In search of creative solutions to the myriad problems posed by the coronavirus pandemic, MLB and the MLB Players’ Association have held initial discussions regarding a plan that would center at least part of the 2020 season in Arizona. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported on the latest developments in the ever-evolving effort.
It’s an interesting concept, at least in theory, given the presence of so many high-quality baseball facilities in the greater Phoenix area. The entire Cactus League apparatus would be available in addition to the Diamondbacks’ home park of Chase Field.
Staging contests in one metro area would drastically limit the cost, time, and risk of plane travel — potentially facilitating a much fuller schedule (more packed and later into the year) than would otherwise be possible. Teams are accustomed to marshaling necessary logistical resources in this area. And concentrating medical and other resources in one area might make it possible to navigate the exceedingly tricky matters that are sure to arise.
Needless to say, this wouldn’t be baseball-as-usual. Agent Scott Boras notes that the league would have to essentially define a group of participants (players, coaches, umpires, trainers, etc.) who’d have “very limited access … to the outside world” and would be “constantly tested.” It seems clear that such an approach would feature no or limited spectators at the ballparks. Even if fans were ultimately allowed in, there’s obviously no way the gate would come anywhere close to its typical levels.
The aim in this effort, should it even be pursued, would be to get the game on television sets across the country. There may even be a built-in competitive advantage for baseball as against the other major sports, which are also staring at difficult challenges. It’s certainly easier to imagine baseball being played, with appropriate protection and monitoring, than other sports that involve much more regular and intense physical contact between participants.
Clearly, this idea is still in its infancy, faces numerous challenges of its own, and is only one of many possibilities. It may ultimately function as a bridge to a more-typical playing situation, should that become possible. Depending upon one’s perspective, this all-Arizona approach could be a sobering disappointment … or an optimistic indication that the league and players are working hard to ensure that some kind of campaign is possible.
Would this idea be for if the season needed to be extended late into November or even December? Or is this an idea being thought about for right when the season returns?
That’s an excellent question
Seems like at the beginning. That way they could take a quarantine approach to the teams, and avoid airplane travel.
I doubt even MLB officials know at this juncture.
It is for the beginning
Do it, you cowards!
Saw the S. Korean league playing with masks on in an empty stadium. Except the mask was mostly over just their mouth or on their chin. Which is as useful as using a condom with the tip cut off.
It prevents them from licking their lips.
*fingers
I dunno i just want what everyone here wants
I, too, would love a billion dollars
Of the millions of people who have had the virus, how many people under 50 and in good health are dying?
not as much as older people but if half your team has the virus and is struggling to run you cant play actual baseball
Less than 1% according to the CDC
It’s not just about the amount of people dying. If too many people get sick and need hospitalization at the same time, it creates a shortage in caring for people medically. This would lead to a higher amount of deaths.
Go get it, if you dont respect it.
Think of it this way: If 0.2% of people in their age range are dying of the disease (probably about right), and there are 30 teams with 30 players on them (they’d have to up the rosters, right?), then that’s around 2 players expected to die of the disease, if they all get it.
I was saying last week that I expect a start around the beginning – mid June. With Fauci saying that this week was going to be the most devastating, I guess that means this is the peak. Then for the next month or so, it will start to taper off, and by mid – late May we can finally start CAUTIOUS baseball activity. In Arinzona… hopefully.
Well, the problem is that this virus could have multiple peaks in multiple places throughout the country, and if you relax regulations to stop the spread you could start seeing new cases breakout in places that had already reached their peak. I really hope there is a season, but I have become a bit pessimistic about that happening.
Bad idea. Why have the games? It is for the fans
You’re right, and we’d at least get to watch it on TV.
Lol we can watch on tv like what are you thinking?
Strangest comment I have read
Stage it in Tampa where fans sit six feet apart from each other like a press conference or regular rays game.
Yeh all 10 stadiums , Chase field ,maybe the college parks too and , Reno and Las Vegas
I am glad that MLB is looking at all options. Which option the league ends up with is not up to up though, it is up to the virus. If we reach peak infection in the next 2 weeks as is predicted, then cases will start coming down and by the middle of next month, baseball could start training again and games could begin 4 weeks after. But that is a whole lot of if’s. And no way to know how this is going to go except to do what we’ve been doing and see how it plays out.
I like the idea, but I see one major issue: since it’s in Arizona, it would be INTENSELY hot. I don’t think anyone could play in that heat, especially considering that Chase Field is the only domed baseball stadium there.
I’ve played in Texas weather for all my life, and when you are out on the field you just slurp down water and sweat yourself off ten pounds. Texas is way worse than Arizona btw, since we are on the gulf of Mexico, we have days in August where even though it’s “only” 100 degrees, the humidity is also 100%. It’s like you can feel yourself walking through a thick, hot, stuffy blanket of heat and moisture at times, and it’s easily adaptable. If you love the game, you get on the field and forget about the heat, playing it anyways. And it keeps you warm… obviously.
