Coronavirus and the 2020 Season (Season Postponed, pg3)

[Leroy]

Maybe he could get Brian Barton to fly him somewhere.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

Ex-MLB player finishes medical school, primes to fight virus

NEW YORK (AP) -- If he wanted, Mark Hamilton could show off his World Series ring at work.

But the fill-in first baseman for the 2011 champion St. Louis Cardinals prefers to keep that prize safe at home.

''The surgical scrub tub, not the most conducive place to wear it,'' Hamilton said.

On Friday, under an accelerated schedule prompted by dire circumstances, the former big leaguer is set to graduate a month early from medical school on Long Island.

Next stop for the rookie doc, the first-hand fight against the coronavirus pandemic in one of the world's hardest-hit areas.

''I could get the call tomorrow, that it's time to go in,'' Hamilton said this week. ''I have had an incredible journey to becoming a doctor over the last four years, and not once did I think that I would find myself entering the field in a time like this.''

''Over both my careers, it's the same thing. You've got a job to do, you're needed, do them to the best of your ability,'' he said.

The 35-year-old Hamilton spent the first half of the 2011 season with the Cardinals. He subbed for slugger Albert Pujols a few times and even got a winning hit that ultimately helped St. Louis squeeze into the playoffs by one game.

The left-handed hitter who played 47 games in the majors will join another lineup once he leaves the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

https://sports.yahoo.com/ex-mlb-player- ... --mlb.html

He's 2 years younger than me, and has already been a professional baseball player for 9 years and a [expletive] doctor.

[JoeMcKim]

Why not Tropicana? They are already well suited for social distancing fans.

No matter if I read a similar post on reddit, youtube or other place someone has to make the same Rays lack of attendance joke. Not complaining, just pointing that out.

[heyzeus]

Mark Hamilton! That's a guy. Pretty awesome that he's a doctor now.

[JoeMcKim]

Not really baseball related but it's coronavirus and sports restarting related.

[pioneer98]

I am ready for empty stadium games if they can figure out how to make it so the players, coaches, umps and their families don't go insane.

[Jocephus]

MLB released a statement Tuesday saying that while they have discussed various contingency plans for the season, they haven't settled on one particular option or a detailed plan.

The statement was released in response to a report from Jeff Passan of ESPN which suggested that play could begin as soon as May with all teams operating out of Arizona. MLB acknowledged Tuesday that playing all games in a centralized location is on the table as an option. However, they haven't "sought or received approval of any plan from federal, state, and local officials, or the Players Association." Furthermore, MLB emphasized that they don't plan to start the season until it's safe enough to do so. In the end, it sounds like the scenario floated in Passan's report is just one of many being discussed.
Source: MLB Communications on Twitter
Apr 7, 2020, 10:59 AM ET

[heyzeus]

I mean, let's be honest. Most states, under current models, are hitting their peak (measured in terms of hospitalizations) in late April/early May, and that assumes proper social distancing protocols. In May, we should be on the downward slope as long as those protocols are still in place. If they're not, the curve resumes growth.

May baseball is a pipe dream. A beautiful, cruel pipe dream.

[Jocephus]

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Major League Baseball is considering doing away with the American and National Leagues for the 2020 season.

It's just one of several scenarios that the league and the players' association is discussing. The idea would be to split the 30 teams between Arizona and Florida based on the geography of their spring training sites, constructing realigned Cactus League and Grapefruit League divisions during what would be an abbreviated season. Nightengale says that the designated hitter "would likely be universally implemented" under this scenario and that two more Wild Card teams could be added or they could possibly have a postseason tournament with all 30 teams. Like the proposed "Arizona Plan," this is just one idea that's being kicked around, as it doesn't appear anything is close to being decided.
Source: USA Today
Apr 10, 2020, 8:59 AM ET

[Radbird]

Here’s more...

Cards-Cubbies Fall Classic, anyone?