1901 is generally considered the start of modern baseball. And ever since that year, Major League Baseball has played its annual season of professional games. They’ve shortened the season a few times, and they’ve skipped the World Series twice (1904 and 1994). But for almost 120 years, baseball has refused to take a break. America’s baseball players kept socking dingers through two world wars, one flu pandemic, several economic depressions, and all kinds of other situations that make enjoying a ballgame awfully tricky.  The 2020 season may or may not start play later this year. But either way, a few clever Chicago sportscasters have made history with a virtual approach to keeping things going. So on this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt calls up Chicago White Sox play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti, to explore what it’s like simulating a sports season that may never happen outside of his PlayStation 4. They’ll also examine the weird way virtual sports can turn meaningful, discover how Taiwan resumed real baseball a week ago, and dig into sports’ role as a canary in the coal mine of modern American society. Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/sports-in-time-coronavirus-with-jason-benetti