Dodgers Don’t Anticipate Knowing Official MLB Start Date Until January

The Dodgers are coming off of a 2020 season that saw them win their first World Series title since 1988. Since there has not been a team that has gone back-to-back since 2000, fans are anxious to get to the next year. Unfortunately, no one knows when that will be or even what that will look like. 

Much like the rest of the league, the Dodgers are at the mercy of the MLB and the Player’s Union. Both sides need to come to an agreement on the parameters of a season for 2021, including how many games will actually be played. The two sides will also need to agree to rule adjustments as well as player salaries as fans start to trickle back into games over time. 

Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman spoke with The Athletic this week on when he expects things to kick off. In his words, Friedman doesn’t expect to know much about the 2021 season until January at the earliest. 

There are so many unknowns, that being up at the top of the list. I don’t know the answer to it, and it’s challenging with our pitchers and their throwing programs and when we accelerate those programs. It’s obviously a really difficult time in ways that are way beyond baseball. We’re just trying to stay as flexible as we can. I don’t really anticipate really knowing until we get to January.

Not knowing when a season is going to start is difficult for a lot of reasons, but starting workouts certainly ranks near the top. The Dodgers are anticipating Spring Training beginning on schedule, but that’s anything but a guarantee at this point. If MLB does not figure out something soon, players might be left wondering when they should start to ramp up workouts. 

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