MLB: League announces Opening Day at Home amid coronavirus suspension
Major League Baseball is celebrating the 2020 season’s Opening Day in a unique way.
While the start of MLB’s season has been pushed back amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the league will honor Thursday, March 26, the original Opening Day, with an “Opening Day at Home” slate. Throughout the day, 30 classic games—one victory from each team—will be broadcast across various platforms, the league announced.
Each game will be played at a set time and will be available on MLB.com and the league’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. Fans will be able to interact throughout the contests by using the “#OpeningDayAtHome” hashtag on social media while staying at home. Other classic games will also be broadcast on MLB Network starting at 1 p.m. ET and ESPN2 will air a Home Run Derby marathon beginning at 6 p.m. ET, starting with Pete Alonso’s 2019 performance.
In the Opening Day initiative, MLB will also be raising awareness for charities that are providing relief for communities impacted by the coronavirus. The MLB and MLBPA made a joint donation of $1 million last week to Feeding America and Meals on Wheels. All 30 clubs also pledged to donate $1 million each to emergency relief for ballpark employees.
MLB recently offered fans access to watch any game from the 2018 and 2019 seasons for free on its MLB.TV service, following the lead of the NFL, NBA and other sports leagues.
The full schedule for Thursday’s slate of games, including start times and available platforms, can be found here.