CLOSE What I’m Hearing: Bob Nightengale shares what he’s been hearing about the future of the league USA TODAY

Remember box scores?

It's been 31 days since baseball fans have had a chance to consume perhaps their most essential food group, and it's eerie to gaze at the ghost town that lingers on the day Major League Baseball went away for weeks, probably months, maybe longer.

It's all fake baseball, really – a slate of Grapefruit League games on a day the Cactus League was all rained out and probably relieved not to grapple with letting crowds into stadiums a day after the coronavirus shuttered the NBA and, a day later, sports coast-to-coast.

Yet after USA TODAY Sports' report that MLB is considering, among myriad scenarios, junking the American and National leagues for a year and contesting a shortened season with clubs divided by their Arizona and Florida training sites, those scores look a bit different:

Yankees 6, Nationals 3: In March, a tuneup for Patrick Corbin and a nice one-hit outing for Yankees rotation candidate Jonathan Loaisiga. In October? A salacious potential GLCS (Grapefruit League Championship Series) matchup.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone during a March 12 spring training game against the Nationals. (Photo: Sam Navarro, USA TODAY Sports)

Phillies 8, Rays 4: Then, a grim 3 hour, 29 minute slog through 13 pitchers. Later on? Imagine Aaron Nola vs. Charlie Morton in a wild card tussle pitting potential Tampa and Gulf Coast division runner-ups.

Blue Jays 7, Pirates 5: OK, that's a tough sell in any month. But hey, what would you give right now to watch Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Josh Bell play something other than a video game?

Naturally, any fantasy scenarios are explored under the implied knowledge that the hurdles to any baseball in 2020 remain immense. And that all cues will be taken from health officials and epidemiologists, and even then, it may not be enough to overcome safety and logistical concerns.

But it's a little harder to deny the appeal of this scenario compared to the all-Arizona option. For one, if a player tests positive for COVID-19 midseason, you'd presumably just have to shut down one league and 15 teams, rather than all 30. And the league put on hold could ramp its schedule down to maintain equity, and maybe a 105-game schedule becomes a 90-game schedule.

Naturally, they're all still pipe dreams. But this one's a pleasant diversion as the sports-less slog of quarantines lurches on.

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Video of the Day

Before "Dad Bod" and "Dad Jokes" were part of the lexicon, there was Phil Mickelson, who might be the king of both. And on this date in 2004, Lefty finally secured his first major, rolling in an unforgettable putt on the 18th green at Augusta National, and capping it with a leap that makes the most ground-bound among us feel pretty good about our vertical jump. Relive the final few holes above, or the whole round here.

This day in sports history: April 11

1936: The Detroit Red Wings capture their first Stanley Cup by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in Game 4.

1961: The Boston Celtics secure their third straight championship with a Game 5 win against the St. Louis Hawks.

1962: The New York Mets play their first game.

1965: Jack Nicklaus wins the Masters, then wraps up a repeat on the same day the next year in 1966.

1983: Seve Ballesteros wins the Masters for the second time.

1993: Bernhard Langer wins the Masters for the second time.

2004: Phil Mickelson wins the Masters, his first major.

2010: Mickelson wins a third Masters title.

What to watch (all times ET)

Basketball: ESPN debuts its documentary on Vince Carter, whose 22nd NBA season has been delayed by the coronavirus shutdown, at noon.

Baseball: MLB Network will air Dodgers-Mets from 1997 – the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut. FS1 has Game 5 of the 2018 NLCS between the Brewers and Dodgers at 7 p.m.

UFC: A six-hour fight marathon begins at 7 ET on ESPN2.

Esports: The NBA 2K Players Tournament culminates with the championship on ESPN at 9 p.m.

Games we're missing

In addition to what would have likely been the first Saturday of the Stanley Cup playoffs, we could have been watching the following:

MLB

Los Angeles Angels at Detroit Tigers

Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox

Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays

St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs

Pittsburgh Pirates at Baltimore Orioles

Philadelphia Phillies at Cincinnati Reds

Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Indians

Atlanta Braves at Miami Marlins

Houston Astros at Texas Rangers

New York Mets at Milwaukee Brewers

Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks

San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres

New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics

Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers

Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners

NBA

Detroit Pistons at Dallas Mavericks

Washington Wizards at Charlotte Hornets

Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers

Philadelphia 76ers at New Orleans Pelicans

Milwaukee Bucks at Cleveland Cavaliers

Boston Celtics at Miami Heat

Brooklyn Nets at Chicago Bulls

Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies

Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers

Sacramento Kings at Denver Nuggets

Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns

Source: USA Today

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