Did Someone Say Baseball Is Back?

I have slowly and quietly been collecting in 2020. I have by no means completed much, but I have opened a fair share of product, which has been mostly retail based. Probably the most exciting White Sox find would be the Medallion card of Luis Robert. I picked out one blaster box and that was the blaster exclusive card inside.

I was really looking forward to the 2020 season. Now, I'm not so sure anymore. I love our national pastime. There are so many intricacies to the game that one could not possibly see every scenario play out in their own lifetime. It's fresh and exciting without tweaking the rules for the crowd of short attention span phone dwellers or the people that show up just to say they've been there.

Playing to empty stadiums with cardboard cutouts and video game crowd noise seems like a desperate tactic designed to fool toddlers. To most adults, it seems creepy and weird. Almost like grown men playing a pickup game in the backyard, fantasizing that tennis ball that was hit over the roof just blasted out of a MLB stadium. It doesn't feel authentic. It feels artificial, but it retains a shell of its former self. Enough to be recognized at a glance, but when you look deep into its eyes, you realize the lights are on but nobody bought tickets.

The worst fears have started to come true. A player that played on Opening Day tested positive for Covid-19. Is there a plan in place to keep other players safe that came in contact with that player? Do the teams that played in that game shut down for two weeks, until all personnel involved come back with two negative tests? What exactly is the protocol for this breach? I guess we'll find out in the coming days.

Even though it's extremely weird, I'm happy baseball is back. I still have reservations, but I enjoy the hell out of the sport. This season has already cranked out some disappointments. I was looking forward to seeing Michael Kopech pitch again. I will have to wait until 2021 to see that. Giolito got rocked a bit on Opening Day. I haven't decided if it was jitters, the bizarre circumstances of this season or just a bad day. The Yankees/Nationals game was blacked out on MLB.TV. Soooooo... what is the point of paying for that if games are still blacked out? I know there are other ways to watch the game. That's not the point. Let's abolish blacked out games once and for all. It benefits no fan. MLB would gain more fans, if they had access to every game. I know. That's such a radical idea. It must be killed with fire.

As this unique season plays out, I will sit back and enjoy what I can. I will collect my cards. I will catch some games on the streaming services. I will hope for the best outcomes. Not just in the games. In life too. I hope Matt Davidson recovers from Covid-19 to play again this season. I hope no one else catches that from being around him. Sometimes all you have is hope to get you through. I have hope. I need more baseball cards.