An outbreak of COVID-19 shook Major League Baseball (MLB) and forced two games to be postponed less than a week after the sport started after a four-month coronavirus delay.
Major League Baseball confirmed in a statement that games between the Miami Marlins and Baltimore Orioles in Florida and the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees in Pennsylvania had been scrapped.
The decision followed reports that 10 other Marlin members – eight players and two coaches – had tested positive for the corona virus after Monday’s game against the Phillies in Philadelphia.
Four Marlins players – pitcher Jose Urena, first baseman Garrett Cooper, outfielder Harold Ramirez and catcher Jorge Alfaro – had already tested positive for COVID-19 and increased the total number to 14. Questions were asked why the Marlins – not the League -. were even allowed to decide that they wanted to play against the Phillies on Monday.
Major League Baseball said in a statement that the games had been postponed to allow for additional testing.
“The members of the Marlins travel group are themselves quarantined and are waiting for the results of these results,” says the MLB statement.
The Yankees were supposed to use the same locker room at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia that the Marlins had used over the weekend.
Marlin CEO Derek Jeter said postponing the game against the Orioles in Florida was the “right decision.”
“The health of our players and staff has been and remains our primary focus when navigating these unknown waters,” said Jeter.
“The postponement of today’s home game was the right decision to ensure that we take a collective break and try to grasp the whole of this situation correctly.”
Jeter said the Marlins stayed in Philadelphia to undergo further tests. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred reportedly held an emergency meeting to discuss the outbreak, but there was no conversation between team owners about the season’s cancellation.
The postponed games came with Major League Baseball less than a week into the shortened 2020 season. The season started last Thursday, four months after it opened in March.
Games take place without fans, while players are subject to a number of strict health and safety protocols to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks.
Players are tested for disease every 48 hours, while masks are mandatory for all players who are not on the field.
Unlike other sports leagues such as Major League Soccer and the NBA, which start their season with all teams in one place, baseball has chosen to leave the clubs in their home stadiums, which means that they go through during the season the USA must travel season.
This decision has been criticized by health experts as risky as parts of the United States fight coronavirus cases that explode.
Some star players had also expressed concerns that they should try to start the season while the pandemic was raging, with some rejecting the 2020 season as a whole.
The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price was one of those who chose to skip the season and raised concerns about security protocols.
Price said the Marlin outbreak was a test of MLB’s commitment to player safety.
“Now we can REALLY see if MLB is putting player health first,” Price wrote on Twitter.
“Do you remember when Manfred said the health of the players was PARAMOUNT ?! One reason I’m home right now is that the health of the players wasn’t the top priority.
“I can see that has not changed.”
Given the Marlin outbreak, Dave Martinez, manager of the Washington Nationals said, “I’ll be honest with you, I’m scared.”
– – AFP
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