Sunday, May 3, 2020

Are We Waiting 'til Next Year?

My mailbox loves PWEs and so do I. This one comes from Marc over at Remember the Astrodome. The cardboard protector within contained a note which got me thinking. Marc suggests "we're all probably waiting until next year (for baseball) at this point."
As much as I personally enjoy applying word play to specific blog names within the titles of a post and/or a well thought out note, I think this motion has the potential to be more accurate than many want to admit.
 Even so, I've read up on proposals from MLB and I believe things are trending in the right direction. Here's the biggest proposals in chronological order:

  • Every team being stationed in Arizona
  • Teams in Arizona and Florida
  • Teams in Arizona, Florida and Texas
  • Teams playing in their home ballparks, but split into three geographically based divisions
You'll notice a trend here in that MLB continues to open things up. It want from one state, to two, to three, and the latest has teams playing in their home ballparks. Surely that's a positive sign. Right?

 When/if baseball returns I'm not sure what it will look like, but I doubt it will be what we're accustomed to. Perhaps, it will look like the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization)? Cheerleaders in the stands, but no fans? Nah, MLB teams would never employ cheerleaders. As a safeguard I've read the league may employ a "monastery" set-up. That sounds less than ideal for the players. I'm sure the MPBPA will have something to say about the working conditions.
 There was a tad of optimism doled out a few days ago when MLB reached an agreement on how to pay the umpires this year. That's at least one less hurdle to leap when the green light is given.
Personally, I'm still holding out hope that we have baseball in some form or another this year, but it leaves me with so many questions.
In short, Marc's note has me looking like Jason Heyward here. His eyes seem to be looking up as if to say, "I got all of that one!"  But his gaze also seems to be angled in a position where his next thought is questioning, "Foul or Fair?"

So, yeah, I'm excited about the prospects of their being a season, but it still seems very much up in the air to me at this point. 

Marc, thanks for the Cubs cards and for giving me something to ruminate over!

6 comments:

  1. i miss baseball... it's an opportunity to hang out with friends with a hot dog and cold beer. my interest in new cards is greatly diminished. i like to open few packs while watching a game. let's keep the spirit of the game alive on the blogs. maybe we should start some rivalries. ;) it is nice to see new cards here, thanks to Marc!!

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  2. I miss baseball so much, but at the same time I don't want to see it back until everything is under control. It'd be weird watching games without fans in the stands. Basically what I'm worried about is baseball playing a 2020 season and having it end up as an asterisk in the annals of baseball history -- kinda like "Yeah, the Cubs won the World Series again, but it was that weird 2020 season, so you know..."

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    1. That's a good point. Maybe there shouldn't even be a World Series, just do some tournaments or something.

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  3. I really miss baseball and am sorry that you weren't able to coach this spring. And will this have a negative effect on your part time gig doing games?

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    1. If you're referring to my part-time job with the Peoria Chiefs... No one is talking about it right now, because everyone is so worried about MLB, but I don't there will be minor league baseball this year. MiLB covers more of the country and the revenue streams are so tiny in comparison. That's two pretty big strikes against MiLB this year.

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