Stay Home

I am about to give a very unpopular opinion. Baseball and all of its minions should not host the entire 2020 season in Arizona. For those of you who haven't been following Major League Baseball this year--and how are we friends under the circumstances??--this has been a brainchild of someone who thinks that the entire 164 game season can be salvaged and played right here in Arizona.

Now then, let me start by saying this: I want baseball to return as soon as possible. I miss the games, the banter and the bizarrely weird friendships I have made, bonding over this sport. I miss getting together with my brother for an early dinner, making it to the stadium before the National Anthem and the fifth inning ice cream run to ensure we don't end up on the Kisscam. I miss talking to the kids about how giving up is wrong and then showing them some phenomenal walk-off win, courtesy of the Diamondbacks.

I miss it all.

But now then, let's talk about this notion that we should have all of the MLB games played in Arizona. Or, conversely, half of the games played in Arizona and the other half played in Florida--though I hear that idea isn't getting the same kind of love because some Florida teams are 200 miles from other teams (gasp! Airplanes people!). This idea sprouted because these two states have spring training facilities available for MLB teams.

So, going back to the original let's-play-it-all-in-AZ idea... Think of it this way, the Angels have a spring training stadium already in Tempe and the Rockies have one in Scottsdale so let's have a party! The idea being if we move all of the games to the Valley, uninvite the fans and social distance the trainers, coaches, players, umps and camera crew the season can exist. That's well and good, but it seems obvious the League hasn't taken a few tid-bits into consideration.

First, the only domed baseball stadium in the Phoenix metro area happens to be Chase Field. As a fan, I am all for home team advantage. In fact, if it makes my boys play better, so be it. But that leaves 29 other teams playing in open-air stadiums in the dead of summer. As a former softball player, I happen to remember as a kid, playing games starting at 8:30 at night because otherwise it was too hot. Then, we sometimes got rained out half-way through the game because of monsoons. So, unless MLB doesn't mind playing their games, which tend to last three to four hours, into the wee hours of the morning so their players don't have heat stroke, I don't see this being a good idea.

Second, let's talk housing. In February in Maricopa County is is darn near impossible to get a short-term rental, hotel room or other housing that would be necessary for thirty teams (or if I ran the universe, twenty eight and the cheat'n Astros could just sit this one out. And frankly, I don't like the Dodgers so they could just stay home as well), coaching staff, families, roving reporters, scouts, and all the other extraneous folks associated with this business. Oh... keep the families at home? Yea... that's not happening. This may not be February, but there is still a short supply of homes available. I guarantee it will still be a tight housing squeeze. Fortunately, hotels are more or less empty in the summer.

Third, baseball players are human. They need rest, hydration, nutrition and medical assistance. Playing in the heat will diminish all of the above. Playing double-headers (another suggestion) will be even more detrimental. I can't imagine the player's union agreeing to double-headers on a regular basis. These human players also need a strong morale. Being away from home for six months, living in hotels with cranky wives, children and significant others might not be as enjoyable as being locked up at home during a pandemic.

Fourth, apparently there's a pandemic. Let's start with the wildly popular premise that this virus is something super scary and taken seriously. How do we keep players, et. al., healthy? This weird virus seems to be transmittable in a variety of ways. Do we keep the families away (see the comment about morale)? How do we keep a bunch of young, 20-something well-paid men entertained during off times so they don't go wandering around the city? And what happens if they do get sick? Do we expand the roster upfront to ensure we have enough players if a couple are down for fourteen days? What about testing? Do we hold back tests for the general population because Babe Smithers is pitching tomorrow and we need to make sure he is healthy? And what happens if someone happens to get sick and spreads it to the entire team? What then?

I am estimating (minus significant others and families), we are talking about a population of about 2,000 people. Personally, this would be great for the AZ economy. And, as much as I would like baseball to return, it doesn't make sense to just to pull this season off in AZ. I think more than ever a sporting event is something we Americans can get behind. We need need to know there is something in our future. We look forward to these rivalries and friendly games. But not here. Not now. It isn't the season.