If We Get a Baseball Season, It Will Be One Without Spitting or Mound Visits

As Major League owners and the MLBPA continue hashing out a way to possibly play a 2020 season, obviously the most contentious issue is that of the salary cut players are being asked to take due to the lack of revenue there will be this season with no ticket sales, concessions, etc.

However, if a season does come to fruition, there will be some noticeable changes to the game.

Yahoo Sports — Social distancing: Bullpens, locker rooms, training rooms, treatment rooms, and other team facilities would be rearranged to accommodate social distancing. Spitting in dugouts (or anywhere else) would no longer be allowed. High fives and mound visits would also be banned. Relievers might sit in the otherwise empty stands when not warming up.

Look, I get that everybody needs to do what they can to not contract or spread 'rona and that it's potentially a big deal for any given person to catch it. But it's either safe to play baseball or it's not. If everybody has deemed it ok to play, then go play. But don't play some hybrid game where the pitcher and pitching coach have to devise elaborate hand signals from 80 feet away and relievers get called in out of section 106.

Also, what are we going to do when a player gets hurt and the trainer needs to come out? Is it ok to scrap social distancing then, or does he have to stay six feet away from the player writhing in pain who just took a 97 MPH fastball to the head?

I'm afraid, however, that this is worrying about problems which won't even be an issue, because if most players think like the thoughts expressed by Blake Snell on his Twitch stream last night, I don't believe there is going to be a Major League Baseball season in 2020.

And I'm not blaming Snell for what he said and I'm not blaming the owners for asking the players to take a pay cut when revenue is lower. Both sides have valid arguments. It's just difficult to see how a deal gets done at this point.