Cactus, city sites seeking a delay
PHOENIX – Major League Baseball, which has been urging the players association to delay the start of the season by a month, received support from Cactus League officials and the eight mayors and tribal leaders in the Phoenix area with the rise of COVID-19 cases in Arizona.
Yet with spring training just three weeks away, the Major League Baseball Players Association is adamant they will start spring training Feb. 17, while teams also are preparing for an on-time start.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins on Monday even became the first teams to announce they will sell spring training tickets for home games in Jupiter, Florida.
“We’ve had a recent meeting with MLB to talk about plans and concerns,” Cactus League executive director Bridget Binsbacher told USA TODAY, “and getting all of the cities together to voice their opinion seemed like the right things to do. We told MLB that with everything peaking and concerning, if there’s an opportunity to delay spring training, we’d invite the opportunity.
“The letter was not a surprise to MLB, and they were very open to all of our concerns and input.”
The letter, in part, reads: “In view of the current state of the pandemic in Maricopa County – with one of the nation’s highest infection rates – we believe it is wise to delay the start of spring training to allow for the COVID-19 situation to improve here. This position is based on public data from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which projects a sharp decline in infections in Arizona by mid-March (an estimated 9,712 daily infections on February 15 and 3,072 daily infections on March 15).
“We understand that any decision to delay spring training cannot be made unilaterally by MLB. As leaders charged with protecting public health, and as committed, longtime partners in the spring training industry, we want you to know that we stand united on this point. We appreciate the opportunity to offer input and thank MLB for its collaboration in assisting our facilities as they prepare for the 2021 spring training season.”
The union responded saying, “The letter correctly notes that MLB does not have the ability to unilaterally
make this decision. While we, of course, share the goals of a safe spring training and regular season, MLB has repeatedly assured us that it has instructed its teams to be prepared for an on time start to spring training and the regular season and we continue to devote all our efforts to making sure that that takes place as safely as possible.”
Commissioner Rob Manfred informed teams two weeks ago to prepare for an on-time start of the season. But in the meantime, Arizona’s infection rate remains the worst in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker. Arizona’s rate of new positive cases over the past week was 95.1 cases per 100,000 people. The U.S. average is 54.4 cases per 100,000 people.
There are 15 teams based in the Phoenix area for spring training, playing at 10 ballparks, but no Cactus League team has yet begun selling tickets. Ticket sales, once given approval, will be sold in pods of two, four or six and the pods will be spaced at least 6 feet apart from one another.
The NBA’s Phoenix Suns have not had any fans in their arena this season but the Arizona Coyotes of the NHL, also located in Phoenix, have been permitted to sell 3,450 tickets a game.
The state generates $644.2 million during a normal spring, according to a recent report by the L. William Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State’s business school, so the later the start of spring training, the better for business. Yet with six of every 10 fans attending spring training games coming from out of state, Binsbacher insists their health is the most important factor.
“We haven’t even made projections on the economics and none of that have been in any discussions,” Beinsbacher said. “The primary focus is public health and safety.”
The players union believes that after playing a truncated 60-game season last year, they are even more equipped to play through the pandemic this season.
There were 92 players and staff members who were infected with COVID-19 last season, postponing 45 games, but the expanded postseason was played in its entirety without any disruptions.
When MLB approached the union in December about potentially delaying the season by a month, the union declined unless players still received their full salaries, no matter how many games were played. They received only 37% or their salaries last year, which amounted to about $25 million in lost wages a day.
“We’ll be prepared no matter what they decide,” Binsbacher said. “It’s absolutely manageable. We just have to make sure we follow CDC guidelines. But if opening day (for Cactus League games) is Saturday, Feb. 27, we’ll be ready to do that.”
MLB and the union still are establishing health and safety protocols that will go into effect at the start of spring training. Traditional regular-season games will be altered during the season in a proposal by MLB with seven-inning doubleheaders and extra-inning games to begin with a runner on second base, as they did a year ago. The union still must formally approve the proposal.
There are currently no discussions about a universal DH or expanded playoffs, like a year ago, although the two sides have until opening day on April 1 to reach an agreement.