MLB optimistic of 'healing' May resumption

In an interview with ESPN ahead of what would have been Major League Baseball's Opening Day on March 27, commissioner Rob Manfred vowed the game will be a catalyst for North America's healing from the coronavirus pandemic.

"The one thing I know for sure is baseball will be back," Manfred said in New York. "Whenever it's safe to play, we'll be back. Our fans will be back, our players will be back, and we'll be part of the recovery, the healing in this country."

As for when the season might launch, the commissioner said MLB is consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and a number of infectious disease specialists for advice on how to get back on the field.

"My optimistic outlook is that at some point in May, we'll be gearing back up," Manfred said.

"We'll have to make a determination, depending on what the precise date is, as to how much of a preparation period we need; whether that preparation period is going to be done in the clubs' home cities or back in Florida and Arizona.

"I think the goal would be to get to as many regular-season games as possible, and think creatively about how we can accomplish that goal."

While declining to suggest specific schedule limits, Manfred said MLB "needs to have a regular season with a credible number of games, as well as a postseason format that provides the most entertaining product possible."

"I think that the exact number that we'll see as reasonable is going to depend on when we get the go-ahead to play," said the commissioner.

"I don't have some absolute number in my mind that's a make-or-break. I think we have to evaluate the situation. I also think that we need to be creative in terms of what the schedule looks like, what the postseason format looks like.

"Obviously, our fans love a 162-game season and the postseason format that we have; we're probably not going to be able to do that this year, I think that's clear.

"It does give us an opportunity to do some different things, to experiment, and to make sure that we provide as many games as possible and as entertaining a product as possible."

Playing games in front of empty ballparks is not out of the question, but is an option Manfred would prefer to avoid.

"Fans are crucial to baseball as we know it," he said. "The fan experience is very, very important; it's part of the entertainment. We've seen it once with a game in Baltimore where we played empty; it's a very different experience. Obviously, our preference would be to play with fans."

When baseball finally returns, Manfred thinks the games will serve as "a real milestone in the return to normalcy".

"I think you saw it after 9/11 in terms of the resumption of play," he said. "I was there in Shea Stadium that night that we began playing (again in New York); it was one of the most memorable games I've ever attended.

"It's an honor for our sport to be regarded in a way that we have been part of America coming back from some horrific events. We hope that we can play a similar role with respect to this one."

Meanwhile, in a 45-minute conference call with members of the media across North America, Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, addressed the growing apprehension as the COVID-19 toll continues to rise in the US and Canada.

"The players understand the gravity of the pandemic," he said, especially the "hardships in and out of the game" endured by millions and the "extraordinary measures" being applied by those in the public health and safety fields.

As to what measures the players would approve in order to salvage the season, Clark said: "The players want to play. That's what they do."

Could that include playing in empty ballparks?

"They are willing to do so, so much so that they wanted to make sure that it was one of the factors around us, looking at potential schedules and what that might look like," Clark told Yahoo! Sports.

"The guys think that playing in front of empty stadiums is not ideal, but with fans watching on TV they can play and perform and compete like normal."