☀️ The Summer Is All About Baseball

MLB’s return is drawing closer, despite some labor disagreement. And not a moment too soon — as without baseball, we’re all a little lost. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: We miss baseball more than we realize, as the sport defines the summer ... in a completely unprecedented offseason, NFL QBs like Matt Ryan are having to get creative ... and for the bet of the day, we have our eye solidly on the long ball. Sports documentaries are all the rage right now, a benefactor of circumstance, but some of us have loved them forever. To me, there are few more delightful mixes than athletic dexterity and masterful storytelling. The new stuff is great, but the most enjoyable viewing experience I have found these past couple of months is Ken Burns’ classic historical timepiece – Baseball. I love it for what it was when it was delicately crafted in 1994, and for what it means now. And I’d be casting a salacious lie if I pretended that it didn’t make me that extra bit sadder that a return to the diamond is not yet booked. [STORY IMAGE 1] Major League Baseball and its players association can agree on pretty much one thing and one thing only right now; that a mutual agreement is not quite coming. The parties were way apart in their idea of a fair settlement when talks began several months ago, and they’re not especially closer now. The likely outcome is that league commissioner Rob Manfred will impose a schedule, reportedly of around 50 games, and the players will receive pro-rated salaries for that time. There are competing interests on both sides. Much as the fervent wish for both more sports and a resumption of things that make us feel normal again persists, an impasse was probably inevitable. I’m not here to pretend I know how to run a billion-dollar business or have my own brainwave ideas on how to mitigate monumental losses caused by the way the coronavirus torpedoed the season. Or that I know what it is like for a player to be faced with such uncertainty and having been asked to take a sizable cut in salary. I don’t have the answer. I wish I did. No one does, at least not yet. What I do know is that we have perhaps never needed baseball more, and that’s the true heartbreak in all this. When a return does happen, whenever that may be, it will be welcome beyond words. [STORY IMAGE 2] “Baseball, it is said, is only a game,” said the esteemed writer and baseball lover George Will. “True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.” We want baseball more than we realize. Think about the game’s unique parts and primary selling points and how they correlate with the bizarre place we find ourselves in as the summer of 2020 approaches: A sport that makes you feel good and brings people together. That is played often enough to be a genuine distraction right when you need one. That is timeless during a period when time is in total flux. “I’m not feeling right, and it’s not because I’m sick,” Aron Carver, a Los Angeles musician told me. “My rhythms are off and I can’t sleep properly. Days and weeks pass by and it feels I have no way to count the time. It’s because of baseball. Ever since I was a child this time of year meant a certain thing and now I don’t have it. I know I’m not the only one that feels this way.” [STORY IMAGE 3] Sports has such a powerful hold upon us because of how it is capable of making the human spirit feel things. Yet different sports satisfy different needs. A NASCAR fan might be energized by the inherent danger and the way the drivers so skillfully handle all of its real and implied nuances. A UFC fan gets amped by the tempo of an event and sits in awe of the bravery and technical prowess. WWE gives an escape from reality, soccer comes with an in-built global family and elicits tribal passions. The National Football League evokes constant drama, whipping up its supporters with passion and speed and awe-inspiring physicality. But there aren’t a lot of sports that soothe the soul just by being themselves. Baseball does, for a number of reasons. [STORY IMAGE 4] It beats to the rhythm of the American summer. Nothing else can offer the same consistency of presence. When it is here, it is completely here. They don’t talk about a pastime so much anymore, but it is, in its own way, a lifestyle. “Baseball is a small part of a far larger problem in this country and the world,” wrote ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian. “It just didn’t feel right that there was no parade on the streets of Cincinnati on Opening Day, no celebration of Jackie Robinson on April 15, no pink bats on Mother’s Day, no Memorial Day festivities. There will not be games for Dad on Father’s Day.” It is a game better suited for the internet era than many give it credit for; despite the length of the action, each outcome is largely decided by no more than a handful of game-changing highlights, strikeouts, dingers, spectacular fielding plays or boneheaded errors. Baseball is what tells us that everything will be okay … even when everything is not normal. However it comes back, we will be ready for it. Whenever it happens, it won’t be soon enough. