MLB Opening Day: When Cleveland Indians Start 2021 Season

CLEVELAND — The 2021 Major League Baseball season gets underway this week, with Opening Day for the Cleveland Indians and 29 other teams set for Thursday.

The Tribe begins their 2021 season on Thursday, April 1, at 1:10 p.m. against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Shane Bieber will get the nod on the mound for the Indians against the Tigers' Matthew Boyd in the first match-up of the season.

The 2021 MLB season will look different from any other year, at least in the stands, as fans will be allowed inside all 30 ballparks after a 2020 regular season that was played entirely without fans in the stands because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Teams have varied greatly in the attendance capacity rules set forth before the season. The Texas Rangers are allowing a 100 percent capacity return, which could mean more than 40,000 fans at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. No other squad is allowing more than a 50 percent capacity.

The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals are the teams allowing the fewest number of fans, only permitting 12 percent to start the season, according to The Athletic.

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At Progressive Field, a 30 percent capacity will be allowed to start the season, meaning about 10,400 fans will be allowed inside. Gov. Mike DeWine has hinted that additional seats may be opened up once vaccination rates increase statewide.

Most teams, like the White Sox and Cubs in Chicago and Yankees and Mets in New York, have set limits below 25 percent capacity.

Thursday will also the first time in many years that all 30 teams will start the season on the same day. In recent years, a Sunday night baseball game was held before a Monday Opening Day.