Reese Kaplan -- What Does Opening Day II Mean?

I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that Governor Andrew Cuomo has given permission for the New York sports franchises to open up their playing facilities for preparation and games.  The news is somewhat incomplete since the baseball stadiums seat about 50,000 people and we’re still operating under a social isolation rubric for the duration of the pandemic.  The Yankees have announced they intend to use their Florida spring training facility.  The Mets haven’t said anything yet, but will have to eat the cost of flights somewhere, something unappealing to the cash-strapped owners.  The dates in mind are approximately a June 10th start date for the second spring training and then about July 1st for the actual opening day.  Voting must take place this week for the owners and players to agree.  It needs to happen very quickly to meet these dates.

While part of me is very grateful to hear whispers of a baseball season beginning, another part of me is concerned that they haven’t quite figured out what to do with respect to the fans who might otherwise turn in a ticket to gain admission to the stadium.  There are some who advocate using fan-free stadiums in the interest of minimizing the spread of infection since no clear prevention or cure has yet been developed.  Others are saying to include admissions with social distancing being practiced to allow people who are willing to risk infection to come see live baseball once again.  Others advocate using mannequins (or as South Korea did, dressed-up inflatable sex dolls adoring protective face masks). 

Right now you would think that the players are in need of some formal training time to get back to the rigors of daily workouts, teammate interactions and resuming what used to be their normal way of life.  Surely the extra time off has been beneficial to those folks healing from injuries, but the majority of players are healthy and in need of brushing up on the routine exercises and plays to make them ready to compete. 

Various options have been discussed as to how the teams will operate.  Some include larger playing squads of up to 30 people.  Some insist on using a universal DH in the National League as well as the long-standing tradition in the American League.  It’s entirely possible that there will be multiple short stints by starting pitchers which will, in turn, open up a myriad of relief pitching possibilities.  Right now we’re not aware of the wear and tear on a position like catcher when there have been no games since early February. 

For a great many fringe players this reopening of major league baseball opens up playing time that otherwise might not have existed.  For example, the Mets signed veteran first baseman Matt Adams who would have a devil of a time cracking the roster with Pete Alonso, Dom Smith and others capable of playing there, but if expansion from 25 to 26 to 30 man rosters takes place the likelihood is that MLB teams will feel much greater comfort bringing along someone with a track record like Adams has had.  Another similar example would be infielder Eduardo Nunez who, if nothing else, could prove to be a valuable set of legs used for pinch running. 

Regardless of who makes up the Opening Day roster, the fact remains baseball is on its way back.  That shred of normalcy means an awful lot to a great many people.  Play ball!