Major League Baseball has given no indication that teams will need to delay the season or play games without fans present" due to the coronavirus crisis, according to a report from Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. League commissioner Rob Manfred will address league owners on a conference call Monday.
As reported by ESPNs Jeff Passan, MLB sent a memo to teams earlier this week to prepare them for the possibility of alterations caused by the outbreak of coronavirus in the country. The league discouraged players from signing autographs for the remainder of spring training and suggested they pre-sign items and throw them to fans at games.
The league has not made any changes to its access policy, though the National Hockey League is reportedly considering the possibility of closing dressing rooms to media members and others in the near future. In baseball, media members have access to the clubhouse for an hour before regular season games and are allowed back 10 minutes after after the conclusion of games.
The MLB regular season starts March 26 with a full slate of 15 games. At least 500 people in the United States have contracted coronavirus, according to CNN, with 21 confirmed deaths so far.
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Coronavirus not expected to delay MLB season, cause games to be played without fans - MassLive.com
