Los Angeles (AFP)

The baseball season, threatened for three months by the coronavirus then challenged by a wage dispute, will start on July 23 or 24 and should take place over 60 games before the play-offs, announced Tuesday the North American league (MLB ).

"The MLB is delighted to announce that the 2020 season is on the horizon," said its commissioner Rob Manfred, adding that it will start "on July 23 or 24". Or four months after its start, initially scheduled for March 26 and postponed because of the pandemic.

"The announcement follows the acceptance by the players 'union (MLBPA) of the health and safety protocols that will guide the return of the MLB and the players' presence in training on July 1," said the press release. of the proceeding.

On these two points, the MLBPA had until Tuesday evening to give its agreement. "All the remaining problems have been resolved and the players will present themselves well in the training camps," the union confirmed.

The MLB has submitted a schedule of 60 regular season games, which must also be approved by the players' union.

"Most of the matches will be played between teams of the same division, the remaining matches will be between clubs of the same conference (East, Center and West), in order to limit trips," said the league.

This decisive step taken comes to put an end to a long conflict of almost three months between the two parts which, of proposals in counter-proposals, ended only in an impasse.

After an agreement reached on March 27 for a shortened season of around fifty matches, giving players a salary pro rata to the number of matches played, the franchise owners wanted to further reduce the number of matches. They argued of a shortfall from the ticket office since the matches will be played behind closed doors.

On each refusal, the players argued that they had already accepted a cut in wages in March and should not be required to accept another. Their union, on the contrary, argued for a longer regular season, without reduction in wages. To which the owners were firmly opposed.

Monday, after a final rejection of the proposal, the MLB finally decided to impose on players the holding of a shortened season, under the terms of the agreement concluded on March 27.

© 2020 AFP