Philadelphia Phillies and Major League Baseball 2020 regular season days lost to the COVID-19 pandemic: 27.
Mike Vaccaro at the New York Post reported on a survey of American sports fans regarding their return to attendance at sporting events:
“…72 percent said they wouldn’t return to attending games until a vaccine that successfully combats the coronavirus is proven effective. Among those who identify as sports fans, the number is still a sizeable 61 percent. And since most experts don’t believe such a vaccine can be reasonably expected until 2021 …Well, that certainly paints a solemn picture of what sports is up against.”
Kevin Kernan at the New York Post reported on the possible delay of the 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame inductions until the summer of 2021:
“Derek Jeter may have to remain on deck for another year for his Hall of Fame induction. That’s the word from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.”
Ronald Blum at the Associated Press reported that Minor League Baseball is prepared to agree to drop dozens of MLB affiliates for the 2021 season:
“In informal talks, parties have discussed the possibility of a radical overhaul in which MLB would take over all of many of the duties of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the minor league governing body…”
Evan Drellich at The Athletic also wrote on the many issues remaining in those talks between MLB and MiLB:
““The key is finding compensation in some form or fashion for the teams that are going to be eliminated, and there will be teams that will be eliminated,” one minor-league owner said.”
Yoo Jee-ho at the Yonhap News Agency is reporting on the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) readiness to open Korea’s professional baseball season on May 5:
“The KBO received a further boost from the government Sunday, as Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, in announcing eased guidelines for social distancing, said outdoor sports games could go ahead with proper safety measures in place, such as not allowing fans to attend.”
Now for the latest Philadelphia Phillies news from local and national resources:
Corey Seidman at NBC Sports Philadelphia reported on Phillies Wall of Famer Pat Burrell preparing for his first season as a hitting coach in the San Francisco Giants farm system:
“Burrell always thought he wanted to be back in uniform at some point but wasn’t interested in all the travel. He lives only 20 minutes away from the complex of the San Jose Giants, the Class A Advanced team he joined this season as hitting coach.”
Todd Zolecki at MLB.com put together his ranking of the top five shortstops in Phillies history. Pretty much everyone could have guessed Jimmy Rollins and Larry Bowa at 1-2:
“I wrote a couple weeks ago about the next players who could have their numbers retired by the Phillies, and I focused on Dick Allen, who could get the nod from the Golden Days Committee in December. Bowa deserves to be in the conversation, too. He will not make the Hall of Fame, but he is one of the most iconic figures in Philadelphia sports history.”
Phillies left fielder Andrew McCutchen is having a lot of fun during the shutdown with continual references to his Howard Eskin gaffe-inspired alter-ego Lawrence ‘Larry’ McCutcheon:
Philadelphia area COVID-19 updates are provided at the Department of Health site. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also has its own dedicated PA coronavirus information and resource page.
The White House has a special coronavirus.gov page set up with tremendous information. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the NIH (National Institutes of Health) also provide information and updates regarding the national response.
You can view the archives for these Lunch Bell reports at any time. They are released every day all year-round barring some unusual circumstance. Each report highlights important updates on the Phillies and MLB, including articles curated from around the web, social media posts, and video.
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FINAL NOTE: With a late-game pinch-running appearance in New Jersey, of all places, John Kennedy officially broke the Phillies color barrier on this date in 1957:
MATT VEASEY 