Cubs manager David Ross said Monday that a championship this year would mean as much as any other year.
“If you hand out a trophy, I want it,” he said.
And he will have earned it. And then some. When Major League Baseball distributes trophies in late October, Ross should definitely get one – along with Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, Paul Goldschmidt, Tim Anderson, Max Scherzer, Tommy La Stella, and everyone else in baseball.
MORE: Cubs manager David Ross: “If you hand out a trophy, I want it.”
Because when baseball closes this micro season with 60 games and one month of playoffs, every star, banker and assistant coach of each team – every 3 1/2 months the best behavior of the weakest link of each team in its self-discipline chain – is needed for the sustainable, sustainable Season that will produce a 2020 trophy.
Doom and darkness? Or aspirations worthy of ants and rubber trees?
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In either case, it’s almost impossible to ignore how much challenge has increased in the past week or two as COVID-19 has seen record numbers of new cases in Florida, Texas, and Arizona – home to five of the 30 MLB- Teams and a disproportionate number of players from across the league.
And why would it be such an achievement to end the season?
At least four players are reported to have decided against playing on Monday, many because of concerns related to COVID-19, but at least one – two-time rock star all-star Ian Desmond – for a number of warm, heartbreaking reasons, not only the pandemic, but also the emotions associated with the murder of George Floyd by the police in Minneapolis and the systemic racism in baseball from the league hierarchy to the clubhouses.
As players travel from – and in many cases – to some of the hottest COVID-19 hotspots in the country this week, it is becoming increasingly clear that the health challenges alone make baseball pandemic baseball seem more daunting than the NBA’s blister-packed playoffs.
“Certainly, as this plan evolves, you watch the news and read and you see that in some states where we have a lot of baseball teams and a lot of players live there are more and more cases,” said the general manager from Cubs said Jed Hoyer. “And we were concerned about that.”
Admission tests across the league have barely begun, and the Phillies started two weeks ago with at least 12 reported coronavirus cases with their players and staff. A handful of other MLB players, including Rockies star Charlie Blackmon, have been reported to be infected. and on Monday, the Cubs reported that two tier 1 employees (who had the closest contact with players) would not start on time with the team this week due to the recent positive tests.
“We hope that all the logs can protect people when they are here. Some are tests and strict protocols, others are behavior, ”said Hoyer.
“There will be positive tests. There’s no way around it. We have too many players in the league. … But we have to do everything we can to avoid the type of outbreaks that are currently occurring in certain countries. “
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Big league players and employees seem to be open-minded about the risks, and unlike college football players, for example, they have a strong union that represents their interests and the freedom to work with the support of colleagues and, like Hoyer, unsubscribe, teams.
Ross and Hoyer emphasized plans for constant news about the new and inconvenient security protocols that players must adhere to for the best results – from mask requirements and distance, to spitting bans and high fives.
“Trust” in guidelines for best practices out of the field – both encouraged and required – is critical to prevent a player or team member from potentially causing an outbreak that weakens the league.
“I try to be as optimistic as possible about this whole situation,” said Hoyer when asked about doubts whether a season could actually be completed. “I think we will face challenges. I don’t think that’s a question. You would be naive to believe that there will be no difficult moments.
“But at the same time, if you read the manual and see how many scientists and doctors have weighed in and how thoroughly they try to deal with the test protocols, we will really have baseball on the field soon, and I think we should everyone is happy about it. And I definitely hope that nothing prevents it. “
Ross is certainly right on one point: a championship this season will be just as important for all these challenges as in any other year.
Under these circumstances, playing a World Series could prove to be the greatest group achievement in baseball history.
And that’s why everyone in the game should get a trophy if they can. Call it a participation trophy if you want – but name it as earned and deserved as any trophy ever awarded by a baseball commissioner.
And even this commissioner can call it what he wants – as long as he describes it at least as a piece of courage this time.
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