CLEVELAND, Ohio — Baseball has cleared its last manmade hurdle in order to play the 2020 season. The coronavirus is still waiting, but now the owners and players can concentrate on fighting it instead of each other.

On Monday night Commissioner Rob Manfred, with the unanimous support of MLB’s 30 owners, agreed to move forward with the season after the players association rejected their latest proposal. On Tuesday night, the players agreed to report to Spring Training II on July 1 with the idea of starting the 60-game season on July 23 or July 24 and ending it on Sept. 27.

The last item to be checked off the list was the health and safety protocols to combat the virus. When that was agreed upon, the MLBPA pushed the send button on this Tweet on Tuesday night.

Players will cycle into camp a few at a time, starting with pitchers and catchers, because they have to be tested for the virus. The Indians already have about 10 players working out at Progressive Field, including the starting rotation. Practice is expected to start on July 3.

Teams will be able to bring 60 players to camp. The Indians have made provisions to use other facilities in the area — Classic Park in Eastlake, Canal Park in Akron, St. Ignatius High School facilities or the Crushers Ballpark in Avon — if things become too crowded at Progressive Field.

The majority of teams will conduct Spring Training II at their big-league ballparks.

Teams, according to reports, could open the season with a 30-man roster, which would drop to 28 and then 26. If this was a normal season, teams would open the season with a 26-man roster, one more than last season.

Each team will keep a taxi squad of 20 to 30 players in reserve to support the big league club in case of illness, injury or poor performance. It will be interesting to see what type of players teams keep in reserve. Will they be players only from the 40-man roster or could they be prospects who teams want to keep in a competitive environment so they don’t miss an entire season with no minor-league games being played.

The DH will be used in both leagues this year. In extra-inning games a runner will be placed on second base in every inning after the ninth. If the run scores, the pitcher will not be charged with an earned run.

Aug. 31 will be the trading deadline. Teams can start making trades and roster moves, according to The Athletic, on Friday. The rosters have been frozen since spring training was suspended on March 12.

MLB has sent the 2020 schedule to the players association for review. The Indians’ opponents will be their AL Central foes and the teams in the NL Central — the Cubs, Pirates, Reds, Cardinals and Brewers. This will limit travel, expenses and exposure to the virus.

Taking the Tribe as an example, here’s how the schedule is expected to break down, according to USA Today. The Indians will play 10 games each against the Twins, White Sox, Tigers and Royals. Then they’ll play 20 games against teams from the NL Central.

“I’m excited to get going,” said Indians utility player Mike Freeman. “At the end of the day, we’re going to play baseball and compete. I think that’s what everyone has been missing at this point. Just being in the clubhouse and getting back into that routine of getting ready for games.

“I think all of us at this level we thrive on competition. So we’re looking forward to getting that going again.”

MLB’s original safety protocols called for players to shower and dress in their uniforms at home or in their hotel rooms. It sounds like that restriction has been relaxed.

New Indians face masks for sale: Here’s where you can buy Cleveland Indians-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($14.99) and a 3-pack ($24.99). All MLB proceeds donated to charity.

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HOUSTON – A former MLB player is charged with felony assault for choking his ex-girlfriend at an apartment complex in Upper Kirby, according to court documents.

The woman told police that Carl Crawford, 38, held her at gunpoint while grabbing her by the head and neck on May 8. Crawford is also the owner of Houston record label 1501 Certified Entertainment.

The day prior to the assault, the victim told police that Crawford texted her about meeting at her apartment to talk. The woman said that she and Crawford had been in a romantic relationship for 2.5 years before it ended in February. They also have a child together.

When he arrived the next day, she said he revealed he was carrying a semi-automatic handgun.

The woman said Crawford unloaded the clip and ejected a round of the pistol and began walking toward her holding the firearm, according to court documents. She said she could tell that Crawford was upset and claims he told her that he was going to give her “one last time” to tell the truth or he was going to hurt her.

The woman said she went to open the door to leave when he pushed her down on the ground in the hallway.

The victim told police Crawford held the gun in one hand and use the other hand to grab her by the head and neck while asking her how long had she been talking to a male acquaintance, according to court documents. She said she had only known the male for one week.

The woman said Crawford called her a liar and slammed her head against the wall several times, according to court documents. She said Crawford continued to interrogate her while he applied pressure to her neck and throat making it difficult for her to breathe.

Eventually, she said she couldn’t breathe at all, and “everything began to get blurry and dark,” per the court documents.

The woman told investigators she “felt like she was about to pass out and she felt if she were to be clocked any longer that she would be hurt pretty bad.”

Crawford didn’t stop attacking the woman until their 1-year-old daughter walked up the victim told police. She said he then moved towards the child, which allowed her to leave the apartment and run to the leasing management office, from where the police were called.

Crawford fled the scene but left a gun behind, which was recovered by responding patrol officers, according to the court documents.

