MLB mulls starting season in May with all games at empty Arizona ballparks, reports say
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are working to devise a plan that would allow the sport to begin the 2020 season next month in Arizona.
ESPN and the Associated Press reported late Monday that the season would begin as soon as May with all 30 teams converging on the Phoenix area, where 15 teams hold spring training across 10 facilities.
The Texas Rangers are one of the 15, with their spring home in Surprise, Ariz. The Arizona Diamondbacks play their home games in downtown Phoenix at Chase Field, which has a retractable roof.
MLB released a statement Tuesday morning that attempted to tap the brakes on the overnight reports, taking into consideration the oft-changing landscape of the coronavirus pandemic.
“MLB has been actively considering numerous contingency plans that would allow play to commence once the public health situation has improved to the point that it is safe to do so,” the statement started. “While we have discussed the idea of staging games at one location as one potential option, we have not settled on that option or developed a detailed plan.
“While we continue to interact regularly with governmental and public health officials, we have not sought or received approval of any plan from federal, state and local officials, or the Players Association.”
The 2020 MLB season was scheduled to open March 26, with the Rangers visiting the Seattle Mariners. MLB initially delayed the start of the season two weeks, to April 9. A few days later, MLB accepted CDC guidelines on large gatherings that dictated the soonest it could open would be May 11.
According to ESPN, games would be played with no fans in the stands, and teams would be limited as to how much personnel they could have on site.
Among the many items being discussed are: Teams would be sequestered at hotels and would only be able to leave for games; measures to help ensure the health of older coaches, umpires and other personnel; a shortened spring training, perhaps two or three weeks; expanded rosters to combat the Arizona heat; and the use of an electronic strike zone to keep the plate umpire away from catchers and hitters.
There are hurdles the plan must clear, including probably player concerns about their health and also leaving their families for what could morph into a full season over several months.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said on Monday that he has no idea when a season might start, but he believes every effort will be made to play as many of the 162 games as possible.
“All I can really say is the feedback I’ve been getting either directly or indirectly from the league, which is there intent is to play as soon as it is truly safe and advisable to do so,” Daniels said.
“I think that’s the only real handicapping I can do,” he continued. “From a societal standpoint, when do we get to that point? You and I would both be speculating to try to do that. But I think the desire is there, provided we can do so safely. I’m an optimist, so I’ll choose to believe that there will come a point when we get there.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 11:26 AM.
