Months after the coronavirus pandemic shut down American sports, the games are returning. For now, at least.
They most sharply diverge in where the games will be held. Generally,sports with smaller roster sizes (NBA, NHL) are playing in “bubbles,” isolated from the outside community, whilesports with larger rosters (NFL, MLB) are playing at their regular stadiums and traveling between cities.
Here’s where each league stands in its attempt to get back to the games.
MLB
When: Major League Baseball began its season on July 23, months after its usual April start. The plan is to play a 60-game season leading into an expanded playoffs from September 29 to the end of October.
Where: Games will be held at teams’ regular stadiums, with no fans in attendance.
The Toronto Blue Jays, the league’s only Canadian team, will play in Buffalo because the Canadian government did not approve its plan to continually cross country lines.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday that holding the season in a “bubble” would not have worked because MLB has large teams and wants to hold a 60-game season.
“The duration would have been much longer, and the longer you go, the more people you have, the less likely it is that you can make the bubble work,” he said.
Rules changes: MLB made changes to the sport itself as well as to the traditions surrounding it.
In terms of game play, the National League will use a designated hitter, and extra innings now begin with a runner automatically on second. Rosters have been expanded to account for possible infections, and the playoffs have been expanded to 16 teams.
Also, high-fives and hugs are discouraged and spitting, that beloved baseball pastime, is banned.
Current status: Just days into its restart, more than a dozen players and staff on the Miami Marlins tested positive for coronavirus, pushing MLB to postpone several games and raising questions about its plans. All games on the Marlins schedule have been postponed through Sunday, MLB announced Tuesday.
Manfred downplayed the outbreak’s severity and said they had built in protocols for just such an occurrence.
“I don’t put this in the nightmare category,” he said. “Obviously we don’t want any player to get exposed. It’s not a positive thing. But I don’t see it as a nightmare. We built the protocols to allow us to continue to play.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday that baseball does not have to stop its season yet.
“You just have to watch this. This could put it in danger. I don’t believe they need to stop, but we just need to follow this and see what happens with other teams on a day-by-day basis,” Fauci said.
NFL
When: The National Football League begins training camps this week and plans to begin its season at its normal time in the second week of September. All preseason games were canceled.
Where: Games will be held at teams’ regular stadiums around the country. It’s not yet clear whether fans will be allowed to attend, but if they do they will have to wear face coverings.
