Yesterday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that broader considerations would dictate whether and when the league is able to resume play in 2020. He expressed a commitment not only to the safety of those involved directly in staging ballgames, but to relaunching “in a way that will not impact the public health situation adversely.”
Whether that will be possible remains to be seen, but experts aren’t ruling out the possibility of some kind of return. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key voice on the coronavirus pandemic, addressed the potential of baseball resuming play this summer in a podcast appearance with Peter Hamby (who also wrote things up at Vanity Fair).
There’s certainly plenty of important information to digest from the interview, but we’ll focus on some of the aspects relating directly to the game of baseball. Fauci wasn’t willing to give a strong prediction as to whether we’ll see MLB and other sports this year — largely due to the vast remaining uncertainty in dealing with COVID-19. Per Fauci, the feasibility of holding sports is “really going to depend on what actually evolves over the next couple of months.”
Manfred says that Major League Baseball wants to be a key “part of the [economic] recovery … and sort of a milestone on the return to normalcy.” He has thus far backed that up with creative planning efforts (as we discussed in a recent YouTube video) and, far more importantly, with rapid engagement in a critically important study designed to assess the true spread of the disease throughout the United States.
Fauci envisioned a scenario where indeed baseball is able to launch a season by the middle of the summer — sans live fans, of course. “If you could get on television, Major League Baseball, to start July 4,” Fauci suggested, ” … Well, I think you’d probably get enough buy-in from people who are dying to see a baseball game. Particularly me. I’m living in Washington. We have the World Champion Washington Nationals. You know, I want to see them play again.”
Getting there won’t be easy. Fauci spoke of “proposals” involving gathering and isolating players and others associated with putting on the sporting event “in big hotels” near playing sites. It would be necessary to utilize such isolation with frequent testing and other efforts to “make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family.”
If that all sounds familiar, it certainly seems to dovetail with what we’ve heard from reports on MLB efforts to plan out a possible 2020 campaign. The league is known to have consulted with Fauci and other top experts. It’s an approach that carries some obvious (and probably some non-obvious) risks and limitations. But it’s at least somewhat encouraging that Fauci seems to believe it’s conceptually possible. And as he says, “it might be better than nothing.”
Awesome! Just be smart about it.
agreed. i really wanna watch a baseball game but i dont want it to negatively affect anything or anyone
That might just stop the negative nancies on here for a couple days. Here’s an educated baseball fan saying we have a chance. Woohoo!
Not trying to be negative. I just don’t see it happening. The proposals they’ve tossed out about logistics also don’t make much sense. Too hot in AZ midsummer and too wet in FL.
We’ve heard two of 100 proposals.
Fair. I certainly hope you’re right.
It’s not too hot to play baseball. They aren’t running a marathon. Outside of pitching and catching, a game of baseball isn’t all that much more demanding than a game of golf outside of the occasional sprint.
You obviously haven’t experienced Phoenix in the summer. No one stands outside for 4 hours, let alone 15 minutes, unless they have to. Changing a tire in July is as bad as changing a tire in a blizzard in Minnesota in January.
I have a brother in Phoenix. I’ve been there many times. I played summer day ball in the San Fernando Valley for ten years.
You people make it sound like it’s impossible. It’s not even all that difficult.
And believe it or not, they did play ball in Texas for over 20+ years.
I grew up outside of Bakersfield where temperatures routinely top 100. it sucked sometimes but we played baseball.
Phoenix is another level, though. I definitely wouldn’t want to play day games there. I would for enough money, but it would hurt performance.
They play little league baseball in the summer in Phoenix and in Texas so I’m sure the big boys can handle it. On top of that do you think all outdoor labor is halted in the summer? Also the heat kills the virus so if its 110 out you are probably safer virus wise. Its like saying no one goes outside in a Chicago winter. What you meant to say is you don’t go outside in the winter but people work in it and they get paid a union wage. Do you think they call in and say I cant work today its too cold. For $50 and hour they get out there and bring home a check. Its for the men though not the boys.
AZ is 115-118 Degrees in July. Birds dont even fly. Stupid idea of the century
Do you need a link to the Arizona Summer League, or do you think you can google it yourself?
Dry heat. 92 with 90% humidity in St. Louis is worse.
Maybe in Arizona just start games after 6. Sun sets at 740 in AZ in June. Still be really hot but at least not the sun beating down.
Yeah I’ve seen a ton of fools on here saying that we wouldn’t have a season at all. Baseball will be the first sport back. Basketball is a little trickier.
Saying that there definitely will be a season at this stage is equally stupid to saying there won’t be one. Until the healthcare officials tell us how we can go back to normal safely we have no idea what is going to happen.
