I’ve got to admit I’m surprised that it took this long, but on Tuesday evening, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the beloved 79-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who gained national attention as President Trump’s go-to medical expert when the deadly COVID-19 virus hit U.S. shores, finally weighed in on how the current pandemic might affect the resumption of play – if there is a resumption of play – of Major League Baseball

Fauci, who fell from grace with the president over strong differences in opinion about reopening the country, said on Tuesday that if Major League Baseball resumes play, they would be wise to complete their postseason in September.

“If the question is time, I would try to keep it in the core summer months and end it not with the way we play the World Series, until the end of October when it’s cold,” Fauci told LA Times Dodgers beat writer Bill Shaikin in a telephone interview. “I would avoid that.”

Fauci added that playing in July would be less of a risk of contracting or spreading the extremely contagious virus than would playing in October.

“Even in warm weather, like in Arizona and California, we’re starting to see resurgences as we open up,” Fauci said. “But I think the chances of there being less of an issue in the end of July and all of August and September are much, much better than if you go into October.”

According to projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. are projected to rise steadily in July and August, and then sharply through September, when the so-called “second wave” is expected to hit. As such, Fauci said that baseball in October is probably not a good idea.

“I’d have to underscore probably,” he said. “This virus is one that keeps fooling us. Under most circumstances – but we don’t know for sure here – viruses do better when the weather starts to get colder and people start spending more time inside, as opposed to outside. The community has a greater chance of getting infected.

“The likelihood is that, if you stick to the core summer months, you are better off, even though there is no guarantee. … If you look at the kinds of things that could happen, there’s no guarantee of anything. You would want to do it at a time when there isn’t the overlap between influenza and the possibility of a fall second wave.

Fauci, an avid Washington Nationals fan, said that the idea of having games in fanless ballparks is a wise one, but added that he would feel comfortable attending a game in a stadium with limited capacity once the infection rate begins to decline.

“In Washington, D.C., the cases are going down, but we’re not finished with the outbreak yet,” Fauci told Shaikin, “That’s the reason why, when I’m on the outside, I always wear a mask. I avoid crowds.

“Unless you have a dramatic diminution in cases, I would feel comfortable in spaced seating, where you fill one-half or one-third or whatever it is of the stadium, and everybody is required to wear a mask in the stadium,” he added.

Regardless of which side of the MLB – MLBPA argument you are on regarding the resumption of play, both sides need to take a long, hard look at what Dr. Fauci is saying here.

It could very well be a matter of life and death.

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(ThinkBlueLA.com wishes to acknowledge and thank LA Times writer Bill Shaikin for the information in this article).

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