MLB tonight will try to “complete the weirdest, most complex and most perilous campaign in the sport’s long history” as it begins its 60-game season “amid a surging pandemic.” The next few weeks “will go a long way toward showing whether the season that’s about to start reaches the finish line” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/22). The question for now is "whether the sport can pull off even that short a schedule over these next two-plus months, plus a postseason in October, without having to abort." It is "as much a science experiment as a championship pursuit" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/22).
Showers and thunderstorms today are "threatening to slam the area around Nationals Park," which is scheduled to host tonight's Yankees-Nationals opener. The National Weather Service forecasts storms that are "likely to start after noon." It also says to expect "gusty winds and heavy rain." The night forecast -- first pitch is scheduled for 7:08pm ET -- is the "same deal." There is a 60% chance of rain, with "rainfall expected between a tenth and a quarter inch" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 7/23).
Should the game take place, the Nationals will wear "gold-accented jerseys and caps to celebrate their World Series title." The front of the jerseys are "white with navy blue 'Nationals' script outlined in gold and red," the blue script being a "nod to the lucky blue alternate jerseys" worn last postseason. The names on the back are "blue outlined in gold and red, while the numbers are primarily gold." The right sleeve "features a gold World Series champions patch, while the left sleeve features a gold version of the Nationals’ circular logo with one star above it to symbolize the team’s first World Series title" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/23).
