A New Routine

[Nick Nelson]

There are many things I love about baseball. But high on that list is the routine. The reliability.

 

Training camps mark the passage of winter to spring. Then the season starts and all summer long, there are games to look forward to every night. Sunday afternoons spent watching daytime baseball in a sun-soaked living room are a cherished ritual.

 

So the weeks ahead will be jarring and kinda somber. But it's on us all to make the best of it.Major League Baseball's season will not start as planned. Given the scope and gravity of COVID-19, there's a good chance it'll be a long while before normalcy returns. In the wake of a CDC recommendation that all gatherings of 50-plus people in the next eight weeks be canceled or postponed, any regular-season action prior to June is essentially a pipe dream.

 

I myself have become a creature of routine where the Twins are concerned, not just in terms of viewing and attendance habits but also writing and conversing. As the reality of what lies ahead sets in, I find myself wondering: What am I gonna write about? What will we talk about here on a daily basis?

 

I can promise you this much: we'll find stuff. One thing I know is that we'll be covering every unfolding development, regarding Major League Baseball in general but especially the Twins, throughout the absence of games. Even while the season hangs in hiatus, there will still be news emerging regularly, and we're committed to keeping you all posted in real-time.

 

Beyond that, I'm open-minded. Here are a few ideas we might explore to establish new routines while we await the return of baseball.

• Playing Our Own Seasons. The top baseball video game, MLB: The Show, drops its new edition for PlayStation 4 on Tuesday. A series of stories chronicling a fictional Twins season, with interactive elements to let readers guide decision-making, could be fun. Computer baseball sims like OOTP offer similar dynamics.
• Business As Usual. We're not usually short on content and creative angles around here, even during the slowest stretches of the baseball calendar. There are plenty of informative and entertaining pieces already in the pipeline, and I have no doubts regarding the ability of our writers to generate a steady stream of fun ideas. For my part, I'll be forging ahead with my ongoing Position Analysis series (right field coming Monday night!).
• Historical Retrospectives. There's no shortage of lookback topics worth tackling. For example, I had a lot of fun putting together this list of the top 10 moments in the first 10 years at Target Field. How else might we examine the past and relive classic moments in efforts to scratch our baseball itch? As always, anyone is welcome to submit requests (or try tackling a topic of your choosing in the blogs section).
• Analyzing the Fallout. What will it mean if half the games are eliminated? How will scheduling be impacted? How will a reshaped season fit into the historical context of Major League Baseball? Would a smaller sample of games diminish the feat of a championship? There will be ample opportunity for analyzing these matters in the moment.
• Fundraising & Support. People are going to struggle amid efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. Seasonal employees at Target Field and minor-leaguers are among many examples of folks who may miss out on income they rely on. As John wrote last week, this is a community, and that means looking out for one another. At TD, we hope to create mechanisms for those in our community who are able to support others in need. What exactly this will look like is TBD, but we're very open to ideas and suggestions.

Baseball is a grand old game and a grand old distraction. I'm sure I am not alone in saying that tuning out and putting on a game tends be therapeutic for me during stressful times. This makes the unavoidable realities of a global pandemic all the more challenging to grapple with. We are going it without our most beloved diversion.

 

Twins Daily will do its best to fill that void and restore some sense of routine. We hope you'll help dictate the content and conversation by letting us know what you want to read and talk about.

 

Please take care of yourselves, and each other. No one's excited about navigating the uncertainty ahead, but at least we'll be doing it together.

 

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[nater79a]

Look at it this way... every day that goes by we are one day closer to having baseball again. Whenever that may be!

[AceWrigley]

just not soon enough.

[ND-Fan]

I think the season over for this year we will never get to having a baseball season. The way were trying to control infection rate means it will take more than this summer before we get full handle on this virus. I hate to say this but until majority of people have been exposed to Convid-19 were going to have these restrictions in place in the US.

[theBOMisthebomb]

I think the season over for this year we will never get to having a baseball season. The way were trying to control infection rate means it will take more than this summer before we get full handle on this virus. I hate to say this but until majority of people have been exposed to Convid-19 were going to have these restrictions in place in the US.

The way things are going I don't think there will be a 2020 MLB season. The CDC advice on 50+ gatherings for the next 60 days is sobering and not good news for an MLB season. The best case scenario I see is a July 1 start date, 81 game season. Pessism is not my default stance. It's difficult to see things turning around any quicker.

[howieramone2]

Nick, can I suggest one of the writers take a look IFA. IMHO it's been a competitive advantage for our favorite team for quite some time. BA has an expert and there is another one floating around I can never remember. I always enjoy those articles.

[Rosterman]

It's going to still be hard to get crowds out for events. Baseball does have the television and radio audience that will help generate revenue, but how they handle things like concessions will be the diffcult aspect of the game. Also, until people do get it...and they will continue to get it, what happens if a teammate gets the virus? Until you can test people automatically and get results, it is truly day-to-day. The interactions of anyone comes in question and becomes a five degrees of separation issue.

[joefish]

I wish us all good health and a happy landing.

Save me some toilet paper.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I still hate the Yankees.

[Vanimal46]

I’m sure you’ll all be able to figure something out. Looking forward to a time when sports are back. Until then, it’s hard for me to muster the will to care about sports.

[Hoosier_Twinsfan]

As I read your piece, the one thought I had is all those folks that think the major league baseball season is too long.  If the season is shortened, how would those folks look at the baseball season?  Would this be something that Mr. Manfred and the owners look at and possibly contemplate for the future?

 

Personally as a baseball fan and a Twins diehard, a shortening doesn't bother me, but other than that leave the game alone.  (referring to the duration of an average game).  Just a thought.

[bobs]

Effing Covid-19.....

[bobs]

...on the positive side, its fewer games until Rich Hill returns