With the coronavirus surging around the country, the surge has now affected MLB. Today the Baltimore/Marlins game and the Yankees/Phillies games have been canceled or postponed. It may have all started when one Miami Marlin’s player didn’t follow the health protocol.
On Friday, when one Miami Marlin player tested positive for the coronavirus, the Marlins met up with the Philadelphia Phillies for a weekend three-game set. Apparently, at the time, there may have been more asymptomatic players fostering the virus. On Sunday morning, the Marlins got more tests back, showing that an additional three players had tested positive. According to sources, the MLB and Marlins had a conversation as to whether to cancel the Sunday’s game. It was decided at the time to let it go on.
Unbeknown to all involved, apparently the virus was festering in the Marlins dugout all weekend. This morning’s test results showed more dire results. Twelve players and two coaches tested positive. The decision was made to shut down for an undisclosed time.
Meanwhile, some of the Philadelphia Phillies may have been infected by suspect Marlin players. All the Phillies have been tested and are awaiting the results of those tests. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Yankees and MLB have canceled their game with the Phillies in Philadelphia. This was probably done with the abundance of cauction by the Yankee brass.
Tonight the Yankees were set to play the first game of a four-game set with the Phillies, two in Philadelphia and two at Yankee Stadium. Wednesday is scheduled to be Opening Day in New York at the Stadium. Now, this is up in the air as the virus makes it twists and turns in a baseball season that is already shortened to 60 games.
Now with just three games played, is this the end of the 2020 season? Let’s not put the horse before the cart, it just may be, but if this is just a blip to be gotten over, if health protocols are followed completely there may be hope that the season can continue.
It’s not a surprise that this has happened to the Miami Marlins. Florida is the new epicenter for the virus. And the Miami/Dade county is the worst spot in Florida where the Marlins are located at Marlins Park. The New York Yankees are not scheduled to visit Florida until they fly there from Baltimore on August 6th when they face the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game set at Tropicana Field. It will be the only time they are in Florida in the short season. The Miami Marlins will meet up with the Yankees in the last series of the season, but at Yankee Stadium.
Meanwhile, as the Phillies await the test results, which probably not be known until this evening, the Phillies will be taking steps to get their park ready for future play. They will fumigate the visitor lockers and clubhouse as well as the entire visitor’s dugout.
This first outbreak will test how the MLB will handle situations that we’ve expected to come up. Whether you use the term canceled or postponed, in such a short season with few days off, it is not known if these games will ever be played.
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