TAMPA, Fla. _ The good news is this: starting next week, roughly 1,800 professional baseball players will be back on the clock. They'll be pitching, catching, hitting, running and desperately trying not to spit.
The sad news is this: That leaves about 6,000 professional baseball players in pandemic hell.
Major League Baseball's plan to start the 2020 season with 60-player pools for each franchise is probably the best anyone could hope for, and even that may end up being too ambitious.
So where does that plan leave the bulk of minor leaguers?
Working the night shift at Walmart.
Unfortunately, that's not a joke. At least not entirely. It's apparent there will be no minor league season in 2020 and, to make matters worse, there will likely be dozens of lower-level teams eliminated by 2021. So not only have thousands of players been furloughed in 2020, hundreds more could see job opportunities disappear permanently in 2021.
Play ball, eh?
With around 40 million people losing their jobs during the coronavirus, the plight of minor league ballplayers is not unique. Even so, it's an unsettled time for players who typically make as little as $300 a week in Class A. Even so, most will not give up.
