MLB Plans To Start '11 Season Early, End Postseason In October

MLB is planning to start the '11 season "in earnest on Friday, April 1 -- three days earlier than the traditional Monday opener," according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. Elias Sports Bureau noted that it "would be the first time a season opened on a Friday since 1905." The regular season, "which typically ends on a Sunday, would instead conclude Wednesday, Sept. 28." The playoffs would then "open Sept. 30 or Oct. 1, the fourth-earliest start since the current postseason format was adopted" in '95. The World Series "would begin Oct. 19, and Game 7 would be scheduled for Oct. 28." MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said, "Anything we could do to finish in October is what I wanted to do. It shows how serious we are in doing this." The league has "yet to finalize the changes but has sent preliminary schedules to teams for minor modifications" (USA TODAY, 7/28).