Major League Baseball’s cardboard-cutout commissioner, Rob Manfred, has alienated his players, their union, and longtime fans, so he was always unlikely to make peace with a virus. Manfred might be smart. He might work hard. He can surely speak intelligently about many baseball-related topics for hours. Well, so can a lot of dentists. This doesn’t mean they can run the sport.
Manfred’s job requires long-term vision, thick skin, emotional intelligence–and, in 2020, the ability to create a plan, in concert with the union, to an unprecedented threat to the season. Manfred failed. This was clear weeks ago. What you see now–players testing positive, games being postponed, the rest of the season in peril–is just the coronavirus handing Manfred the bill.