Major League Baseball has run into loads of trouble with COVID-19 in the first three weeks of its 2020 season. The sport might have a solution, after seeing what many pro leagues in North America have pulled off.
MLB is considering holding the 2020 playoffs in multiple bubble cities to limit travel and the potential spread of the coronavirus during a critical time in the sport’s schedule, ESPN and the Los Angeles Times reported.
The NBA, NHL, WNBA and Major League Soccer are the most prominent leagues to house their teams and compete at one or two central locations this year. ESPN’s Jeff Passan said that the idea of holding baseball playoff games in two bubble cities, a la the NHL in the Canadian hubs of Toronto and Edmonton, is “gaining traction.”
The NHL, NBA and WNBA have not reported any cases of the virus for weeks since arriving in their respective bubbles. MLS overcame some early outbreaks and have not reported any new cases for some time, as well.
MLB, while playing just a 60-game, geographically aligned schedule, has tried to go about its business as usual with teams traveling between markets. The Miami Marlins missed a week of their schedule early in the season due to a COVID-19 outbreak, and several games had to be postponed till later in the year.
Now the St. Louis Cardinals are in the midst of an outbreak that’s sidelined them for two weeks. They last played July 29.
MLB will have 16 teams in the playoffs this year instead of the usual 10.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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