What is baseball waiting for?
The question is rhetorical, because we all know the answer is, "They are waiting as long as possible in order to maximize the amount of money they make off of Spring Training."
It’s just a matter of time until MLB cancels its first games of the year.
We’ve all been waiting for the first sports league to hold games in empty stadiums, but the NBA, always the most innovative league, skipped that step and went right to suspending games. In their case, it was because Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, but there’s probably going to be at least one professional baseball player who also tests positive. Likely in the next couple of days.
And then it’ll be in that clubhouse. And then someone will realize that that player who tested positive has interacted with players from other teams. And no one knows when this guy got it, so he could have been exposing other teams to it for days. And they’ve been exposing everyone they’ve played for days. And they’ll have no choice but to shut down either the Cactus or Grapefruit League. And once that’s done, well, why even bother with the other Spring Training league? Shut them down. Shut it all down. We can’t take the risk.
I’m writing this on Wednesday night, well aware that by the time you read it on Thursday, the decision might have already been made. MLB also might just stubbornly push through it for as long as they can, doing their best to avoid making the decision they know they’ll have to make.
But eventually, circumstances outside of his control will force Rob Manfred into the Commissioner Cave to make a Commissionouncement. And that announcement — nobody wants me to keep up the joke of that portmanteau — will be that all games are suspended indefinitely.
It’s what he has to do because the NBA already did it. Playing in empty stadiums? Half-assing it. Moving all the games to Arizona, where there is no ban on people congregating? Quarter-assing it. Playing OOTP21 and acting like those results are the real season? HEY THAT’S MY BIT, BUDDY, I START IT IN A WEEK OR TWO SO BACK OFF.
The point is, Major League Baseball has been encircled by the enemy and now the enemy is closing in. There’s nowhere to run, no bargain to strike, nothing to do but wait. It is inevitable that games will start getting cancelled, and they’re just putting it off as long as possible to keep making money off Spring Training.
There already aren’t going to be any games in California or Seattle before the end of the month. The writing’s covering the wall, All Work And No Play style. Major League Baseball is just doing its best not to read it.