Read scientific studies instead of listening to the sensationalism of the MSM. It’s not a big deal. Just manage the spread – we are all going to get it before a vaccine is available.
Let’s do it. every team has a TV contract. grapefruit league and cactus league. winners play WS in houston or rangers stadium-halfway.
they played in Omaha last year. that’s a possibility.
Still go through with the game between CHW/NYY at Field of Dreams in Iowa. Expand it for broadcast and make it a host site. Oh, the possibilities! (Never gonna happen…smh)
There are 3 possible stadiums in the Omaha area; College World Series Stadium near downtown, KC Royals triple a stadium for the Storm Chasers just south of Omaha, and the University of Nebraska stadium 45 miles south in Lincoln. Play 4 games per day and per stadium; 9 am, 1 pm, 5 pm, and 9 pm. 24 of the teams would play per day and rotate with the other teams having an off day. Midwest climate would work with this scenario; thoughts?
I dont know the exact stats but many MLB games each year go over four hours. And then you gotta take into account the field work required between each game. I think only 3 games per day is doable. Other than that sounds like a very good proposal.
Only if they stock up on trash cans.
For Astros games, of course.
Let’s?
The owners, players union, CDC, and MLB.
That’s the real “lets”.
I also wouldn’t mind a shortened season. Honestly, I don’t generally pay attention to games 10-100 anyway
Why should we believe this guy when hundreds of people in the comment sections of this website tell us that the season should be canceled?
Majority wins?
We shouldn’t believe anyone working for the GOP or who wants things to return to “normal” when the pandemic has shined a light on so many, many facets of society we are doing wrong on purpose because it makes billionaires more money. We need to stop that.
Lets make this political again.
STOP TALKING POLITICS ON A BASEBALL BOARD,
It’s like what President Reagan said to the ER Dr when he was shot. “I hope you’re a Republican”. Let’s keep politics out of this please.
Reagan had a sense of humor, clearly.
No one is making money over this just stop. The only thing it shined a light on is how Dems are using people’s deaths to get elected when they themselves didn’t even take covid seriously and called the President‘s attempts to stop it bigoted.
thetruth
You obviously don’t know any Dems well enough to judge so stop speaking for them. And stop speaking for medical experts. You in particular are in no position to judge anything. You have no appropriate education, training or experience and that goes for those you listen to for advice.
Hey ‘truth’, I think you need a new handle. There is ONE person going overboard on using this crisis for their own political gain – while they speak out of both sides of their mouth – and that’s t rump. Every day his lies just don’t stop.
thetruth could not have missed Strike Four’s point more if he tried
Rent free 24/7…
You need to find some hobbies bud.
“The only thing it shined a light on is how Dems are using people’s deaths to get elected when they themselves didn’t even take covid seriously and called the President‘s attempts to stop it bigoted.”
How many bongloads did you do before coming up with such a warped perspective?
You’ll find a lot more friends if you stick to Nascar and rodeos. If you want to comment on MLB, keep your BS politics to yourself.
Same goes to you, hypocrite,.
Strike Four is a broken record. Never a comment without the word “billionaires “. You realize that billionaires don’t exist to spend their money on baseball teams solely for your enjoyment, right? Right…? Oh. I guess not.
If you believe that the same billionaires aren’t in the pockets of the Democratic party, you’re sorely mistaken. Politics that you see on mainstream media are dog and pony show propaganda designed to keep us angry at each other and not those who are responsible. It isn’t a war between red and blue, it’s a class war. Both parties are crooks who view us as disposable pawns.
Only Republicans want to blame ‘both’ parties. Since they can’t admit that they screwed up, by electing this idiot with the vocabulary and speaking ability of a second grader.
Why so triggered, soyboy?
WillieMay,
‘Triggered’ and ‘soyboy’ in the same sentence. Is this actually Don Jr. or just some random ’cucktard’?
Dr Fauci has worked for the last 6 administrations, both Democrat and Republican Presidents in the White House. Dr Fauci does not work for the GOP.
Take your liberal nonsense back to the Nickelodeon site. This is baseball.
Faucci is a liberal. He worked for obama.
Also…you’re a loser.
Without closing down the country, we’d have hundreds of thousands of deaths.
If Faucci had anything to do with that, he’s a hero.
Ummm he also worked under Reagan and both Bush administrations. So, not a liberal.
I have seen 100+ comments from Strike Four over the last year or so, and each one is more ignorant and flabbergasting than the last.
many facets of society we are doing wrong on purpose because it makes billionaires more money. We need to stop that.
———————————————————–
Everything you do supports billionaires. Seriously, how do you think you got your PC, or Google, or baseball on TV, or anything else you have in your life.
