The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is currently sweeping the world, causing a number of sports leagues to put their respective seasons on hold.
It started with the NBA after it was learned that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert contracted the virus. That caused them to suspend their season, which started a chain reaction as the NHL, MLS and NCAA all followed suit.
The 2020 Major League Baseball season has not yet started, and that will remain the case for a while as the league announced the rest of Spring Training and at least the first two weeks of the regular season will be suspended.
While the hope is that things won’t need to be put on hold longer than that, there truly is no telling where the coronavirus will take us in the coming weeks.
Regardless though, with the season starting at least two weeks late, that means that time will need to be tacked on to the end of the schedule if MLB wants to keep a 162-game season.
While logistics will obviously still need to be worked out, it appears before the league postponed the start of the season, they had already begun discussing playing postseason games at neutral sites if weather becomes a factor at the end of the year, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
The idea of extending the season beyond its scheduled conclusion on Sept. 27 and playing postseason games at neutral sites with domed or retractable-roof parks already has been discussed, one source said.
This likely would not affect teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, who play in warm-weather climates. There obviously will likely be cold-weather cities with teams that make the postseason though, so the league may opt to play all games in neutral sites to avoid one team having home-field advantage.
As much as everyone wants answers about the future of MLB and other sports leagues, the real focus right now should be treating people with coronavirus and finding a way to stop it from spreading even more than it already has.
Until that happens, it is not responsible to carry on with the MLB season, especially with fans in attendance at stadiums. In the meantime, the Dodgers players will continue to work out at Camelback Ranch so they are ready to go when play does resume.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events and more!
