All MLB training camps temporarily closed this week after teams reported a number of positive testsGETTY IMAGES
After a "bruising labor battle," MLB's focus now "shifts to avoiding widespread outbreaks that could result in the cancellation of the season even before it begins," according to Carig & Gelb of THE ATHLETIC. MLB players last night agreed on health-and-safety protocols for the '20 season, "paving the way for camps to re-open on July 1." But baseball is set to return "at the moment the coronavirus reasserts its grip on the country," as cases in Texas, Arizona and Florida "continue to climb." Meanwhile, three Rockies players "tested positive for COVID-19 last week during small, staggered workouts at Coors Field." In addition, the positive tests with the Phillies offer a "reminder that even with rules in place, there are no guarantees when it comes to the coronavirus." It is "impossible to eliminate the risk in this situation." The league and its players "understand there is risk, and they have accepted that risk." But "how much can they tolerate?" (THEATHLETIC.com, 6/23).
WHAT TO MAKE OF POSITIVE TESTS: ESPN's Jeff Passan noted a player texted him asking what would happen if they tested positive on a road trip. The player asked, "Do I just get to hang out at the Four Seasons in this road city and hang out and order room service?" Passan: "I think that’s pretty much the answer." Under MLB's plan, there are "going to be bus trips," plane trips and hotel stays. There are "going to be all these different disparate elements that are going to be difficult to contain" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 6/23). ESPN Radio’s Mike Golic said the "least shocking thing is there are players and staff members testing positive." It is "going to happen, and it could happen on every team." For MLB, it is "just a matter of finding them, isolating them and hoping it doesn’t spread on that team." Golic added, "I’m all for giving it a shot if you’re trying to follow the protocols and trying to get it done the right way. I have no problem with that" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 6/4).
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE? In N.Y., James Wagner writes completing any sort of plan to play this year was a "victory, even if the public back-and-forth between wealthy players and even wealthier owners during a deadly pandemic made for poor optics." But the "drawn-out process might look worse in retrospect if a feared second wave of infections in the fall comes to fruition, when the season could have started sooner." While many players were "thankful that a conclusion of the dispute was imminent, some remained concerned that even if a season began, it might not be completed because of the unpredictable virus" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/24). On Long Island, David Lennon writes the parameters put in place "must be considered best guesses here in late June," as staging a baseball season during a "full-blown pandemic hasn’t been tried in the United States in over a century." What MLB is attempting to do is "far more ambitious than those other leagues." Even with a limited schedule, restricted by region, the teams will be "traveling from city to city, ballpark to ballpark, and exponentially driving up their exposure to the coronavirus with every road trip." MLB's is a "bold strategy, and going by what evidence we do have so far, the odds are against them getting very far -- never mind crowning a World Series winner by the end of October" (NEWSDAY, 6/24).
STRIVING FOR 60: In Chicago, Mark Gonzales writes the coronavirus is MLB's biggest "opponent" at present, meaning 60 games "would be a major achievement" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/24). In Cincinnati, Dave Clark wonders, "What do you think are the odds that Major League Baseball will play its 60-game season in its entirety?" Clark: "My guess is slim to none. MLB's season is expected to start the weekend of July 24-26. That's an entire month away -- and if you think the increase in cases isn't going to continue between now and then, I'd say you're fooling yourself" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 6/24). THE ATHLETIC lists 12 concerns facing MLB upon its return.