If you want to walk your talk, get rid of every device and service that you use, that supports a billionaire.
Yeah, billionaires need you defending them. FFS.
Why should we believe this guy when there are plenty of experts in this comment section who say the season should definitely be canceled? I don’t know who to believe now!!!
There are more people who are simply cautious and recognize that the path to a baseball season is extremely complicated. That’s the more common position. Those who argue that a season is a sure thing are uneducated, clueless and the minority. That takes a crystal ball because no experts have adopted that position, including Fauci.
All this report says is that Fauci, a leading expert with impressive credentials, wants a season and hopes there is one. He also recognizes the health imperatives and complexities of doing so. Well, I want a season too but I recognize that it’s complicated. Health officials like Fauci need to tell us how we resume normalcy without risking a re-emergence of the pandemic. He says they don’t have a crystal ball and it will take a couple of months to figure that out.
This report vindicates those who say the future of a season for 2020 remains clouded in uncertainty. It does not vindicate those who have said with certainty that there will be held. That remains unknown. Whatever the outcome, those who say it is uncertain, of course, are right. It IS uncertain. That’s all we can say with certainty.
This guy certainly knows how to lay things out well for people. what he says always makes sense and i think its worth trusting him.
Fauci has spent his career being a bureaucrat and being on the wrong side of literally every decision he was forced to make. His bad decision making has known no political stripe.
I don’t believe you have the credentials to judge. That would probably go for anyone you have listened to about Fauci.
It always amazes and amuses me to see everyday schmoes judge experts, as if they have the chops to do so.
If you work in a field such as disaster recovery or pandemic response, there often are no good outcomes. There are bad, worse, and catastrophic, and it can be hard to measure the impact of intervention on the end result. At least. here, the cost of social distancing measures seems to be paying for lives saved according to most models.
Fauci is a mouthpiece of the global elites and new world order crowd who set this thing in motion. I wouldn’t trust anything he says.
Stop taking yourself so seriously
Your degree in medicine is from…?
His degree isn’t worth the paper it id printed on. He is a bureaucrat bit head.
And you can judge based on what credentials?
His degree isn’t worth the paper it id printed on.
————————————————-
How about you explain your bona fides, that actually allow you to judge him?
Now that is a funny comment. A guy who has served our country for many years and is a expert on viruses is all of a sudden a world order guy. let me guess you think a reality star knows more? I trust doctors and expert more than some guy on TV that wants me to praise him. Baseball will come back we just need to be patient. Baseball has survived through out wars, terrorist attacks, labor disputes, and earthquakes. It will survive through this pandemic.
I hope that reality guy is not the President who was the first to act and put travel restrictions.
Same guy who for 2 months down played the virus and told people if they are sick go to work. Its like the ball player that got 1 base hit but made 3 errors and struck out 4 other times at bat.
arc89
You should watch a different news network.,
What he said is the death rate is not as high as being reported. There are thousands and thousand of people who have the virus, who show minor symptoms or no symptoms, and are going to work.
He was 100% right.
What you are repeating is not true
Except the pres acted a month and a half late
No one would have closed down China as fast as he did. The W.H.O and Dems ripped him.
States close down states. Not the Federal government.
Deblasio was encouraging people to go out to restaurants and see plays in March. Pelosi was encouraging people to go to China Town.
And I’m not even pointing fingers at them.
We have to find out what happened and what is happening with testing. If heads need to roll, that’s what I’d look at. And no one has enough information on that to point fingers.
I have been saying for 3 weeks now that politicians from both sides put up a extreme number for political points. The same ones that say hey 20,000 is not that high said 2 months ago it would never go above 100.. The death rate is much higher since testing is not being done. the virus might have been here in 2019. The death rate myth is to high is from fox state ran news to down play it because before march 1st their talking heads were telling people it was a hoax.
have you been tested? How many people you know has been tested. The administration said a month ago anyone that wants to be tested can be tested. Now they say the opposite
wake up and ask questions..
the,
Bless your clueless heart!
He has reacted? Still waiting for a central leader to act. Obama is more of a leader, and he isn’t the president
He acted in early March and was blasted by the Dems for doing so. Remember- he’ xenophobic for stopping flights from China?
Quack quack.
lol then tell us who we should listen to. I can’t wait to hear this.
Listen to common sense and worry about you. The president/governors are not supposed to be mommy and daddy. We all Must take personal responsibility all the times not just during this
I’ll listen to the educate, trained and experienced experts. Who am I to second-guess them with my own subjective, limited “common sense?” That’s absolute nonsense. The average Joe second-guessing the advice of someone with decades of education, training and experience. Utter idiocy. I’m not the experts are flawless but they sure as heck will be right more often than you or me.
