COVID-19 impacts MLB season
Fair use image by Anthony Causi
New York Mets player Wilson Ramos poses with his teammates on Feb. 29. The person taking the photo is Anthony Causi, a beloved sports photographer who died on Apr. 12 from Covid-19.
March 19, 2020
Due to COVID-19, numerous sports leagues have been affected. One of these leagues is Major League Baseball (MLB). Many people are disappointed that the MLB season was postponed.
“I was really upset to hear that the season was being postponed. Even though I don’t play the sport, it stinks to hear that this is happening,” senior Joe Pearson said.
It is unfortunate that the season is not currently happening. The MLB has since started the Players League. The Players League is a tournament in which one member of each MLB team will play the new MLB The Show 20 video game.
Junior Nolan McCurdy explained that he thinks the Players League is a good idea, even though it is not actual baseball, it is still a good way to be entertained.
The baseball season is not expected to start until at the earliest, May. That means players have been on an off season since October and many speculate that players are getting prepared for the upcoming season.
“I’d say they are working on their skills, watching tapes and just trying to keep active while this is going on and trying to like do anything to help other players and families during this time,” junior Sam Kane said.
Currently, there are four major professional sport leagues in North America. These leagues are Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Football League (NFL),and the National Basketball Association (NBA). However, MLB consists of 162 games which is the most out of the four leagues, but due to COVID-19, the total amount of games will be reduced.
McCurdy explained that it is unlikely that the season will be 162 games unless they play more double headers (back to back games).
COVID-19 has negatively impacted our world. Even though the players in MLB are working out until the season starts, does not mean that they are doing nothing about this.
“I have heard of some players helping out others. I saw something on Instagram where a player [Shin Soo Choo] donated almost 200 thousand dollars to the minor league players that are not as financially successful as him. And that is just one post I saw about specifically MLB players reaching out to help others,” Pearson said.
Although the season is not expected to start until at least May, this does not mean that this season is going to be like any other season. COVID-19 is most likely going to force MLB to make changes to this season.
McCurdy explained that he thinks that this season will not consist of the usual 162 games, and the games will be played in empty stadiums.
“I think that there is a chance that the season will return but most likely that the stands will not be filled and most likely will be watched on television only,” Kane added.
