As the days and weeks continue to pass by, people are learning more and more about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the United States is making progress toward slowing the spread.
In the meantime though, everyone can continue doing their part by staying home in effort to bend the curve. That of course includes Major League Baseball players who have had the start of their 2020 season postponed indefinitely.
While the return of play is still a long way off, there has been optimism in recent days that they won’t have to cancel the season altogether.
The most likely scenario is the season taking place at Spring Training facilities in Arizona and potentially Florida with no fans in the stadiums. Arizona governor Doug Ducey recently backed that possibility, giving the OK for his state to host games if it is safe enough.
Meanwhile, MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark recently outlined what needs to happen for the players to return to the field, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
“Everything centers around two things,” Clark told USA TODAY Sports in an expansive telephone interview, “the amount of testing available and a vaccine. And how it can be mitigated in the public arena as much as the professional arena. And it can’t be at the expense of public testing.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been at the head of the coronavirus fight in the country, recently gave his two cents on sports returning, believing that it’s possible with no fans. He shared a similar sentiment as Clark though about the different things that need to take place for that to happen.
It seems that everyone is committed to making this happen, but first, the United States has to continue working to flatten the curve, as well as get the testing necessary for sports to return in a safe manner.
A 2020 season being played would obviously be great for the whole league, but especially the Los Angeles Dodgers as they are one of the favorites to win the World Series. If the season were to be cancelled, they would lose a number of key players like Mookie Betts to free agency.
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