Players of the Miami Marlins celebrate after defeating the New York Mets 8-4 in the game at Citi Field in New York City, September 23, 2019. /VCG
The MLB are taking more measures against the COVID-19 pandemic as overseas games in Mexico City and San Juan, Puerto Rico, have been canceled.
Originally, the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks were scheduled to play each other in the Mexican capital in mid-April. The New York Mets and the Miami Marlins were supposed to compete in San Juan of Puerto Rico.
However, the spreading of the virus round the U.S. already forced the MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to postpone the opening day of the new season to mid-May at the earliest. It will be hard for the overseas fixtures to be delayed along with the domestic schedule, not to mention that COVID-19 is already wreaking havoc on the Americas. Therefore, the MLB had to call off the overseas games.
The Padres will go to Arizona to challenge the D-backs at Chase Field and the Marlins will host the Mets at Marlins Park in Miami.
Nick Ahmed #13 and Christian Walker #53 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrate after Ahmed hits a two run home run during the sixth inning at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, July 7, 2019. /VCG
The Mexico City game was supposed to be the first MLB regular season game in the city. The D-backs expressed their regrets for the cancelation on their official website: "It breaks our heart we won't be playing in front of the incredible fans in México this year, but health and safety come first. We promise we'll be back soon."
This is not the first time for the MLB to call off overseas games. Back in 2016, the Marlins and the Pittsburgh Pirates were scheduled to play two regular season games in San Juan. Nonetheless, the outbreak of Zika virus forced the MLB to move the two games back to Miami. The last time fans in San Juan watched MLB regular season games at home happened in 2018 between the Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins.
It should be pointed out that not all MLB overseas games have been cancelled. If the 2020 season can start in mid-June and the COVID-19 can be put under control in June, the two London games between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals can still take place in mid-June.