I just hated playing in the cold. One day it was like 45 degrees out, and raining, and we were playing. It felt like my fingers were going to just fall off when I got a hit. (btw all Texans think if it’s below 45 degrees out, it’s cold… IDK what northern states think about that though).
The average high temperature for Phoenix in May is 95 degrees. In June it’s 104. Then it gets really hot.
I’d much rather deal with a dry than a wet heat. I grew up in the Central Valley in CA and played plenty of sports in 100 degree weather. But that humidity in Texas is something else entirely. When I visit family back there I avoid the summer.
At 7pm?
Yes, in early June here it is generally within a few degrees of 100 at 7 pm
I’ve spent time in Phoenix when it’s 100+ and time in New Orleans when it’s only 80. The high NO humidity was way worse than the dry PHX heat. No, I wasn’t playing ball, but with proper hydration and expanded rosters, evening games should be manageable.
Is baseball played in New Orleans? It would be played under a roof if it was.
Dry heat, my left foot. Try this: fly to Phoenix on a summer day. Get off the airplane, and step out of the terminal. If you don’t immediately laugh out loud you ain’t human. It isn’t just the air that’s hot, it’s every surface. It’s the searing sunlight and the complete lack of cloud cover. It’s air temperature that doesn’t drop below 80 degrees by sunrise most days, and then it starts all over again. There’s a reason why so few people lived in Phoenix before the invention of air conditioning. Because it’s almost impossible.
Ya, there is no way they are going to play outdoor games when it 115-120 degrees, which it will be for a few days and then a month or two of 105-115 weather.
Great idea. They can keep it safe. All players are in incredibly low risk categories. Need to make extreme adjustments but I have a feeling that the ratings would be great. Obviously everyone’s safety is more important than baseball but it would great sign for the country. You can’t have the Joe West type umpires who are a high risk doing the games. Baseball is inherently a little more socially distant than basketball, football and soccer. Baseball will be one of the first sports playing games
I’d be concerned about some of the older managers and coaches, too. I’d be worried about Dusty Baker all season; does he really need to be part of this? Joe Maddon is 66, so maybe he should consider sitting this out too.
Good point. Never thought about them but people like Terry Francona I wouldn’t be comfortable having around the game right now.
Stop MLB, you’re drunk.
No they aren’t we need baseball
No, we do not need baseball. As much as I love the game it is a luxury, and if they canceled the season it would be okay. Safety is more important than a game.
Please let there be a season please
I think they are just trying to avoid the inevitable, which i hope it doesn’t come down to this, but just canceling the whole season. Even if they play and have playoffs, seems there would be some sort of asterisk beside the eventual winner.
Maybe they can pull it off, heck they are tentatively playing The Masters in November. How strange that will be to see that.
I want one field to have corn as a fence.
Hey, it’s nice to see a little sanity around here instead of some of the usual Chicken Littles.
A lot of experts who were previously very pessimistic about this issue are starting to sound a bit more upbeat. Projections of hospital usage have been found to be greatly exaggerated.
It’s still a serious issue, particularly in several hot spots. But this is not the end of life as we knew it — it’s just a pause. And this pause has a realistic end point that’s not very far off.
well said, sir…
That’s some next level common sense right there. No doubt the media would flip out if MLB tried it but they’re usually wrong about everything anyway. They don’t report, they spin to whatever fits their current narrative. MLB needs to take this idea seriously and work out the logistics.
Here’s what I would do:
All the pitching changes on tap for this season are postponed until next year.
Start the season in Arizona and move to regular stadiums when possible.
40 man rosters all season long, at least until the playoffs (7 man rotations are encouragef.
All series are 7 games. Tuesday through Sunday, with a day/night Sunday double header. Monday is travel day.
Every team will play a series against every team in their league, one interleague series, and two series (home and away) with each team in their division.
If my math is right, that’s a 19 week season. Assuming a mid June start, no All-star break (maybe a game after the World Series), that would put the end of the season at the end of October. The decision would have to be made of playoff sites. I would say make each team play in their spring training stadiums, but MLB wants bigger crowds, so maybe select a warm weather city or done for each division ahead of time, so fans can make travel arrangements. If a wild card team advances yo play a division rival, they can continue play in that same stadium, just alternating home team. The location of each divisions playoff stadium should not be a stadium currently in the division.
Confusing, perhaps. It would give us a 134 schedule, and would be fair
Wow… Round of applause for all that. Send it to MLB. BTW 7 games in a row, plus a double-header isn’t bad. I mean, last season the Rangers had to play 22 games in a row with no off days. I like that proposal.
I was in Phoenix a little over a month ago for spring training and it would be a great place to do this. They have something like 9 state-of-the-art ballparks within a 20-minute drive of each other. The weather would be solid all the way into autumn and they can squeeze in a whole lot of games.
The weather in outdoor stadiums in Phoenix is not even close to solid in the summer months. There is no way they are playing outdoor games in July, August, and September.
This is intended for the beginning of the season in front of no fans.
Like I’d seen last week. A few logistical issues need to be worked out. Not just within the facilities walls.
