Play ball: MLB, players hammer out final details for 2020 season

Baseball is back. Finally.

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball and the players association hammered out the final health and safety protocols and set a schedule for the 2020 season. Players will return to spring training camp by July 1, and the 60-game regular season will start on July 24.

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According to a statement by the MLBPA: “All remaining issues have been resolved and Players are reporting to training camps.”

Originally, MLB set a 5 p.m. deadline for the union to tell the league if players agreed to its health protocols and if players could report to spring training by July 1. The latter point was not a problem, but the two sides continued talking and negotiating beyond 5 p.m. to work out the safety aspect. At 8:41 p.m., the MLBPA confirmed a deal had been reached.

The season will be 60 games long. 40 of those games will be against each team’s division rivals, and the other 20 will be against the opposite league’s same division. In the Pirates’ case, that means they will play the American League Central.

Players will receive the full prorated share of their salaries -- about 37% of their full-season salaries and around $1.5 billion total, according to ESPN. The postseason will remain at 10 teams. Players will not receive forgiveness on the $170 million salary advance they received as part of the March agreement with the owners and receive no money from the postseason, sports network reported.

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