Ironma,
And thank you for sharing your libertarian bullish!t.
“global elites” “new world order”
Now there’s some wild-eyed, tin-foil conspiracy speak for you.
I can’t help but read “new world order” in anything but Jesse Ventura’s voice. I’d recommend abandoning the terminology
N.W.O. For life!
This coming from the guy who wants to ban handshakes lol this whole thing has been completely overblown and they have misled the country. And for what?
“Dr_Doom14”
handshakes are the easiest way to transmit this virus. he has a point.
It’s idiots like you who drove into a drive by testing center in Tucson where a friend’s son worked and taunted them that the whole thing was a hoax. Stop watching Fox News.
Fun fact, anyone who says “this whole thing has been completely overblown” has brain worms and should not be allowed an opinion.
you can at least be respectful in how you call someone an idiot
He’s not often right, but he’s right on that.
It’s insanely contagious. Without strong measures, almost everyone in the American will get it.
Without finding other treatments, maybe we can get the mortality rate to 1%…. maybe.
Fun fact: 1% death rate and over 90% have no serious symptoms.
and 15%+ end up hospitalized.
So I guess many of the people hospitalized and those stuck in bed for three weeks don’t have serious symptoms.
Anyone should be allowed an opinion. You don’t have to read it.
thetruth
The fact you call those %s a “Fun fact” says everything about you.
4.5% death rate, faux news junkie
@NOT truth, you’re stats have been wrong for a month now. You post the same BS on every thread. As I say to you every time, CITE YOUR SOURCES. If not, they’re just your BS opinions
Wrong!! 0.5% once you account for asymptomatic cases.
Less than 5% in realy.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.
Right, because CNN and MSNBC got it so right about Russia and Ukraine and about the China Travel ban.
I‘m sure you think CNN that is owned by a Democrat as most media is and has repeatedly lied is more trustworthy. Do yourself a favor and google how many times CNN was caught lying.
If you trust everything coming out of any news network, you’re a fool.
*anything coming out…..they are all merely entertainers paid to play a part. Come to terms w it.
Deflect and blame just like his idol
Quit making stuff political and worry about you the government is not your mom
I’m glad you said it. Next…..no more hugs after a HR.
Bat flips cause cancer.
Please don’t reproduce. If, by chance, you already have, please don’t subject them to homeschooling.
If I can’t shake hands, how can I tickle a stranger’s palm? Not worth it.
I only listen to the WHO
i only listen to Dr. Who. he has a PhD after all.
I listen to them a lot, but Thin Lizzy, Black Sabath, and Motorhead as well.
Still, we’re into the void without baseball and it may not be a reality this year.
I won’t be fooled again.
The WHO ripped the United States for having a Chinese travel ban.
The WHO said this is not a person to person virus.
Until the W.H.O. changes it’s leadership, I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the W.H.O.
WHO should be taking flack from the media. The media has dropped the ball by not holding them accountable.
all of our media is influenced by the chicoms, the story should be how they hid the virus from the rest of the world and how it came about yet no screw the man in charge while he is dealing with the crisis. Its a disgrace that all the media is right now is arguing about tr when it should be talking about how this all started and honesty not FEAR MONGERING BS. I don’t care what media outlet you watch STOP watching them all they are chicom GARBAGE. They tell you how to think and act so fing righteous.
If you can edit your comment I will better understand the point you are trying to make. There is something there. I know it. About yet no screw the man tripped me up a bit.
He is a fraud and should be investigated. I don’t trust anything out of his mouth.
Ok. New idea. MLB Trade Rumours Commenter League to be played in Williamsport… who’s down?
That’s very good news that Dr. Fauci is open to the possibility of a 2020 season. Impressive guy, despite being a Nationals fan.
As much as I’d love to see it I worry that medical resources will be wasted on entertainment. Is it really fair to prioritize sports over American citizens? Unless of course you live in Indiana where Rep. Trey Hollingsworth has already decided your lives don’t matter…
i don’t tbink anyone
whoops sent early. i was going to say that no one is prioritizing sports. its just the manner of business that sports is that makes it possible to come back earlier then others.
Once you get on the downside of the curve, medical resources will be able to catch up and will be prepared for it. They won’t do anything that will hurt anybody. MLB will put lives first.
They dont. We’re just numbers on the board homeboy.
This is a recipe for disaster. No MLB until this is over, please.
So is unprotected sex. People still have it.
But other people don’t get STDs because of somebody else choosing to have unprotected sex. See the difference?
That’s not accurate. Other people do get an STD from said person not using protection. That’s exactly how STDs spread, no?
No. I can’t get an STD because two other people chose to have unprotected sex. Obviously if I slept with one then I would, but that’s not what I meant. But with this virus I can get infected because of someone else’s dumbassery.
