Perfect Game Baseball with Perfect Letter to fans

The collective of sports fans in our nation is hurting, as are others here and throughout the world in the wake of the COVID -19 virus that has disrupted our nation.

Nashville, Tn.- One of the biggest things sports writers have been wrestling with in recent days is exactly what to write, or say to sports fans who follow our works after all this is an unprecedented and totally unknown time for those of us in sports media and fans of the sports we cover.. 

Last week at this time, many of us, myself included were preparing to head to Bridgestone Arena for the opening round of the 2020 men's SEC Basketball Tournament. While we all knew of the COVID-19 virus and the warnings that were beginning to become more regular, we had no clue that things were about to change in a way we had never seen, and likely never dreamed of witnessing. 

To that end, Perfect Game Baseball's Mike Rooney penned a letter to fans of college baseball, but it could, and should extend beyond just one game. 

What Rooney wrote. while directed to baseball can be said of all collegiate spring sports, the NBA, NHL, MLS, XFL, and NASCAR as athletes both amateur and professional are being forced- while the right move- through no fault of their own to miss out on the opportunity they work tirelessly for, and that stinks for them and for those of us who love to watch them perform.  

Rooney opened his letter to baseball as follows.

Dear College Baseball,

I wish I knew what to say right now. The health and safety of mankind come first. That goes without saying.

That said, this hurts. I’m heartbroken for those players who will never play college baseball again. I’m crushed for those coaches who worked tirelessly and then succeeded in assembling really good teams for the 2020 season. It’s not easy to do and those coaches won’t get to see the fruits of their labor. And as a big college baseball fan myself, I’m really bummed for all of our incredible fan bases out there.

That said perfectly what many of us who write about sports for a living is feeling, or wanted to say. He just beat us to it.  

You can read the letter in its entirety at the link about, but as we move forward, many of us self-quarantining ourselves and our families for their own good, the feelings of everyone are mostly the same and despite any political differences, we are all in this thing together, like it or not till the bitter end.   

Here's hoping that that end is sooner than later.