Plans to start MLB season amid pandemic are just a bit outside, sources say | NBC News
“We’re in the pregame stretch with any of these ideas. We’re not even close to the first inning.”
Another quote by an anonymous MLB official suggests a plan for MLB to resume play right now is more a product of brainstorming, and less a product of immediate implementation. The “ongoing discussions between MLB and the players’ union” is listed as the reason for their anonymity.
With so many unknowns ahead of us for the coming weeks (or months), one bit of breaking news from government or health officials could lead us into a brand new set of theorized proposals. Adam Silver, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association, said this week of his league, “What I’ve told my folks over the last week is we should accept at least for the month of April, we won’t be in a position to make any decisions.”
Cactus League vs. Grapefruit League? | Viva El Birdos (SB Nation, St. Louis Cardinals)
This link has a good visual representation for just how the divisions within the Cactus League and Grapefruit League would line up. Each team that shares a Cactus League complex with another team would also share a division, one such example being the Rockies and Diamondbacks.
The Angels are technically on the ‘east’ side of Phoenix, but are placed in the West division for this proposed alignment. Milwaukee would better suit the West division in terms of proximity, but this would mean the Angels would have to pair up with four teams in northwest Phoenix to round out equal divisions.
On the Grapefruit front, the divisional alignments would pair the NL and AL champion Nationals and Astros together. They also share a spring training complex.
(The Cactus League map on this link is relatively accurate but Oakland is placed around where their old park was; their current spring home is east of the Cubs. A more current map can be found here.)
Colorado Rockies: The 5 players we most want to hear mic’d up | RoxPile
ESPN took full advantage of mic’d up player interactions for a selection of spring training games this year. If baseball returns without fans in the stands, this could be implemented again to help enhance a viewing experience at home.
RoxPile listed out a selection of Rockies that would be great candidates if this idea took off; they mention how Charlie Blackmon already shined in a similar capacity during the 2018 All Star Game.
Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler will not miss the birth of his child while living in a proposed MLB biosphere.
If ‘biosphere’ type conditions are implemented to play baseball, they would be unbelievably comprehensive—for players, coaches, grounds crew workers, security staff, food service workers, clubhouse managers and bus drivers, among others. With such extensive provisions in place, how far do you go?
And for the sake of players like Zack Wheeler, is it possible to allow immediate families inside the bubble?
If the Cactus and Grapefruit League plan ultimately happens, big league players could find themselves living at their spring training homes for the regular season. Testing for the virus would have to run rampant if players were allowed to live at those homes, but for a guy like Wheeler, perhaps this is what it would take.
Mike Trout and his wife Jessica are also expecting a child this summer.
The Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez would definitely want to be there for his newborn daughter, along with two additional kids and his wive Marivi. If MLB implements a plan to expand the rosters this season, Jimenez could find himself in an even better position to make his return to the big leagues.
MLB has yet to issue out a comprehensive plan for regular season ticket refunds, prompting difficulties for ticket holders that could be facing some struggling finances. The issue stems from the games being suspended, rather than officially canceled. Previously scheduled spring training games have been canceled, and Salt River Fields implemented a comprehensive action for refunds.