{"id":130238,"date":"2020-04-13T03:48:52","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T08:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=130238"},"modified":"2020-04-13T03:48:54","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T08:48:54","slug":"monday-mailbag-spring-sports-mlb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2020\/04\/13\/monday-mailbag-spring-sports-mlb\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Mailbag: spring sports & MLB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag features questions about re-starting spring sports, the new OHSAA schedule, state track and field, Major League Baseball\u2019s proposed schedule and spring sports previews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Here\u2019s a question for you: what if schools re-open after May 4, say May 11 \u2013 will the Ohio High School Athletic Association still move forward with spring sports? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: That\u2019s a good question.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week\u2019s memo sent from OHSAA to schools said \u201cSchool facilities are closed through May 1 due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. If the closure is extended beyond May 1, the OHSAA will provide updated information. If school facilities do not reopen this school year, there will not be a spring sports season.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m taking that to mean if there\u2019s another short delay, it\u2019s possible that another revised schedule could be issued by OHSAA. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, let\u2019s hope it doesn\u2019t come to that<\/em>, but either way, I’ll try to get some clarification from OHSAA.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Isn\u2019t this whole shutdown an overreaction? Businesses are being destroyed, schools are shut down and kids are being cheated out of their senior sports seasons and for what? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: As I\u2019ve said before, I\u2019m not a doctor or scientist, and I\u2019d like to think the people qualified to make these decisions are doing the right thing, but I\u2019m not about to debate that here.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No doubt it\u2019s frustrating on many different levels, not just sports. This has affected millions and millions of people one way or another.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as sports, I understand it\u2019s disappointing and it\u2019s unlike anything any of us have ever encountered.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll just say better safe than sorry.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Our area athletes deserve better than this \u2013 let\u2019s hope the OHSAA does the right thing and sticks with the new schedule. Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A: I agree, I wish the kids weren\u2019t going through this. Actually, I wish no one had to go through any of this. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind if schools don\u2019t reopen next month, it\u2019ll be pretty hard to justify starting spring sports. It wouldn\u2019t be a popular decision among fans, players or their parents to cancel spring sports, but it would be the proper one, if school buildings remain closed for the remainder of the academic year. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: I\u2019m curious \u2013 how did the Ohio High School Athletic Association come up with the three different sites for state track? It seems odd that state meets would run at a high school. Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: The short answer is Ohio State\u2019s facilities are closed for the summer and are not available. They\u2019re not the only ones to shut down their facilities due to COVID-19.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three high schools \u2013 Hilliard Darby, Pickerington North and Westerville North are all spacious Division I facilities. I\u2019ll add that all three are centrally located and are fine facilities. Plus, they\u2019re willing and ready to do it if necessary.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My hat is off to all three for stepping up if needed. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What are your thoughts on MLB\u2019s proposal to play all games in Arizona? Is that something that could really happen? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I have to admit, it\u2019s one of the weirdest things I\u2019ve heard in sports. Then again, these are weird times.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I don\u2019t see it happening, at least in it\u2019s present proposed form. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There would be two leagues \u2013 the Cactus League and the Grapefruit League \u2013 and both would be a mix of American League and National League teams.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it happens in that format, the whole season would be played out there. It\u2019s not like teams would play a month then revert back to their home cities, divisions, etc.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No fans, no families, players living in hotels for four months or longer \u2013 I just have a hard time seeing this happen like this.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a fan, I\u2019d rather wait until June or even July if necessary and play a shortened schedule with traditional leagues, divisions and matchups. How many games would that be? It depends when they\u2019d start. If it\u2019s 100 games, 82 games, or even 75 games, so be it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Thank you for writing spring sports previews. I know it\u2019s very possible that they\u2019ll be canceled, but it\u2019s nice to see the kids getting some recognition. Will you be doing track or just baseball and softball? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: You\u2019re quite welcome and we\u2019re happy to do it. Let\u2019s hope there is a spring sports season, even if it\u2019s a shortened one.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, we\u2019ll feature Crestview, Lincolnview and Van Wert boys and girls track and field teams after we\u2019re done with baseball and softball. We also featured Van Wert\u2019s tennis team last Wednesday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a question for next week\u2019s Monday Mailbag, simply email it to sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag features questions about re-starting spring sports, the new OHSAA schedule, state track and field, Major League Baseball\u2019s proposed schedule and spring sports previews. Q: Here\u2019s a question for you: what if schools re-open after May 4, say May 11 \u2013 will the Ohio High School Athletic Association […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-03 13:38:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}