After Jose Altuve hit the walk-off home run off Aroldis Chapman in Game 6 of the ALCS, many Yankees fans watched in disbelief as the Astros would be heading back to the World Series for a shot at their second World Series title in three years.
The next day was filled with many who were still trying to take in what happened the previous night and where to go from there. But it was also a period of looking to the next season and beginning preparations for the off-season.
The Yankees went big and signed Gerrit Cole to an astonishing nine-year contract, worth well over $300 million. Everything was being put into place for the Bronx Bombers, and they were looking to win their 28th World Series title and first since 2009.
But so far, that has been halted.
The coronavirus pandemic has canceled hundreds and even thousands of professional sports games, which has led to many sports franchises and even players looking for ways to pay their arena and stadium employees for the months in which there are no contests.
As for Major League Baseball, there are currently proposals to play all the games in Florida or Arizona at Spring Training facilities in front of no fans. The proposal gives hope that the 2020 season will still occur, but is still drawing much backlash from many baseball fans.
So what is a solution to this problem? It is very simple… wait until next season.
Here is what is known about this pandemic. Over 650,000 Americans have been infected with the virus and there is no widespread solution, especially a vaccine.
It is also known that not all players may agree to sit in the stands six feet away from each other during the duration of the games. Chemistry is not going to built doing this, and many teams thrive on building that important bond with each other.
Lastly, it is known that baseball is not going to start for at least another six weeks or so. This is also a best-case scenario. This gives a return slated for June, which would be fine and resemble a Short A season’s schedule.
But why would anyone want to risk the well-being of the players, coaches and staff just to get baseball back in action as quickly as possible?
Without going into financials, it would not be the worst idea in existence to cancel the 2020 season altogether. This decision should not be made now or even in the next few weeks, but if Rob Manfred gets to July and realizes that they could not resume play until August, then that would be the right time.
Remember the old saying “It’s better to be safe than sorry?” Well, this is the time that everyone just needs to be safe with their actions than be responsible for a mass outbreak of the virus amongst the teams.
