Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Open to State Hosting All 30 MLB Teams Post-COVID-19

One possibility for how Major League Baseball could hold the 2020 season has picked up a key endorsement.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said he supports the idea of all teams playing in Arizona and is in talks with MLB to get it off the ground when the time is right.

"I have had discussions with the commissioner of Major League Baseball," Ducey said, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. "While I want to hold the content of those discussions in confidence, I just want everyone to know that Arizona, at the right time, is very open-minded to hosting whatever Major League Baseball would like from the state, at the time that it would be appropriate for public health if Arizona were in a position to reopen."

Under the previously reported plan, MLB would use Phoenix's Chase Field—home of the Arizona Diamondbacks—as well as the numerous spring training facilities in surrounding towns to play the games while team staff and athletes remain under quarantine. Instead of using dugouts, players would sit at least six feet away from each other in the stands when not in the field. Robot umpires would be used to call balls and strikes.

The finer, important details have yet to be worked out. Keeping players away from their families for months on end would be one sticking point. Ensuring there is an adequate number of rapid COVID-19 tests for everyone involved in the process without sacrificing resources for front-line health care providers is just the start.

Which is exactly why Ducey is approaching the plan with caution.

"We have the facilities that are here," Ducey said. "We have the hotel space that is here. We want to make sure that the metrics and data are proper before we are able to go forward."

Yet Arizona is only one option at play for MLB. On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared sports an "essential business," opening the door to allowing baseball games to be played at facilities across the state.

Both governors agree that a return to sports would allow the nation at large to breathe a sigh of relief as the fight against the coronavirus continues to rage on.

"Two words," Ducey said. "That would allow the country and the state of Arizona to know that things were headed back to normal would be, 'Play ball.'"