How and when will MLB resume in 2020? Update: Owners Agree - Proposal Submitted to Union

[spiritof66]

It appears that a lot of constituencies that usually are at war, or at least at odds, with one another – MLB owners, the Commissioner, fans, cable providers, players, the union, umpires, politicians – all want to see major league baseball played this summer, and want to see as much of it played as possible. The rumors I’ve read about make me concerned that MLB might start up too soon and end the post-season too late, so that it will be unable to get through an abbreviated season without creating a significant number of infections and illnesses, disrupting the season negatively and negatively affecting the public image of a sport that has some real problems in that regard.  

Here’s an approach that might work. (The dates and numbers are offered as approximations.) “Late spring” training runs from August 1 through 10 (subject to the first bullet point below). With the three-division setup of geographically clustered teams that’s been proposed, every team plays six games against each divisional rival, for a 54-game season. With some double-dips and no days off other than rainouts, that irregular regular season runs from mid-August through the end of September. (I was trying to get to 60 games since in 1876, the first year of the National League, each team played 57 to 66 games.)

The three divisional winners and a wild card qualify for the post-season, with each series best-of-five. It wraps up around September 15, before the Covid-19 revival (if there is one).

That abbreviated season would make sense, IMO, only if the following health and safety precautions were taken:

• Before each day of practice or a game (twice on double-header days), all on-field or in-dugout participants – including everyone on the rosters, managers, coaches, umpires – gets a fast-turnaround test for the virus. (These sessions and games can go forward only when there are available in the U.S. 5 million or more such tests, not counting those used by MLB.) Anyone who tests positive is quarantined, and not permitted to come to the ballpark, for 14 days.
• Any player, manager, coach, or umpire has the right not to participate in the 2021 season, and there can be no reprisals or retaliation against anyone who makes that choice.
•  Before any player can be put on an MLB roster, he must be told that, even with the testing requirement, the possibility of false negatives means that he might become infected with the virus without knowing it, from practicing, playing or attending a practice or game. Each player must sign a statement saying he understands and accepts that risk. (A similar requirement would apply to managers, coaches and umpires.)
• Nobody over 60 is permitted to participate in or attend late spring training, practices or games, whether on the field or in a dugout.
• Everyone in the dugout or on the field, except batters, baserunners, defensive players and umpires, is required to wear a mask, with a team logo where applicable.
  Fans are not allowed to attend regular-season games, except that each home team is encouraged to give out 500 pairs of tickets to local health care providers, EMT personnel and supermarket workers. Each group of 2 or 4 occupied seats will be at least 10 feet from the closest group of occupied seats. The issue of fans' attendance for the playoffs would be considered later.

At some point, there is so little baseball and so much other crap that it’s not worth it. I don’t think what I’ve proposed goes that far, but it’s pretty close.

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, backwardsk said:

Shouldn’t the reported mortality rate go down then as more cases go up?  The reported US mortality rate was 4% less than a month ago.  Why are there more deaths this year than a normal year plus COVID deaths if the hospitals are juking the stats as you claim?  Is there a significant reduction in deaths by other causes?

I’d counter that the reported 75k deaths is less than actual.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/04/29/florida-medical-examiners-were-releasing-coronavirus-death-data-the-state-made-them-stop/%3foutputType=amp

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/21/world/coronavirus-missing-deaths.html

 

C'mon man, you can't be serious about number "juking" and then post an article from the NYTimes. haha...

I can't even fathom the thoughts process that think the COVID19 deaths are under reported. But you know what, I actually can at this point because almost everything we get nowadays from just about every source is tainted in some way. 

That's why I fall back to our rights. Let people make their own decision on how they want to protect themselves. If you wanna stay home, order your food in, and wear your mask 24 hours a day, feel free. If you wanna wear no mask, go to bars and restaurants or the ball game, feel free. People have to make a decision on whether they want to live their life like a recluse or enjoy freedom. 

For me, it's not even a question. 

Besides, how is our freedom making you or anyone else less safe if you are all wearing masks, social distancing and quarantining? This is one of those situations where again, some people are always willing to give up their freedom and rights for a little perceived safety. 

Benjamin Franklin said it best, ""Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

 

[Tony-OH]

7 minutes ago, spiritof66 said:

It appears that a lot of constituencies that usually are at war, or at least at odds, with one another – MLB owners, the Commissioner, fans, cable providers, players, the union, umpires, politicians – all want to see major league baseball played this summer, and want to see as much of it played as possible. The rumors I’ve read about make me concerned that MLB might start up too soon and end the post-season too late, so that it will be unable to get through an abbreviated season without creating a significant number of infections and illnesses, disrupting the season negatively and negatively affecting the public image of a sport that has some real problems in that regard.  

Here’s an approach that might work. (The dates and numbers are offered as approximations.) “Late spring” training runs from August 1 through 10 (subject to the first bullet point below). With the three-division setup of geographically clustered teams that’s been proposed, every team plays six games against each divisional rival, for a 54-game season. With some double-dips and no days off other than rainouts, that irregular regular season runs from mid-August through the end of September. (I was trying to get to 60 games since in 1876, the first year of the National League, each team played 57 to 66 games.)

