MLB returns with thrills; red flags remain after 1st weekend

NEW YORK (AP) — The World Series champion Washington Nationals stood six feet apart along the first base line and watched as a banner commemorating their title was raised, then took a knee alongside the New York Yankees in a call for social justice.

Star slugger Juan Soto wasn’t there — he was flagged hours before the first pitch for COVID-19. Neither, of course, were any fans.

Hardly ideal, but there was hardball nonetheless.

“I’d rather be playing baseball than not,” Nationals ace Max Scherzer said.

Major League Baseball returned to action this weekend with a flourish of highs and lows as the sport attempts to play a 60-game regular season amid a coronavirus pandemic still plaguing much of the United States.

The baseball itself was a breath of fresh air — even through all those face coverings.

Opening day gems from Jacob deGrom, Shane Bieber and Kyle Hendricks. A mesmerizing home run from Giancarlo Stanton. Deft baserunning by Lorenzo Cain that baffled the entire Cubs infield.

But COVID-era baseball has been unmistakably different.

Cardboard cutouts of fans, managers arguing with umpires through face masks, air fives after home runs — not to mention a stream of players put on the coronavirus injured list, including potential outbreaks within the Marlins and Reds clubhouses.

The 60-game sprint started with a bang — thunder, actually, along with a torrential downpour in the rain-shortened opener between the Yankees and Nationals. Despite that, it was the sport’s most-watched regular season game in nine years.

Later that night, Mookie Betts made his Dodgers debut in Los Angeles, one day after signing a $365 million, 12-year deal to stay there through 2032.

Among Betts' first acts — kneeling during the national anthem ahead of the opener.

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source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/MLB-returns-with-thrills-red-flags-remain-after-15435828.php