As baseball fans mourn a delayed season, let’s remember there’s an opportunity for the sport
It’s late March. It’s supposed to be baseball’s opening week. It’s the week that Atlanta Braves fans have been looking forward to since … well, since the St. Louis Cardinals put up a 10-spot in the top of the first inning of Game 5 of the National League Division Series.
It’s the time when Freddie Freeman and the rest of the gang were to return to Atlanta to give us yet another heart-pounding season of late-inning heroics, plus Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña Jr. entertaining us on the field and in the dugout.
It’s a time when Braves fans would get a chance to see Marcell Ozuna on their side after nearly winning the series MVP last October.
Instead, the world has virtually stopped except for the most essential activities. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Ending a wicked virus that causes deaths daily is far more important than a game.
So for now, we’ll have to make do with replays of key games on Fox Sports South and Sports Southeast. At least they’re just showing the victories, so there’s that.
Oh, for a real blown three-run ninth inning lead to gripe about. Suddenly, twenty bucks for a burger basket and souvenir drink doesn’t sound so bad after all.
Enough gloom, though. Eventually the virus will run its course, and we will return to life as we knew it. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Mansfred did an interview last week with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and offered some hope.
“The one thing I know for sure is baseball will be back,” Manfred told Van Pelt. “Whenever it’s safe to play, we’ll be back. Our fans will be back. Our players will be back. And we will be part of the recovery, the healing in this country, from this particular pandemic.”
For now, Manfred is targeting mid-May. That’s not to say that anyone can arbitrarily pick a date that it’s safe to resume playing and pack tens of thousands of people into a ballpark. It’s basically a best-case scenario, given that pitchers will have to rebuild their arm strength and hitters have to regain their timing.
Manfred again: “We’ll have to make a determination, depending what the precise date is, as to how much of a preparation period we need, whether that preparation period is going to be done in the clubs’ home cities or back in Florida and Arizona. Again, I think the goal would be to get as many regular-season games as possible and think creatively about how we can accomplish that goal.”
Baseball has an opportunity here. It can experiment with some changes far more progressive than the new three-batter minimum for relievers. It can adopt whatever temporary measures it sees fit, such as reducing games to seven innings for double-headers. If playing 10 games in a seven-day stretch is too taxing on the pitching, they could up the rosters to 28 players and designate three pitchers as inactive.
Eventually, baseball will return. I’m not an expert on contagious diseases. That is to say, I didn’t go to medical school, earn a PhD in science or win at least 270 electoral votes. But eventually, we’re going to get back to some semblance of normalcy.
I’m ready to see how much Acuña and Ozzie have grown up as players. I’m ready to see what Freddie can do with a full season of good health. I’m ready to see what a bullpen of Will Smith, Mark Melancon, Shane Green, Chris Martin and Darren O’Day can do. I’m ready to see King Felix try to revive his once brilliant career just as Anibal Sanchez did two years ago.
I’m ready for some kid from the minor leagues to come up and open everyone’s eyes as Austin Riley did last year.
I’ve never been more ready for baseball.