Investigators also discovered harassing text messages sent to the victim from Crawford.

One read: “Nah, that wasn’t a beating u just mad I made u confess.”

Crawford also sent a message that he was paying someone to give him the male’s address.

His bond was set at $10,000 which he paid and left custody. He appeared in PC Court at 8 p.m. Thursday.

About two weeks after the alleged incident, a woman and a five-year-old child drowned at a home owned by Crawford in an unrelated incident. According to media reports, Crawford was holding a small gathering at the time of the incident.

The woman who drowned is not the same one from the assault allegations.

Crawford spent 15 years in the MLB with the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He retired in 2016 after the Dodgers released him her his contract.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can get help at the National Domestic Violence Hotline website or by calling 1-800-799-7233.

Pittsburgh, PA – Police arrested Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitcher Felipe Vazquez on Tuesday after he was charged with multiple felonies related to an illicit relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) began investigating after the young girl’s mother discovered text messages, photographs, and a pornographic video sent to her daughter by the major league pitcher, ESPN reported.

Vazquez, 27, was allegedly involved with the now-15-year-old girl for at least two years.

The police report said that in July, Vazquez sent the girl a video of himself performing a sex act, ESPN reported.

On July 23, the mother sent a text message to Vazquez that included screenshots of his messages and told him that her daughter was a minor.

Vasquez was arrested by the FDLE on Sept. 17 with the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police, ESPN reported.

Police seized several electronic devices at the time of his arrest.

When he was questioned by police, he admitted to having “sex but not really” with the girl because “he could not fit his penis entirely into the Victim’s vagina,” the criminal complaint said.

He was charged with statutory sexual assault of a minor 11 years or older, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of minors, all of which are felonies, ESPN reported.

Vazquez was also charged with misdemeanor indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old.

Additional charges were expected to be filed soon, ESPN reported.

Vazquez was arraigned on Tuesday afternoon and the judge ordered him held without bail in the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, and said that additional charges from both Pennsylvania and Florida were expected.

Major League Baseball (MLB) placed the Pirates’ pitcher on paid administrative leave, according to ESPN.

However, sources said MLB was not launching an independent investigation because they planned to use the findings of the police investigation to guide their decisions regarding potential discipline from the league.

“Today we were made aware of an active law enforcement investigation involving Felipe Vazquez and his subsequent arrest,” Pirates President Frank Coonelly said, according to ESPN. “We take this matter, and these charges in particular, extremely seriously. We have informed the Commissioner’s Office of the investigation and arrest.”

Vazquez, a two-time all-star in MLB, was one of the best relief pitchers in the league in 2019.

He will make $4.5 million this year and has made $8.6 million over his five-year career, ESPN reported.

The fallout of the MLB electronic sign-stealing scandal seems to widen each day.

Last Monday, commissioner Rob Manfred and league investigators found the Houston Astros guilty of orchestrating a cheating scheme in 2017. The scheme involved players and staff using a centerfield camera in Minute Maid Park to illicitly record opposing teams’ catchers signaling signs.

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox are under MLB investigation for their own possible electronic sign stealing plot. The club parted ways with manager Alex Cora last Tuesday after Cora was found to have played an instrumental role in the Astros cheating scandal while he served as the team’s bench coach.

The latest twist is a series of accusations and suspicions that Astros players wore electronic buzzers under their uniforms during the World Series. The buzzers would have warned of upcoming pitch types and pitch locations.

I’ve received a number of questions about the controversy. Below I answer 20 of them.

1) Could Manfred vacate a World Series championship and other records?

Yes. The commissioner has that authority. Article II of the league’s constitution empowers the commissioner to both investigate any activity that is “suspected to be not in the best interests of baseball” and determine whether the activity is, in fact, in violation of the best interests.

Article II also establishes that the commissioner can impose any “preventive, remedial or punitive action.”

A sensible reading of this sweeping language would permit Manfred to strike records that were generated through cheating or fraud.

Milton Bradley can’t shake his troubling behavior.

The former MLB outfielder has been charged with spousal battery for allegedly assaulting his wife during a January incident, Sports Illustrated reported Monday.

He appeared in court Tuesday handcuffed during his hearing in the case.

Milton Bradley Handcuffed In Court at Domestic Violence Hearing https://t.co/pvGVjVs47o

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) April 10, 2018

Police were called to Bradley’s home in Los Angeles, where his wife, Rachel, told them he had beaten her during an argument. At the time of the altercation, Bradley was on probation for a domestic violence conviction involving to his former wife.

Bradley previously served 15 months in prison from 2015-16 for assaulting his first wife, Monique, after being convicted on nine counts of domestic abuse in 2013.

Bradley, who turns 40 this week, had stints with eight teams during his 12-year career. He finished with a .271 batting average, 125 home runs and one All-Star appearance with the Rangers in 2008.