The three divisional winners and a wild card qualify for the post-season, with each series best-of-five. It wraps up around September 15, before the Covid-19 revival (if there is one).

That abbreviated season would make sense, IMO, only if the following health and safety precautions were taken:

• Before each day of practice or a game (twice on double-header days), all on-field or in-dugout participants – including everyone on the rosters, managers, coaches, umpires – gets a fast-turnaround test for the virus. (These sessions and games can go forward only when there are available in the U.S. 5 million or more such tests, not counting those used by MLB.) Anyone who tests positive is quarantined, and not permitted to come to the ballpark, for 14 days.
• Any player, manager, coach, or umpire has the right not to participate in the 2021 season, and there can be no reprisals or retaliation against anyone who makes that choice.
•  Before any player can be put on an MLB roster, he must be told that, even with the testing requirement, the possibility of false negatives means that he might become infected with the virus without knowing it, from practicing, playing or attending a practice or game. Each player must sign a statement saying he understands and accepts that risk. (A similar requirement would apply to managers, coaches and umpires.)
• Nobody over 60 is permitted to participate in or attend late spring training, practices or games, whether on the field or in a dugout.
• Everyone in the dugout or on the field, except batters, baserunners, defensive players and umpires, is required to wear a mask, with a team logo where applicable.
  Fans are not allowed to attend regular-season games, except that each home team is encouraged to give out 500 pairs of tickets to local health care providers, EMT personnel and supermarket workers. Each group of 2 or 4 occupied seats will be at least 10 feet from the closest group of occupied seats. The issue of fans' attendance for the playoffs would be considered later.

At some point, there is so little baseball and so much other crap that it’s not worth it. I don’t think what I’ve proposed goes that far, but it’s pretty close.

Yikes man, just my opinion, but that is totally and utterly an awful plan. 

Baseball will be played for real by July and although there may be some kind of social distancing when it come to seats available, fans will be allowed in the games. 

Perhaps testing will be involved, but I doubt players are going to be tested very often if healthy. 

I guess we'll see, but MLB would be wise to just scrap the season before trying anything like this plan. 

 

[PaulFolk]

32 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

If they want to test everyone great, but I don't believe for a second it's needed or warranted. I realize that some of you feel the great death plague is upon us and that by just looking at another human being you will infect them, but once we get out and about people are going to find that they are just as safe as they've always been. Those that will get infected, the vast majority will not even have symptoms worse than a FLU or typical yearly virus. 

But it's not your decision. It's up to MLB and the MLBPA. And they've already indicated that they're going to emphasize player/staff safety if and when they start the season, based on the advice of medical and safety personnel. That means frequent testing. You can't simply put a bunch of people in close quarters while a pandemic is going on without making sure they're healthy and not at risk of spreading the virus. I don't think there's any medical expert who would sign off on that.

No testing, no season. That's the bottom line. You're entitled to any opinion you want to have, but MLB has to be much more careful. They're responsible for thousands of people.

[backwardsk]

47 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

C'mon man, you can't be serious about number "juking" and then post an article from the NYTimes. haha...

I can't even fathom the thoughts process that think the COVID19 deaths are under reported. But you know what, I actually can at this point because almost everything we get nowadays from just about every source is tainted in some way. 

That's why I fall back to our rights. Let people make their own decision on how they want to protect themselves. If you wanna stay home, order your food in, and wear your mask 24 hours a day, feel free. If you wanna wear no mask, go to bars and restaurants or the ball game, feel free. People have to make a decision on whether they want to live their life like a recluse or enjoy freedom. 

For me, it's not even a question. 

Besides, how is our freedom making you or anyone else less safe if you are all wearing masks, social distancing and quarantining? This is one of those situations where again, some people are always willing to give up their freedom and rights for a little perceived safety. 

Benjamin Franklin said it best, ""Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

 

I’m sure you didn’t read the NYT article.  Here is another article that explains it.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242049731.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.propublica.org/article/theres-been-a-spike-in-people-dying-at-home-in-several-cities-that-suggests-coronavirus-deaths-are-higher-than-reported/amp

You can read them, or not.

I’m with you on the declining rights.  I long for the days when I could smoke in a crowded elevator.  If people don’t like it, they can take the stairs.

[spiritof66]

5 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Yikes man, just my opinion, but that is totally and utterly an awful plan. 

Baseball will be played for real by July and although there may be some kind of social distancing when it come to seats available, fans will be allowed in the games. 

Perhaps testing will be involved, but I doubt players are going to be tested very often if healthy. 

I guess we'll see, but MLB would be wise to just scrap the season before trying anything like this plan. 

 

I'm not sure I disagree with the conclusion that it's just not gonna happen in 2020. 

Players, umpires, managers and coaches will be traveling on planes and buses and staying in hotels ion a variety of cities. They'll be constantly touching and near one another in the dugout and on the field for four to six hours every day. They spit a lot. (Might need a Weaver Rule to prohibit spitting on the umps.)

