Cody Glenn-USA TODAY Sports
Could there be Giants baseball in Oracle Park on the Fourth of July?
The newest leaked plan at least provides that glimmer of possibility, as unlikely as it sounds.
As far as the Giants are concerned, call it Plan Bay. The newest rumbling of a possible entry into the baseball season comes from USA Today, which cited three executives who described a scenario in which three divisions would be realigned geographically, play could start in late June or early July and — most interestingly — teams could play at their home major league ballparks.
Of course, there would not be fans in those ballparks — at least at first — but it would allow players to see families and be in familiar surroundings, which would have been a steeper hurdle to clear in previous versions of MLB plans that entailed large swaths of players being quarantined in Florida or Texas or Arizona.
The biggest hurdle of this plan may be the COVID-19 testing, which would need to be available to the public by then, thus making it less necessary for players to be in isolation. But if advancements are made, teams would only play opponents in their 10-team division. For the Giants, this would mean: the Dodgers, A’s, Angels, Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Rangers, Astros and Mariners. Travel would be significantly more manageable than an average season.
On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed his four stages toward reopening life again. The state is at Stage One, still working on testing and flattening the curve, and Stage Three involves sports without live audiences (also: personal care, movie theaters, in-person religious services). There is a long way to go — the Bay Area just extended its shelter-in-place provisions through the end of May. Undoubtedly, there is more optimism in MLB offices than in California state houses.
Still, hope! According to the report, there is optimism that MLB could squeeze in at least 100 regular-season games before an expanded playoff. If it’s ambitious, it’s also easier to envision getting the OK from the Players’ Association than previous incarnations to sneak in a season.