SPRING DELAY?
Cactus League start in doubt
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to spring training in about three weeks, uncertainty looms over Major League Baseball.
With the COVID-19 pandemic raging in Arizona, officials from the Cactus League and the communities that host 15 teams have asked MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred to push back the start of camps and Cactus League games. The Major League Baseball Players Association, however, continues to push for spring training to begin on time and it’s pressing for a full, 162-game season.
Spring training is scheduled to begin on Feb. 17, Cactus League games are currently scheduled to begin on Feb. 27, and opening day is supposed to be April 1 with all 30 clubs playing.
In a letter dated Friday, which was released by the Cactus League on Monday, officials from eight cities in the Phoenix area, as well as the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which hosts the Rockies and Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, said Arizona’s high COVID-19 infection rate most likely won’t improve until midMarch.
The letter states: “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).”
In response to the letter, the MLBPA released its own statement, reiterating its insistence that the season starts on time.
“Although we have not received any communication directly, the MLBPA is aware of a letter that has been distributed today by the Cactus League Association,” the statement said. It goes on to say, “The letter correctly notes that MLB does not have the ability to unilaterally make this decision.”
Over the last month, a Cactus League task force evaluated ways to conduct a safe spring training. Last week, Cactus League representatives and mayors met with MLB officials to discuss preparing for spring training games. They discussed the possibility of selling tickets in a limited capacity, something that would require pod seating and contactless transactions.
But the continued rise in COVID cases raised questions and concerns, prompting the letter.
“We understand that any decision to delay spring training cannot be made unilaterally by MLB,” the letter said. “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.”
The letter, written by Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher, was signed by the mayors of Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria, Surprise, Phoenix city manager Ed Zuercher, and Martin Harvier, president of the Salt River community.
Although Glendale mayor Jerry Weiers signed the letter, that municipality currently is allowing the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes to play regular-season games, with a limited number of fans in attendance.
MLB and the MLB players association held informal talks in recent weeks about the possibility of postponing spring training, a source confirmed, thus delaying the beginning of the regular season. However, the MLBPA responded publicly by saying its players planned to report to camps on time with expectations of a full 162-game season in 2021, and Manfred then told teams to plan on opening on time.
In early December, the commissioner’s office had proposed a delayed, shortened season, and many owners wanted the players to be vaccinated before they reported to spring training. The MLBPA countered by asking MLB if it would be willing to lengthen the season by the same number of days it lost early in the season. If not, the union wanted its players to be paid for any games missed. MLB balked at that plan and the union ended negotiations, reiterating that it wanted to play 162 games at full pay.
Last year, spring training was suspended on March 12 because of the virus. Spring Training II started in July with the 60-game regular season opening on July 23. Players ended up receiving 37% of their salaries for the truncated season.