Would MLB’s ‘No Fans’ Plan Work?

Professional and big time college sports will probably never return to the old normal, which included fans sitting so close to other fans that they would be touching. In today’s world, that scenario seems a long way off. While all sports will return at some point in time, when will that return happen and under what circumstances? Major League Baseball has discussed a plan to resume their season, but how realistic is it?

MLB has talked about a plan to get this season started in the next month or two, but they claim that they haven’t talked specifics, except that there would not be any fans. A study by Seton Hall says that 76% of fans woulds watch on TV, games played without fans and as we all know, money is a factor, specifically about $6 billion in revenue annually without ticket revenue. You could have most all games televised to their home markets with two or three nationally televised games a day.

The plan has all major league teams playing in Arizona where 15 major league teams have their spring training sites, so there are enough stadiums to handle all 30 major league teams. Throw in the Arizona Diamondbacks indoor stadium where you could have three games a day in very comfortable conditions. Games could even be shortened to seven innings. The question is how realistic is getting the rest of it done?

All of the traditionalists, of which in baseball there are plenty, are quick to criticize. They do not like change, so they pick apart most facets of this new plan, though Major League Baseball has said that they have not talked specifics. Many other forward thinking fans know that baseball has not changed with the times, so any kind of change would be welcome and a different format is worth looking at.

Safety must be first and foremost, so that remains the biggest question. All players will be tested for coronavirus before they are allowed to participate. I’ve got to think that testing will continue on a regular basis. Dugouts will not be used, but rather players, when not playing in the field or at bat, will sit in the stands to keep social distancing.

When this will all start is critical. Sometime in the month of May has been mentioned. May seems to be too early, but the curve of new positive coronavirus cases going downward will decide an opening date. I’m thinking a few more weeks of spring training starting June 1st and this short season begins sometime in the middle of June. That is two months away, when, hopefully, this awful pandemic will be controlled and not nearly the threat it is today.

Two more issues surrounding this plan are the players being ‘quarantined’ from their families and the Arizona summer weather conditions. While the players won’t get a lot of sympathy for ‘working’ in 100 plus degree temperatures since baseball is a sport not exactly associated with over exertion, there is more sympathy for being separated from their families. That is definitely something that would have to be worked out.

There has been speculation about the use of robotic umpires with an electronic strike zone. This has been talked about for a few years and would keep umpires away from the catchers. Managers visits to the mound to talk to the pitcher would also be eliminated in the name of social distancing.

If serious progress is made to fight this coronavirus, I think teams might be able to finish their seasons in their home ball parks, though that study by Seton Hall says that 72% would not attend a game unless a vaccine is in place, which seems unrealistic in the next six months.

This plan would not work until much of the country returns to what will probably be the new normal, which hopefully will begin to take place in the next two months. Baseball can’t be the only business or even one of the first businesses that goes back to work. Major League Baseball is smart enough to not take any serious risks.

While their still remains many questions that need to be answered, just the talk of a return to something normal is positive. Right now this nation needs anything that is positive.