Cactus League leaders ask MLB to delay spring training Fifteen major league teams comprise the Cactus League. By KOLD News 13 Staff | January 25, 2021 at 12:03 PM MST - Updated January 25 at 1:16 PM
PHOENIX, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Arizona city and tribal leaders that are home to Cactus League facilities have asked Major League Baseball to consider delaying the start of spring training until there is an improvement in the COVID-19 situation in Maricopa County.
Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher pointed out in a letter to MLB that Maricopa County has one of the nation’s highest infection rates of COVID-19. The letter was signed by Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher, Mesa Mayor John Giles, Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, Tempe City Manager Andrew Ching, Surprise Mayor Skip Hall, Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers, Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord, Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community President Martin Harvier.
Mayors of all 8 Cactus League cities ask Rob Manfred to delay spring training
Share this story
Getty Images
Sunday, I wrote about the fact that players from at least one team (Cleveland Indians) have not yet been given specific reporting dates for Spring Training.
Today, a reporter for 12 News in Phoenix has tweeted that the mayors of all eight cities in the Phoenix area who host Spring Training games (Mesa, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tempe, Surprise, Glendale, Peoria and Goodyear), along with the president of the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community (that’s where Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, spring home of the Rockies and Diamondbacks) is located and the Executive Director of the Cactus League have all signed a letter to Commissioner Rob Manfred asking for Spring Training in Arizona to be delayed:
Mon, 25 Jan 2021, 10:01AM
It took just over a year for the US to go from one to 25 million coronavirus infections.
That s an average of about 67,934 new infections every day. Or an average of one new infection every 1.2 seconds since January 21, 2020.
As infections kept soaring this weekend, so did the death toll. As of Sunday, more than 417,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The US death toll could reach 569,000 by May 1, according to the University of Washington s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation even though 42,800 lives will be saved by the projected vaccine rollout.
MLB rumors: Cactus League request to delay spring training in Arizona amid COVID crisis ‘won’t change anything’
Updated Jan 25, 2021;
Facebook Share
It was just a matter of time.
COVID-19, which forced Major League Baseball to shut down spring training one year ago and reduce the 2020 regular season to 60 games, once again threatens wreak havoc with baseball’s schedule.
According to ESPN, “leaders of all eight Cactus League cities have sent a letter to Major League Baseball saying it would be ‘wise’ to delay the start of spring training due to the high rate of COVID-19 infections in Arizona’s Maricopa County.”
MLB spring training 2021: Cactus League tells Rob Manfred, MLB it wants to delay start of ST because of high COVID-19 rate in Arizona
Updated Jan 25, 2021;
Posted Jan 25, 2021
A worker looks out from a door in the centerfield wall, where cactus grows on terraces above during a spring training baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants at Salt River Fields Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)AP
Facebook Share
The Cactus League consists of 15 major league teams: the Diamondbacks, Cubs, White Sox, Reds, Indians, Rockies, Royals, Angels, Dodgers, Brewers, Athletics, Padres, Giants, Mariners and Rangers.