Posted on 03/12/2020 1:40:56 PM PDT by Red Badger
Major League Baseball announced Thursday that it is canceling the remainder of its spring training schedule and delaying the start of its regular season by at least two weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
MLB @MLB
Statement from Major League Baseball: https://t.co/0bWS5VTRPu
MLB had continued holding games with fans in the stands through early Thursday and appeared to be moving forward with games before changing course.
Jon Heyman of the MLB Network provided additional information:
Jon Heyman @JonHeyman
While spring games are canceled, players won’t be immediately leaving camps. There’s thought being given to teams holding practices at their own sites to remain in playing shape. Logistics are still being discussed but word now is that players will “hold tight” for now.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark issued a statement on behalf of the players union:
MLBPA Communications @MLBPA_News
Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark today issued the following statement: https://t.co/rcnAAPQ1Kb https://t.co/hRbx03DpiH
Depending on when MLB decides to resume its schedule, some teams may be forced to play without fans or move the site of their games. The city of San Francisco placed a ban on events with more than 1,000 people Wednesday, which would affect the Giants.
The Seattle Mariners announced earlier this week that they were looking into alternatives after gatherings of more than 250 people were banned in the city. The state of Washington has been among the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which has reached more than 124,500 cases worldwide, per CNN. There are more than 1,200 confirmed cases in the United States and 38 deaths.
The NBA indefinitely postponed its season Wednesday night after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus. Major League Soccer, the NHL, ATP and most of the remaining college basketball conference tournaments have announced delays or cancellations over the last 24 hours.
President Donald Trump announced the United States is banning most travel to and from Europe for the next 30 days, beginning Friday, with the exception of the United Kingdom.
OTOH, the Pittsburgh Pirates might be safe. We have a very good AAA team.
No need for the Marlins and Rays, nobody goes to their games anyway.
LOL.
It’s a shame the Marlins have a beautiful new stadium, but nobody cares, nobody in Miami goes to the games.
For some odd reason, though, the Arizona Diamondbacks get attendance at their games. It can't be just the swimming pool, though I am sure it helps.
Be fair, the location of the two Florida stadiums is terrible.
The Marlins are in the same crime-ridden neighborhood that The old Orange Bowl was.
If the season goes on the amount of games will need to be cut down unless the playoffs are played at neutral indoor stadiums. Can you imagine playing games in Boston / NY in the middle of November?
Damn. No paying twenty bucks a pop to sit on the grass out behind centerfield and watch a bunch of minor leaguers in the same color uniforms.
Tragedy.
Sooooo verrrryyy stoooopid
Well.its not like thousands of people fit in that swimming pool at their stadium. Attendance can’t go up too much based on people who want to go for a swim.
Yep, you figure they can’t just push playoffs and World Series deeper into November, with bad baseball weather in most cities that time of year. Most likely they won’t play a full 162 game regular season this year.
I can see cancelling indoor events where people are close together, but cancelling outdoor events in the open air like golf and spring training have me shaking my head a little.
Maybe the MLB will bring back the double-header games.
In the meantime, let`s play nutcracker bellybutton baseball!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-ufRMZVyHAnu
Mid May at the earliest.
A shorter season could be more exciting.
It could be that Phoenix has a growing working economy, whereas Miami and, to some extent, Tampa, has a growing retirement economy. I've also been told that the stadiums in Miami and St. Pete are in sketchy locations.
It also doesn't hurt that the two teams have had the most parsimonious owners since Charley Finley.
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