Guest column: Return of baseball will signal defeat of coronavirus

By Lowman S. Henry

It is perhaps the most memorable first pitch in baseball history. On Oct. 30, 2001, the New York Yankees were set to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the third game of the World Series. Not far away, the ruins of the World Trade Center still smoldered in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on our nation.

Yankee Stadium was filled to capacity as President George W. Bush, wearing a bulletproof vest emerged from the dugout, flashed a thumbs-up sign, then delivered a perfect pitch to Yankee catcher Todd Greene. The crowd roared — America was back.

It was not the first time a chief executive turned to baseball to give the nation a psychological lift during times of crisis. As World War II ramped up, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt penned his famous "Green Light Letter" in which he endorsed the continued playing of baseball during the war effort.

Roosevelt wrote: "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have a chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before."

The war years were difficult for professional baseball. Future Hall of Famers like Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Joe DiMaggio served in the military along with over 500 other major league and more than 2,000 minor league players.

The World Series was held every year during the war effort. In fact, there have been only two years in the history of major league baseball the World Series has not been played. Neither interruption had to do with an over-arching national crisis. In 1904, business rivalry between the National and American leagues resulted in the National League New York Giants refusing to play the American League Boston Americans. In 1994 a players' strike forced cancellation of the Fall Classic.

This year America faces another determined enemy, and the challenges are far different from those faced during either World War II or the War on Terrorism. But one thing has not changed: We still need baseball. Just as President Bush's pitch at Yankee Stadium signaled hope for the future, so too will the first pitch thrown in 2020 symbolize the beginning of triumph over the coronavirus.

That first pitch, however, will come under far different conditions. It is not likely we are going to see stadiums full of cheering fans until much later this year, if at all. But, Major League Baseball must develop a plan to get the season underway and President Trump needs to follow in FDR's footsteps and give the green light to do so.

Several plans have been floated; including the possibility of dividing the teams into leagues based on their spring training camp locations. Thus there would be a "Grapefruit League" for those who train in Florida and a "Cactus League" for teams with training facilities in Arizona. There are stadiums to do this and it would significantly limit travel. The World Series would be played later in the year between the champions of the two newly-configured leagues.

All of this will, at least initially, take place without fans in the seats. But, the televised games would symbolize the start of what will likely be a series of small steps as the economy re-opens and the nation returns to normal activity. Whether that plan, or a strategy yet to be developed emerges, the 2020 baseball season must be played.

Some will say we should not squander still limited medical resources to make the re-start of the game possible. But so far the nation has been playing checkers when we need to be playing three-dimensional chess. Yes, the medical component is by far the most critical, but it is not the only challenge before us.

As we see the "curve" flattening, and we prevent our health care system from becoming overwhelmed, the time has come to put aside that checkerboard approach, and start the chess match of simultaneously addressing medical, economic, and psychological challenges as well.

And nothing will give America a psychological boost more than hearing the words: Play ball!

Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His email address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org