“Obviously if I slept with one then I would”.
Exactly. Now you understand. You can contract it if you do it. You can avoid contracting it if you do it. You’ll certainly avoid it by NOT doing it.
You can get Covid-19 being in-public. You can avoid getting Covid-19 being in-public. You’ll certainly have a better chance at avoiding it by self-isolating.
Glad we cleared this up. Please avoid another comment. Your first two made you look foolish.
Excuse me? Unprotected sex only harms those that partake in it. That is a fact. My point was unlike unprotected sex, the public cannot avoid Covid if other people are being stupid about it. With STDs only the stupid are infected. With Covid the stupid can infect the smart. Relax man, we’re all in this together.
Exactly and exactly. Did you not read the very first comment and my very first response? You have made my original point make even more sense than it did before. Thank you very much.
I must’ve misunderstood your original comment. It’s all good. I’m not sure how what you said is the same what I’m saying but I’m over it. I have quarantine brain.
He was saying playing baseball right now is a recipe for disaster much like unprotected sex, which people still do. I understand what you’re saying now as well but still disagree with how it was said.
Would love to see a season of some sort. The logistics seem daunting but possible.
There are 7 domes in MLB and no rule against multiple games in a day, either. Those could be utilized somehow.
What abut the players? There are no assurances they can be kept out of harms way I don’t care what Fauci or anyone else says. Not until there is a vaccine and that’s still gonna be a while. And who says the players and team staffs want to be forced away from their friends and family in times like this just so we all can watch baseball on TV. Cancel the damn season.
We don’t need a vaccine. What we need is a proven treatment.
Right now the treatments are the equivalent of hammering a nail with a baseball bat. They are somewhat effective, but not nearly as effective enough.
I hate to have you one my side in a war. “There’s too many of them let’s surrender!”
What about the players? The ones who want to get paid will quarantine (should be doing that already…) and play.
Cancelling the season right now when they can continue to kick the can down the road until we have more information would just be stupid and lazy.
Here’s the side benefit to the antibodies test, MLB is finding out who they shouldn’t need to worry about from this point forward.
I think the hardest part for the players will be the isolation. A few months of going hotel-ballpark and back without seeing family would be tough. Any player leaving for the birth of a child, a funeral, etc would likely need to then be quarantined for a couple weeks before being allowed back by the team and on the field.
HalosHeavenJj the antibodies testing is far from being ready. Read up on it that many of the test are showing some patients with no virus but have it and others with the virus not having it. So far many test are confusing the virus with the common cold and other viruses. There has been a few test that went right but is still a long way from being ready.
How about every single human being NOT an athlete that would need to be involved to make all this happen? Hotel staff, catering, tv production…it’s do not just the players’ health that people need to understand. Great, the players get tested regularly. How about stadium staff, hotel staff, trainers, tv personnel, equipment people, airport personnel, medical facilities, players and staff who travel outside the United States, scouts. The magnitude of people that will need to be involved just so baseball can be played is staggering. Is it really worth it?
It’s a standard cost/benefit analysis. If you have money in the bank, you can afford to stay home. If you work at a high-end hotel, but millionaire players staying there, and the bank wants to know where your mortgage check is, it is a consideration. Or, if you just opened a restaurant next to Phoenix Hilton, do you want to let that investment slip away?
I don’t see it happening. With the renegotiated BA, teams are only on the hook for 1/20th of player salaries if the season is cancelled. Most proposals floating around do NOT involve fans or locally played games (meaning zero ticket revenue or local TV recenue). And unlike the NFL and NBA, teams (particularly big market teams) depend greatly on local TV rev. Rather than prorating salaries based on games played with very limited revenue, will be easier to limit their losses and plan for 2021.
Quitter!
Didn’t state I preferred that approach, but I believe it’s a distinct possibility. There’s a total loss (1/20th of salaries plus some other incidental expenses) number that they could count on now versus greatly increasing their costs (prorated salaries for games played) with very limited revenue.
You’re still a quitter.
Manfred and the owners appear to disagree with you as they want a season even without the fans which means there is enough revenue to spark their interest still.
They will position themselves as “we gave it our best shot”, but I’m preparing myself for a possibility of no baseball in 2020.
We’re not even a month in to the season. Relax! Let’s see where we are in a few weeks. Wouldn’t it seem rash if everything improves by the end of May but we already cancelled the season?
Exactly! IS there a chance the season could be canceled and rightfully so? Yes, should any decision be made about that at this time? No.
Best thing to do, is just keep sitting on the sidelines and see where everything is in a few weeks and go from there. Canceling the season now is highly premature, because a ton can change even in 3 weeks from now, got to take it one day at a time.
