5 ways Opening Day will look different in 2020

The boys of summer are back! Major League Baseball’s long-awaited 2020 season will finally get underway on Thursday evening when the New York Yankees take on the defending champion Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.

The Opening Day match has everything you could possibly want from a ball game. Well, everything that is except for personal contact, ambience, and fans. MLB’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has ensured that this season will be unlike any other in baseball’s 151-year history.

Here are five ways Opening Day will look drastically different in 2020.

A universally good idea

The National League will take a giant leap into the 21st century this season as it adopts the Universal DH rule. The long overdue change comes 47 years after the American League first took bats out of pitchers’ hands and put them into the mitts of guys who can, you know, actually hit.

If history is any indication, the Universal DH could have a dramatic impact on offense in the Senior Circuit. The AL’s batting average jumped by 20 points to .259 the year after it first allowed designated hitters, and reached .270 before the decade was over. Expect significantly more home runs flying out of Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium as the NL finally gets with the times.

Who was that masked man?

Masks have become a common sight on streets and stores since the pandemic hit, but it’s still jarring to see baseball players sporting protective face coverings as they take their cuts in the batter’s box.

The good news is that it doesn’t appear to hamper their performance at the plate. New York Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier and Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius both hit home runs while wearing cloth masks on Saturday night, and have pledged to continue wearing them as the season unfolds.

For Frazier, wearing a mask is a way of showing his respect to those within the organization. "I’m just trying to overall do the best part that I can and make sure that our team does stay healthy," he told NJ.com. "I want to make sure that I’m not the reason why it spreads to anybody."

No fans in the stands

Empty stands have been a fact of life for teams like the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays over the past few years, and they’ll now become a daily reality for all 30 MLB teams as fans have been prohibited from attending major league games. That could lead to huge adjustments for clubs like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals, all of whom averaged more than 41,000 fans per game in 2019.

Several MLB teams have been experimenting with ways to offset the lack of spectators. Some clubs, like the Giants, are charging fans $99 to have cardboard cutouts of themselves in the stands, while other clubs, like the Reds, will blast simulated sound noises over the speakers at key moments within the game. It's unclear who came up with the idea, but we're reasonably certain it wasn't Joey Votto:

Subdued celebrations

Players will still celebrate when they hit home runs this season, they’re just going to celebrate differently due to social distancing protocol. High fives will be replaced with air fives, fist bumps will be replaced with foot bumps, and hugs will be replaced with bows and cheering. We’re not going to lie, it’s going to be wickedly awkward, but if it saves the season it will all be worthwhile.

No baseball north of the border

For the first time since 1969, Major League Baseball games will not be played in Canada. Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced on July 18 that the federal government had denied the Blue Jays' request to play regular season game at Rogers Centre due to concerns over the high volume of COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

The Jays are now scrambling to find a new facility with their first "home" game less than seven days away on July 29. One option is Shalen Field, Toronto’s Triple-A stadium in Buffalo. The venue is just a short drive away from Toronto, but unfortunately has substandard lighting that would need to be upgraded immediately.

Another option is TD Ballpark, the team’s spring training home in Dunedin. The 8,500-seater satisfies all of the Toronto’s needs, but is smack dab in the middle of Florida, which has been among the hardest hit states since the pandemic began. Florida reported 15,000 cases in a single day last week, and has had 360,000 total cases, which is nearly ten times more than Ontario.

Baseball will return to the Great White North eventually, but it likely won't be in 2020.

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