Don’t break your coronavirus quarantine and book a $12 one-way flight to Phoenix just yet.
Major League Baseball released a statement on Tuesday addressing reports about a proposed restart of the season in Arizona.
“MLB has been actively considering numerous contingency plans that would allow play to commence once the public health situation has improved to the point that it is safe to do so,” the league said in the statement. “While we have discussed the idea of staging games at one location as one potential option, we have not settled on that option or developed a detailed plan.”
Despite the statement, reports from ESPN and AP on Monday emerged detailing an Arizona-only relaunch that was viewed as the ideal solution by multiple parties towards bringing baseball back as soon as possible during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“High-ranking federal public health officials” believed the league could safely resume play and relaunch the season, so long as players and sporting staff were quarantined within the area and restrict their travel to and from the handful of ballparks in the area, according to ESPN. The idea was “embraced” by both MLB and union leaders.
However, Tuesday’s statement emphasized the importance of maintaining public safety as “paramount.”
“While we continue to interact regularly with governmental and public health officials, we have not sought or received approval of any plan from federal, state and local officials, or the Players Association,” the statement read. “The health and safety of our employees, players, fans and the public at large are paramount, and we are not ready at this time to endorse any particular format for staging games in light of the rapidly changing public health situation caused by the coronavirus.”
The ongoing spread of the coronavirus, which has reached over 367,000 confirmed cases in the United States, has left most American sports on pause.
