As the wait for the 2020 Major League Baseball season to begin carries on, there have been several discussions as how to best play as normal of a campaign as possible.
One day after the coronavirus (COVID-19) shut down the NBA, other leagues quickly followed suit. MLB cancelled remaining Spring Training games and pushed back Opening Day for two weeks. It was later delayed for a second time, and the season remains indefinitely suspended.
Myriad scenarios have been exchanged between MLB and the MLB Players Association, with the latest — all 30 teams descending on Arizona — gaining early traction and support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institute of Health.
Prior to that possibility becoming public knowledge, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained during an appearance on “The Sedano Show” why he was optimistic a substantial 2020 regular season would be played, via ESPN L.A.:
“We’ve definitely got to be nimble. The one thing I do know is that the Players Union and Major League Baseball — the commissioner’s office — they want to get as many games in as they can. They all are synced up and aligned in that sense.
“I don’t know the timeline. It’s from no fans to fans being separated in seats, to Spring Training in Arizona and Florida. I don’t know when the season is going to start. I know potentially if it does, doubleheaders will probably be in play. I really wish I had a better answer for you (in regards to a timeline).”
While there is a desire across the sport to begin the season, the Dodgers arguably have the most to lose. They positioned themselves as a World Series favorite by acquiring Mookie Betts and David Price from the Boston Red Sox, but could see the 2018 American League MVP depart without having played a single game for the Dodgers.
That possibility was created when the MLB and MLBPA agreed to service time terms, with players receiving credit even if the worst-case scenario of the entire season being cancelled comes to fruition.
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