Fans of the Washington Nationals cheer for their team in Game 7 of the World Series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, October 30, 2019. /VCG
The MLB decided on Tuesday that it's time for teams to consider how to refund tickets to fans and lay out their plans on Wednesday, according to multiple news outlets including Wall Street Journal, ESPN and USA Today.
The 2020 MLB regular season was supposed to open on March 26 but thanks to the global coronavirus outbreak, the entire season has been put on hold. Some reports say the season may return in late May – probably without audience – but there's no clear schedule.
The MLB has treated the missed games as postponed instead of cancelled until Tuesday. There have already been around 400 games missed and the chance of completing a full 162-game season just continued to wane. Though this hit the teams financially, ordinary fans have also been hard-hit with the standstill of the country's economy.
A group of baseball bats sit in the dugout. /VCG
A lawsuit filed by a small group of fans in California last week to seek refunds might have helped the MLB make Tuesday's decision.
"During an unprecedented crisis, while so many businesses have provided refunds for services that can't be fulfilled, it remains notable that baseball – America's pastime – is forcing fans to take the loss on ticket sales," said attorney Glenn Phillips. "Millions of Americans are out of work right now and need access to the funds wrongfully withheld by MLB, MLB teams, and ticket merchants."
In fact, even if the regular season starts, games are likely to happen behind closed doors – at least the part of them will have to, considering the pandemic mess the U.S. is going through. At that time, the teams may have to refund more money to fans.