LOS ANGELES — The Angels open the season in 20 days, and thousands of fans will be inside Angel Stadium to cheer Mike Trout.
The Dodgers play their home opener in 28 days, and thousands of fans will be inside Dodger Stadium to help Clayton Kershaw and Mookie Betts celebrate the team’s first World Series championship in 32 years.
On Friday, Los Angeles and Orange counties received approval to move into the red tier of the state’s coronavirus guidelines, allowing the Dodgers and Angels to sell 20% of the seats in their ballparks.
Under the state’s four-tier format, a team can sell to 33% of capacity when its county is in the orange tier, indicating moderate spread of the virus, and to 67% of capacity in the yellow tier, indicating minimal spread.
However, on a video call this week, San Diego Padres chief executive Erik Greupner said he believed the state might relax the restrictions as the pace of vaccination accelerates. President Biden directed Thursday that every adult in the United States should become eligible to receive a vaccine no later than May 1.
Greupner also said he hoped the Padres would be playing before a full stadium by the end of the season, or in the postseason.
The Angels’ opener is set April 1 against the Chicago White Sox.
The Dodgers’ home opener is set April 9 against the Washington Nationals — 548 days after the last game fans could attend at Dodger Stadium: Game 5 of the 2019 National League division series against the Nationals, when Howie Kendrick hit a series-winning grand slam off Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly.
