MLB 2020: When the season resumes - and it will

Yankees lone fan before season halt (NY Post)

The MLB 2020 will resume at some point. At another juncture, fans will be allowed to attend. These will be some of the “costs” for going to a game…

The MLB 2020 season will open with no fans in the stands as a made for television event. By August, half of the planet will be steaming, and the hope is that Covid-19 will succumb to the heat, and fans will be cleared to come to a ballpark to watch a game.

Business as usual? Not so fast. Because by then, Major League Baseball (MLB), following guidelines established by the Center For Disease Control (CDC), has made public conditions under which fans are attending a game must abide by.

MLB on the way back - it's a matter of time (newsbreak.com) — MLB on the way back – it’s a matter of time (newsbreak.com)

Those conditions, designed with the safety of everyone in mind, will be strenuous and wide-ranging.

The Charleston RiverDogs, the Yankees’ affiliate in the Single-A South Atlantic League, released on Friday a five-page “COVID-19 Readiness Plan” that, while not blessed by Major League Baseball, serves as a practical roadmap to post-shutdown life in our coronavirus world. (New York Post 5/9/2020)

MLB 2020 Might Start Here

Their plan is an excellent place to start, so we’ll begin there as well, along with a few, I believe, should also be included.

Social Distancing will be enforced whenever possible. This means upon entering the ballpark; you’ll notice that there is a plastic cover between every fourth seat, families not excepted. The bleachers are closed to all fans.
Leave the cash you’ve stashed away so you could attend this game. Cash if filthy, so only credit and debit transactions will be accepted for all purchases, even a bag of peanuts.
Players will not give out autographs or toss baseballs into the stands.
There will be “Health Screenings” for all fans entering the ballpark. The manner of the screening might include a temperature check.
MLB dictates the first ten rows behind the dugouts will be screened off and reserved for players who must also practice Social Distancing – away from limited space dugouts.
If you happen to occupy a seat offering Food Service to your location, you can download an App to avoid concession stands. At Yankee Stadium, for instance, this covers only 10,000 of the 54,251 seats in the ballpark.
All “Kid-Friendly” areas such as a bounce house will be closed.
All drinking fountains will not be in operation.
All restrooms must be designed and operated as “hands-free”, including auto flushing and doors.
All tickets for entry will be delivered by email only—no printed tickets with souvenir stubs.

MLB 2020: Will You Be There?

MLB 2020 is coming. Everyone from Donald Trump, Yankee’s President Randy Levine, Commissioner Rob Manfred, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, all thirty team owners, and nearly all players are pushing for it to happen.

Just as there will be an NFL season later this year, America will not be held down.

A more practical question, though, is if fans will be held down from attending games if they have to jump through hoops to claim a seat to the game between the Yankees and Houston Astros scheduled for Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium on September 22?

Or, and I have to say this is my choice even for a premier attraction like this one, why bother? When can I sit in the comfort of my home watching on TV or listening to the radio broadcast on the back deck?

MLB 2020 – A Season Like No Other

I offer no answers, only observations, and pertinent questions. For all I know, fans will flock to MLB ballparks despite the encumbrances. And what a sight that would be after all that America is enduring.

Dr. Anthony Fauci weighs in on the MLB 2020 season (cnbc.com)

But I can’t help but wonder if the Spirit Of America and its people, when thrust against the best and brightest science and medicine minds we have, will be making the “right” choices solely in the name of the MLB 2020 season.

We all miss, want, and need our baseball fix. I trust the CDC more than I do my heart. Others do so, maybe not so much.

Put the games on television with no fans in the stands. I’m your television junkie, and I promise not to take a break during commercials.

But until we have a proven vaccine, you’ll never see me at Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, or any other ballpark. At the same time, I’ll tip my hat to fans who choose to jump through the hoops that are forthcoming – just please – be safe.