Given how much uncertainty there has been due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins has been pleased with how united everybody has been when it comes to finding a solution for Major League Baseball.
“It’s been one of the really encouraging things I think, as I talked to our organization, our players, and to other executives because it’s so rare to have so many people focused on the same solutions,” Atkins said during an appearance on Tim and Sid Monday. “Just interacting with other executives across Major League Baseball, talking to the executives in New York that worked for [the league] directly, it has been very fulfilling to be on calls that are so solution focus for the good of the game without sacrificing anything. Obviously safety first and thinking about the community much larger than baseball as the backdrop.”
Atkins says that he continues to be on calls with MLB executives discussing the plan to get back on the field but couldn’t speculate on the latest reports suggesting that a decision is getting close.
“That’s the part that I don’t want to speculate on, you know, rather not create headlines here,” Atkins said. “The things that have been reported and things that are out there, all of that momentum are things that I’m feeling and experiencing.”
Atkins admits that he has been busy the past few months trying to adapt to the new situation while also discussing potential contingency plans and new ways to communicate with staff, players, and executives.
“What has been so interesting is how quickly the industry and this organization has adapted really has been fulfilling,” said Atkins. “We [have] connected in such different ways as I’m sure everyone in life has through FaceTime, Zoom conferencing. I was recently on a call with several executives from other sports teams and leagues not just not in baseball. And we were just trying to learn from one another and one of the things that resonated the most, it’s somewhat commonsensical, but just how much we’re tapping into that.”
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