Yankees and Nationals Could Headline Baseball's Return

Imagine an Opening Day between the New York Yankees and defending World Series Champion Washington Nationals.

Gerrit Cole on the bump for the Bombers against Max Scherzer.  What a match-up! What a way to start a season! The only question is ... will it happen?

Even with baseball and the Players Union agreeing this week to initiate an agreement they already had in place months ago to play a 60-game season starting July 24, the thought of Yankees-Nationals right now still feels like a fantasy.

With the Coronavirus wrecking havoc across the country, and baseball -- fully aware that more of its players and employees could contract the disease, these next three weeks until baseball does "return" is going to be like walking a tight rope.

Everyone wants to see baseball return. Everyone wants something fun to watch. We want to return to normalcy as soon as possible. But as we are reminded everyday, these are not normal times. Social and racial tensions aside, playing through the Coronavirus - which doesn't care what side of the political spectrum you fall on -- is going to be an extremely difficult endeavor for the sport of baseball to manage.

There are a lot of variables and questions involved. Nobody knows what the answers are, and not many know how moving hundreds of people (players, team personnel, media) across the country during an every growing pandemic is going to work. It may work. It may not work at all.

The Texas Rangers for example got word today that they have employees at their new ballpark who contracted the virus, and the players are understandably nervous.

If there is a season come July 24, and that is still an "if" a Yankees-Nationals opening day match-up would be tremendous fun, must see TV, and an opener that should it happen, could be the successful re-launch the sport desperately needs after months of acrimony between the owners and players.

Let's cross our fingers.