If this were a normal year, Major League Baseball would be commemorating the season’s halfway mark with the All-Star Game. But 2020 has been anything but normal. After a delay of more than three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, opening night will finally take place on Thursday, July 23 with a TV doubleheader of Yankees vs. Nationals and Giants vs. Dodgers on ESPN (click here for the full-season schedule).
But the game will look a lot different this truncated 60-game season. Both leagues will be using the designated hitter to protect pitchers. Spitting is forbidden, but pitchers will be allowed to carry a wet rag in their back pocket to use for moisture instead of licking their fingers. And some of the game’s marquee players—including Buster Posey, Ryan Zimmerman, Felix Hernandez, and David Price—won’t be on the field, having opted out due to concerns about health and safety.