Rozner: Steve Stone says baseball in Arizona could work

• First in a series

Steve Stone has been having himself quite the time on Twitter lately.

As good a color analyst as has ever set foot in a baseball broadcast booth — for which he should someday reach the Hall of Fame — Stone is never shy with his opinions and has yet to meet an argument he didn't enjoy.

But in a recent tweet, all he mentioned was that he was “encouraged to hear the latest about resuming the game in AZ. It's beautiful down here.”

Seems innocuous enough.

He then mentioned a 73 he shot at Scottsdale's Silverado Golf Club, before continuing with baseball, writing, “I like the idea of all 30 teams playing within 50 miles. Safety first. The logistics are tough but it can be done.”

He did not wish death upon the American people, nor did he suggest MLB would soon begin play in the Valley.

His words, strangely, speak for themselves. But Twitter being Twitter, a brawl erupted.

“People on Twitter were apoplectic,” Stone said with a laugh. “Look, we all know the game has to start again and we would like it if everyone was involved, especially the fans.

“But people were taking shots at me like I was saying, ‘It's a slam dunk. Let's go.' Not what I said.

“I have all the same concerns as most people. How do you do this safely? You're going to quarantine players for four months without their families? I can't see them going for that.

“Sequestered in hotels like everyone's in witness protection? I don't think that's ideal. But the last thing you need is anyone getting sick.

“Empty stadiums? That solves one aspect, but players are very close to each other.”

Like the batter, catcher and umpire. Like pickoff plays. Like locker rooms. Like trainers and players. And on and on and on.

“There are a lot of problems with this idea,” Stone said. “This was floated as an idea. It's just an idea. For all of the people who say you can't do this, what's your idea?

“The commissioner, the owners, the union and the players all have one goal. They want baseball back.”

And it's not just to save the world from boredom.

“Yes, they're baseball people, but I have tried to explain to people that this is a profit-making business. It's not a public utility,” Stone said. “Baseball is interested in making money. So is every one of us. So is the mom-and-pop restaurant in your neighborhood.

“Baseball is a huge, profit-making business. That is not a crime. That is to be envied in a capitalist society, which this is, and we want baseball to be as healthy as possible.”

That can't happen without games, without TV money, without fans in the stands. Those games, by the way, also provide thousands of jobs to those who don't work directly in baseball.

“All of these people making decisions are parents and grandparents, and they have parents and kids and grandkids they're worried about. Don't you think they're thinking about them?” Stone asked rhetorically. “Of course they're worried and they don't want to do anything unless it's as safe as humanly possible.

“If they do this and there's one positive case in a locker room, that shuts down that team. Baseball can't afford to see that happen.

“I don't know what the answer is. I know they're looking for answers. We all hope it's sooner rather than later.

“But people also have to understand we want to beat this (virus) and have an economy to come back to when we do.

“Health is No. 1, but within a framework we will find a way to resurrect the game. There is no ideal situation. If it's Arizona with limitations, so be it.”

Stone also remembered his promotion to Triple-A Phoenix while in the Giants' organization and pitching in the desert heat amid the worst of summer.

“It was the third week in July and I wound up with a 1.71 ERA, and because of that I made it to the big leagues,” Stone said. “It was 107 degrees at 8 p.m.

“So what? It's baseball and I loved it. I had no problem because I was in really good shape.

“If they do that and implement this idea in Arizona, how do they do it safely? If they can't find a way, they won't do it.”

What you have to understand is that the commissioner, the owners and the players are having dozens, maybe hundreds of conversations a week about every imaginable idea.

The Arizona plan — like the Cactus and Grapefruit idea leaked Friday — just happens to be one that got served up to the media.

“They are throwing everything at the wall that anyone has ever thought of and seeing what sticks. It doesn't mean it's the law,” Stone laughed. “It's one idea.

“This is the computer age, but you can't play baseball on a computer. You can play fantasy baseball on a computer, but not if there are no games being played on a field. You still need people playing the sport.

“We need the game and we need to rebuild our economy, but there's a lot that has to happen before we get to that.”

Good luck explaining that in a tweet.

• Next: Steve Stone discusses expansion and realignment in MLB.