The Games are On - For Now

Major League Baseball still intends to have fans in the stands when the season opens in less than three weeks. But that could change as the coronavirus spreads around the country.

For now, MLB, along with the NHL, NBA, and Major League Soccer have announced they will limit locker room access to players and essential team personnel only. Media members will have access to players, but it won't be in the close quarters of the clubhouse.

Several teams, the Phillies included, will no longer sign autographs for fans before games in spring training. Part of the appeal of visiting Florida and Arizona during in March is having access to players. You always see kids and collectors squeezing as close as they can to the first row of seats to try and get a signature.

For now, the Phillies and other teams are autographing balls and other items in the clubhouse and tossing them into the stands. If this sounds overly cautious, I'm OK with it. Nobody knows how bad this epidemic is or will be. And the biggest issues are health and public safety. Which is a lot more important than getting an autograph.

It'll be interesting to see if MLB goes through with its plan to play games with fans in attendance. Concerts, festivals, and conventions are canceling because of the illness. Before Italy went into lockdown, the plan was to play games in empty stadiums.

For purely selfish reasons, I hope MLB goes on with business as usual. I'm planning on attending my 41st straight Phillies Home Opener on April 2. But if they tell me to stay home, I'll stay home. I'll go back when they say I can.