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MLB Announces Playoff Bubble Details

This afternoon, the MLB announced the details of its playoff “bubble” setup.

by
ontapcontributors
September 15, 2020

Photo: HKS Architecture Firm

This afternoon, the MLB announced the details of its playoff “bubble” setup. First off, here are the locations of games for the 2020 Postseason:

The Wild Card Series (best of 3) round will be played in the higher seed’s stadium starting on September 29th with the American League. The National League will follow suit beginning on September 30th.

The “bubble” portion of the Postseason layout begins in the Divisional Series round (October 5th for the AL and October 6th for the NL). The National League will play in Houston and Arlington, Texas, while the American League will play in Los Angeles and San Diego, California.

The ALCS will be played in San Diego starting on October 11th and the NLCS will be played in Arlington beginning on October 12th.

The World Series will take place in Arlington with an October 20th start date. Arlington has a new retractable roof, so weather will not affect the World Series.

Per Ken Rosenthal, players will be able to quarantine with family members for seven days prior to the postseason.

Under MLB/PA agreement, families will be permitted to quarantine with players on contenders for seven days leading into the postseason, then remain together for entirety of playoff run, sources tell The Athletic. Families who choose that option will be considered part of bubble.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 15, 2020

Family members will also be able to enter the bubble and everyone will be tested for COVID-19 daily.

Per sources, families of players also will have option to enter bubble prior to later series. Families of managers and coaches not covered by MLB/PA deal – not enough capacity in hotels for them initially, but will be as field narrows. All inside bubbles will be tested daily.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 15, 2020

After seeing the success of the NHL and NBA Return to Play plans, the MLB opting to utilize a bubble format for the Postseason is a smart decision. The aforementioned measures should help protect players, coaches, and staff while keeping the playoffs moving along as scheduled.