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here's what others have said... Kevin Reichard, Baseball Digest: “On the independent side, the St. Paul Saints (independent; American Association) laid out a plan for fan safety that includes plenty of social distancing and measures like paperless tickets. In the Atlantic League, the Somerset Patriots hosted a dozen local players and tryout hopefuls yesterday at TD Bank Ballpark for the first workout of 2020. ‘Right now it is all about doing it the right way and the safe way,’ said longtime infielder Scott Kelly. ‘It’s about practicing good judgment, being conscious at all times, and abiding by the ‘new rules.’’” Whit Merrifield, Kansas City Royals All-Star: “Baseball is coming back. That’s a fact. And it’s such a beautiful game. While the business of it may suck sometimes, that doesn’t take away from the beauty of the game we love and miss. ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder.’” Kendall Baker, Axios: “Baseball's rich history binds together generations, and the role it plays in childhood and in cinema makes it the most nostalgic of all sports. Without it, many are lost, with no games to watch or listen to as background noise, and no Opening Day or annual double-header to mark the passage of time between spring and summer. As doctor Franklin Zimmerman wrote in The New York Times, ‘It is a cruel twist of biology that the social distancing required in response to the COVID-19 epidemic has also necessarily robbed us of baseball, something that might help to heal our souls.’” [IN OTHER WORDS] - In an unprecedented offseason, quarterbacks like Matt Ryan have been forced to get creative with their squads. [At Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer takes you]( inside the nine-week offseason program Ryan created for his Falcons teammates. - The “Long Gone Summer” 30 for 30 took us back to a time when baseball ruled the sports landscape — but with some complications. [ESPN’s David Schoenfield walks through]( the biggest takeaways from Sunday’s showing. - As an incoming freshman defensive end at Ohio State, Jack Sawyer has some mighty big shoes to fill. And the top 2021 recruit [tells Bleacher Report’s Adam Kramer]( he’s determined to follow in the footsteps of the Bosa brothers and Chase Young. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Somehow, as the age of the NBA transitioned from Kobe Bryant to LeBron James, and then from The King to whoever’s next, it almost feels like we’re starting to forget just how good the Spurs were. But that’s not why we featured this tweet in today’s “The Internet Is Undefeated.” No, this tweet is all about the video, in which Pop stares at his hand and, with a look of mock shock on his face, counts the number of rings he’s won in San Antonio. It’s a classic, and a fun way to start off your week. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Monday Night Raw (USA, 8 p.m. ET) Now that Drew McIntyre has successfully defended his title against Bobby Lashley, what’s next for the WWE Champion? Plus, Seth Rollins has extended a twisted invitation to Rey Mysterio and his son, Dominik, for tonight’s Raw. FOX Indoor Soccer (FS1, 7 p.m. ET) Rob, Stu and Alexi welcome Tottenham Hotspur captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to the show to talk the Premier League’s imminent return. Then, ex-England great Alex Scott stops by to discuss her involvement in her country’s taskforce to get sport up and running again in the U.K. Undertaker: The Last Ride — Chapter 4 ([WWE Network]( Seeking a storybook ending for his legendary career, the Undertaker’s mental and physical struggles come to a head in Saudi Arabia, with disastrous results. In the wake of that catastrophe, Mark Calaway makes a major decision regarding his future as the Undertaker. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Player to hit the most HRs in 2020 Joey Gallo: +1000 Pete Alonso: +1000 Mike Trout: +1000 Giancarlo Stanton: +1100 Cody Bellinger: +1700 The hottest months of the year make a perfect time for dingers. And while guys like Alonso (who set an MLB record for homers by a rookie in 2019 and had 11 HRs in September) or Trout (the reigning AL MVP) are obvious favorites, you might want to consider a look at JD Martinez at +2500. The Red Sox slugger finished second in HRs in 2018 and has totaled 80 round-trippers in the past two seasons. A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Awards mean a lot, but they don't say it all. The people in baseball mean more to me than statistics.” — Ernie Banks [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 FOX Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. 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