As much as I miss watching, do you think the majority of people also out of work would consider it a priority for baseball to reopen if they are not allowed to go back to work as well? I think you’d have more anger and frustration to the mediocre or non sports fan.
Until I see actual games being played I am not buying into it
Massive hotels where everyone stays in their room except to play games. They all drive separately to the stadium to play. No defensive shifts so players stay properly distanced (I couldn’t resist that one). No visits to the mound (another time saver). All plays on all bases are force outs where the ball has to be caught one mississippi before the runner touches the bag on normal tag plays. No replays!!! Electronic strike zones, home plate umpire 6+ feet behind catcher. No holding runners on but restricted distance leading off bases. New ball every pitch. Hit batters go to third base unless they don’t try to avoid the pitch in which case the team gets two outs and loses the next batter. Dugouts extend all the way down the foul line or into the stands for proper distancing. Games capped at three hours long to allow maximal played games. That’s all I got for now. Lunch time.
Pitcher’s hand too! Hahahaha
Rec league baseball ideas. Stay out for lunch a little longer.
wild bill
Please give us your scenario, in detail similar to Whyhayzee’s.
Are you sure you want a more thorough answer Mo4ever? I thought you came to this site to be a social justice warrior.
Play the games, no fans, umpires and coaches wear protective rubber gloves and umps call games with hand signals. Umps change gloves between innings. Every person on the field wears a doctor’s mask. No automatic ball changes. Pitchers cannot put their hand on their mouth or else it’s an automatic ball. Every player can wear a doctors cap under their hats and helmets. Hand sanitizers will be used by every player after every at bat and defensive inning played. Play ball.
Just finished my grapes. My suggestions are somewhat facetious. I’m trying not to be so negative in light of the fact that I see baseball as unimportant. I would be happy if things could start to re-normalize by July. I want to run a mountain 50K in early August in NH and believe there’s at least a chance that it will happen. My friend’s deca marathon (270 miles) in VT at the end of May is probably off. Running trail races in the boonies is likely a little bit safer than baseball but maybe they can make it work. And if not, so what. It has zero impact on what I’ll be doing. It’s strictly entertainment.
wildbill
From an exchange below:
“I hope that it happens, but the degree of difficulty is high, to say the least.”
“And that’s the most we can say with any intelligence and honesty.”
That’s really it. I’ll admit your response ticks many of the boxes, I just have some trouble seeing ballplayers wearing masks while playing as being workable. I could be wrong. The difficulty remains high, especially in the dugout, at the plate, on the bases and in the hotels month after month. But I take no final stand. We’ll see what happens, especially once we hear what officials have to say about how we safely proceed toward normalcy.
My sister-in-law is working 12 hour shifts in the hospital changing masks every 3 hours. it’s not something you get used to at all. I would not want to play a competitive sport with a mask on.
I’ll have what he’s drinking. Lucid insanity but intriguing.
Fauci doesn’t get rave reviews on his defense as a catcher or OF.
“Well, I think you’d probably get enough buy-in from people who are dying to see a baseball game.”
This is a somewhat unfortunately timed usage of a common phrase.
Or Freudian.
Seems to me it’s gonna take a Herculean effort to get a season done. So much would have to happen…
1. All players would have to self-quarantine when not playing/training w/their teams.
2. Regular (weekly) testing.
3. MLB taking an active role in ensuring players do steps 1 and 2. Removing players who don’t adhere.
If one player doesn’t fall in line, then the whole plan crumbles like a house of cards. If ONE player starts spreading the virus, then the season’s toast.
Also, what about MiLB baseball? Would you essentially have your organizational players scrimmaging at the MiLB complexes? Would you expand the MLB roster size?
I hope that it happens, but the degree of difficulty is high, to say the least.
“I hope that it happens, but the degree of difficulty is high, to say the least.”
And that’s the most we can say with any intelligence and honesty.
fact, fauci doesn’t know baseball
Bo knows baseball.
All he said is he’s a fan of baseball and wants it to resume. Is that so hard to understand?
What do you base that on?
Man, even the mlbtr boards are calamitous, cancer-causing coronavirus conversations from the black lagoon. These arguments all progress the same way, to a tee, so just put down the boxing gloves and pseudo-intellectualisms and remember no one knows what in the hell is going on or exactly what will happen. Alternatively, keep fighting and dehumanizing your enemy more to erroneously erode their sense of moral decency, giving you a false sense of satisfaction. Plenty of you seem to get off on that.
remember no one knows what in the hell is going on or exactly what will happen.
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That’s the funny part. We have posters in here with very little education, commenting on how Fauci knows nothing. The never bother to explain where they think Fauci has gone awry. Their argument is always ‘him stoopid’.
