The economic element is powerful. Of course, MLB owners and players want to play because that is the way both are paid.
But the sport also is receiving insights and advice from federal officials and national health organizations suggesting a return could provide a) confidence to the country that businesses will emerge slowly from the clutches of the coronavirus pandemic, and b) that a version of baseball played with greater distancing and no crowds will offer instruction to the nation that businesses will reopen but will need different practices than previously used to do so.
A plan to have all the teams play in Arizona, without fans and while creating as much isolation as possible, has gained the most traction.
Yet, those involved in formation, potential implementation and need for ratification of such a proposal are quick to mention a massive gulf exists between brainstorming on what is feasible and actually executing a plan considering all the risks and hurdles. MLB has yet to submit a plan for approval nor has it received a formal green light from any government or health entity on a variety of scenarios that it has mulled.
However, the Arizona Project has some momentum because behind the scenes it has received support from key government and national medical officials, who see — among other things — the symbolic value baseball could have for the country.
The recognition is that American businesses will reopen slowly and with changes in tactics necessary. Without a vaccine — which is still viewed as at least a year away — companies almost certainly will have to apply new sanitary and distancing practices. Baseball has an opportunity to play a national role in showing how that can happen as players, for example, might be asked to eliminate high fives and sit in empty stands apart from each other rather than bunched in a dugout.
Without a vaccine, MLB and its medical/scientific advisers are strategizing about just how much risk can be minimized with disciplined practices. MLB is hearing more frequently that testing will soon be more readily available and that regular testing of players and limiting their exposure outside of the bubble created in Arizona might provide an avenue to restart spring training as early as May. Just how big that bubble is — with players, front offices, support staff and potentially families — is under debate. The more people equals a wider circle of contact and greater risk for infection and spreading of the virus.
Over the weekend, President Trump spoke to the commissioners of the major sports leagues, including MLB’s Rob Manfred, and noted that a return to play would provide benefits to the country beyond the games.
MLB sees the potential to improve its image and be a leader if it can be the first sports league playing and do it safely. There is a chance, especially if MLB is first among sports leagues to play to recoup some lost money by televising even more games all day to a country still largely on lockdown and craving live sports. But that is many hurdles and approvals from now.
Obviously, the Players Association would have to ratify a plan, and will all players return without a vaccine? That is why there is talk of having 30 or 40 or even 50 players consistently training with the team and available to deal with injury, reduced preparation time — especially for pitchers — and the absence of a minor league feeder system.
Beyond the players, there are questions about how large support staffs should be and whether hotel staff, food service members, ground crews, bus drivers, etc., can be kept healthy. There is a particular focus on older coaches and umpires, especially any with preexisting medical conditions that would make them more susceptible to the virus. This is why talk of speeding up the electronically called strike zone has been mentioned — though major league officials have cautioned that the technology might not be ready for major league action.
MLB knows amid the pandemic there are no perfect plans and that the Arizona concept might not turn out to be feasible. But the belief has grown that if there is to be a season of any length this year, the probability is that it will not be played broadly across the nation, it will not have crowds at least at the outset (if ever) and that it will contain at least some risk. The Arizona plan has gained notice because, to date, it potentially offers the least risk and the greatest rewards both financially and symbolically.