Rob Manfred's Statement About Baseball's Role in America's Recovery Will Make Any MLB Fan Emotional

With the current situation the sports world finds itself in, fans everywhere are longing for a return to normalcy. On what would have been Opening Day, baseball fans are feeling especially down.

With that in mind, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement early Thursday morning saying that he knows baseball is coming back, and emphasizing how important it will be to the country's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic when it does so.

Fans were preparing themselves to see big names in new uniforms on Thursday. Gerrit Cole was about to make his first Yankees start, Mookie Betts was ready to play his first game in Dodger blue, and Anthony Rendon was going to step on the field for the first time with Mike Trout. Opening Day 2020 was supposed to be magical.

Instead, the country is quarantined with no baseball, and all there is to satiate the baseball thirst is this statement from Manfred. Even if it is exactly what fans want to hear and an eloquent statement in a truly challenging time, it can't replace baseball.

Right now, baseball's resumption is surely not the most important thing to worry about. However, even with the unfortunate circumstances, not having baseball hurts so, so badly.