The 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Has Been Postponed Until Next Year

The 2020 National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony has been postponed, becoming the latest event in the sports world to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The news was announced in a press release this week, revealing that the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's board of directors voted unanimously to cancel the weekend-long festivities.

“Induction Weekend is a celebration of our National Pastime and its greatest legends, and while we are disappointed to cancel this incredibly special event, the Board of Directors’ overriding concern is the health and well-being of our new inductees, our Hall of Fame members, our wonderful fans and the hundreds of staff it takes to present the weekend’s events in all of its many facets,” Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said. “We care deeply about every single person who visits Cooperstown [New York]."

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Continued Clark, "The Board of Directors has decided that the Class of 2020 will be inducted and the 2020 Award Winners will be honored as part of next summer’s Hall of Fame Weekend, taking place July 23-26, 2021."

The 2020 inductees include Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker.

“Being inducted into the Hall of Fame will be an incredible honor, but the health and safety of everyone involved are paramount,” Jeter said in the press release. “I respect and support the decision to postpone this year’s enshrinement and am looking forward to joining current Hall of Famers, fans, staff and my family and friends in Cooperstown in 2021."

The official induction ceremony now is scheduled July 25, 2021. The 2020 class will join any new members elected in January of 2021.

Jeter was elected to the Hall of Fame with just one vote short of becoming the second player in history to be voted in unanimously earlier this year.

“Everyone told me it was a foregone conclusion. I didn’t buy it. So it was not a relaxing day,” the former New York Yankee said at the time. ”I was nervous — sitting around, waiting for a phone call is something that is completely out of your control.”.