MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 09: Tucker Barnhart #16 and Jesse Winker #33 of the Cincinnati Reds (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Cincinnati Reds might have fans in the stands in 2020.
All 30 MLB teams, the Cincinnati Reds among them, are playing games without fans in empty stadiums amid the coronavirus pandemic, a situation these teams might need to get used to if the pandemic fails to subside. Amidst all the uncertainty, the Reds have concocted a plan to get butts in seats down near the Ohio River.
After Ohio governor Mike DeWine stated that he was cautiously optimistic for fans returning to the stands late in 2020, the Reds submitted a plan that would allow fans to re-enter Great American Ball Park later in the season. According to The Athletic, the plan has already been approved by the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
The Cincinnati Reds have started off the 2020 season playing some solid baseball.
The Reds might only stand at 7-9 right now, but that record is good for second place in the NL Central right now. While Nick Castellanos has been dominating and the rest of the Reds lineup, sans Eugenio Suarez, has gotten off to a solid start. Trevor Bauer and Luis Castillo lead a rotation that might be good enough to propel the Reds into October.
The Reds aren’t the only team that is trying to put fans in the stands rather than cardboard cutouts or CGI creations, as the Chicago Cubs are discussing plans to allow a maximum of 8,000 people into 41,000 seat Wrigley Field. While the Reds might be able to get fans in the stands, the lack of uniformity their unique home-field advantage could present is a new proposition Rob Manfred and the league will need to deal with.
If the condition are indeed safe, and the Reds don’t increase the risk of an outbreak by bringing fans in, the possibility of fans returning to games in Cincinnati could be a sign that the pandemic is starting to die down ever so slightly.