Top three reasons fans at MLB playoffs are a terrible idea

Safety still second for MLB

Alright, let’s get the elephant out of the room first before diving into those all about baseball reasons fans are a bad idea for the MLB playoffs.

There really isn’t a way to argue that welcoming fans into stadiums doesn’t present an increased risk to health and safety.

Now, is it possible to keep players and coaches themselves acceptably safe with fans in the stands? Perhaps. Certainly, letting fans in is not the same thing as allowing them to clamor for autographs and selfies by the dugouts. I’m sure they’ll all be wearing masks, and spaced out in little groups in the same manner fans have been to this point at NFL games.

The problem with that NFL comparison though is that the NFL chose to allow teams to start the season this way. If the NFL season is postponed, it will likely happen before we reach the postseason. Indeed, many fans probably expect this to happen. So there’s some acceptance of the risk, even it comes in the form of guarded skepticism. In the case of MLB, there procedure has largely worked to this point. Yes, the cases of the Cardinals and Marlins did happen- but lessons seem to have been learned in both cases. MLB got here, in the end. The playoffs are here.

If an outbreak occurs now, in the playoff bubble, public outcry would be directed entirely at MLB. Manfred in particular. It would not just be the fault of the “blasted virus”, but MLB for introducing more risk into an already risky situation.

Lastly, this is about increased risk to health and safety in general. Not just to players and coaches with a billion dollar industry invested in protecting them. The fans are a factor here too, remember. Tens of thousands of fans are going to choose to attend these games, coming into closer contact with other people than they would have otherwise. Thousands of fans are going to choose to buy airline tickets, consequently coming into much closer contact than they would have otherwise, to attend these games.

The odds are absolutely in favor of someone getting sick as a result of this, and it’s absolutely certain that it will be someone that didn’t have to.