Smartest comments on here
I will admit to being pretty obnoxious on here (really) but my argument has always been about the uncertainty. That’s the one thing that is certain. The uncertainty.
The ‘man’ has spoken.
We can resume baseball.
If we stay safe.
After reading some of the above ‘negative’ comments it’s truly amazing to think a man as smart a Dr. Faucci has to have people say sh.t like that about him. The economy’s about to be reopened ‘smartly’. Some can’t seem to understand a closed economy for much longer will turn a bad recession that’s coming into a really bad recession or worse. Faucci is the temperance to reopening incorrectly. We’re going to reopen this economy very soon so let’s listen to the man. He will point out the limitations and risks that we all need to be mindful of.
If baseball does resume, will fans be allowed to watch it on TV?
Only if your TV has been tested and is COVID 19 FREE.
LOL
Ahh fauci… bill gates whipping boy. Ya let’s listen to the man who answers to a glorified computer salesman.
Or let’s listen to someone like you. A nobody.
If Ted Williams gave you advice on hitting, would you be all like, I’m not listening because I don’t like his politics? What if he gave you advice on fishing, or on flying planes? Would you be all like, what does he know, I read up on that stuff, and it’s not like that at all?
“Manfred says that Major League Baseball wants to be a key “part of the [economic] recovery . . .”.
Manfred is not an economist, not a doctor or health expert, and above all, neither a sociologist or ecologist. The economy is a fundamental pre-condition to this (and future) pandemics, and capitalism’s plethora of anti-ecological and anti-social characteristics and mechanisms are exactly why, as an economic paradigm, capitalism must fail. You either choose life or capitalism — the former cannot sustain in an economic system that feeds on exponential increases in population, resource extraction (and depletion), pollution, and injustice, the latter is the prescription for ecological and social demise, and death to humanity as we know it. Ergo, Manfred doesn’t speak for me or for the prospects for a more sane and just world. He’s just another apologist for the insanity that has already demonstrated its lethality for billions of humans, let alone functional ecology that is essential to all life.
Baseball is an American sport. Take your ridiculous anti American “facts” to someplace they and you will be accepted by unquestioning sheep. You do not belong in the society of men.
From a statistical/contract negotiable standpoint, an 81 game season makes sense. Agents, statisticians and even fans can simply double any accrued stats. It’s so much easier to double the stats than to prorate them.
Could baseball schedule 81 games realistically if it began August 1? It’s a big risk especially with all the travel and the lack of a vaccine. It’s a no win situation if just one person passes away due to Covid-19 and baseball is the common denominator. Who should be held responsible in a worst case scenario?
Why would we care if we have “accrued” statistics vs prorated ?
Why would we need to hold “someone” responsible if just one person passes away due to Covid-19 ?
Maybe we should blame WHO ?
Seems like some are coming up with every thing under the heavens that could go wrong so that somehow we won’t play ?
Let’s just play, try and have some fun and realize sh.t happens and we’ll never get this perfect.
Please explain why anyone should listen to you about how to deal with deadly viruses?
I wonder if anyone has given thought to the fact that getting test results back can take weeks? Plus, there are false positives and negatives. Someone tests clean today and they could be infected tomorrow and never know it. Now you are going to be running how many people through the same areas, throwing the same ball, grabbing drinks and food from the same containers, using the same locker rooms and bathroom/shower/training facilities and on and on. Now factor in trainers, stadium workers, hotel staff, restaurant staff/caterers, custodial, drivers, baggage handlers…
Teams need many players during the season. A pitcher gets hurt, where does his replacement come from? Now you have to have minor leaguers ready and playing somewhere and all THOSE people necessary to stage those games. I
How many times during a game to players come in physical contact with each other through collisions, tag plays, arguing, celebrating?
How long before some pissed off player spits on an opponent or umpire? How about reporters, tv production crews and camera people, not to mention announcers.
It’s NOT just about the athletes, but also all that will be involved in the total contact that it will involve.
We need to just be realistic. Until this threat is in full remission and/or there is a vaccine, there should be no sports of any kind, anywhere.
Just as all this was getting started, I saw a cartoon of a man sitting and looking at his laptop. The caption was, “Oh, look! All of my friends who were experts on international politics last week are now viral disease experts!”
At the time, I actually chuckled…
There is a test that takes 15 minutes to get the results now.
When will that be available for mass production?
I love baseball as much as the next person, but please do not count it as a regular season with a world series. That would be a pathetic world series win for any team. Do an exhibition season and a championship for fun. I think we should all be more than happy with that.
