League News: Cactus League Wants to Delay the Start of Spring Training
In a letter from the eight leaders of the Cactus League urge a delay start of Spring Traning. Welcome to baseball in a COVID-19 world.
Welcome to the guessing game of when Baseball will start Spring Training for the 2021 Season. As of now, things seem to be going according to schedule, with Pitchers and Catchers reporting next month. However, the question remains if Spring Training will start on time. Yesterday, according to KPNX in Phoenix, eight leaders of the Catucs league cities sent a letter to Major League Baseball stating it would be "wise" to delay the start of spring training due to a high rate of COVID-19 infections in Arizona's Maricopa County.
Major League Baseball responded later Monday via a prepared statement saying "As we have previously said publicly, we will continue to consult with public health authorities, medical experts, and the Players Association whether any schedule modifications to the announced start of Spring Training and the Championship Season should be made in light of the current COVID-19 environment to ensure the safety of the players, coaches, umpires, MLB employees and other game day personnel in a sport that plays every day."
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The Major League Players Association issued their own statement: "While we, of course, share the goals of a safe Spring Training and the regular season, MLB has repeatedly assured us that it has instructed its teams to be prepared for an on-time start to Spring Training and the Regular Season and we continue to devote all our efforts to making sure that that takes place as safely as possible."
The Major League Players Association also issued their own statement: "While we, of course, share the goals of a safe Spring Training and the regular season, MLB has repeatedly assured us that it has instructed its teams to be prepared for an on-time start to Spring Training and the Regular Season and we continue to devote all our efforts to making sure that that takes place as safely as possible."
The Cactus League serves as the spring training home for 15 teams -- Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland, Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
Spring training games are currently scheduled to begin on Feb. 27 in Arizona and in Florida, home of the Grapefruit League.
