“For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’”
I found myself thinking of this memorable line from John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem “Mad Mueller” when I heard that we may not have a Major League Baseball season this year.
Less than a week ago, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said “unequivocally, we are going to play Major League Baseball this year.”
Then after negotiations between team owners and players stalled over the weekend, he told ESPN that he’s “not confident” there will be a 2020 baseball season.
Rather than have a shortened season, Manfred and the league owners have chosen to squabble over prorated salaries and push other petty disputes with the players.
What might have been? At a time when COVID-19 has driven hundreds of millions of people around the world to their homes, live televised MLB games would have created new fans and provided entertainment for a world in need. If league executives would have been more innovative, they could have seen the opportunity to boost the morale of countless people. They could have looked for ways to not only draw in new fans, but keep them engaged in America’s pastime for years to come. They could have seen that doing what’s right can be good for business.
As the world continues to grapple with a global pandemic and as America struggles with the serious challenges of racism and justice, we could all benefit from something as normal as baseball.
Baseball has been a unifying force for generations. It inspired patriotism during WWII and helped start America’s healing after 9/11. It can be a unifying force once again. For many, baseball is more than just a sport — it is the great equalizer. As George Will once wrote, “baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.”
It is not too late. Commissioner Manfred and league owners can stop their petty feuding with the players. They can put the good of America and the good of the world first. Major League Baseball has an incredible opportunity that no other professional sport has right now. It can cross generational, social, racial, economic, religious and political boundaries. It can bring people of all backgrounds together in a common cause. It can reduce the stresses COVID-19 restrictions have placed upon many by providing wholesome, family friendly entertainment.
Commissioner Manfred and league owners have a choice: live a life wondering what might have been, or take this opportunity to remind us all why baseball has been, and will continue to be, America’s pastime.
Andy Pierucci is a lifelong baseball fan and is passionate about America’s pastime.