Major League Baseball has reportedly suspended the remainder of Spring Training after the continuing outbreak and spread of COVID-19, Coronavirus across the United States. With other major sports leagues like the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) either suspending or rumored to be suspending their seasons, this should be no shock to the Major League Baseball owners, players, and fans. ESPN’s Jeff Passan has been all over the topic on twitter as more details have become available.
After a conference call among owners this afternoon, Major League Baseball is expected to suspend spring training. The league likely will delay the beginning of the regular season as well. At this point, it’s a formality that ownership-level sources expect to happen.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 12, 2020
For anyone questioning MLB’s potentially suspending spring training, I’ll refer to David Price as he walked into the Dodgers’ facility about an hour ago: “It’s gotta happen. This is so much bigger than sports. I’ve got two kids.”
That feeling is shared by many, many in the game.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 12, 2020
The process of rescheduling games started with the Seattle Mariners, who have postponed all home games through the end of April. It was followed up with the Oakland Athletics announcing that they will not play any home games in the Oakland Coliseum until at least April 1st. These are just the announcements being made within the game of baseball; this issue, however, is far more than just baseball.
Looking at other sports, the NBA set a precedent after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Following that announcement, the league almost immediately suspending the season, and this immediately has put a lot of pressure on the NHL to do the same and Major League Baseball to follow suit with Spring Training.
Besides Spring Training, an almost immediate question being asked is, what is going to happen to the start of the season? Major League Baseball may have to postpone/push back the beginning of the season. More information is expected with announcements from the league in the coming days.
