For the second consecutive year, cross-border travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Toronto Blue Jays to open their home schedule in the United States, with tenures in Dunedin, Florida,[2] and Buffalo, New York.
[3] Later, the Canadian government granted an exemption to allow the Blue Jays to return to Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, beginning July 30.
[4] The 91st All-Star Game held on July 13 was supposed to be held at Truist Park, the home of the Braves, but league officials moved the game to Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, following the passage of the Georgia Senate Bill 202 by the Georgia General Assembly, which MLB considered to be restrictive of voting rights.
The MLB at Field of Dreams game, originally scheduled for 2020 but canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featured a matchup between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox at a purpose-built ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa on August 12.
[10] The White Sox won the game 9–8 when Tim Anderson hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth.
[17] Heightened enforcement of existing rules that prohibit such substances began after widespread use by pitchers to increase their grip and spin rate.
[19] Prior to the start of the regular season, each team played between 24 and 29 spring training games, beginning on February 28.
[198] Unlike 2020, where all games (except the NLCS and World Series) were played behind closed doors, all MLB teams allowed in-person attendance this season; initial capacities were determined by teams and local health officials, and gradually increased to full capacity over the course of the season as active cases declined and more local residents received COVID-19 vaccines.
[202][200] On February 18, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that they would open the home portion of their schedule at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida due to travel restrictions enforced by the Canadian federal government.
[2] On May 5, it was announced that the Blue Jays would return to Sahlen Field in Buffalo—where the team played the majority of their home games in 2020—on June 1.
Former ABC broadcaster and 2021 Ford C. Frick Award winner Al Michaels appeared as a special guest.