Health fears cited for MLB's delay

Major League Baseball will start spring training on Feb 17 and launch the 2021 season on April 1 after the players' union rejected a proposal to delay training camps until March 22 and the first games until April 28.

MLB last week proposed a 154-game schedule that would pay the players for 162 games while expanding the playoffs from 10 to 14 teams and implementing the designated hitter in the National League.

The union immediately balked, citing language in the proposal it believed would grant commissioner Rob Manfred more expansive powers to cancel games because of COVID-19.

The rejection means the expanded playoff format, universal designated hitter, seven-inning doubleheaders and runners starting on second base in extra innings are all issues that must be revisited before the first pitch of the new season.

While multiple players told ESPN they believed delaying the start of the 2021 campaign would be good for the sport because the COVID-19 vaccine won't be as widely distributed by April as it will be in later months, the union leadership believed the collective bargaining agreement in place for last year's 60-game schedule provided all it wanted and did not make a counteroffer.

"We do not make this decision lightly," the MLBPA said in a statement. "Players know first-hand the efforts that were required to complete the abbreviated 2020 season, and we appreciate that significant challenges lie ahead. We look forward to promptly finalizing enhanced health and safety protocols that will help players and clubs meet these challenges."

Commissioner Manfred's office responded with the following: "On the advice of medical experts, we proposed a one-month delay to the start of spring training and the regular season to better protect the health and safety of players and support staff.

"A delay of the season would allow for the level of COVID-19 infection rates to decrease and additional time for the distribution of vaccinations, as well as minimizing potential disruptions to the 2021 season that currently face all sports.

"The offer included starting the regular season on April 29 and playing a 154-game schedule that would pay players in full as if playing 162 games.

"This was a good deal that reflected the best interests of everyone involved in the sport by merely moving the calendar of the season back one month for health and safety reasons without impacting any rights either the players or the clubs currently have."

Meanwhile, former Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons revealed to the Orange County Register that he was dealing with a bout of depression and thoughts of suicide when he abruptly quit the Angels in September.

"Now, seeing how more and more people are struggling with depression, anxiety and suicide, I felt it might be time to share a little piece of my story," Simmons told the newspaper in a series of Twitter messages.

"I was afraid of people judging and twisting my story."

The 31-year-old, who was in the fifth and final season of his contract with the Angels, said he struggled to focus on the game amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"The first time was driving through Oakland and seeing some of the shops and restaurants trying to stay open with all the homeless people camping outside," Simmons wrote.

"That's when it really hit me. I was really saddened by how much I was hearing about the death toll, and seeing how smaller businesses were shutting down and I was depressed at how the effects of all the new rules and fears were gonna affect people's livelihoods and how disconnected people were becoming."

Simmons said he had been dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts since he was a kid.

"It was tough for me mentally to where the thought of suicide crossed my mind," he wrote. "It was something I vowed a long time ago I would never consider again. I was fortunate to talk to a therapist, which helped me let go of those thoughts. At the end, when a lot of people were still going through what most would think of as tough times, the idea of finishing the season in a bubble was just too much for me to handle."

Simmons, a four-time Gold Glove winner, signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Minnesota Twins last month.