I miss baseball just as much as anyone and we will have to get creative in order to have a 2020 season. I am all for "thinking outside of the box." At this point, let's present all of the ideas and talk them through. Some of them may not work and that's okay. That being said though....some ideas are better than others.
I'm sure we have all heard this by now, but on Monday, we heard of this new idea HERE that would potentially start the season in Arizona by next month. Sure for a minute I entertained the idea, I'm sure a lot of us probably did because we all miss baseball so much. But the more and more I think about this it is a BAD idea for so many reasons.
1. Safety and the Coronavirus
Our government, scientists and other experts say we are starting to show some promising results with this pandemic. Several places look like they are flattening the curve and might be getting to the apex. We've also just had our two largest reports days of deaths in the New York metro area. So maybe we are rounding the curve with new infections, but now we have increased deaths to focus on also. That is just New York to discuss. Let's look at Arizona since MLB is possibly interested in playing there. Arizona does not compare to the number of cases, deaths, population size or the amount of testing that is happening in New York. As of Friday morning Arizona was reporting 3018 confirmed cases and 89 deaths. Out of those numbers 1689 cases and 39 deaths are in Maricopa county, which is the nation's fourth most populous county in the United States and also is where all of these baseball sites would be located. Oh and, so far, Arizona has completed only 34,000 tests and the majority of those tests were for first responders. As an Arizona resident, even I don't trust those numbers. There hasn't been enough testing done for anyone to comfortably say Arizona would be a safer place to play baseball. Importing a large number of people into the Phoenix area just complicates matters more as the state tries to control community spread of the Coronavirus.
2. Logistically challenged
So every team would have to travel, not as much of a big deal for the Diamondbacks. Baseball teams are always on the move, it is part of the gig, but that involves moving around a much smaller group of people. With all 30 teams here that involves probably over 100 people from each team. You have the players, the coaches, the training and conditioning staff, medical staff, public relations, clubhouse attendants and probably a small staff of front office representatives. Then add on other baseball personnel not affiliated with specific teams, like umpires and site personnel for all of these stadiums. All fields that MLB would be interested in are within 50 miles of each other, so that makes it understandable why Arizona would be an interesting candidate but the five largest hotels and resorts within the Phoenix area would likely be needed to house everyone.
3. A long stretch away from home
I don't think players or teams in general like the idea of spending a long stretch of time away from their home stadiums. How many of us are missing our families now as we are practicing socially distancing and not hosting family gatherings? I can't imagine a player on the road for weeks to months without seeing their families or kids. And what about team owners? Sure, Arizona gets a nice boost in the economy but popular teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs have empty stadiums with no sell out crowds, or open concession stands. That's a lot of money that they lose. Everyone has a sacrifice in this scenario.
4. From one game to 15
What a scheduling nightmare. Some sites would host multiple games in a day, especially Chase field. Then we have some day games to consider to schedule and some night games as well. Then you have to figure out how to staff enough grounds crew just to make all of these games run optimally at the same time. It's a lot of organizing.
5. Baseball...in summer....in Arizona?!
Are you crazy? Let me tell ya, I have lived on the East Coast and in Arizona and they both have their downsides. Humidity on the east coast is terrible, I will take the dry heat in Arizona over that any day BUT....AZ summers still are not fun. Once June hits, I hibernate inside until middle of September maybe even October OR I am in the pool. I am used to that. I know in June and July it can hit 120 here. Sure, little humidity but again, it is hot. Anyone who is not used to this kind of heat will have a hard time adjusting to that. NOW let's add in playing a physical game in extreme heat. Chase Field will be a desirable place to play because it is the only domed and air conditioned option the players will have. That's why you may have multiple games every day there. No one wants to play a three plus hour baseball game in this heat. I promise. It's also dangerous. Heat stroke is a very real thing and it isn't fun. Injuries will also happen. Outdoor baseball in the summer in Arizona does not make sense for anyone.
I want baseball to come back. We all do, but realistically this has more CONS then PROS right now. It just doesn't make sense. I'm open to all options, and I am sure MLB is considering those too. I just hope there are better ones than this.
--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj
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