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MLB London Series canceled due to coronavirus pandemic

Major League Baseball hasn’t officially canceled any games amid the coronavirus pandemic, but one of the league’s biggest events of 2020 isn’t going to happen. The MLB London Series has been canceled.

The league announced the news on Twitter on Wednesday.

What is the MLB London Series?

This might be obvious, but it was a series of MLB games in London. The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs were supposed to take part in the event in 2020. The event began last season when the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox got together for a couple of games in the UK. The MLB London Series is the league’s way of trying to expand the game outside the United States.

The 2020 MLB London Series was set to take place June 13 and June 14.

Why is the MLB London Series’ cancelation significant?

While those two games aren’t necessarily canceled, the fact that the series won’t happen hints at how difficult it will be for baseball to start its season. MLB initially postponed the season until mid-May. The league hasn’t given an update on that timetable yet, though it seems highly unlikely games will be played at that point. If the MLB London Series being canceled is any indication, games might not be underway by mid-June either.

That should be expected at this point. If the league intends to hold another spring training before the start of the 2020 season, it would have to start in May for games to take place in mid-June. The fact that MLB hasn’t released any information about starting spring training again suggests it’s not going to happen any time soon.

Canceling the MLB London Series was the right move

If you’re reading this, you likely miss baseball terribly and wish it was back. While we all want to see baseball back as soon as possible, canceling the MLB London Series was the right move. Sending a large group of people to play games internationally and then bringing them back is not a good idea during a pandemic.

If MLB games are going to happen in 2020, they will likely be held with as few fans and as little travel as possible. Those restrictions wouldn’t necessarily be safe, but they would be safer than many other options.

It’s possible that happens, though a June start seems unlikely.

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