With the MLB shutting down operations for the foreseeable future, players and coaches will practice privately away fro media and fans. These precautions are necessary to halt the viral spreading of the Novel Corona Virus, which has sent the USA into a state of emergency. New York Yankees skipper, Aaron Boone, expressed the fluidity of the situation we are currently in, mentioning that the club will stay together and continue practicing.
“From my understanding right now, we stay [in Florida] to work out as a club and everything is within our club,’’ Boone said on Thursday. “My guess is that it remains a fluid situation, obviously. We will take MLB’s lead and the situation’s lead and hopefully get to the point where we get back out there.’’
The league has instituted a shutdown for the next few weeks, already pushing back the start of the regular season to April and possibly May with the expected spread of the virus. Hopefully, the containment measures prove to be effective, and life can return to normal in the coming weeks.
“This is a unique situation that is bigger than baseball,’’ Boone said. “You want to do your part on behalf of the world, not contributing to be a part of this becoming a real poor situation. We will be cooperative in trying to play our part the best we can.’’
On the bright side, the push-back of the March 26 Opening Day could see both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton back to full health and activity. However, Judge did mention it takes about 30 at-bats to settle into a rhythm, so I imagine he won’t be prepared to face live-pitching at the major league level with the league shutting down all operations for the next few weeks.
Again, an injured Yankee team will benefit from the prolonging of Opening Day, but we still must consider the seriousness of the virus and what it means for many around the world.