Major League Baseball has been pulled out of the game and is now sitting on the bench waiting to get back.
Concerns over the coronavirus and medical recommendations have pushed back Opening Day by two weeks. The season will tentatively resume March 26, and all thirty teams are slated to play.
Over the past 26 years, there have only been two events that have stopped baseball-the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks and the 1994-95 baseball strike.
The World Trade Center attacks led Commissioner Bud Selig to cancel all evening games. Initially, Selig canceled all games for a day. The postponement grew to three days and then ultimately six days.
Players went on strike during the 1994-95 season. The Players Association decided to strike over salary cap disputes, and the last baseball games were played on Aug. 11, 1994. The 1994 season died, and baseball did not resume until April 25, 1995, when the Florida Marlins played host to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This strike, like the coronavirus delay, did not affect just baseball players, but ballpark workers. Umpires, camera crewmen, ticket takers, ticket sellers, kids-zone employees, ushers, stockers, parking lot attendants, grounds crewmen, porters, matrons, security, concession stand workers, cooks, suite servers, janitors, food cart workers and many more people help complete the game.
History has shown that baseball has always, eventually, come back strong after a disruption to the season. I am holding hope that the season will continue and people will be able to work again to support themselves and their families.
Baseball is my favorite sport, and one reason why I like it so much is that it has a rich, interesting history. My main concern is that the entire 2020 season will become a wash due to COVID-19, thus no World Series.
If we can follow the health guidelines and the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then we can do our part in helping others in getting back to work to support themselves-including professional baseball players and ballpark workers.
Even in college and high school sports, so many event volunteers and workers tend to receive little to no praise. Maybe you don't think that you should praise these workers; well, that is fine. I believe at the least, we can show these volunteers and workers some respect during the events. We can have positive attitudes and remember that they are people, too.
An umpire is not a person who just enforces the rules of a game. An umpire is a person with friends, family and a job to do. A concession stand worker is not just someone who hands you a hot dog. He or she has feelings and emotions just like any other person.
The postponement of sports due to the coronavirus has opened my eyes to the struggles of the workers and volunteers. I always try to be nice when I go get a snack at the concession stand. I say please and thank you. I try to smile.
I know there are many negative things about the COVID-19, but I firmly believe that we can find some positive aspects relating to the outbreak as well - even in baseball.