Watch now:
Players who begin to opt out of the 2020 MLB season
(2:02)
Major League Baseball players report this week on what the league calls “Summer Camp.” Is July. Baseball is coming … probably. However, amid the excitement over MLB’s return, some players are expressing concern over the increasing number of coronavirus cases across the country.
A handful of players have already chosen not to play this season due to the pandemic. Twins reliever Trevor May is preparing to play, at least today, but recently expressed concern over the return of the baseball pandemic.
Here are some of what May said to Dan Hayes of The Athletic:
“We’re all waiting for bad news. It’s the way it has been this year … It’s hard to focus on getting your arm ready to pitch in a major league game.”
—
“Maybe I am not scared enough for my own safety. But it scares me that day when I wake up and I see on Twitter that someone in an office somewhere not only tested positive, but is really in a desperate situation.”
“We are not medical professionals who need to be there for other people. I understand everything (thinking): ‘It’s fun to watch and it would be a good distraction.’ I understand that. People need to be distracted sometimes. But sometimes it feels a little bit like we have the responsibility to send the other message that maybe we really need to resolve this as a group and not try to force the things that we want to do right now. It is something that we are doing. “
Although May is one of the first since camp opened to speak that way, he is likely not alone. As the season progresses, the best guess here is that we will see more players choosing, even after they have reported or even appeared in some games.
As it stands, most teams are preparing to play three exhibition games against their neighbors (think of the Giants against the A, the Cubs against the White Sox, the Yankees against the Mets, etc.) and then Opening Day for a 60 game season will be July 23-24.
