- This topic has 1,230 replies, 44 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 2 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
I was thinking of starting a thread on the COVID19 virus and it’s effects/possible effects on major and minor league baseball. With clusters of cases in places like Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles as well as folks in New York and Florida it may be only a matter of time until MLB has to address the problem because of the large crowds involved. Please keep this thread clear of politics. Congress has already approved the funds necessary to start the fight and I am sure they will provide as much as is necessary. I hope our main theme here is to discuss whether the presence of the virus may affect the baseball seasons of the majors and minors. It may depend on city or region or it may not affect the game at all but places that draw large crowds are bound to be looked at.
I currently live in a state with no reported cases but in a city with a university that has a fair number of Chinese students but no reported cases yet either. BUT if anything pops up in my area I am quickly into self quarantine. Why – because I am 80 years old, have COPD and use oxygen about 20 hours per day. In other words I would be a dead man walking to go out to any crowded events. My only exposure to anything resembling a crowd (other than Walmart) is a Pulmonary Rehab exercise class I attend 3 times a week where about 50 people are present including many Cards fans and one Cub fan….LOL. I feel sure that if any cases were reported in my area this exercise class would shut down because it is run by one of the local hospitals and attended by 99% elderly and medically compromised folks. I will keep my fingers crossed but would like to know the thoughts of others on this topic.
There has already been talk about the Cubs-Cards series scheduled in London on June 13-14. For reasons far bigger than baseball, I hope the virus is under control long before that.
I hope the virus is under control long before that.
Amen to that for sure. I keep forgetting about that London series. I have to look and see if it counts as a Cubs or Cards home series (or one of each would be the most equitable)
MM3, I agree — I would be cautious if I were you. Let it play out a while to see how things progress to avoid taking unnecessary risks. My Mom is a fairly healthy 89, but I think staying at home as much as possible for her is smart for a while.
I am 60 and thinking of not taking the trip to Jupiter my wife and I have planned in about 10 days. Bummer, looking so forward to it. Not that I’m going to quit living, but too many unknowns at this point to feel comfortable mingling in a crowd of of thousands for a few days in a place where the virus has recently emerged relatively nearby. I’m thinking if the people near me are coughing/sneezing, I’m not going to enjoy the activities.
There is also talks about cancelling the Olympics this year.
There isn’t enough testing going on currently to determine just how much the virus has spread. Plus no containment procedure has worked in keeping the virus from spreading and other countries are now taking drastic measures like cancelling school, sporting events, etc. So, I fear this is going to get worse.
If you do have to go out and can’t wash your hands consistently you can use hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol based.
I am 60 and thinking of not taking the trip to Jupiter my wife and I have planned in about 10 days
Smart decision ED. There is always another day and a safer day. At 60 you will have plenty of chances.
I am probably one of the few on this board who is an avid follower of European soccer (or football to them). We took our son to Manchester, England a couple of years ago to see a match and it was quite a treat.
Anyway, I noticed on TV a week or two ago that a professional soccer match was held in Italy with no fans allowed into the stadium. It was rather surreal to watch it. I hope that doesn’t happen with MLB this year but I guess anything is possible right now.
If you do have to go out and can’t wash your hands consistently you can use hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol based.
CDC is now saying just regular hand soap even in cold water is enough if you wash for 20 seconds or longer. Passing through Walmart yesterday and ALL of the sanitizer is sold out. We already have some on hand and did buy one big jug of antibacterial hand soap to keep our small containers full. Had to laugh when the Walmart guy told me there is a big run on toilet paper. I guess if you are quarantined it can be helpful to have a good stock…LOL
As for baseball, at least the players have the benefit of youth on their side but it is the crowds that may be most affected. I don’t thing they will be able to stop it completely but if folks take it serious the spreading can be minimized.
My family of four still plan on making our trip to Jupiter next week. It will be interesting to see how the players interact with fans. It may be tough explaining to my 10 year old son why a player will not sign an autograph because of the virus.
John Hopkins University is hosting 1st and 2nd round games of the NCAA Division III tournament with no fans in attendance.
