The Major League Baseball season in 2020 was delayed by nearly four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than playing a typical 162-game season, the regular season was shortened to 60 games, and every team played in empty ball parks. Because of the chaos that 2020 brought to baseball fans, many of them have questions about the upcoming 2021 MLB season.  

On Opening Day, April 1st, 26 of the 30 MLB teams played their regularly scheduled games with no hiccups. The Red Sox-Orioles game was rained out, and the Mets-Nationals game was postponed due to multiple positive COVID-19 tests.  

While the 2021 season is looking more and more like a typical year for baseball, there are still some rule changes that should be addressed. The National League will have no universal designated hitter rule, despite many rumors circulating around it. Also, unlike traditional seasons, double headers will be played in seven inning games, and extra innings will require that each team starts every inning with a runner on second base. Once again, rosters will feature 26 players rather than the traditional 25-man roster.  

Thankfully, fans will be back in the stands this year. However, attendance rules will vary among different ballparks. For example, the Texas Rangers have opened up at 100% capacity, whereas teams in New York and California are only around 20%. These restrictions are expected to loosen as vaccinations become more prevalent.  

The 2021 MLB season is up and running, and baseball fans everywhere are excited to get back to some sort of normalcy while watching the game they love.