7-inning twinbills, extra-inning runners likely gone in 2022

Associated Press
Tuesday, July 13, 2021 1:18 p.m. | Tuesday, July 13, 2021 1:18 p.m.

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred kicks off the first round of the 2021 MLB baseball draft Sunday in Denver.

DENVER — Seven-inning doubleheaders and starting extra innings with runners on second are likely to be dropped by Major League Baseball after this season.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, speaking Tuesday to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, said he views both innovations as specific to the coronavirus pandemic.

They were both adopted for the shortened 2020 season and kept on for 2021.

Manfred said they were implemented based on medical advice and aren’t being contemplated as permanent. He said that while the health situation had improved with increased vaccinations, changes could not be made midseason.