I took a liking to the WNBA because of the players’ actions to address social and racial injustice. Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx has been my favorite player since she left the league in her prime to free a wrongly convicted man in Missouri.
It wasn’t until I watched the 2019 WNBA Finals that I actually developed an appreciation for the entertainment the league provided, however. I think in basketball, the men’s and women’s games have grown closer together when it comes to entertainment value provided. The NBA’s infatuation with the three-point shot has made the men’s and women’s games look more alike. Both of them are beautiful.
Baseball, meanwhile, has become an ugly game full of strikeouts and lacking action. The all-or-nothing baseball being played keeps runners off the bases and makes the game hard to watch. For that reason, and because regional sports networks (RSNs) couldn’t come to an agreement with Dish Network, I won’t be watching Major League Baseball this season. It’ll be the first time since 2005 that I haven’t at least started the season watching every Minnesota Twins game.
Since more than a third of the Miami Marlins’ active roster has tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19), we might not have Major League Baseball to watch for much longer. Games are already being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, four days into the 60-game MLB season. My best fantasy player contracted COVID-19 on Opening Day.
Major League Baseball ignored the recommendations of health experts, including the Director of the National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, to play its games in a bubble, or multiple bubbles, in places where COVID-19 cases are low. In the United States, however, finding a place with low COVID-19 capable of housing multiple baseball teams and hosting multiple baseball games is impossible.
MLB Spring Training facilities are located in Coronavirus hotspots: Florida and Arizona. Frankly, in the absence of a bubble or multiple bubbles, MLB teams located in cities with ample COVID-19 cases would be safer playing games in cities and stadiums of their minor league affiliates. If the MLB intends to continue traveling, traveling to areas where COVID-19 cases are low would make more sense than staying in metro areas where the risk of COVID-19 contraction is especially high.
The Marlins’ Minor League affiliates are located in New Orleans, Jacksonville, and Jupiter, Florida, so the safest place the Marlins could play most immediately is Clinton, Iowa. The Clinton LumberKings are the Marlins’ A-ball affiliate. Whether the NelsonCorp Field satisfies Major League Baseball regulations, I don’t know. But I do know if Major League Baseball intends to finish its 60-game season and 16-team postseason, sacrifices will have to be made. But as long as the NBA and WNBA bubbles don’t burst, I’ll be satisfied.
