Pandemic Safety Concerns Cloud Potential Start Of Baseball Season

Suppose they gave a season and nobody came.

That’s the question that concerns baseball officials trying to decide whether to start their suspended season, whether players will agree to reduced salaries, and if players uncomfortable about the continuing pandemic will even report.

Despite lingering questions about number of games, realignment of teams, and expansion of playoffs, multiple media reports this week indicated that Major League Baseball was leaning toward a July 1 start date, preceded by at least two weeks of spring training.

Big-league teams already had a month of spring training, even playing numerous exhibition games, before Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred suspended play March 12 and delayed the planned March 26 openers.

On March 28, he also froze rosters, preventing teams from adding or subtracting players and effectively eliminating free publicity for the game just when shell-shocked fans needed it most.

Baseball has already lost Derek Jeter’s Hall of Fame Induction, scheduled for July 26 but now postponed til next year, and the July 14 All-Star Game in Los Angeles is virtually certain to be a casualty too – unless it’s delayed well past Labor Day in the hope the current health crisis abates.

Even if the July 1 start materializes, how can any All-Stars be chosen that quickly? And would it even be safe to have them travel from dozens of different destinations for one game?

When Major League Baseball was considering what is now called “the Arizona Plan,” at least three star players objected. Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, and Carlos Correia said they were not in favor of any plan that required players to quarantine, away from their families, for months at a time.

Now Red Sox pitcher Collin McHugh has joined the chorus of naysayers.

On a podcast called “The Fenway Rundown,” he said players should be able to sit out the season if they don’t feel returning to action is safe.

Although the coronavirus outbreak has not yet affected anyone in the major leagues, at least two players in the minor-league camp of the New York Yankees tested positive in March.

Even if players are quarantined and tested regularly, every man on the field shares the same close quarters in the dugout and clubhouse, as well as baseballs used in games. There’s also concern about managers, coaches, umpires, and support staff over age 60 who are more susceptible to the virus – especially if they have underlying medical conditions such as diabetes or lung or heart disease.

On the other hand, baseball is a billion-dollar industry that has already lost millions because of the outbreak. It is certain to lose millions more if the schedule resumes in empty ballparks, with spectators prohibited in order to contain the spread of the virulent contagion.

That is why the Cleveland Indians, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, have told players that a July 1 start date may be in the cards. Joe Girardi, new manager of the Phillies, told NBC Sports Philadelphia that he heard talk about the same time-frame. In addition, ESPN’s Jeff Passan also said players have been told to “get ready,” though no official announcement has been made.

Outspoken player agent Scott Boras, who secured the nine-year, $324 million contract given to Gerrit Cole by the New York Yankees during the Baseball Winter Meetings in December, is urging the game to resume – perhaps even sooner than Independence Day weekend. But he has no influence with the decision-makers beyond his constant coverage by the media.

Deciding when to play is not the main issue; deciding whether to play takes precedence.

In a game steeped in history and tradition, compensation, venues, and scheduling could be resolved if both sides agree. So far, players have accepted a $170 million offer from Major League Baseball to cover their salaries through the end of this month. In exchange, they received a guarantee of service time for this season even if is cancelled.

Should the season resume, player contracts would be pro-rated based upon the number of games.

Getting agreement on outstanding issues won’t be easy. At least one club owner says he won’t take the risk that his players might be exposed to the pandemic. What happens if an entire team decides not to play?

Complicating everything is the fact that owners and players must craft a new Basic Agreement after the 2021 season, when the current one expires. Although the two sides have a history of animosity that has led to numerous season-stopping labor disputes, none has occurred since the 232-day player strike that ended in April 1995.