, Jackie Bradley Jr., a fleet-footed and highly motivated Pablo Sandoval beat out an infield single that put the Sox on the board. A surprising bunt against the shift by Sandy Le贸n put two men on in time for a 384-foot blast off the bat of Benintendi. 

After the game, Manager John Farrell said the decision to bunt was Le贸n’s. “We want our guys to play the game,” Farrell said. “That’s an attack on Sandy’s part that he’s worked on, and it worked here today.”

At 22 years, 271 days old, Monday’s home run made Benintendi the youngest Sox player to homer on Opening Day since Mookie Betts two seasons ago. “For a guy of his stature,” Farrell noted of the latest rookie phenom, “there’s such great timing and fluidity to the swing, he creates easy power.”

Porcello Solid

The 2016 American League Cy Young Award winner, Rick Porcello, did not disappoint in his first ever Opening Day start. Porcello allowing three earned runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. His 6.1 innings of work marked his 42nd consecutive start with at least 5.0+ IP, the longest such active streak in the league and, after 56 such starts by Luis Tiant, the second longest by a Red Sox pitcher since 1913.

Porcello had held the Pirates scoreless for 23.0 IP before allowing 3 ER in the seventh on Monday. With the win he improved to 3-0, 1.23 ERA in four career starts against the Bucs.

Porcello was followed by Matt Barnes, Robby Scott, Heath Hembree, and Craig Kimbrel, who collected his 20th straight save. For Barnes, the outing marked his 100th career appearance.

Hits Keep Coming

Even without the Large Father, the hits kept coming for the Red Sox.

Every Boston batter but Mitch Moreland connected for at least one hit Monday. Xander Bogaerts and Le贸n had two apiece. 

In all, the Sox amassed 10 hits starting, one would hope, a new string of double-digit hit games. In 2016, fully half of Boston’s games featured 10+ hits, the most of all the major league clubs. 

Dustin Pedroia, unquestionably now the leader of a large body of stats for active Red Sox, was 1-for-4 on Monday, his 11th straight Opening Day at second base for Boston. Pedroia’s is the 2nd-longest consecutive Opening Day start streak at any position in club history, trailing only Carl Yastrzemski鈥檚 12-start streak in left field (1961-72). The game also marked Pedey’s 1,399th major league game, tying him with Dom DiMaggio for 11th on the club’s All-Time Games Played List. He’ll need 147 more to meet Jason Varitek at #10 on that list.


Finally, it’s time to Play Ball!

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Opening Day 2017We’ve waited patiently and now patience is rewarded. After an 18-14-3 spring, it’s time to start the 2017 Red Sox season! 

The Sox open the new season, their 117th, at home facing the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s only the second time ever the Pirates have played at Fenway following a three-game set a dozen years ago. 

For all-time, Boston is 57-58-1 on Opening Day, excluding Game 2 of doubleheaders played in 1903, 1948 and 1982. They’re 9-8 in Day One action since 2000.

After six straight years of Opening Days on the road, 2017 marks the 41st time the Sox will open a season at Fenway. In the last 100 seasons dating back to 1917, Boston is 19-15 in home starts and have won five of their last six, including the two most recent bouts in 2009 versus the Rays and in 2010 facing the Yankees.

Pirates’ 2nd-ever trip to Fenway

The Red Sox will play a National League opponent on Opening Day for the second time in three seasons. Boston walloped the Keystone State’s other franchise, the Phillies, 8-0 on Opening Day 2015 in a game that featured two home runs apiece for Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ram铆rez. For good measure, Ram铆rez’ second roundtripper was a 9th inning grand slam.

For all-time, the Sox are 5-7 in regular season action against the Bucs. The only team Boston has faced fewer times than the Pirates are the Reds (10 total games). The last regular season meeting between Boston and Pittsburgh came in September 2014 at PNC Park, a forgettable three-game Pirates sweep. In Pittsburgh’s only previous regular season visit to Boston in June 2005, they fell to the Sox 2-games-to-1.

Sox history buffs know that Boston beat Pittsburgh in the first ever modern World Series, a best-of-nine set that ended at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds on October 13, 1903. In that series the Boston Americans overcame a 1-game-to-3 deficit to win four straight and the series title 5-games-to-3.

Porcello’s Special Day

For the Sox  2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello will take the mound in his first career Opening Day start (he’s also seven away from the 1,000th strikeout of his career). The club’s record for most Day One pitching starts is held by Roger Clemens (8). Hall of Famer Tom Seaver owns the MLB record for most Opening Day starts (16).

