For the first time Monday, the commissioner’s office presented a potential plan in which all teams would train, then play exclusively in Arizona with no crowds.
Officials from the commissioner’s office, team executives and union personnel cautioned the plan has not been embraced by either side yet and faces hurdles of logistics, finances, staffing and permission of medical and governmental institutions.
In a statement Tuesday, MLB said it is “actively considering numerous contingency plans” to play once public health assurances are received. The statement acknowledged the one-locale plan as a possibility, but that no detailed elements have been formalized nor has there been approval given by officials from the government, medical community or the Players Association on the plan.
Fueling the energy behind the one-locale plan is concerns by both management and players that playing games across the country during this coronavirus pandemic will be impossible. Thus, it could be play in one region, such as Arizona, and isolate the personnel needed for this as much as possible, potentially for months — or the doomsday scenario.
As one person briefed on the plan said, “It is imperfect. It may be impossible. But we should study this in every way possible because it could be a plan like this or no baseball in 2020.”
The obstacles include:
— What signal and from which medical and science institutions will it take for MLB to say it will try this and for players, coaches and whatever staff is needed to return en masse? What happens if a bloc of players refuse to come back until there is a vaccine that brings the chances of contacting this coronavirus to near zero?
— How will players be paid? If there are no gate receipts, luxury boxes, concessions, parking, etc., MLB will be losing substantial revenue this season. Some of it could be made up if TV networks — hungry for live sports again — provide additional payouts to show a greater number of games.
One club official said, “Say a team is losing $70 million this year and to play it knows it would lose another $10 million to $20 million without fans and all that comes with that, why would they approve that plan without the players taking a cut?” Conversely, players could argue that by returning sooner than later they are playing a risk/reward game to help the institution and should not have to sacrifice pay.
MLB and the union already reached agreement on a plan that gives $170 million to 40-man roster players through May. But the arrangement is for no more than that without games. A person briefed on the plans said, “It could come down to how many players are willing to accept fill-in-the-blank, 35, 40, 50, 60 percent of their salaries or zero the rest of the way.”
— What is acceptable risk? There is not going to be a vaccine in the next month. Perhaps there will be wider testing or better understanding of who is immune and who is not. But restarting the sport would still put a lot of people in one place at one time — and not just players. There is a need for coaches, umpires, TV crews, grounds crews, clubhouse attendants, doctors, trainers, workout specialists. Everyone will have to be fed and housed and commuted from one place to another, forcing an ever-wider pool of contact.
Will players, coaches and umpires with underlying health issues be told not to participate because they are more vulnerable to coronavirus and bad outcomes?
A player representative said, “Everyone wants to play as many games as possible, but only at the point that health and safety are adequately protected.”
How many people will agree what “adequately” means?
— What happens if a player, coach, clubhouse attendant, etc., tests positive for the virus? Does that force a team-wide quarantine and, thus, a shutdown of the sport again? After all, if a team needs to quarantine, the other 29 teams can’t keep playing without it.
MLB is asking its medical/scientific advisers whether the person who tests positive can be quarantined and the rest of the team continue playing with greater medical evaluation? Teams are used to placing players on the Injured List. But when a player, say, sprains his ankle, it is not infectious and it is not lethal to him or others. If someone associated with putting on games got ill or — worse — died, how would the decision to play look? How much risk and potential damage to reputation is the MLB willing to take?
— Where will teams play? There are 10 spring training facilities in Arizona housing 15 teams (five parks host two teams), plus the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field plus some universities that have potentially suitable stadiums such as the University of Arizona, Arizona State and Grand Canyon University.
But think how many people it takes to get 15-ish fields major league ready. If this goes for months, the daytime heat in Arizona becomes a factor.
— How long will players and staff tolerate separation from their families or being quarantined with family but not being able to move freely? Think of this example: Gerrit Cole and his wife, Amy, are expecting their first child in June. Can Cole return to his wife for that birth? If he does, will he have to quarantine for two weeks when he comes back? Multiply that by many players facing similar situations for births, funerals and general need to have proximity to loved ones.
— What is the imagery going to be? Yes, a lot of it is positive, just having games again. But remember this is a sport in which — among other things — there is a lot of licking of fingers and spitting. The ball is shared. Someone has to clean the uniforms. Under even the most consolidated, isolated situation, there are going to be risks encountered.