We're talking about over 1,000 people, maybe 1,300. Without protective measures, over the course of a couple of months, there will be hundreds of Covid-19 infections. (Just a guess, nobody knows.) Most will lead to no symptoms or minor symptoms. But even the healthy, non-symptomatic cases will, in may cases, infect family members, airline personnel, hotel employees and others. They, in turn will affect others. As those numbers mount, the chances increase that some of those affected will become quite sick, and some will die.

A shortened 2020 season will lead to infections and illnesses and very possibly to deaths. The point of my proposal is to impose measures that would minimize the numbers of those events (though noone will ever know what effect they have) and enable MLB to say, "It was important to the country for us to have baseball in 2020. In deciding how to do that, we used every safety measure recommended to us that was compatible with having a baseball season." 

I think that would be received a lot better than "We could have taken some safety measures, but we didn't like the way that the would have made the game look. We're sorry if that caused a few people to die. Tell you what: next year we'll wear arm bands or patches in their memory." Baseball doesn't need another black eye, given the proposal for MiL contraction, the disclosure of cheating, the shameful report on the Astros' cheating, and the likely effect of a very slow economy on 2021 ticket sales.

[atomic]

3 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

C'mon man, you can't be serious about number "juking" and then post an article from the NYTimes. haha...

I can't even fathom the thoughts process that think the COVID19 deaths are under reported. But you know what, I actually can at this point because almost everything we get nowadays from just about every source is tainted in some way. 

That's why I fall back to our rights. Let people make their own decision on how they want to protect themselves. If you wanna stay home, order your food in, and wear your mask 24 hours a day, feel free. If you wanna wear no mask, go to bars and restaurants or the ball game, feel free. People have to make a decision on whether they want to live their life like a recluse or enjoy freedom. 

For me, it's not even a question. 

Besides, how is our freedom making you or anyone else less safe if you are all wearing masks, social distancing and quarantining? This is one of those situations where again, some people are always willing to give up their freedom and rights for a little perceived safety. 

Benjamin Franklin said it best, ""Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

 

You should wear a mask when you are around people not in your immediate family,  you are risking their lives.  It is like saying you should be able to drive 150 mph down the highway while drunk.  

[atomic]

6 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

I'm fine for the rest of this school year, but this can't keep lingering into next school year. I do think seniors should be allowed to have a socially distanced graduation though. If people can go into Walmart and shop, they can certainly allow seniors to have some kind of graduation.

I agree with you on this.  As kids aren’t dying from this it makes zero sense to keep schools closed.  It will affect children’s mental health.  

[atomic]

4 hours ago, scOtt said:

Sounds like a cranky parent to me.

It makes sense.  Baseball is meaningless.  School is extremely important.  

[atomic]

8 hours ago, Ripken said:

A tough situation for sure.  There will need to be creative answers, many of which are happening now but we'll need other approaches, too.  Smaller, isolated daycare setups, in a home possibly, with a preschool teacher that isn't working at their preschool.  Maybe some summer camp solutions for splitting kids into smaller subgroups.  There are people who have been out of their home working the last two months.  What have they done during this time with their children?  In some cases, it's possible one adult was home while another worked and now both will be out working, but many have found solutions to their kid's distance learning already.  More varied hours, maybe.  One thing that's very clear, while 20% unemployment is terrible, a bright side is that many of the 80% working are doing so from home and that does not need to change until schools are open.  I've been teleworking this entire time and I know I won't be back on my Federal campus any time soon, for several reasons, but the top of that list is having children at home.

I always work from home but I usually socialize during non working hours.  This total isolation is depressing.  By September, 1st we need to open everything back up. If you can’t control the virus by then it is time to let the cards fall where they may.  People who are old or sickly should take precautions.  But the rest of us have to move on.

[Ripken]

31 minutes ago, atomic said:

I always work from home but I usually socialize during non working hours.  This total isolation is depressing.  By September, 1st we need to open everything back up. If you can’t control the virus by then it is time to let the cards fall where they may.  People who are old or sickly should take precautions.  But the rest of us have to move on.

Absolutely.  I agree and alluded to that elsewhere in here.  One way or the other, people are heading back to normal life and I believe that should happen now (carefully), as that is the only real solution to this.

[atomic]

12 minutes ago, Ripken said:

Absolutely.  I agree and alluded to that elsewhere in here.  One way or the other, people are heading back to normal life and I believe that should happen now (carefully), as that is the only real solution to this.

The other solution was everyone to wear masks and too only leave the house to buy groceries. People couldn’t do that so at this point it is only a charade.  It is too late for plan A.  

[scOtt]

10 minutes ago, atomic said:

The other solution was everyone to wear masks and too only leave the house to buy groceries. People couldn’t do that so at this point it is only a charade.  It is too late for plan A.  

Sorry. You set off a brain cell I still have...

Pink man
Pink ma-an
Ha ha!
Charade you are.

It's my job here.

[scOtt]

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Post NOT made as a comment on anything or anyone's posts or thoughts or anything!!! Just a fried old brain cell firing.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 hour ago, scOtt said:

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Post NOT made as a comment on anything or anyone's posts or thoughts or anything!!! Just a fried old brain cell firing.