Breaking – Important update about NCAA Men's Basketball 1st & 2nd Round games at Johns Hopkins – https://t.co/6xEuE98dnj #GoHop pic.twitter.com/fQKhtwq8e3
— HOPKINS ATHLETICS (@HopkinsSports) March 6, 2020
#STLCards news from @dgoold: As concern for coronavirus spreads, Cardinals encourage players to pre-sign items for fans https://t.co/vorOANyxN6 via @stltoday
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) March 7, 2020
MLB spokesman Mike Teevan said no changes to media access policy and the League is “asking anyone- including media- who has visited a high-risk area, as defined by the CDC, within the last 14 days not to visit our facilities.”
— Chicago BBWAA (@chibbwaa) March 7, 2020
News: Major League Baseball still plans to play the rest of its spring-training slate and open the regular season on time but has closed its clubhouses to reporters in response to fears over the spread of the coronavirus. Details at ESPN: https://t.co/7XIXsdv1YJ
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 9, 2020
I’m a tennis fan and yesterday they canceled the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA (not too far from LA and San Diego). The tournament was scheduled to start this week. This is a big deal because it might be the biggest tournament other than the four grand slam events, some calling it the 5th slam. I’m afraid this train is not stopping.
Unless I missed it, no study has shown media members more likely to have or spread coronavrius. Which means media ban doesn’t protect players, doesn’t protect fans. What does it protect? Profits. This is about money, not medicine. (Told you I had thoughts)https://t.co/ANb6SNilMI
— Nancy Armour (@nrarmour) March 10, 2020
Nancy Armour is the absolute worst sports reporter in the history of all reporting. She must back up to the pay table. I have seen her write junk on NASCAR, MLB and NFL.
I read the whole dumb article waiting for her argument on how banning media would make teams more money, but, alas, that was not in there. She’s just whining.
I believe the point being made was that if MLB was really concerned about the spread of the virus, they would stop fans from coming to games. But that would cost them a lot of money. Instead, they ban the media from the clubhouses as a symbolic move to show they are taking action, albeit not a practical one.
Right Brian. They are trying to keep the players pure so they can play but they can’t control what they do otherwise. Also the bit on presigning items to give away still means they will be within 6 foot of somebody with the virus. As I understand it people younger than 50 or so are pretty safe and can recover in due time with little effect but it is the old timers who have to worry. Not many old time players but there are some old time reporters…..LOL
But her argument is silly. The players can avoid close contact with fans. If media is in the clubhouse, they could get contaminated a lot easier that way.
And MLB is a business. Of course money matters. Media actually helps them financially, otherwise, media wouldn’t have ever had access.
It is just a dumb argument. I get that it seems like an over-reaction, but if someone doesn’t understand that there is a cost-benefit analysis to every precaution taken, then they just don’t have the intellectual capacity to be listened to.
It doesn’t cost anything to close off media access to the clubhouse.
Far as the BNP Paribas. That’s a major jump off due to some random person in Riverside contracting it. Then again you’ve got a bunch of foreign players and some visitors who head to Indian Wells every year. That’s a major economy boost for that area. We’ve already seen some soccer leagues do it in Italy. We’ve had 3-4 groups cancel in house last minute. Hotel is struggling for business currently.
I fully expect for Opening Day to go on as usual.
Part of the issue will be that the virus isn’t distributed evenly across the country. While it may be prudent to keep fans away in Seattle there may not be enough cases in STL or Cinci to warrant it.
it appears some cities are banning large gatherings of people so in the end, the mlb may have no choice. In the end I feel its all hysteria. Im not sure that any more people have died of this than those rare flu strains that come around every few years or so. In the end, I feel probably everyone is going to come in contact with it in some way or another. You will either get it or you wont. More than likely if you do, you wont die. But nothing is for certain. Obviously im not an expert but that’s how these things have always tended to go.
In the end, I feel probably everyone is going to come in contact with it in some way or another. You will either get it or you wont. More than likely if you do, you wont die.
Gee thanks Willie. That last sentence makes me feel better being as I am 80 with COPD…..LOL
The fans can, and I think will, make that decision for themselves. All the people who are dismissing this as nothing don’t understand how viruses spread. We are in the early stages now, and this is going to get serious by the end of this month, most likely. I’m not saying panic, but be smart like Minuteman3 is saying.
We will see baseball games being played in front of empty stadiums this year, whether it be by requirement or fans choosing on their own to stay away.
This isn’t Armageddon, but it isn’t the seasonal flu, either.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.