It was Wednesday afternoon and a veteran relief pitcher was in his car, driving to his team’s hometown with the intention of playing baseball amid a pandemic. He spent the past few days in a remote location wondering if he should drive north to his home or head west for his job. He chose the latter, despite doubts, because he thought it was worth giving him at least one chance. While driving, a central question beckoned, one that persisted throughout the sport when the teams officially restarted their workouts a couple of days later.
“Why are we doing this?”
Mike Trout lent his voice and height to that sentiment on Friday morning, while expressing unmistakable concern about the possibility of testing positive for the coronavirus and passing it on to his pregnant wife, who is only a month away from giving birth to the first son of the couple. Such concern of baseball’s undoubted face sent shock waves through the industry, but Trout was far from alone.
Managers across the sport, striving for the right balance of calm and understanding, have spent most of this week hearing similar concerns from their players as the camps begin again. Ian Desmond, Mike Leake, Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross have already decided to unsubscribe and others may follow. But many others will continue to walk despite their apprehension, reluctantly playing because they need the money or cannot bear the loss of time on duty or feel the pressure, external or otherwise, to absorb it and play.
There are young players with split contracts who received most of their 2020 compensation in advance, as part of the March deal, and will now play for relative pennies. There are veterans in minor league deals who would collect more on unemployment than they would by earning Triple A wages on a pro rata basis if they did not graduate on the active rosters.
One of those players, a longtime infielder, lamented that the rapid acceleration of what MLB calls “Summer Camp” could prevent teams from having logistics in place to ensure adequate social distancing in their respective facilities. He also expressed doubts that all those who make up Levels 1 and 2, up to 125 per team, consisting of players, coaches, coaches, reception executives, public relations employees and clubhouse staff, among others, will care enough. Consistently adhere to all health and safety protocols. When asked why he is having it, the player said, “Because if I don’t, I might as well retire.”
Trout, the owner of a $ 426.5 million contract that runs through the 2030 season, is not overwhelmed by those concerns. Instead, he is concerned about passing COVID-19 on to his wife, Jessica, and how that could affect his delivery process. Others are concerned about their own safety, or that of a loved one or an older coach, or the general public, given what it could mean for hundreds of players to navigate through a season out of a bubble environment as hospitals are they prepare for an overflow of patients.
“It is a difficult situation for everyone,” said Trout. “I talked to a lot of guys across the league and they’re texting me a lot. I’m not going to name any names, but they all think the same thing: ‘Will this work?'”
1:06
Jeff Passan says that Mike Trout is not alone, many others are still not comfortable returning to baseball.
On Thursday, more than 55,000 new coronavirus infections were reported in the U.S., setting a world record for a single day. The death toll has exceeded 130,000 in this country; Initial hopes that the virus will slow down amid the summer heat have been dashed. Currently, thirty-eight states are experiencing an increase in cases, primarily Florida, Arizona, California, and Texas, which house 10 combined MLB teams.
Through this prism there will be different degrees of risk tolerance among players. Hours after Trout referred to the importance of doing “what’s right for my family,” two of the most successful members of the Los Angeles Dodgers sat in conference rooms 30 miles away and spoke with more optimism. . Clayton Kershaw, who has three children, expressed his trust in the league and the players’ union to do the right thing. Justin Turner, who has no children, said that playing “has probably been one of the easiest decisions.”
Moments later, MLB and the MLB Players Association announced that 38 of the first 3,185 people who went through the intake detection process tested positive for the coronavirus, 31 of whom were gamblers. The positive test rate, 1.2%, was 7.5 times less than what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned as the country’s overall rate on Friday. But not all results had come in yet, and others who tested positive before reporting, such as Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon, at least 12 members of the Philadelphia Phillies and several others, were not included.
The real test begins now, when the demands of a season, a season that includes frequent trips, begin to present themselves. MLB did an admirable job putting together a 100+ page operations manual that is extremely comprehensive regarding how testing will be conducted and how social distancing will be implemented. But even that document, many will admit, is evolving. And nowhere does it describe punishments for those who do not adhere to health and safety protocols.
It will all come down to discipline, responsibility, and self-control. Positive cases are inevitable; The hope is to avoid the kinds of outbreaks that could postpone or even cancel the season. If one person hesitates, the entire system could collapse. And even if players adhere to the monks’ sensibilities for the next three to four months, the reality of an ongoing pandemic may make their efforts meaningless. That is why so many players hesitate.
That is why Trout lent his voice to concern.
“It takes a man to bring that into this clubhouse,” he said. “And given how contagious this virus is, it will be difficult to contain.”
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