Want baseball back? Wear your mask

Bill Shanks pleads with you to wear your masks

Baseball is in trouble.

That’s not a shocking statement anymore, is it? But with the Player’s Association set to vote on the owner’s proposal sometime this weekend, and with the COVID-19 numbers on the rise and now infiltrating into sports by the day, we need to face the true reality that baseball may not be played in 2020.

A senior MLB official tells me the virus is a “much bigger threat” to the season than the labor battle. They’re carrying on with the plan to have teams in their home ballparks, but recognize it could all fall apart quickly.

— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) June 20, 2020

In a way, the increasing virus numbers may play into the owners’ hands. It’s obvious, they want fewer games so they will not have to pay the players as much. So, if the stall and delay tactics continue by Rob Manfred, perhaps while the players are getting prepared for a season, the virus numbers rise to the point of it not being realistic to even have a season without fans.

The Braves have had their camp at North Port closed. No players have been there working out. So, to see teams like the Phillies have players at camp and to then find out those players tested positive is concerning.

We are seeing it in college sports, as well. It was inevitable that as kids gathered together and were tested regularly, the numbers would go up.

But look at the state numbers in Georgia for positive COVID-19 cases since June 1:

1-Jun 836
2-Jun 308
3-Jun 687
4-Jun 953
5-Jun 774
6-Jun 688
7-Jun 589
8-Jun 599
9-Jun 752
10-Jun 731
11-Jun 993
12-Jun 810
13-Jun 1018
14-Jun 880
15-Jun 733
16-Jun 664
17-Jun 952
18-Jun 882
19-Jun 1097
20-Jun 1800

That’s right. There were 1800 new cases on Saturday in the state of Georgia. There may be reasons for that spike, but we don’t need to get lost in the details to be honest. If these numbers continue to rise in Georgia and other states, the players and the owners will have the decision to play or not to play made for them.

So, wear your mask. Please. Wear your mask.