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.

How House Democrats’ ‘deterrence message’ on Trump jobs could backfire

Outrage Erupts Over Minnesota Election Official’s Message on ‘Somali TV’: Doesn’t This Mean Illegals Can Easily Vote?

Pollster Who Predicted Clinton Landslide Against Trump Says GOP Can Still Win Midterms: ‘Lot of Winning Combinations’

Veteran Dem operative says subpar GOP candidates poised to hand over Senate majority

Trump prosecutions under Biden set precedent for DOJ’s Alaska ‘Decoy Dan’ probe, ex-FEC chair says

Biden Propaganda Exposed?: Arrested ‘Shadow Gov’t’ Ex-FBI Official May Have Helped NBC Bury the Hunter Biden Laptop Story

Surface-to-Air Missile System Deployed at Mar-a-Lago: ‘Heightened Threat Environment’

Major US children’s hospital opens historic detransition clinic after $10M legal showdown

El Sayed asks Haley Stevens to stay away from campaign events in dramatic 11th-hour feud escalation

Why the Ilhan Omar saga isn’t going away

Christian group touts ‘ethical’ tech features as concerns over out-of-control AI tools persist

CodePink leader adds muscle to well-funded fight to ban restaurant delicacy

How to follow 2026 Election Day coverage on Fox News platforms

Tinder killer who believed he was a warlock said he ‘picked the wrong person’ after murdering woman

Virginia’s Dem AG Calls AR-15 Rifles ‘Machine Guns’ in Stunningly Ignorant Brief to SCOTUS

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.”