The Cactus League and  city leaders that host spring training around the Phoenix area are asking Major League Baseball to delay the start of spring training.

The  letter, sent last Friday to  MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred, said while the cities that own and run the stadiums have done their best to mitigate against COVID-19, continued elevated case numbers in Arizona have them wanting to push the pause button.

The letter was signed by a Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher as well as the mayors of Mesa, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tempe, Surprise, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community President Martin Harvier.

"We understand that any decision to dealy spring training cannot be made unilaterally by MLB," the letter states. "As leaders charged with protecting public health, and as committed, longtime partners in the spring training industry, we want you to know that we stand united on this point."

Cactus League officials cited in the letter data from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which projected a sharp decline  in COVID-19 infections from an estimated 9,700 per day in mid-February to about 3,000 a day in mid-March. 

Arizona's spring training season typically begins in mid-February, when pitchers and catchers begin reporting to team facilities. Games typically start in late February.

The Valley has 15 teams that play in the Cactus League: Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics in Mesa; San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners in Peoria; Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox in Glendale; Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix; San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale; Cincinnati  Reds and Cleveland Indians in Goodyear; Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals in Surprise; Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies on the Salt River site;  and the Los Angeles Angels in Tempe.

Any delay could shorten the season like last year, when Cactus League games were canceled in mid-March following the COVID-19 outbreak. Cities and MLB already were looking at significantly smaller crowds allowed into spring training sites.