A financial deal only part of the problem; MLB must also satisfy a set of health experts.
Working out the details of how MLB players would be paid and cared for during a short 2020 season may be the biggest and most public hurdle to re-opening the season in July, as is baseball’s hope. But it is far from the only one.
Potentially a more serious hurdle remains to get the governmental clearances that would be required to play the games in big league cities, even without fans in attendance.
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That’s because the guidelines adopted by most of the 17 states plus the District of Columbia and one Canadian province hosting teams currently prohibit gatherings of the scope required to play a big-league game, and few are yet willing to project a date when that restriction might be eased.
While the specifics can vary on a state by state basis – or even more locally — as a general proposition, those regulations prohibit “mass gatherings,” which are commonly defined as events encompassing more than 50 people in a single place. Given the size of MLB rosters plus even a corporal’s guard of umpires, groundskeepers and personnel needed to make the event, any MLB game would easily violate such a policy.
The chances of such restrictions being lifted by the projected early July re-opening date will also vary from place to place. But keep in mind that if MLB intends to carry through on its hope to play games in home parks, it needs to have those restrictions lifted in ALL 19 locations, not just some.
The state of Wisconsin, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, is only one of several locales where that prospect remains both problematic and outside the control of MLB and the Players Union.
The situation there is especially sensitive because officials have already postponed another and even higher-profile event, the Democratic National Convention. Originally scheduled for mid-July in Milwaukee, the convention is now not scheduled to be held until mid-August.
Under what the state refers to as the Badger Bounce Back program, gatherings in excess of 50 people would not be licensed until Phase 3 of the re-opening. There is no timetable for that; the state only Tuesday allowed its “Safer at Home” declaration to lapse, essentially implementing Phase I of the re-opening.
The plan, which is modeled after federal guidelines, suggests that phase changes will be based on state assessments of increased testing, and downward case trajectories extending for at least two weeks.
New York, home to the Mets and Yankees, has been the hardest-hit area. Gov Andrew Cuomo earlier this month opened parts of the state to broadened retail activity. At the same time, he made it clear that New York City itself is likely to be the last place where restrictions are lifted.
For some, a 2020 MLB season is only possible “… with a vaccine…”
The state of Illinois, home to the Cubs and White Sox, has implemented a five-phase re-opening plan. But as with most other locations, gatherings larger than 50 people are prohibited prior to the implementation of the fifth phase. The state this week is preparing to move into Phase 3.
Although governors are not bound by their public statements, in announcing the phased re-opening approach earlier this month Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, “the only way Phase 5 will begin is with a vaccine or a widely available and highly effective treatment, or with elimination of any new cases over a substantial period.”
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In Michigan, home of the Detroit Tigers and the site of several public demonstrations over compliance with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “stay at home” order, re-opening has begun, but largely in rural areas.
In Ohio, home to the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds, the state Department of Health eased some restrictions Thursday. But in doing so, it stipulated that “certain entertainment/recreation sites – stadiums and arenas specifically included – must remain closed indefinitely. It gave no timetable for when those restrictions may be lifted.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Tuesday announced some easing of restrictions in his state, but they applied to groups of 10 or fewer. Local officials, including in Baltimore, home to the Orioles, retain discretion to refuse to implement those eased rules.
Beyond that, Hogan’s plan specifically characterizes baseball games – and other events – as “high-risk,” and reserves their resumption for Stage 3, the final stage of his plan. “There is no realistic timeline yet from any of the scientific experts for achieving this level, as this requires either a widely available and FDA-approved vaccine or safe and effective therapeutics that can rescue patients with significant disease,” the Hogan plan declares.
As in other cities, there has been no public clarification in Baltimore whether the city might ease its restrictions in order to permit ballgames if those gatherings include only players and other personnel who undergo regular testing/screening. That, obviously, would be MLB’s fondest hope.