Baseball in the Age of Coronavirus. What You Need to Know?

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all areas of life, including even sports. In most parts of the world, professional leagues are suspending their activities to limit the spread of the virus. 

Playing in front of empty stadiums is an idea that has been questioned by many since the onset of the pandemic, but it seems the only logical way to restart play in this pandemic situation. 

There are several actions that sports organizations have taken to help lower the risk of coronavirus exposure and reduce the spread during competition and practice. 

Some of the facts have been outlined below.

• The COVID-19 has brought silence to sports stadiums around the world, including Major League Baseball in the United State.
• 40 Major League Baseball players and staff members tested positive for Covid-19 in the past week.
• All Major League Baseball training camps will soon temporarily close. The spring training facilities in Florida and Arizona will undergo a deep cleaning, and players will need to test negative before they can return.
• Major League Baseball has announced that there will be a baseball season in 2020 – a 60-game season.
• The world’s second-most famous baseball league i.e. Japan league, opened a season Friday after a three-month delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It will be shortened from its regular 143 games to 120.
• In order to create an atmosphere at the game, one local team in Taiwan joined forces with a local robot company and put robots and signboards in the stadium to simulate the cheering fans.
• Little League cancelled the 2020 Little League World Series and other championships because of the pandemic in April but remains hopeful a regular season may still be possible.
• The recommendations in the Little League roundtable discussion include eliminating all non-essential contact and banning the postgame handshake line in favour of lining up along the respective baselines and tipping caps to opponents.
• Major League Baseball is offering its archive of games for free on MLB.TV and YouTube.
• The final qualification tournament for the Olympics in Taiwan has been postponed from April to June.
• The professional league of South Korea has reopened its new season on 5th May in empty stadiums after more than a month-long delay.
• Baseball was facing serious challenges before the pandemic: a dearth of stars with high Q-ratings, the fallout from the Houston Astros cheating scandal, long games that turned off younger fans.
• MLB’s proposal for 60 games includes $1.48 million in salary plus a $25 million postseason players’ pool, while the union’s plan includes $1.73 million in salary and a $50 million pool.
• Major League Baseball had proposed that the season will run from July 19 or 20 through September 27. The union agreed to the start date, however, suggested that it should end on September 30 or earlier using doubleheaders.
• The Korea Baseball Organisation employed other protective measures, including fever screenings for players, and coaches before they entered the stadiums.
• The Korea Baseball Organization is among the first to resume play. The increasing demand for watching sports at this time led the league to enter a deal to have some of its games broadcast on the U.S. cable sports giant ESPN in the middle of the night, U.S. time.
• It is assumed and speculated that the minor leagues won’t be able to launch a season this year.
• 15 minor league baseball teams have filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract by insurance providers after being denied claims for business-interruption insurance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Around 5,000 fans will be able to attend Japanese football and baseball games from July 10. Stadiums will admit only 5,000 spectators or 50% of their seating capacity, whichever number is smaller. Fans are expected to be asked to wear masks, frequently sanitize their hands, and avoid shouting.

Final Thoughts

Despite no signs of decline in cases of coronavirus across the world, some sports are making attempts at a comeback. However, Major League Baseball in the US is still mulling plans on what to do about its own season.