MLB Discussing Playing All Games In Phoenix, Arizona Amid Coronavirus

Putting all 30 teams in the Phoenix area and playing in empty ballparks was among the ideas discussed Monday by Major League Baseball and the players’ association.

The sides held a telephone call to talk about paths forward for a season delayed by the new coronavirus pandemic, people familiar with the discussion told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.

Ideas are still in the early stage, and the Arizona option would have many obstacles to overcome, the people said.

Putting all 30 teams in the Phoenix area and playing in empty ballparks was among the ideas discussed Monday by Major League Baseball and the players’ association.

Ideas are still in the early stage, and the Arizona option would have many obstacles to overcome, the people said.

Half of the MLB clubs hold spring training in Arizona, the other half in Florida.

Walz urges Noem to ‘reassess’ immigration enforcement strategy in Minnesota after alleged citizen arrests

Obama surprises Chicago students in Santa hat for holiday library storytime reading session

Charity Group Begs Trump for a ‘Christmas Miracle’ After USPS Rejects Hundreds of Care Packages Meant for Overseas Troops

Watch: Trump Drives a Stake Through the Heart of Fake News That He’s Ticked at Hegseth and Noem

Moderate Republicans buck leadership with bid to force vote on Obamacare subsidies as premium cliff looms

Burgum calls California a ‘national security risk’ as Energy chief warns blue states are skewing cost averages

Walz says he would ‘welcome more’ Somalis as fraud investigation intensifies

New Polling Puts Trump in Landslide Lead When It Comes to the Economy, Defying Democrats’ Biggest Mid-Term Narrative

Missing Virginia coach Travis Turner fuels tense school board meeting as judge seals case records: report

Trump tells Mexico to fix cross-border sewage problem flowing into US communities ‘IMMEDIATELY’

It Appears Jasmine Crockett Just Fell for a Trap Set by the Republican Senatorial Committee

Florida man allegedly crashes stolen BMW, gives bizarre explanation to deputies: ‘I teleported’

‘He had years to stop this’: GOP lawmakers blast Walz over massive Minnesota fraud scheme

The most googled people in US for 2025

Judge Boasberg seeks testimony from DOJ ‘whistleblower’ in criminal contempt inquiry

Arizona’s advantage is 10 spring training ballparks plus the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field all within about 50 miles. Florida’s spring training ballparks are spread by as much as 220 miles.

“It allows for immediacy of a schedule, where you might be able to begin it and televise it, provide Major League Baseball to America,” said Scott Boras, baseball’s most prominent agent. “I think players are willing to do what’s necessary because I think they understand the importance of baseball for their own livelihoods and for the interest of our country and providing a necessary product that gives all the people that are isolated enjoyment.”

“It gives them a sense of a return to some normalcy,” Boras added. “You talk to a psychologist about it and they say it’s it’s really good for a culture to have to have sport and to have a focus like that, where for a few hours a day they can take their minds off the difficult reality of the virus.”

Baseball’s season had been set to start March 26 but spring training was halted on March 12. After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended restricting events of more than 50 people for eight weeks, MLB said it would not open until mid-May at the earliest.

Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels said MLB is examining different options and he didn’t want to speculate.

“But, obviously, we’d all love to find a way to play, provided we could do safely, and that would be the priority,” he said.

The players’ association would want to survey its members to determine whether they would support such a plan, one of the people said.

“You’re going to be largely separated from your families and you’re going to have to function in a very contained way. It’s not it’s not a normal life, this idea,” Boras said. “You’re going to have an identified group of people. You’re going to have a constantly tested group of people. And you’re going to have a very limited access of those people to the outside world so that you can assure a very uncontaminated league, if you will, to produce a product that is inspirational to our country.”