I often have trouble with superlative titles that include words like “Complete,” “Best” or “Most.” But in this case, I can’t think of anything more appropriate. 2020 was indeed the “most bizarre season,” including those that were interrupted by world wars and labor disputes.
 
That pro sports were able to happen at all should be an indication of how important they are to the morale of a population desperately looking for some diversion from the daily reports of mounting cases and deaths.  
 
Bryan Hoch, who serves as the Yankees beat writer for MLB.com, was all set to begin the new season. He packed up the car with his wife and two young daughters to head down to Florida for spring training. This was a time when COVID-19 was beginning to make a significant impact on the country and the world. Still, optimism reigned, as it does at the beginning of every year for baseball.

"THE BRONX ZOOM reports on the new norms the Yankees faced... But the most interesting aspects of the book consider accommodating the crisis itself."

The situation quickly turned ugly. Spring training was canceled after a handful of games. Facilities shut down, and players were sent home to await the next step, if there even would be a next step. The powers that be wrestled with their options before eventually deciding on a 60-game season, less than half the regular amount.
 
And just as the players, 2020 proved to be a challenge for members of the media who routinely cover the teams, which severely limited the number of personnel allowed at the stadiums --- including journalists --- and were forced to furlough many employees.
 
THE BRONX ZOOM reports on the new norms the Yankees faced, with stories about the games, played only against teams in the American League East and National League squads in relative geographic proximity to reduce travel. But the most interesting aspects of the book consider accommodating the crisis itself. Stringent conditions necessitated on-the-fly (pardon the expression) evaluations. At Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees were forced to dress in public spaces. The host’s “cramped red-brick corridors were a nightmare for social distancing, prompting the Red Sox to get creative in utilizing their limited space…. Bullpen mounds, batting nets, and artificial turf were placed on the concourses, along with lockers. That meant the Yankees had to drop their drawers where fans would have normally waited for nachos and cold beer.”
 
(Every team had similar problems dealing with the pandemic. It would be interesting to see books like this for all of them. Perhaps no one had to make a bigger concession than the Toronto Blue Jays, who had to host their home games in Buffalo as travel restrictions to Canada were in place.)
 
In addition, there was the isolation from families; the silence at the ballparks, with cardboard cutouts replacing actual fans (the Yankees, perhaps feeling too classy to allow such a cheesy stunt, did not allow those); and, not least of all, the dire moments with players and other employees contracting the virus. The beginning of the season saw multiple members of the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins coming down with COVID, potentially imperiling the entire MLB season. Bizarre, indeed.