The MLB is set to embark on a 60-game journey through the coronavirus-infested United States. Unlike pretty much every other American sport, MLB is eschewing the bubble concept, instead demanding its team to travel the country.
As a boxing fan, I closely watched Top Rank's Las Vegas experiment. Top Rank attempted two cards a weeks, about six fights each card. The boxers were only allowed to bring a couple of people into the bubble. About 20% of fights were canceled because of positive covid-19 tests. In boxing, a canceled match can be disappointing, but the show can still go on. In team sports, it will be difficult to imagine how the leagues will deal with canceled games. The MLS had a very modest plan and multiple teams had to go home because of positive tests.
Hopefully, I'm wrong and it's a fun sprint, but one of the best case scenarios is the MLB finishes the season and the playoffs, but the champion is just basically the team that had fewer impact players testing positive for covid-19. Also,m why would they institute the DH for every game? It seems like they're moving in the wrong direction. Wouldn't you want fewer players active in each game and each game to be as quick as possible? If anything, baseball should move toward extinguishing the DH, a ridiculous gimmick from the 1970s that saps the game of its strategy for pure meathead offense. The DH is also illogical. It's like have a designated free throw shooter in basketball or a designated punch absorber in boxing.
It's quite possible that baseball games will be canceled outright and teams, if not the entire season, will have to shutdown prematurely. Hopefully, before someone gets terribly sick. I love watching sports, but not at the expense of people dying. I hope the players and staff stay safe.
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