As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact the world, Major League Baseball is searching for ways to get its 2020 season underway.
A recent report indicated it could begin as soon as May, with all teams playing games in Arizona with no fans in attendance and players remaining quarantined other than going to the field for games.
However, MLB followed that with a statement to refute the idea of one plan being preferred to others, as there are several factors that need to be considered before players can return to the field.
One of those is if a player tested positive for coronavirus during the season. That is what started the nation’s shutdown as Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive and the NBA immediately suspended its season, with other sports and businesses following suit shortly after.
Now that the more procedures and protocols are in place and with experience in how to handle the situation, an MLB player testing positive may not be cause for the whole season to be shut down, per Jeff Passan of ESPN:
While health officials see MLB players as low-risk candidates for COVID-19-related issues because of their age and health, putting protocols in place to ensure the health and safety of older managers, coaches, umpires and other personnel would be paramount to the plan working, sources said.
While the possibility of a player or staff member testing positive for coronavirus exists, even in a secured setting, officials do not believe that a positive alone would necessarily be cause to quarantine an entire team or shut down the season, sources said.
Ensuring players and their families are healthy is the most important aspect in all of this, and MLB emphasized that in the statement it released.
Knowing that is the case, it is positive to see that they are being proactive in trying to search for solutions to get a 2020 season in. With that being said, the country still has a ton of work to do before MLB can even think about beginning its season, even with the heavy restrictions that would be in place.
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