CHICAGO -- Major League Baseball is considering playing the delayed 2020 season in empty stadiums in Arizona, using the 10 spring training ballparks in the Phoenix area and Chase Field as the venues.
Details of this plan haven't been revealed, but according to various outlets including The Athletic, ESPN and The Associated Press, the idea is to begin in May or June, sequester teams in hotels for 41/2 months without their families and even play seven-inning doubleheaders to get more games in.
MLB said in a statement Tuesday it is has "not settled on that option or developed a detailed plan," though someone must have leaked the idea of the Arizona Plan to gauge fan reaction.
It's easy to see why they did so. People are getting antsy for their sports, and the return of baseball would be a soothing balm to a country dealing with the depressing daily updates of the coronavirus pandemic.
Who knows if the Arizona Plan is just being floated or will soon become reality?
But the only way to properly respond to this idea is Facebook-style, meaning it's quiz time, everyone.
For those who still aren't on Facebook, I salute you for your self-restraint.
For the rest of those who are on Facebook, you're probably aware your news feed recently has been infested with quizzes where someone posts a list of 10 things and makes you guess which one doesn't belong.
So here are nine reasons why the Arizona Plan would not work, and one reason why it could. (Guess which one is the reason it could.)
1. It's 110 degrees in the summer in Phoenix.
Like Chicago in January, no one goes outside. Every game would be played under conditions that would sap a player's strength on a daily basis. Starting pitchers would average four innings. And since many spring training clubhouses are a long walk from the playing field, the players would not be able to enjoy an air conditioning break between innings.
2. There are no real road games.
If teams are sequestered in a hotel in downtown Phoenix, the longest trip would be a 40-minute drive to Surprise, Ariz., or about two hours in Phoenix traffic. Then they'd just return to their hotel rooms afterward.
3. Every team would have to get the exact same amount of games at Chase Field.
Since it's an air-conditioned retractable dome, Chase Field would be the Valhalla of the new Arizona Baseball League. Players wouldn't care if they were the home team or the visitors so long as they could play most of their games there. (Of course, turning on the air conditioning for 70-80 uniformed players and staff might be considered excessive).
4. There would be no one around to boo the Astros.
All our hopes and dreams for 2020 would be shattered.
5. Players would not be able to have normal relationships.
While it may be OK to be separated from their wives or girlfriends for a while, sooner or later it will drive them crazy. That would affect their performance.
6. Ratings will go down once the novelty wears off.
Once summer arrives and statewide shutdowns end, everyone will want to go outside instead of staying in and watching TV. Ratings will go down once the novelty wears off, though the love affair with baseball games on the radio would be rekindled.
7. There's not enough room in dugouts for social distancing.
ESPN reported one idea is to have players sit in the empty stands instead of the dugouts. That's cool. But then the manager would be looking around the stands for a pinch-hitter, which would render pace-of-play rules meaningless.
8. No fans in the stands means no hot dogs and beer.
What's the point of a baseball game without hot dogs or beer? It's like going to a beach without water.
9. Many spring training press boxes are too small to accommodate the media.
Regular-season games typically draw much more media than spring training games. Even if the MLB's regular season was rebooted as the irregular season, there would not be enough seats for the press. Naturally, MLB and the union would call this a "win-win" situation.
10. No baseball at all is preferable to watching baseball played in empty stadiums.
Unless you're a Marlins or Rays fan.
So which is the one reason it could work? Your guess is as good as mine.
Sports on 04/09/2020