Jeter said he wants to focus on keeping the community healthy before getting back to baseballGETTY IMAGES
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter "doesn't want to put a definite amount of time for how long players would need to get back up to speed to play" whenever and however MLB returns post-pandemic, according to Jordan McPherson of the MIAMI HERALD. Jeter said, "Most importantly we need to make sure our community is safe and we all get through this. Then you can concern yourself about getting back on the field and baseball. I don't know the answer to that question. No one knows the answer to that question." McPherson notes business for the Marlins is "going on as usual, albeit not at a ballpark or in face-to-face meetings that are usually the norm at this time" (MIAMI HERALD, 4/9).
RAZING ARIZONA: In Chicago, Mark Gonzales addresses the reported Arizona plan, and asks, "Why not wait a little longer to see if a season can be salvaged and not limited to Arizona?" Health conditions permitting, an 85- to 100-game schedule "could start after the All-Star Game, currently scheduled for July 14 at Dodger Stadium, and stretch into late October" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/9). In Detroit, Chris McCosky writes he loves that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and his people are "thinking outside the box, trying to find a way to salvage a baseball season," because that is "what we all want -- some diversion, something to feel good about, something to remind of us of normalcy." But this, "moving the entire league and playing the season in the desert, isn’t it." There are "just too many potholes, obvious ones, seemingly" (DETROIT NEWS, 4/9). In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck writes MLB "should disavow" the Arizona plan "entirely and end the debate." People can all be "confident that when push comes to shove," the owners and the MLBPA will "not be able to agree on a way to further prorate the already prorated player salaries to compensate for the lack of gate receipts" (BALTIMORE SUN, 4/9).
PLAY BALL? In Miami, Greg Cote writes there is "no question resuming baseball in May or soon would be a good idea for the club owners," as games, even in empty ballparks, "mean television revenue, which means profits." There also is "little question it would be a good idea for fans starving to watch live sports." Cote: "But is it a good idea for the health and well-being of the hundreds of ballplayers and their families?" It is "hard to envision" the union "loving this idea." Cote wonders, "Beyond that, is it morally right to be shouting 'Play ball!' and playing ghost games in the middle of a pandemic?" (MIAMI HERALD, 4/9). But USA TODAY's Gabe Lacques writes MLB and its players "must move forward with hypotheticals." An entire season and nearly $11B of industry revenue is "at stake, and the Arizona option, or something like it, may, weeks from now, remain on the table" (USA TODAY, 4/9).
WILL THEY COME? In Chicago, Scot Gregor notes the 8,000-seat ballpark meant to host the MLB Field of Dreams Game between the White Sox and Yankees is "still being built." MLB has the "final say on the game's status," scheduled for Aug. 13 in Dyersville, Iowa. Tickets have "not yet gone on sale," but MLB will "soon be making an announcement on how to get them if the game is played" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 4/9).
