New York's professional baseball teams are returning to the Empire State for spring training while the league tries to work out a condensed season following delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the development on a call Saturday morning, one day after his final in-person daily briefing on the state's response to the virus.
The Yankees will train at Yankee Stadium and the Mets will train at Citi Field, Cuomo confirmed. The state will work with both teams to ensure health and safety protocols can be met during trainings.
"We're all hopeful that Major League Baseball will start their season or part of a season," Cuomo said. "They're in conversations now and we're expecting updates this week."
The Major League Baseball shut down training camps in Arizona and Florida after a handful of players tested positive for COVID-19.
"I can't remember the last time we had spring training in New York," the governor said. "One of the reasons they're coming to New York is because the infection rate in New York is down low compared to other states... and that's a credit to all New Yorkers."
The MLB is planning for a considerably different 2020 season, one that's reportedly limited to 60 games.
