Toronto Blue Jays Still Without A Home, First Pitch Coming Quickly To Find A Solution

By Jordan Long

                The Toronto Blue Jays are set to take on the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday for their first game of the 2020 season.  The Blue Jays though don’t have a home for this season.  Canada already denied them a chance to play in their ballpark due to the COVID19 pandemic because of Canada restricting travel from the US.  Their next choice was Pittsburgh to share the stadium with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The state of Pennsylvania shut that down.  According to arkansasonline.com, Dr. Rachel Levine, the State’s Secretary of Health said, “In recent weeks, we have seen a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in southwestern Pennsylvania. To add travelers to this region for any reason, including for professional sports events, risks residents, visitors, and members of both teams. We know that this virus does not discriminate, and can even make professional athletes very sick. We are committed to protecting the health and well-being of all Pennsylvanians.”  With that Toronto is looking for an alternative for 2020.

                The next possibility is Camden Yards which is where the the Baltimore Orioles play.  This would make a lot of sense.  Toronto and Baltimore play in the same division.  Their opponents would be the same.  For interleague games, they are set to take on the National League East Division which is going to cut travel.

                This is a reasonable idea on paper.  It would give the Blue Jays a home for this season. The biggest difficulty with the plan is what happens when Baltimore and Toronto have the same time for a home game with different opponents?  The start time might be the same.  MLB would have to take a look and change it so both franchises would be able to play both games which doesn’t seem so hard.

                If this plan were to fail, the Blue Jays may have to play on the road the whole year.  This means they would be in the opposing team’s ballpark even for home games.  The scoreboard would read them as the home team.  It could be weird for example for the Phillies in their home arena to bat first but it is the best solution.

                MLB needs to figure out a resolution to this problem.  The Blue Jays first scheduled home game is on the 29^th against the Washington Nationals.   Otherwise Toronto will have the longest road trip in MLB history.