MLB: How to salvage the 2020 season? Just look to Taiwan

It’s finally starting to look like there’s hope for the 2020 MLB season, and when baseball finally resumes, we should look to Taiwan as an example.

32 days ago, the 2020 MLB season should have officially kicked off. Instead, the novel coronavirus took a stronghold on the world and forced everyone to quarantine, ending any possibility of sports being played in the near future.

While we sheltered in place, however, the CPBL became the first professional league to resume play on April 11. They’ve been playing regularly scheduled games without a hitch ever since, setting an example for leagues across the globe of how sports can resume in a safe manner.

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Before we jump into how Taiwan’s CPBL is pulling this off, let’s assess the situation here in the United States.

Several governors across the county have considered loosening up social restrictions as the number of hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 have begun to drop. In New York, for example, the numbers are down across the board, leading Governor Andrew Cuomo to say that he can “envision” games being played in Yankee Stadium and Citi Field this summer.

In urging MLB to “be creative” and to “try to figure it out,” Cuomo, who runs he state of New York, which has been hit hardest by the outbreak, has signaled that it is indeed possible for baseball to resume in the near future.

Now, how has Taiwan managed to seamlessly resume play?

First, teams are playing in empty stadiums. Instead, some organizations have opted to place cardboard cutouts of fans, dogs, and other items in seats to make stadiums appear (somewhat) full. In some cases, crowd noise is pumped through the speakers in order to maintain a normal atmosphere.

Secondly, anyone involved in the production of the game – players, coaches, executives, etc. – must walk through temperature scanners before entering the stadium on game-day. Anyone with a slight temperature increase is not allowed to enter the building.

Finally, the media is not allowed to enter stadiums. Instead, press conferences are held via video conferencing calls. Team officials stand at a podium and stare at a screen filled with media personally, answering questions.

Most importantly, Taiwan was extremely aggressive in instituting lock-down rules when the outbreak occurred in China. They promptly instituted extensive testing and kept their cases below 450 the entire time.

Before any games are to be played in America, a wide-spread testing program will have to be put in place. Then, similar conditions to CPBL stadiums will have to be instituted in MLB stadiums.

All of this is possible, but it will take time and I am hopeful that the start of the 2020 season is now a matter of when, not if.