There’s a lot of questions surrounding when — or if — 2020 Major League Baseball season will begin. But teams also need to consider spring training, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Neutral sites such as Florida and Arizona reportedly have been rumored for teams to begin getting back into baseball shape before games (hopefully) resume.
But according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, another possibility is being discussed.
“Major League Baseball teams, if they’re able to play this year, are preparing for the possibility of resuming spring training at their regular-season ballparks instead of returning to spring training sites in Florida and Arizona, four team executives told USA TODAY Sports,” Nightengale reported Wednesday.
This certainly would save time associated with travel considering teams already would be at their home ballparks and wouldn’t need to travel from their normal spring training facilities.
Of course, it’s not a perfect plan.
“The biggest disadvantage, the executives said, would be having the use of only one field instead of the usual six at their spring training sites. Teams would also be mostly limited to playing intrasquad games during the three weeks, particularly those located outside of two-team cities. Teams in certain regions could also face weather uncertainty,” Nightengale wrote.
It seems like nothing is off the table in terms of trying to get the players back on the field when safe to do so.
