The Nationals were prepared to raise their World Series banner and distribute championship rings at their April 2 home opener two weeks ago, but they’re going to continue to wait to hold those ceremonies until their fans can be a part of them again.

On Saturday, Mike Rizzo, Washington's President of Baseball Operations, joined MLB Network Radio’s Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on Sirius XM to talk about how the team is handling the suspension of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus outbreak and what he thinks things will look like once baseball returns.

When asked whether he thinks the Nationals are missing out on some of the celebrating they earned when they won the World Series last October, Rizzo explained that the club just plans on waiting the pandemic out until fans are allowed back in stadiums again.

“I think as far as raising the banner and the distribution of rings, we’re going to wait for our fanbase to be involved to do those types of things,” Rizzo said. “Those are once-in-a-lifetime things to do and our fanbase is such a big factor in helping us win that thing. They earned it, they deserve to be involved in it and we’re going to wait for them to do it.”

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MLB has reportedly been exploring several scenarios for playing out a truncated season, including several that would move all games to spring training facilities. However, one consistent theme has been a key part of every plan: no fans would be in attendance at the ballparks.

While that’s something that could change as the season goes on and the virus is contained, there remains a chance fans won’t be able to watch an MLB game in person until 2021.

But if Rizzo’s comments hold true, the Nationals will continue to wait until their fans can be a part of the ceremony before officially closing the book on their championship season.

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