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Hello and happy Monday.
The coronavirus is at its lowest point in America right now, but for better — and definitely for worse — it hasn’t really slowed down sports. The NBA is two weeks into a new, traveling season, and the NFL just wrapped up the regular season last night, with playoffs beginning in a matter of days.
Soon it will be baseball’s turn. We’re less than three months away from the proposed Opening Day for the San Francisco Giants and the other 29 teams. Which means we’re only weeks away from when pitchers and catchers should be reporting, and Spring Training can get underway proper.
And while it’s unclear how the league plans to handle the pandemic in 2021, and the changing health and safety landscape, the plan is to go ahead as normal.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, everyone is preparing for a normal year — or at least normal in terms
“As we’ve made clear to the league on multiple occasions, we expect Spring Training and the Regular Season to start on time and as scheduled, consistent with our CBA,” the Players Association said in a statement. “The league does not have the authority or legal basis to unilaterally delay or shorten the schedule without Players’ consent. While there will continue to be challenges, our Players have proven they can safely play a season under difficult circumstances, as have the other sports. The Commissioner’s Office has assured us that they have instructed the Clubs to prepare for an on time start.”
Fingers crossed, not for a normal MLB season, but for a safe and responsible one.
Old, random MCC article for you to read
2018 was bearable because of Dereck Rodriguez (Oct. 22, 2018 — Carmen Kiew)
Giants links
- Jeff Young checks in on the Giants offseason and offers up a progress report for the team (Around the Foghorn)
- Andy McCullough has a New Year’s resolution for each team in baseball (The Athletic, subscription required)
- Jeff Young finds three left-handed infielders that the Giants could potentially target (Around the Foghorn)
- Jessica Kleinschmidt on how Bruce Bochy isn’t closing the door on managing again (NBC Sports Bay Area)
How many days until Opening Day?
There are 87 days until Opening Day. Assuming that things actually do start on time.
Have a terrific Monday, folks.