#Why MLB doesn’t have coronavirus bubble like other sports

That’s the reasonable contention that Rob Manfred made Monday to the MLB Network as concerns grew about the league’s viability in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak among the Miami Marlins.

Back during the shutdown, the owners and players discussed multiple “bubble” concepts similar to those being deployed by the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League. At one juncture, the two sides contemplated situating all 30 teams in Arizona. At another, the idea of three satellite bubbles — in Florida, Arizona and Texas — was considered. Ultimately, the powers opted to have teams play in their home ballparks with a regionalized schedule.

“I think the decision that we made with respect to the bubble was the right one,” the baseball commissioner said. “We’re different than other sports. We would have had to have multiple locations probably just in order to have enough facilities to make it work. The numbers of people involved and the numbers of people to support the number of players was much, much larger in our sport. The duration would have been much longer, and the longer you go, the more people you have, the less likely it is that you can make the bubble work.

“I think the NBA and the NHL have an advantage — smaller numbers of players, shorter period of time. I understand why they did what they did. I’m just not sure it was workable for us.”

In addition to these obstacles, the reality that many games would’ve been needed to have been played outdoors in ultra-warm climates compromised the concept.