The start of the Major League Baseball season is delayed "at least" two weeks, but might it be significantly longer than that before either the White Sox or Cubs are playing in Chicago again?
According to a report from The Athletic's Scott Powers, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is recommending to Chicago's pro teams that there be no games in the state until May 1, a move in line with what other local and state officials have done in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Even in the best-case scenario for Major League Baseball, in which the delay lasts just two weeks and the start of the 2020 campaign comes in the second week of April, a decision such as this could potentially force the White Sox and Cubs to find alternative locations to host their home games until the beginning of May. Of course, that's the rosiest outlook, in which the situation across the country has improved and baseball is able to be played that quickly. The league announced it will continue to monitor things and adjust the length of the delay if need be.
Prior to Major League Baseball's announcement Thursday, those kinds of decisions were facing teams like the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros and potentially all five teams that play in California. With Washington's governor announcing a ban on large public gatherings earlier this week, the Mariners were the furthest down the road in trying to figure out contingencies, and talk included the potential of them playing their home regular-season games at their spring-training stadium in Arizona, playing home games at the ballparks of the "visiting" teams or simply playing games with no fans in Seattle.
Whether Governor Pritzker's recommendation to Chicago's pro teams involved the banning of crowds or the banning of events entirely was not specified in the report.
Regardless, it could be a long while before teams and fans are able to return to business as usual on either the South Side or the North Side.
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