New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggests MLB could return without fans but would have to 'adjust the economics' after conversation with Mets owner Jeff Wilpon

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggested the MLB season could come back at some point, after a conversation with New York Mets owner Jeff Wilpon.
• Cuomo told CNN on Wednesday that while no fans would be able to attend the game, baseball being played "would be good for the country."
• Cuomo suggested that for the season to start, Major League Baseball would have to come to an agreement with the MLBPA to account for the economic reality of playing without being able to sell tickets.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggested that Major League Baseball could find a way to begin its season at some point while the country continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked by his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, on Wednesday if the Yankees would be able to play this summer, Cuomo made clear that it's too early to make any projection with certainty: "We have no idea where we're going to be. Let's find out where we are, let's find out the facts, then we'll make a decision."

With that caveat, Cuomo said he spoke with New York Mets owner Jeff Wilpon about the possibility of starting the season without fans in attendance, saying that it would help people stuck at home.

"I talked to Jeff Wilpon today, the owner of the Mets. Go Queens. Go New York," Cuomo said. "I said, 'Why can't we talk about a baseball season with nobody in the stands? Why can't you play the game with the players?' I think it would be good for the country. I think it would be good for people to have something to watch and do to fight cabin fever. And it's something I'm going to pursue."

Cuomo said that after his conversation with Wilpon, he believed the season could start if the league would be able to reach an agreement with the players' union with regard to the new economics of the sport that would come with playing with no fans in attendance.

"Apparently Major League Baseball would have to make a deal with the players, because if you have no one in the stands, then the numbers are going to change, the economics are going to change," Cuomo said. "But if Major League Baseball and the players could come to an agreement on how to adjust the economics for that reality, I think that would be a good thing."

"We have to start to move to normalcy," Cuomo said. "People have to start to see some hope and light."

—Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) April 16, 2020

On Twitter, fans were quick to suggest that Wilpon was doing his best to save some money in bringing up the economics of the situation during his conversation with Cuomo.

—Gene Branigan (@prtzelby) April 16, 2020

—Farooq Chaudhry (@FarooqNYC) April 16, 2020

—Christian Klein (@CKlein226) April 16, 2020

Regardless of how exactly baseball eventually comes back, it won't happen without a buy-in from the players, who might have to leave their families for an extended period of time to play in isolation. Further, the logistics of all of the other workers involved in bringing baseball back — umpires, groundskeepers, locker room employees, bus drivers, and so many more — would also need to be worked out before the sport could get started.

But even with all of those questions, the idea of the return of baseball has gained some traction. Last week a report from ESPN's Jeff Passan suggested the league was working on a potential plan that would send all 30 teams to Arizona to play out the season in isolation.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, suggested that the bubble idea could work, so long as fans weren't involved.

"There's a way of [resuming sports]," Fauci said on "Good Luck America" on Snapchat. "Nobody comes to the stadium. Put [the players] in big hotels, wherever you want to play, keep them very well surveilled ... Have them tested every single week and make sure they don't wind up infecting each other or their family, and just let them play the season out."

There's still a long way to go before the first pitch of Opening Day, but it's clear that both the league and government leaders are getting behind the idea of finding a way to save the season.

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