Miami Marlins postpone two games
Unlike most other professional sports leagues in North America trying to wrap up their seasons, Major League Baseball only started their season last week as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to delay the start of the campaign. While most fans, players and coaches, were excited at the prospect of finally getting the season underway there was also a little concern as well.
It didn’t take very long for those concerns to become a reality. On Monday, the Miami Marlins confirmed that they would have to postpone their home opener which was scheduled for Monday evening due to a COVID-19 outbreak amongst players and staff. On Monday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan confirmed that a total of 13 players and staff members in the Marlins’ organization tested positive for the virus. As a result, they were left stranded in Philadelphia after their series with the Phillies. Their game Tuesday evening has also been postponed after Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported that four members of the Marlins organization had tested positive, bringing their total to 17 players.
Despite the concerns ahead of returning to play, the Marlins didn’t consider ducking out of the game, according to starting shortstop Miguel Rojas. “That was never our mentality,” Rojas said, via TSN. “We knew this could happen at some point. We came to the ballpark ready to play.”
The Marlins-Orioles game was not the only game cancelled either, as the Phillies had to cancel their first two games against the New York Yankees. Games scheduled between the Phillies and Yankees were postponed on Monday and Tuesday, with no announcement as to when they would be able to play.
Prior to the regular season starting, Miami was in Atlanta last Tuesday and Wednesday playing exhibition games against the Braves. However, Atlanta is not missing both Tyler Flowers and Travis d’Arnaud after both players showed symptoms of COVID-19. It remains to be seen whether the exhibition games could have contributed to the spread.
Dr. Anthony Fauci declared on Tuesday that the season does not to be entirely stopped yet, but that the recent revelations and positive tests could ultimately put the entire MLB season in jeopardy.
“This could put it in danger,” said Fauci, via TSN, the nation’s top infectious disease expert. “I don’t believe they need to stop, but we just need to follow this and see what happens with other teams on a day-by-day basis.”
“Major League Baseball — the players, the owners, the managers — have put a lot of effort into getting together and putting protocols that we feel would work,” Fauci said. “It’s very unfortunate what happened with the Miami (Marlins).”
The entire situation has been a disaster for the league with many questioning the protocols put in place and whether teams should be travelling to the various different markets across the country. Commissioner Rob Manfred admitted Monday evening that the situation is certainly not ideal, but refused to label it as a complete nightmare.
“Obviously, we don’t want any player to get exposed. It’s not a positive thing,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said on the MLB Network. “But I don’t see it as a nightmare. We think we can keep people safe and continue to play.”
