MLB Officially Suspends Spring Training, Delays Opening Day Two Weeks Due to Spread of COVID-19

Major League Baseball is expected to follow suit with other sports leagues and suspend spring training games due to the spread of COVID-19.

Major League Baseball is expected to follow suit with other sports leagues and suspend spring training games due to the spread of COVID-19, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. The suspension will begin on Friday. A delay of the regular season is likely as well, as they are suspending all baseball operations indefinitely. 

After a conference call among owners this afternoon, Major League Baseball is expected to suspend spring training. The league likely will delay the beginning of the regular season as well. At this point, it's a formality that ownership-level sources expect to happen.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 12, 2020

Major League Baseball officially announced the suspension of spring games Thursday afternoon, along with delaying the start of the regular season by at least two weeks.

Following a call with the 30 Clubs, and after consultation with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. today announced that MLB has decided to suspend Spring Training games and to delay the start of the 2020 regular season by at least two weeks due to the national emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic. This action is being taken in the interests of the safety and well-being of our players, Clubs and our millions of loyal fans.

MLB will continue to evaluate ongoing events leading up to the start of the season. Guidance related to daily operations and workouts will be relayed to Clubs in the coming days. As of 4:00 p.m. (ET) today, forthcoming Spring Training games have been cancelled, and 2020 World Baseball Classic Qualifier games in Tucson, Arizona have been postponed indefinitely.

MLB and the Clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular season schedule. MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as possible.

Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our players, employees and fans. MLB will continue to undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts. We send our best wishes to all individuals and communities that have been impacted by coronavirus. 

-Major League Baseball

The sports world has been rocked by the spread of COVID-19, or simply the coronavirus. Just a day ago, the NCAA announced that both men's and women's tournaments will be played sans fans in attendance. 

That was just the beginning.

In a massive turn of events, after discovering that Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, the NBA suspended their regular season. Gobert's teammate Donovan Mitchell has also tested positive for COVID-19.

On Thursday morning, multiple professional and collegiate sports associations announced the suspension of play in a variety of ways. 

• Major League Soccer announced they have suspended their season until further notice. 
• The NHL canceled all morning skates and practices Thursday morning and announced the suspension of the regular season. 
• 14 collegiate conferences, including all Power Five conferences, have canceled their conference basketball tournaments.
• The NCAA later announced that both the men's and women's Division I tournaments are canceled. 
• Both the men's and women's United States National soccer teams are canceling their friendly matches through the end of April. 
• The PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan also announced that The Players Championship tournament will be played without fans in attendance. 
• The ATP is suspending play for six weeks. 

The NFL, the lone professional sports league not currently in-season, has even begun to take steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as teams are discussing shutting down training facilities. The NFL has also canceled the NFL's annual meeting scheduled for March 29-April 1. 

The fluidity of this situation is in uncharted territory. Keep up-to-date with everything happening in the world of sports on Sports Illustrated.