Minor League Baseball cancels 2020 season

Minor League Baseball on Tuesday officially announced it was canceling its 2020 season.

The league said Major League Baseball (MLB) told the minor league that MLB would not provide it with players for this year’s season.

“These are unprecedented times for our country and our organization as this is the first time in our history that we’ve had a summer without Minor League Baseball played,” Minor League Baseball President and CEO Pat O’Conner said.

“While this is a sad day for many, this announcement removes the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season and allows our teams to begin planning for an exciting 2021 season of affordable family entertainment,” he added.

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— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 30, 2020

The MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed last week to a delayed 60-game season plan with games starting in late July. “Spring” training is set to begin on July 1 for the shortest season in the MLB’s almost 150-year history.

The baseball season was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, which virtually shut down the sports world beginning in March. 

Teams from the Minor League have gotten creative with uses for their stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic, with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Minnesota Twins’ Double-A affiliate, and the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, the San Francisco Giants Single-A affiliate, both listing their stadiums on AirBnB, NBC Sports reported.   

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A affiliate, has permitted fans to pay to play Topgolf at the stadium.