2020 MiLB season canceled due to pandemic

Disappointing, but not-entirely-unexpected news. Peter G. Aiken

Minor league baseball season canceled due to coronavirus pandemic

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 6/30/20

The biggest blow to strike the professional baseball world amid the coronavirus pandemic, to date, wasn't suffered by Major League Baseball.

One week after ESPN and other outlets reported that 15 minor league teams sued their insurance providers after being denied claims for business-interruption funds during the uncontrolled virus outbreak, Minor League Baseball announced the cancelation of the entire 2020 season:

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— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 30, 2020

The news comes as a surprise to nobody who has followed the situation throughout the past couple of months. With coronavirus cases rising throughout regions of the United States, clubs reliant on gate and in-person spending revenues hosting fans at any point in the foreseeable future became unrealistic.

Unlike major sports leagues, minor league teams don't benefit from expensive media-rights deals. With the NBA, NHL, Major League Soccer, and MLB scheduled to return to play in July, no platform has any need for lower-tier baseball.

As noted by the Associated Press and other outlets, 42 farm teams were facing the ax earlier this year before the pandemic hit the United States. Today's news leaves the minor league system even more in limbo.

Last month, Robert Sanchez of Sports Illustrated wrote "congressional action might be needed to keep (minor league) teams alive beyond the pandemic."

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