Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the World Baseball Classic has been cancelled, not returning until 2023. Madelyn Burke speaks with Emma Baccellieri about what factors led to the early cancellation. 

Read Full Video Transcript Below:

Madelyn Burke: The World Baseball Classic reportedly will not be held in 2021. The tournament is being pushed back to 2023 pending board approval. I'm joined now by SI MLB writer Emma Baccellieri. Emma, the 20 team tournament was originally scheduled for March 9th-23rd next year. So why make the decision to postpone this now?

Emma Baccellieri: Yes, it may seem a little bit early to already be postponing events for March 2021, but given that the Olympics have also been pushed back to 2021, it really wouldn't be feasible to hold the WBC and the Olympics in the same year because there are baseball leagues around the world that build their schedule to accommodate each of those tournaments, and to have leagues like NPB in Japan and KBO in Korea have two breaks in their schedules for players to play in the WBC and the Olympics just wouldn't be feasible. So they had to be proactive here moving it. 

Madelyn Burke: And of course, health concerns and safety issues still uncertain. The two year push to 2023, it's not quite clear yet if that will affect future planning of this event, which has been held every four years since 2009. Emma Baccellieri, thanks so much for the insight. 

Check out more of our baseball coverage here:

Report: World Baseball Classic Will Not Be Played in 2021

Tracking Former MLB Players in the Korean Baseball Organization

The Simple Joys of Baseball's Return to American Television