(670 The Score) As a different proposal for the restart of the MLB season is leaked on a weekly basis, the silliness of the details grows as well.
That begs this question: Is baseball just putting off the inevitable of canceling the 2020 season?
No proposal for a return to game action is in place or close to getting a go-ahead as of today. The Arizona Plan gained plenty of attention in recent weeks, with its premise being to gather all 30 teams in the Phoenix area and having them play at empty spring training stadiums while quarantining at hotels in between games. The trouble is that it would isolate players from their families for months, and because of that, it has little support and essentially no legs. Many players have spoken out against it.
Many return-to-play models have been discussed by league officials and owners in recent weeks. Others include MLB teams being split up between Arizona and Florida or Arizona, Florida and Texas, but they're a reach as well.
The heat in those states in July and August would be onerous, as only some of the games could be played indoors. Stacking game after game inside one roofed stadium in a single day would create logistical complications, as it will still take hundreds of people to organize and conduct everything that's needed.
The plan that might make the most sense is utilizing a more traditional approach after displaying the needed patience. In this proposal, teams would return to Arizona and Florida for four more weeks of spring training after receiving clearance from public health officials. That would allow players to be properly prepared and conditioned. From there, teams would pick up the baseball schedule wherever it's at in June, July or August. Games would be played in the ballparks of all MLB teams like usual, except without fans. The one likely exception is that games wouldn't be held in New York, one of the American cities hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
The appeal of this proposal is that it has fewer moving parts, so the logistical challenges are fewer. It's one of many proposals that has been discussed by the league, an industry source said.
Of course, that plan is completely dependent on American life returning to a semblance of normalcy and air travel being considered safe. Other potential complications are governors and mayors continuing to institute local restrictions even after some states and cities have opened back up. So this proposal certainly remains in plenty of doubt now as well.
We all want baseball and our other sports back, but the question is at what cost? Everyone understands that public health is the priority, and it's a waiting game.
Some across the landscape believe the entire MLB season is in jeopardy, and there's nothing league officials can do today besides continue to create a number of contingency plans. Any plan that gets the go-ahead has to include what's best for the health of the American public and also include a healthy and productive ending.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
