Houston Astros: Three requirements for the 2020 MLB season to start

The MLB and MLBPA have agreed to only start the season predicated off three requirements amid a global pandemic. How are the Houston Astros affected?

Just think about it Houston Astros‘ fans — at this time right now, our team would be just a few games in the regular season, Opening Day would be just a memory and we’d be fighting tooth and nail over this team’s reputation from opposing teams as them being cheaters in a scandal that has rocked the baseball world.

But it seems as if the sign-stealing scandal and COVID-19 had a conversation with the latter saying “hold my beer,” as its wrath has put just about all professional sports on pause for the time being.

This is important because this is a global pandemic and all resources possible will be needed to be able to beat it, especially when a vaccine is ready for consumption. It’s heart-wrenching to see people perish from this and we’ve all got to do our part to ensure that lives are saved.

Until then, we’ve got to be extra careful by practicing social distancing to prevent community spread to not cause an already-strained healthcare system from not only those who are being treated for the coronavirus but for other serious ailments as well.

Stay-at-home orders and lockdowns have been in place for nearly 2/3rds of the United States at this moment so if you’re reading this article, it’s highly likely you are under one just like I am.

It’s a bummer but there’s a lot of good that’s coming out of this. We’ll be getting our sports back

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and things will get back to normal in the near future but there are higher priorities at this moment.

Until then, we must wait and while that’s going the MLB and MLBPA came together on an agreement that addresses the crisis that the world is currently dealing with giving specifics on how the league would start things up.

A deal had to be reached or Commissioner Rob Manfred would’ve had to put on pause the business of the MLB which was certainly not a viable yet unacceptable option.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that there are three requirements for the league to get things started and if conditions are met, then they’ll get to work on starting up the games again. How does this affect the Houston Astros?

Here are the conditions that must be met:

1. No governmental edicts on mass gatherings that would prevent teams from playing in their home stadiums;

2. No travel restrictions in the United States or Canada;

3. The determination, after talking with health experts and the union, that playing does not expose players, staff or fans to health risks.

Once all three are met, then we’ll see baseball once again on the horizon. If that’s the case, who knows how long that will take for the entire country to have those types of restrictions lifted and for the borders to re-open between the U.S. and Canada.

But I’m waiting for the day when I finally get to see Jose Altuve, Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers Jr., Yordan Alvarez, Michael Brantley and the rest of the supporting cast likely in 2020.

Next. Astros: Top 30 players in franchise history. dark

Like I said previously, until then, we must wait…

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s Web site or the Web site for your state’s Department of Health.

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