The Friday Link for 6/12/20

With the Corona Virus, one of the lesser things I'm missing is baseball.  

I love baseball, and this year was supposed to be a great year for the Twins.  Like all major sports, Major League Baseball decided to halt their season, stopping after the first few weeks of Spring Training, and waited to see if COVID-19 would pass in time to get some type of season in.

Right now, there's a huge argument between the baseball team owners and the players on how the season will be played.  It comes down to whether the owners should have to pay the players the same amount if there's no one in the seats. 

Baseball team owners make A TON of money off of in stadium purchases, from parking to unGodly overpriced beers.  The addition of 'gourmet' food and specialty drinks a few years back meant even more money for the owners.  Without the fans in the stands, the owners make far less money, but the players don't care.  They're willing to pro rate their pay to a per game basis and only get paid for the number of games played in 2020, but the owners are looking at them taking a further cut to soften the losses created by empty stadiums.

In the end, if they don't get this pay situation figured out and a season started by mid-July, there likely won't be any baseball in 2020.  And by the way, that doesn't figure in the complexities of a pandemic which could still cause a lot of havoc.

Even if they opened up baseball to 25% capacity, there's no way I'd go to a game.  I'll wait for the inoculation thank you.

For a baseball fix, here are a few videos from SB Nation.  These focus on the history of specific elements of baseball, and tell it in an entertaining way.  Who was the first home run hitter?  Who was a the first guy to steal a base? Why did someone try to bunt for the first time?  These are legit questions with interesting answers.  Watch and learn! 

Also tonight, Hood Internet has their 1989 remix out.  I featured them a few weeks back and this one is really good.

Have a great weekend everyone!