Opinion: MLB is up next and must take immediate action in face of coronavirus crisis
PEORIA, Ariz. –  Global pandemics don’t afford the luxury of peering too far into the future. As the coronavirus spread around the world and slowly punctured the bubble of spring training that precariously shielded Major League Baseball, the concept of time shifted.
The threat posed by COVID-19 was first measured in weeks, and then days. As cases and casualties rose, however, the clock accelerated, until the disruptions and developments came by the hour, with at least two teams – the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics – already forced out of their home cities to start the season.
And then Rudy Gobert happened.
And just like that, MLB lost the luxury of slow-playing its coronavirus response.
Oh, we don’t mean to dismiss the logistics mania that surely has engulfed its New York headquarters, and the front offices of teams scrambling to stay ahead of this lightning-fast scourge. Since baseball’s regular season had not yet commenced, a measured approach was appropriate.
But the suspension of the NBA season after the Utah Jazz’s Gobert tested positive for coronavirus changes everything.
MLB:Â Mariners home games moved due to virus
NBA: Season shuts down after Rudy Gobert tests positive
It really doesn’t matter the likelihood of fans transmitting the virus in major league stadiums, or players passing it through their population in the tight quarters of their clubhouses. Perception is reality, and right now, reality says the NBA got caught flat-footed by this pandemic.
Had their owners and governing body reached consensus on either booting fans out of arenas or suspending the season before Wednesday night’s bizarre and ultimately historic chain of events played out in Oklahoma City, they would have been lauded for staying a step ahead of it.
In fairness, they were just a half-step too slow, but will pay a price for exposing fans to the virus.
Now, baseball is on the clock.
There are exactly two weeks left before Opening Day, most of which will feature exhibition games playing out in Florida and Arizona. For as little as we still know about this pandemic, is it really worth it to expose fans to meaningless baseball amid populations that skew heavily toward the most vulnerable – senior citizens?
