MLB announces neutral-site postseason plan, playoff schedule
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reached an agreement on a plan for the 2020 playoffs, including neutral-site bubbles for the division series, championship series, and World Series, the league announced Tuesday.
Houston's Minute Maid Park and Arlington's Globe Life Field will serve as the National League bubble. The American League sites include Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium and San Diego's Petco Park. The World Series is scheduled to be hosted at Globe Life Field from Oct. 20 to 28.
The postseason will begin on Sept. 29 with a three-game series that will take place at the home ballpark of each higher-seeded club.
The ALDS is scheduled for Oct. 5 to 9, and the NLDS will run from Oct. 6 to 10. The ALCS will follow from Oct. 11 to 17 and the NLCS from Oct. 12 to 18.
The 2020 @MLB Postseason will begin with the AL Wild Card Series on Tuesday, 9/29, while Game One of the 2020 World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas will be played on Tuesday, 10/20. pic.twitter.com/KSzWMSAcBk
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) September 15, 2020
There will be no off days between games in the first three playoff rounds.
Postseason rosters will feature 28 players and include up to a 12-player taxi squad, according to Andy Martino of SNY.
Players on contending teams will have to quarantine at a hotel during the final seven days of the regular season, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. There will reportedly be daily COVID-19 testing and players can choose to leave the hotel if their team is eliminated from contention.
Families are allowed to quarantine with players leading into the postseason and will remain together for the duration of the team's playoff run, sources told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Family members of managers and coaches won't be able to quarantine in the hotels initially due to a lack of capacity, but they can enter as the field narrows, Rosenthal adds. Everyone inside the bubble will reportedly be tested daily.
Clubs will also be allowed to continue operating alternate sites, but there won't be any player movement allowed between different locations once quarantine begins, according to Sherman.
Commissioner Rob Manfred is hopeful some fans will be able to attend the championship series and World Series.