As of right now, the Baltimore Orioles play Minnesota tonight in Ft. Myers. They play Toronto tomorrow in Sarasota. They open the regular season at home against New York on March 26th at 3 PM. That’s what the schedule says.
You know where this is going. In a very short span of time, the Coronavirus has ravaged American life. And as a “germophobe” myself, it’s not overly shocking. I guess what is shocking to me is that it’s gotten to the point to where the NBA is suspending it’s season, and the NCAA is no longer allowing fans at it’s post-season tournament games.
I shouldn’t say that it’s “shocking” to me. It’s just shocking in the sense that it’s come to this. When I think of pandemics, I think of the Spanish Flu circa 1918. Or the Black Death in Europe in the Middle Ages. I don’t think of 2020 and whether or not we’re going to play ball.
Look we all know the various options out there, and what the situation is. Some localities (Seattle and Oakland to name two) have banned mass events of more than 250 people. The Seattle Mariners have already said that they would be relocating home games to start the year.
Assuming the spread of the virus doesn’t severely curtail, my personal prediction is that the season will start similar to how the NCAA is doing things – games with no fans. The Orioles’ organization is obviously familiar with that concept, having had a fanless game in 2015 following civil unrest in Baltimore. And I suspect that’s a scenario they’d rather not have to repeat.
However here’s a much more grave prediction; the moment one player tests positive, MLB will follow the NBA’s example and suspend the season. Now when I say suspend, I mean suspend – not cancel. What happens once it’s safe to resume play is anyone’s guess.
This is a situation that’s changing on the fly. It seems like every hour yesterday there was something new. But any and all of these steps are probably necessary. Again, the O’s play tonight against Minnesota. All we can do is take things on a game-by-game basis.
Birdland Crush 