A league proposal to delay the season by almost a month and reduce the typical 162-game schedule to 154 games was shot down earlier this yearby the Major League Baseball Players Association.
But Opening Day 2021 will be far from normal, with all but one ballpark planning to limit fan capacity. Other changes include social distancing, touch-free transactions, and enhanced health and safety protocols.
Here are 25 figures to keep in mind as you get set for the first pitch.
• 15: Number of MLB stadiums that will host Opening Day action on April 1 (Vivid Seats)
• 53: Number of years since all MLB teams will open their seasons on the same day, presuming no games are postponed or canceled due to weather or COVID-19 protocols (SportingNews.com)
• 40,518: Seating capacity of Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, which will allow a full house for Opening Day; fewer fans will be admitted for subsequent games (CBSSports.com)
• 1,000: Original anticipated Opening Day attendance at Comerica Field, home of the Detroit Tigers, which would have been less than 3 percent of capacity at the 41,083-seat stadium (UpNorthLive.com)
• 8,200: Revised anticipated Opening Day attendance at Comerica Field, which is 20 percent of capacity (UpNorthLive.com)
• 20: Most common percentage of seating capacity at which venues will operate during the 2021 season (abc7chicago.com)
• 0: Percentage of seating capacity at which all MLB venues operated during the 2020 season
• 68,494,752: Total attendance for the 2019 MLB season (mlb.com)
• 3,974,309: Total attendance at Dodger Stadium during the 2019 season, which led the league for the seventh straight season (mlb.com)
• 11,270: Anticipated number of fans Dodger Stadium will allow for Opening Day 2021 (abc7chicago.com)
• 950: Starting price on Stubhub, in dollars, of an Opening Day ticket for the Arizona Diamondback-San Diego Padres game at Petco Park (NBCSports.com)
• 199: Starting price on Stubhub, in dollars, of an Opening Day ticket for the Cleveland Indians-Detroit Tigers game at Comerica Field (NBCSports.com)
• 32: Percentage of sports fans who plan to return to stadiums as soon as possible (Oracle)
• 54: Percentage who will return within four months of stadiums reopening (Oracle)
• 35: Percentage of males who say they were “devastated” about missing live sports (Oracle)
• 24: Percentage of females who say the same thing (Oracle)
• 61: Percentage of sports fans willing to attend outdoor sporting events if vaccinated (Seton Hall University)
• 66: Percentage of sports fans more concerned about venue cleanliness than they were pre-pandemic (Performance Research)
• 48: Percentage of fans who would feel safer if concessions were delivered to their seats (Oracle)
• 51: Percentage who would pay more for in-seat delivery options (Oracle)
• 60: Number of games played during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, down from the traditional 162
• 16: Number of teams that made the 2020 postseason
• 3: Estimated amount of operating losses, in billions dollars, during the pandemic-shortened, spectator-free 2020 MLB season (Forbes.com)
• 10.7: Gross revenue, in billions of dollars, of the 2019 MLB season (Forbes.com)
• 0: Number of Minor League Baseball games played in 2020
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