Rob Manfred Clarifies Comments Regarding MLB's Intent to Play 60-Game Season

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has clarified a recent statement he made regarding Major League Baseball's 60-game season in 2020.

Manfred appeared on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday and said MLB wasn't going to "play more than 60 games no matter how the negotiations with the players went," which led to speculation that the league negotiated in bad faith.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Manfred said Thursday he meant the recent spike in COVID-19 cases would've caused MLB to play at most a 60-game schedule regardless:

"My point was that no matter what happened with the union, the way things unfolded with the second spike, we would have ended up with only time for 60 games, anyway. As time went on, it became clearer and clearer that the course of the virus was going to dictate how many games we could play.

"As it turned out, the reality was there was only time to play 60 games. If we had started an 82-game season [beginning July 1], we would have had people in Arizona and Florida the time the second spike hit."

The 2020 MLB season is set to start July 23.

MLB and the MLBPA negotiated in May and June, but they couldn't agree on the number of games played, as the players proposed 70 games in their final offer, and MLB rejected it. As a result, Manfred was given the power to set the schedule.

The commissioner installed a 60-game season with a universal designated hitter for both the American and National Leagues, and the players agreed to report.

Players began reporting to training camp Wednesday in their home cities, and they will have about three weeks to prepare for the start of the 2020 regular season.

Training camps were originally set to be held at the teams' spring training facilities in Florida and Arizona, but COVID-19 spikes in those states resulted in shutdowns. 

Teams will only face divisional opponents and interleague opponents from the corresponding division in the other league.

That means the New York Yankees will only face AL East and NL East opponents, for example, to limit travel and the possibility of spreading COVID-19.

One thing that isn't changing is the number of playoff entrants. Each league will have five playoff teams as usual, although it is expected that playoff expansion could happen in the next collective bargaining agreement. The CBA expires after the 2021 season.

If MLB can play out the season as hoped without any coronavirus-related interruptions, the World Series will likely end in late October, which would allow MLB to prepare for the 2021 season as normal.