Giants CEO Larry Baer understands the frustrations in baseball right now. He gets why fans want games back, he gets why players want to be safe amid the coronavirus pandemic and he gets why owners are playing their hand financially with revenue losses of a shortened season.
Aside from all hurdles, Baer believes a season will be played.
"I think if you look at the timelines that have been laid out, we're very hopeful, and personally, I'm optimistic -- I'm not involved in the negotiations, so I don't know the day-to-day -- but I think at the timelines that have been laid out, there would be ample time to get an agreement done to get the kind of season we're all talking about, which would be somewhere in that range of 80 games, 82 games, so, a half-season," Baer said Thursday on KNBR's "Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks" show.
First and foremost, players' health should be priority No. 1. This won't be easy with 30 teams all across the country.
MLB already has proposed massive health changes to how players and coaches can act once games resume, including no spitting, high-fives, fist bumps or hugs, among other ways of the game in a 67-page document. And then you take into account how often players and coaches will have to be tested for the coronavirus.
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"We still, realistically, for this to be able to work from a health and safety standpoint, with the municipalities, we would need to socialize in 30 different markets, or 30 teams, 25 markets have to socialize [for] this to work, and that process has started," Baer said. "So I think even though we don't have a deal now, I think in order for the timelines to be executed, we don't have to have a deal today in order for this program to work, which I think people are pretty excited about the prospects of potentially, can we play in July?
"To do that, you're still working with the public health officials in all these markets and then have the workouts and that's going to be a three-to-four week period, and testing that can be done without taking testing away from the communities, make sure it's not impacting people."
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Along with health risks, there have been many financial issues as well with MLB returning. All of this has caused confusion and frustration, but Baer hopes fans stay patient and believes baseball is doing all it can to return soon in a safe fashion.
"I know it sounds frustrating, there's stuff thrown out in the press by both sides, I suppose, I would not be too disturbed or frustrated or angry," Baer said. "There's enough to be angry about or concerned about in the world. I'm optimistic that left to our own devices, something can get done."
