As Major League Baseball explores a wide range of scenarios for the 2020 season, it is a certainty there will be significant limitations if and when play resumes.
While a definitive plan isn’t yet in place, all signs point to teams beginning the year in a centralized location — whether it be Arizona, Florida or Texas. In the proposed Arizona plan, all 30 teams would play their games at Chase Field and multiple Spring Training facilities.
Another drastic change expected is that when games are finally able to take place again, fans won’t be permitted to attend. Federal health officials believe this is the only realistic path for baseball to return in the immediate future.
While such steps may be necessary in order to carry forward with the 2020 season, some players aren’t exactly enthused about the prospect of proceeding under these conditions.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw opined that the Major League experience wouldn’t be the same if regular-season games were played in Spring Training ballparks, via Arash Markazi of the L.A. Times:
“We all want to play baseball. I get that; I want to play baseball too,” Kershaw said. “But there is something about being in the big leagues and you can’t compromise that. Playing in spring training stadiums and quarantining for months without your family and certain things like that, I don’t think that’s doable if you’re talking about doing it for four to five months. You just lose the product on the field because guys aren’t in their natural element. We’re all ready to take drastic measures to make this season happen, but there’s also certain things that will affect the product on the field, and that’s what you have to be careful about.”
Another stipulation of the proposed Arizona plan is that players would be expected to self-quarantine in between games — essentially only being allowed to travel to and from the ballpark.
Kershaw previously revealed this would be a deal-breaker for him, as he doesn’t want to be away from his family for potentially four months. It’s perhaps with that opinion, along with the same thoughts from Mike Trout, that MLB is now said to be considering hosting Spring Training and regular-season games at Major League ballparks.
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