Maybe, but as a RS fan, if we don’t win the WS, and assuming the NYY don’t win, I think it would be fun to see Cincy or Miami win it.
I’m a red sox fan too. We don’t stand a chance this year but that’s not the reason I’m saying this. Even if an unlikely team won that would be a crappy championship that would have an asterisk next to it saying it was a half season, without crowds, in temporary new divisions, in spring training stadiums etc. etc. If MLB tries having a normal regular season they are only doing it for the money.
Well, yeah… Expense money, including salaries, has to come from somewhere…
How do people reading this think that what he said is good news? I’m not negative, and I want the season to start ASAP, but a ‘possibly by July 4’ is not reassuring. Let’s face it, if baseball hasn’t started by July 4, it ain’t happening.
Too many obstacles to overcome for MLB to have any kind of season. The main issue is testing. We don’t have it yet and most likely won’t have it soon no matter what Pence said about anyone wanting a test can get one. Previous posters referred to the instant tests but they are not available to the general public yet and until they are we can’t give them to all players before every game. The second major issue is what to do if one player tests positive during this short season. Will the rest of the players quit? Will the team be quarantined? Will the season be ended prematurely? The last issue will be logistics. How and when will players be transported, how will they get fed and how or if will they be able to meet with their families. For these reasons I don’t see how a season can be played.
Here in Pennsylvania, it was reported by Dr. Levine that the precautions that have been taken have effectively flattened the curve.
She goes on to later state that the reason it’s flattening is because fewer tests are being administered because the components needed are becoming hard to find.
This is just one state in 50 and us home to two MLB teams and many minor league teams. Both Pa teams play regularly in NY and Philly, two of the worst spots in the world for this thing. Add to that how minor league teams are in the NY NJ Pa area within a relatively small, 3 hour drive. This is the same area that has roughly HALF of the known 650,000 cases in the USA.
Now, since baseball is a stat driven businesses, let’s lol at some.
Fact: 650,000 people have tested positive with over 30,000 deaths attributed to Covid-19.
Fact: roughly 1% of of all USA residents have been tested.
That’s 675,000 positive tests and 34,000 deaths
Thanks, Jim. Some of us appreciate an argument based on facts and logic. Others, like Sid, will cling to their opinions and stupidity…
Fauci? The same Fauci that sits on the board of Bill Gates Foundation? Yes, I thought so.
675,000 infected people, 34,000 deaths and only 1% of Americans have been tested. What would the numbers look like with 100% testing no distancing, no closures and no quarantines if 50,000,000 infected people are walking around and working normally?
Baseball, like my business/sport (bowling) is far from returning. We are actually in discussions regarding our 2021 season status which typically begins in August. And that’s just 100 people or so in an area the size of one mlb stadium parking lot section. Hell, bowling centers can’t even think about opening until phase 2 and not in full operation until phase 3…that’s maybe July.
Here in Pennsylvania, beginning Sunday night at 8pm, no one is to be permitted in any business establishment without a mask. That’s to protect the workers and us from ourselves because too many of us are too arrogant or too stupid to care.
I’ve read the summer heat just might knock out most of the current virus, but without proper controls, quick testing, accurate treatments and vaccine, there is a strong possibility we go through this all over again in the fall if we aren’t smart NOW. We need to greatly eliminate the number of cases and really jump on identifying treatments and testing infected people to find out why some never show a single sign while others are far worse or die in days.
Yes, we all want baseball to come back. Most of us don’t have a single professional player in our family or anyone who works at the stadium or airport so who cares if any of them test positive. (Actually, my brother in law works at a Florida airport near Tampa…)
Let’s quit arguing about Covid-19. Yes, it’s affecting the game we love. But look, as long as there are this many cases around the country, people will still be out of work and out of money. More infected people bad, less infected people, good. Let’s root for less infected people so we can get back to work and afford to cheer for our teams (or boo the opponent), because that means we beat this thing. To beat it, we have to stay home a little longer and play by the rules (wear masks) when we go out. If we ALL do that, the numbers WILL drop. Then we all unite and slam the Astros, laugh at the Mets hate the Yankees and “root, root, root for the Cubbies.”
I’m in, I’m quarantined, spending no money, out of work, no unemployment (self employed) and in no rush to risk getting sick, making my wife sick or making my friends or their family sick.
By the way, made a fantasy baseball trade today. Off topic, how cool would it be to draft and play FB with players stats from the past prorated have them play computer simulated daily games?!?!? Come on yahoo, you can do it! A few years ago, I played something similar, but cannot remember the name. You could draft and sign any player from any era as long as he actually played for the team you had chosen.
The CARES Act provides a 20% premium payment to hospitals for COVID-19 cases. I have a feeling we are about to see a major increase… i