The Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals had extended layoffs due to coronavirus team infections. The Cincinnati Reds had to postpone games in this past weekend’s series against the Pittsburgh Pirates after one of their players tested positive.
While the NBA and NHL turned to single-site locations to restart their seasons, MLB games are being played all across the US. Given some of the early issues with a few teams, the question as to why the league went this way continues to arise.
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MLB Still Risks Shutdown
It was noted by CBSSports.com that both the National Women’s Soccer League and Major League Soccer resumed tournament play prior to the start day (July 23) of the 2020 MLB season. The NBA and NHL resumed play a week later.
The only difference between these five professional leagues is regular travel from one city to the next. There are no fans in the stands for MLB games but there are still valid concerns about exposure to the coronavirus.
The only issues between the five leagues is the constant threat of shutting things back down in MLB. The league commissioner is Rob Manfred. Early in the restart during the Marlins’ issues with COVID-19, he publicly stated that the 2020 MLB season could still be scrapped if teams continue to have issues with mass infections. Most of his comments were directed at Tony Clark as the head of the MLB Players Association.
Manfred has softened his stance a bit since then. He was then quoted as saying that he was not a quitter. Maybe the team owners he works for may have had something to do about that. Despite an early COVID-19 outbreak, the Marlins have been one of MLB’s biggest surprises in 2020.
MLB’s Three-Hub Bubble Plan
None the less, everyone involved is still on the edge of their seats given the current situation. CBS Sports followed up on its report to get a better understanding of why MLB moved away from a bubble plan.
A three-hub arrangement was discussed early in the restart process. The states involved would have been Arizona, Texas and Florida. That plan never got any real traction because of widespread objections by the players. Mike Trout led the way as the best baseball player in the Majors. Back in the spring he made the following comment:
“Being quarantined in a city, I was reading…if we play…a couple of months, it would be difficult for some guys. What are you going to do with family members? The mentality is that we want to get back as soon as we can. But it has to be realistic. It can’t be sitting in our hotel rooms and just going to the field to the hotel room and not being able to do anything. I think that’s pretty crazy.
From a family standpoint, the attitude of players is understandable. However, the risk tied to increased travel was totally underestimated. By the time play did get underway in late-July, conditions were far worse in certain parts of the country then they were in March and April.
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All About the Money
The main argument between players and league management was all about money. Both sides failed to properly address the health and safety concerns with constant travel.
Marlins outfielder Harold Ramirez was one of 18 Miami players to contract COVID-19. He suggested that MLB should reconsider the bubble concept.
It is probably too late to go in that direction with a very small window of playing time. The overall size of MLB organizations is another detriment to a bubble plan. The personnel of one MLB teams equals the size of four NBA teams.
