London Series Cancelled
Amid all the postponements and cancellations within Major League Baseball, one more event has fallen due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As the calendar turned to April, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement in a memorandum that the annual London Series was to be canceled for the 2020 season.
This years’ series was supposed to match up NL Central contenders in the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. The two teams were scheduled to battle inside the confines of West Ham’s Olympic Stadium for a two-game series on June 13 and June 14. It wasn’t an easy decision but one that Manfred said needed to be done in his announcement.
“We made the decision because it was unlikely the events would go forward, and the timely cancellation allowed us to preserve important financial resources,” wrote Manfred. “We have also canceled agreements with service providers and delayed projects that involve large capital expenditures.”
Expanding Effects
The London Series is just one of several events to be either put on hold or canceled entirely. Opening Day was set to start on March 26 but now the earliest the season would start is in mid-May. Other major sports like the NBA, NHL, and more are currently on hold with their seasons as well.
MLB has already canceled two other series that were scheduled this season. That included the Mexico City Series. That was set to post the San Diego Padres up against the Arizona Diamondbacks April 18-19. The other series was to take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico for a three-game stint featuring the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets. That series was set to take place on April 28-30. MLB has said that the games will be rescheduled for the home teams’ sites in Miami and Arizona.
Also noted was the agreement from last week that said the teams agreed to provide $170 million in advance pay. The union, in turn, agreed not to make claims for additional pay. As part of the recent deal, should the season be canceled entirely, players would receive service time for 2020 that matches what they received in 2019.
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