America’s favorite national pastime has yet to receive any confirmation for a date in which it may return, there MLB had begun to explore a wide range of ideas such as a move to Japan in efforts to get things back underway, but it appears many have been scrapped as the world begins to return to a level of normalcy. The NBA will be the first major sporting event to return to our screens as basketball is set to get underway again at the end of July, but what can baseball learn from other sporting events that are taking place across Europe?
The first lesson will be that a safe return to regular play is entirely possible – as long as strict testing measures and a controlled return are put into place, risks can be minimized as it has already been successful in both Germany and now the UK as football is once again underway. It seems much of the delay in the MLB has been around what decisions to make around just how teams may return, but looking abroad may provide all of the answers needed.
It’s also important to look at conduct on how to handle events such as broadcasting and fan attendance, which is something the MLB may be able to look closer to home for – NASCAR and the UFC have already managed to hold a number of successful events within the US without fans in attendance whilst also overcoming the broadcasting restrictions that may come with such events, of course a large part of these spectator sports are within the fans who attend, but in order to get things back on track some sacrifices need to be made.
There are many benefits to getting things back on track too, especially as an economic recovery is highly sought after – despite changes to regulation in the UK intended on preventing participation through an initiative called gamstop, there are a rapid growing number of betting sites not participating in the scheme here that have become incredibly popular and have in large part been a big help in the sporting recovery.
There have been nods toward a deal being perhaps closer than some may think, but this also comes after a statement was made opposing a previous sentiment that the season would be completed – as recently as just a few weeks ago it had been suggested that games could begin on July 4th but this sentiment has also changed. As many lessons that can be learned from successful events, there are just as many to be learned from the unsuccessful ones too – too much of a delay before a decision is made could lead to the entire season being scrapped as has been seen through some soccer leagues for example, now may be a crucial time for a date to be set and stuck too, as if it is delayed then the outcome at this point will likely be an inevitability.