BASEBALL PLANS ITS RETURN, BUT IS IT RESPONSIBLE?

We are all hoping and praying that we will have a baseball season. We are sitting and watching as things continue to unfold with this Coronavirus pandemic. Last week, the President and his team of medical experts gave us a three-stage plan to re-open the country. Part of that will include getting all sports back and Dr. Anthony Fauci gave baseball fans just a little bit of hope....again, a little. But something is better than nothing.

The media has been giving us so much "information" lately, and it has been conflicting so I have been ignoring a lot of it because MIXED MESSAGES IN THE SPORTS WORLD ARE MAKING MY HEAD SPIN. I have been spending a lot less time on Twitter and Facebook recently, and I have been avoiding a lot of news with one exception. I have been listening to a lot of Arizona Sports Talk radio because I live here now and they are talking about starting the season in my backyard. I am listening to what the smaller, local media is saying because I feel like I am starting to get more "balanced" information. I am getting more than just one viewpoint, and I wasn't before.

One of Dr. Fauci's recent interviews caught my attention. Many of us have been wondering, is a 2020 baseball season really going to be possible? He seems to think so.“There’s a way of doing that,” Dr. Fauci said in a Good Luck America interview on Snapchat. “Nobody comes to the stadium. Put them in big hotels, wherever you want to play. Keep them well surveilled … but have them tested, like, every week. And make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family. Just let them play their season out.”

But what does "let them play their season out" really look like? That is something that I have been listening to a lot on Arizona talk radio, because that is really what a lot of these local sports analysts are talking about and asking questions. Our governor Doug Ducey, says he told commissioner Rob Manfred that Arizona is "ready to play ball" when the time comes but, what about the details and is it responsible and realistic?

I want baseball back as much as anyone else but in our desperation are we really thinking this out? Since shutting down Spring Training back on March 12th we have heard that baseball will follow the direction of public health officials and follow the guidance from the CDC to determine when the season can start. That's not news breaking at all, but I can tell you what is.....

Every week our governor and his own team of medical experts have town halls with the local media here and they have been hammering him with questions that are still unanswered. His medical experts right now will tell you that their number one goal is to get more widespread testing available to Arizona residents because there is a supply shortage. They even went as far as to say on Thursday that they want to be able to "test everyone that wants a test" which is not what the President's team of medical experts have said. So, residents who have symptoms that perhaps need to be tested cannot easily get a test right now BUT....if baseball is to open here in Arizona it will be a priority to test players and maybe even staff weekly or daily?

How is this responsible? Can you even go further and call it a moral dilemma? We need to ask ourselves how responsible is it to give priority testing to athletes and team personnel but not for anyone else. That is a perception problem that I am personally having a baseball fan and as a resident. Would I love baseball to come here and play if it is what will save the season? YES. Do I want players to have access to tests before myself, or my family and neighbors especially if they need them? No.

Our local government has already told us that testing supplies are limited. That alone is a scary message. If there is a way to get more testing and resources to Arizona in the next few weeks to have access for EVERYONE, then we are talking about a much different conversation, but right now....this idea of frequently testing players and staff doesn't work. It needs some fine tuning and it would be the responsible thing to do.

If we are going to do this, let's do it the right way.

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj