Major League Baseball and its players union on Tuesday agreed on a return-to-play plan that entails a 60-game season and an extensive list of health and safety protocols.
The extra measures certainly are necessary, as multiple teams around the league have reported players and staffers have tested positive for COVID-19. And with spiking numbers reported in Florida and Arizona, teams will remain in their home markets for training camp.
But, just like every other sport currently plotting their returns, the possibility of a large outbreak of the virus raises important questions about whether or not the league can continue on.
Sam Kennedy, however, thinks MLB has the pieces in place to continue play in that scenario.
The president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday held a conference call with reporters, where he said he expects to see plenty of positive coronavirus tests across the league, and feels MLB has the resources to combat it, via Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe.
#RedSox President Sam Kennedy said they do expect positive Covid tests across he league but they believe they have the resources to be able to combat it.
— Julian McWilliams (@byJulianMack) June 24, 2020
“Baseball is exactly the right thing now for our country,” Kennedy said, via NBC Sports Boston’s Raul Martinez. “We have the most robust health and safety protocol in all of North American Sports.”
#RedSox president Sam Kennedy.
“Baseball is exactly the right thing now for our country.” He added "we have the most robust health and safety protocol in all of North American sports."
— Raul Martinez (@RaulNBCBoston) June 24, 2020
At least, things look optimistic for the Red Sox in Massachusetts, where numbers of new cases don’t match surging trends in other southern states.