MLB asked to delay start of spring training by Cactus League
Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst.
For weeks, that's been the outlook of choice from the White Sox and the Cubs in regards to spring training opening as scheduled in mid-February.
"Right now, we're treating it as everything's on time," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Jan. 15 after signing all-star closer Liam Hendriks. "Those are the marching orders, guys are preparing as normal and until something changes, until we get a different order, we're planning on being there roughly a month from now.
"I think the 17th (of February) is our pitchers and catchers report date. Look, we're living in unpredictable times. Even if I said I had 100% certainty, that essentially would be meaningless because the virus could well throw us a curve at some point that we all have to adjust to."
On Monday, COVID-19 threw a nasty curveball that threatens to delay the start of camps in Arizona.
The White Sox train in Glendale and the Cubs train in Mesa.
Cactus League leaders wrote a letter to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred requesting spring training be pushed back due to a high infection rate in Arizona.
"In view of the current state of the pandemic in Maricopa County, with one of the nation's highest infection rates, we believe it is wise to delay the start of spring training to allow for the COVID-19 situation here," stated the letter, which was signed by Cactus League executive director Bridget Binsbacher and multiple local mayors.
"This position is based on public data from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which projects a sharp decline in infections in Arizona by mid-March."
The Cubs and White Sox are scheduled to play each other March 29 and 30 in Mesa to wrap up Cactus League play, but those dates are now in obvious jeopardy.
Last year, the Cactus League and Grapefruit League in Florida were both halted by the coronavirus pandemic March 12.
After a lengthy shutdown, MLB teams wound up having three-week summer training camps at their home stadiums before starting a 60-game regular season in late July.