Apr 4, 2019; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Mets pitcher Daniel Zamora (40) delivers a pitch against the Pawtucket Red Sox during the eighth inning at NBT Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
All baseball fans have been talking about is how coronavirus has impacted the MLB. What nobody is talking about is how coronavirus is going to affect the minor leagues, and how their season is at even more risk.
If major league teams end up playing their seasons in Arizona and Florida, minor league teams would have to do the same. Them doing that would be a huge mess with all the different leagues and levels of ball. Hundreds of fields would have to be used for minor league seasons, and some low-level leagues would possibly have to play on high school fields.
In terms of money, minor league teams don’t have a lot of that sitting around. They would need to spend a lot of money making a season happen down south while likely losing money. Teams rely on fans in the stands, as minor league games are rarely televised. If they are televised, they are so locally. Teams don’t have massive TV deals to rake in income. Major league teams would be able to help minor league teams a little bit, but if no fans can attend, they too will be losing a lot of money. Each organization would have to help fund at least six minor league teams.
So, if fans can’t be in the stands, then I can’t see a minor league season happening. As much as I know players want to play, it might not be economically doable for most teams, especially low-level teams. If teams can barely afford to put their players up in motels for road trips, how are they going to find money to put up players for four or five months in the south? Plus, players don’t make nearly enough money anyway and will have to be completely away from their families for months.
A minor league season is just not going to happen unless they can put fans in the stands. From what we’ve heard, it’s unlikely, but not impossible that fans don’t attend games for the rest of 2020. League officials won’t know more for a few weeks, and then they will go from there. The virus is reaching its apex, so hopefully, the situation will be better soon.
This post was published on 2020-04-13 15:55
