MLB commish Rob Manfred is right: Let fans in where possible
By Bill Felber
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s post-season proposal is good for the game
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has been taking a lot of heat lately, including on this site, for his proposal to permit fans to attend post-season games where permitted by local authorities.
My colleague Sean Millerick is among the critiques, laying out a three-pronged case against the idea:
1. It ignores or violates safety norms.
2. It damages competitive balance.
3. It undermines the concept of the ‘neutral field’ already in place for this season.
It urge you to read Sean’s arguments. But having already twice urged MLB to permit fans to attend games where possible under local ordinance, I obviously disagree with his conclusions while respecting my colleague’s reasoning.
And given that there now is an actual discussion of a proposal – if not a proposal itself – additional consideration of its merits – and of the weaknesses of the arguments against it – is in order.
I first wrote on this subject in late August when some NFL teams announced that they would allow a limited number of fans to attend games in their home stadiums. To date, those teams have included the Kansas City Chiefs, the Dallas Cowboys, the Denver Broncos, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Tennessee Titans, the Miami Dolphins, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Prior to the Chiefs’ 2020 home opener at Arrowhead Stadium – attended by nearly 16,000 living, breathing humans – I asked this question: If it’s OK for the Chiefs to play in front of some fans Thursday evening, why isn’t it OK for the Kansas City Royals to play in front of some fans – literally across the parking lot — on Friday?
That’s not a rhetorical question, by the way, and I’m still waiting for an answer. Anyway, on to the post-season debate.