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P.O. Sox: Are the White Sox finished this winter? Can the league get started?
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About the Cactus league being delayed. I could see the teams saying ‘no league’ and just have their camps. The Cactus League itself sent the letter, and wants a delay, not elimination. Other sports are hosting fans in AZ. This looks more to be about realizing there will be little travel, and if there are ticket sites sales for Cactus League games, it will be very little. So the Cactus League itself is probably looking at losing quite a bit of money.
With a two-tiered spring training approach (MLB and AAA, followed by lower levels), one thought I had was saving the Arizona and Florida facilities for cold-weather teams, with others using the alternate training site model. Normally the White Sox and Dodgers share Camelback Ranch, but in the interest of safety and distancing, can the Dodgers split their camps between Dodger Stadium and Rancho Cucamonga like they’d planned to last year?
That’s an interesting idea. How many teams would that apply to (that are in warm enough areas that they could use their normal facilities? I’m counting like nine maybe?
Warm-weather: Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Angels, Athletics, Giants, Padres, Rangers.
Cold-weather: Cubs, White Sox, Reds, Indians, Rockies, Royals, Brewers*, Mariners*
The asterisk denotes teams with retractable roofs, and whether they’re suitable for February action, or whether the grounds crew needs the month-plus to prepare the field.
I just googled MLB and british variant, and no articles of relevance have popped up to my surprise. While there is uncertainty to the extent that it is more contagious (between 20 and 70), I hope the owners and MLBPA are considering the bubble approach. Last year’s model was a success in my opinion, but will prove ineffective with a more infectious variant.