Marlins will feel right at home
They should consider my hometown of Olean, New York which is at least 50 miles from the middle of nowhere. Bradner Stadium would be a great venue with perfect camera angles. Plus Babe Ruth once hit a ball into the Allegany River which would provide an incentive to every player.
Where in Arizona?
I’ve been to every facility out there multiple times. Goodyear, Camelback, and Salt River are basically AAA facilities. Surprise and Peoria are nice too. Sloan is a replica of Wrigley and has state of the art clubhouses.
This would work For the most part. Even the older, smaller stadiums like Scottsdale and Tempe are fine.
40 man roster + 10 coaches + 2 trainers + 3 clubhouse staff + team doc, GM and others = about 60 per team, or 1800.
16-18 umpiring crews = 72.
Add the broadcast crews (5-10 more per club), or 250 people
That’s 2100+ people being tested 2-3x/week.
While people aren’t being diagnosed because of a lack of tests.
Bad optics. Bad decision.
It’s not a decision, it’s spitballing ideas
I believe there’s a concerted effort on multiple fronts to get more tests and tests with quicker results out soon. Until then, though, I’m with you.
Id say if season started July 1st… play 81 game season… perhaps if the season goes later, you could play October games in Arizona or Florida… with spectators… teams can just use their spring stadiums as their home field… then in November when playoffs start, play in neutral warm weather stadiums and have World Series obviously neutral as well.
Or if time is an issue, maybe do it no interleague and no divisions, top 2 each league play for pennant, then World Series. You’d be done by early to mid November.
Ya great idea. Bring more people to AZ with the chances of bring more people with the virus here. Just hold off and either cancel the season or play a strike like shortened season when the time is right
I hope, when this is all said and done, we (human people) can grow to appreciate social distance and quit breathing and sneezing and spitting all over each other and just generally begin to really respect each others space. Oh, and a healthy shot of common sense for all, too! If you feel sick or have been around sick people or have traveled recently, perhaps pay a little extra attention to your own bodily fluids and how you are probably inadvertently/negligently exposing other people to whatever cooties you might have. Respect my bubble, bro. If you can touch me, you’re too dang close.
Lets be real. There’s no good reason why they can’t be playing NOW. Certain interactions between players and coaches and staff and umpires is already going to be looked at differently and in situations eliminated. They’ll all be fine. No, it is Joe Schmoe, who bought tickets a couple weeks ago while healthy, but shows up to the game with a bothersome cough and proceeds to hack and spit and sneeze on 40,000 of his closest friends and every surface in the stadium. He’s not going to scrap his plans because of a ‘sniffle.’ Hell, he’s not even going to wear a mask. Because who cares about anything in the world other than ME?
Wow. I took a week off work because, well just because. Today was my first day back, and apparently it did very little to help restore my faith in people. Sorry, ranting done.
Eighty-four game season from mid-July to mid-October (48 games vs. divisional opponents, 30 vs. intradivsional opponents w/o home and home, 6 interleague), postseason wraps up mid-November…IF THEY CAN. Otherwise, probably forget it.
How will minor leagues work?
At least for the majors, play July-November in Arizona (~135 games) with December playoffs. Then move 2021 out a few weeks.
All outdoor ballparks in Arizona in the summer. Get real. Never gonna happen
Arizona, outside, in the summer. Yikes.
Finally someone makes the right point. After mid-May or so the Phoenix area is brutally hot, and by July, forgedaboudit.
This seems like an unnecessary risk, if they go through with it. The focus should remain on how to stop the spread of the virus, and save lives; not playing a game. At the very least, any person involved in the game should be given the option not to participate, without penalties.
I hope people also take into account how long these guys will be isolated from their families- months! That’s unfair, and wrong.
MLB and Players union is working with the federal officials on this and will no proceed without the blessing from the Federal officials so safety will come first and foremost.
Also don’t feel bad for the players if they decide to do this, they do have a choice in this matter, they will know what they have to give up to play again.
“Blessing from the Federal officials so safety will come first and foremost”. Yikes!
I’d love to see them play, but I don’t see how. The problem isn’t the games. It’s the rest of their lives. They eat, they have families, girlfriends, masseuses, concubines, etc. They live the rest of their lives and inevitably some of their contacts will be infected, and they will be too, and then their teammates. They can’t be hermetically sealed when they’re not at the park.
Haha. No masseuse or concubine. No ballgame!
What happens if one of the $200M+ multi-year contract players plays in 2020, contracts the virus and dies? Will MLB pay his beneficiary the entire contract? If not, a player like Trout, for example, would not only be putting his life at risk by playing in 2020 but also his family’s future financial wellbeing. He is not going to do that. All it is going to take is for one superstar to say his family comes first and he won’t play in 2020 for others to do the same.
Stupid idea that wont ever happen…..
Why not?
He is actually right. If games start in say late June then the weather in Arizona will be way too hot. You have to realize, and I have lived in the Palm Springs area of California for a few years which is very similar to Phoenix weather, that starting in mid-May the temperature does not drop below 100 degrees. And, from June through about mid-September it ranges from about 105-120 or so, it is insanely hot.