For Dustin Pedroia it will be his 11th Opening Day start at second base with the Red Sox, three behind the franchise record held by Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr (13).

Andrew Benintendi, Heath Hembree, Eduardo Rodriguez, Robby Scott, Steve Selsky, Ben Taylor, and Christian Vazquez are all making their first career Opening Day starts on Monday with the Red Sox.

Craving even more Opening Day Red Sox stats? At the start of last season RSNStats recalled some Opening Day milestones, such as the Red Sox’ only Opening Day walk-off win (it was in 1941). Have a read through as you settle in and gear up for another exciting new Red Sox season!


Porcello’s First On Opening Day

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Red Sox manager John Farrell yesterday named Rick Porcello the Opening Day starter for 2017.

The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner will be making the first Opening Day start of his career when he faces the Pirates at Fenway on April 3. Farrell also announced that Sox newcomer Chris Sale will start the second Fenway game on April 5.


Porcello, of course, had a memorable 22-4 campaign in 2016 with a 3.15 ERA that included an MLB-best 13 wins at home split between two streaks: six straight from April 15 to June 16 followed by seven straight from July 4 to August 29. The only hiccup, a team win but a no-decision for Porcello on June 23 against the White Sox.

Rick Porcello


Rick Porcello flickr photo by Keith Allison shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license

 

Porcello didn’t lose a game at Fenway last season until September 14.

Kyle Kendrick Impresses

Far from the glare of the Porcello-Sale-David Price spotlight is Sox non-roster invitee Kyle Kendrick, 32, who despite not playing at the MLB level at all in 2016, is having a great spring training. Over 18 innings, Kendrick has given up just three earned runs while collecting 16 strikeouts. The Boston Globe‘s Peter Abraham says Kendrick is giving the Sox something to think about. The Boston Herald‘s Evan Drellich also has a package on the righty saying that Kendrick has gone from longshot to a nice commodity.

Now, a few other notes of interest to Red Sox fans:

  • The rebuilding Chicago White Sox have cleared the path for one-time Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada to join their major league club. This past week Chicago somewhat surprisingly sent veteran second baseman Brett Lawrie, 27, packing. There’s talk that the Royals, Mets and Blue Jays are teams interested in Lawrie, though the player’s agent says Lawrie won’t sign anywhere until he’s fully recovered from “minor soft-tissue discomfort in his lower body.” For his part, Moncada miserable spring (he was hitting .200 with 13 strikeouts in 30 at-bats entering Wednesday’s game) came through with two home runs against the Royals.
  • Nice bit of background on the connection between members of the Sox coaching staff from Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Farrell, Chili Davis, Gary DiSarcina all were playing with the 1993 Angels, as was former Sox bench coach and new Arizona manager Torey Lovullo. DiSarcina remembered restaurant meetings after the games as his “classroom.” “Little did we know,” Farrell says, “here we are grabbing coffee again.”
  • There’s so much offensive power in baseball, right? So, when was the last time a major league club batted at .300 or better? You’ve got to go all the way back to the 1950 Red Sox! Only Vern Stephens (.295) and Bobby Doerr (.294) slipped below .300 that Sox season. Billy Goodman led the club (.354, a career best over 16 big league seasons), followed by Dom DiMaggio (.328), Al Zarilla (.325), Walt Dropo (.322), Hall of Famer Ted Williams (.317), and Johnny Pesky (.312). Overall, Boston batted at .302 that season. Hardball Times has a deep dive on the history of .300 AVG ball clubs that’s a fun read. In 2016 the Sox led MLB with a .282 AVG, the best team AVG since the Tigers batted .283 in 2013.
  • Last season only two first basemen collected 20 or more doubles, home runs, and stolen bases: the Padres Wil Myers (29 2B/28 HR/28) and the Diamondbacks phenom Paul Goldschmidt (33/24/32), who also achieved that feat in 2015 (not since Ryan Braun in 2000-01 has such back-to-back achievement happened). There are only 11 first basemen in MLB history to reach the 20 2B/20 HR/20 SB milestone. You have to go all the way back to 1987 to find an American League first baseman with such a season. That was Joe Carter (27/32/22). The only others in the Junior Circuit are Rafael Palmeiro (40/37/22) and Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, who collected 29 doubles, 40 home runs, and 23 stolen bases while playing 99 games of the 1970 season at first. Last season, Mookie Betts (42/31/26) became the eighth Red Sox at any position to join the 20/20/20 club and the first since Jacoby Ellsbury (46/32/39) did it in 2011. Only one Sox players has ever done it twice: Jackie Jensen in 1954 (25/25/22) and again in 1959 (31/28/20).