There are so many ways to address the absence of the game I love, but for now lets talk about what might be going on at the Major League level.
I'm lucky and blessed in that I work for Major League Baseball, and am priveleged to get a closer look at the game than many of my peers. The access I'm granted on a daily basis is something that many baseball fans dream of. If COVID-19 didn't exist, I would be sitting in press row as we speak, watching the Cubs playing the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
When is the next time any of us will be at Chase Field, smelling the grass and hearing the crack of the bat? The one thing I can tell you, is that more than likely there will not be any fans in attendance the next time the Diamondbacks play a game, whether it's "spring training part two," or a regular season game in downtown Phoenix.
Awareness of the ugliness and danger of COVID-19 seemed to fully enter the public's consciousness the weekend of March 7th. Folks around the press box at various spring training parks began to "bump elbows" as opposed to shaking hands. It was also during that time that clubhouses started to limit media access to players and coaches, and the beginnings of the "6-foot rule" came into effect.
I remember March 11th being a rainy day in the valley. When I left Tempe Diablo Stadium around 2pm, that afternoon, the game having been rained out, I had no idea that would be the last time I'd set foot in a big league stadium for the forseeable future.
For me, as it was to many of us, March was a blur of canceled travel plans and breaking news alerts. Rumors began floating around that maybe the Seattle Mariners would play their home games in Peoria for the first few weeks of the season. The San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics were also mentioned as perhaps staying in the valley for an extended period of time, as opposed to going back to the bay area.
Since then, many "plans" that have been kicked around. One idea would be for all 30 teams to play a second round of spring training in Arizona, and then start the regular season soon after. Baseball facilities and hotels around the valley are plentiful, but there are many other challenges to consider, such as players being isolated from their families, that present themselves. Ideas about housing half of the big league teams in Florida are also being floated, while Texas, which has two retractable roof stadiums (Houston, Arlington) may be an option as well.
It's anybody's guess as to where a homeplate umpire will first yell out "play ball," but when it does happen, that call will more than likely reflect the echo of empty seats. Until I can get back to the job I love, and we can all get back the game we love, stay safe.
Brett Quintyne co-hosts the Saturday morning AZPreps365 Radio Show, does work for MLB.com, and has hosted the C-Town Rivals Podcast as part of the team at ArizonaVarsity for 7+ years.
