Yankees & Mets Will Hold Spring Training In New York

It is kind of surreal to look back at some of the posts I've made since the beginning of this year, and how we had no clue what was in store for 2020.

January 22 - Spring Training is a month away!

February 2 - Tim Tebow might join the XFL (a double whammy for things that aren't relevant anymore)!

April 8 - All MLB teams might do Spring Training in Arizona.

April 13 - The BlueClaws celebrate "Virtual Opening Night".

May 5 - Could MLB be back by July?

May 12 - MLB plans to return Independence Day weekend.

Kevin Williams of the Shore Sports Network has been giving plenty of updates on the battle between the MLBPA and the owners, and the potential dates for starting the season keep moving, along with the number of games and the pay players will receive.

What we do know, though, is that whenever Spring Training starts, the Yanks and Mets will be practicing at Yankee Stadium and CitiField rather than in Florida.

MLB closed all 30 spring training locations this weekend in both Florida and Arizona for after "players and/or staff members" at "several facilities" tested positive for coronavirus. The Phillies' spring home in Clearwater and the Blue Jays' in Dunedin were among those with positive tests. Both of those stadiums are near the Yanks in Tampa, and with the loose restrictions in Florida, it's not crazy to think that people have been traveling between those towns freely.

With every passing day, I feel more and more strongly that this season should just be axed. I'm a huge baseball fan, so it kills me to not be able to spend an evening watching the Yanks, but it just seems like too much of a mess to clean up and create a product that will be worthwhile. A shortened season seemed okay at first, and even the potential for an 82-game half-season would've been fun to watch, but the rumored 50-game season just seems like a farce. I've heard analysts moan about how records will be skewed, if the league leader hits 19 home runs or the Cy Young goes to a pitcher with 6 wins, but those are just numbers. The bigger problem is that there are huge groups of people, players and coaches and training staff and broadcast teams, that will be traveling to locations all over the country, as we continue to see hotspots spike all over the place. Keeping all those people safe just seems impossible, and what happens when one player tests positive after the season starts? Does the rest of the team have to quarantine? What happens to their scheduled games?

Believe me, I hate the idea of "giving up" or something like that, but when it comes down it, this is just a game. I feel bad for players who were in contract years, guys who are losing a year of their prime, or the guys who are trying to hang on for one more year...but it's still just a game, and it's not worth jeopardizing the health of all those people.