The annual Subway Series would feel different this season without fans lamenting the ball parks in Queens and the Bronx. Now, it has to do with ambiguity for a tricky reason: One Mets player and one staff member have tested positive for coronavirus.
Major League Baseball kicked off the Mets’ game in Miami on Thursday and Friday the opener of their series with the Yankees at Citi Field. The Mets did not identify the people who tested positive, but said both people and everyone found that they had been in close contact with them staying behind in Miami.
The Mets said the rest of the team would fly back to New York on Thursday night while monitoring safety and testing protocols.
The Mets will be the fourth team to have a player test positive since the shortened season began on July 23rd. The Miami Marlins and the St. The Louis Cardinals have had large-scale outbreaks (20 positive cases for the Marlins; 18 for the Cardinals), and the Cincinnati Reds had one positive test last Saturday. The Marlins missed a week of games, the Cardinals missed two weeks, and the Reds had three outings.
MLB did not issue all those proposals at once; in both cases, the teams had a longer break than the first announced league. Based on those predecessors, it’s safe to ask if any Subway Series games will be played this weekend.
“I do not know,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Thursday’s loss to Tampa Bay. “All they told us was that tomorrow night was canceled. I’m sure they’re trying their arms to get her and see where we’re coming from. “
The Mets are scheduled for another three-game series with the Yankees in the Bronx next weekend, and postponed games could then be made with doubleheaders, with each of the games this season being just seven innings.
“I’ll feel safe when it comes to the point we’re playing,” Boone said. “I will feel that due diligence is done and safety is the first priority.”
The Mets were not the only team affected by the virus on Thursday. The president of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Travis Williams, announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus but had not had recent contact with players, coaches or staff of baseball operations. Williams said in a statement that the team had implemented contact inspection procedures.
John Mozeliak, the president of the cardinal’s cardinal operations card, said traces of contact would be “the most important thing” for the Mets as they try to prevent a major outbreak.
“You need to have people who are willing to be honest and transparent with who they were connected to,” Mozeliak said on Thursday. ‘Part of what you see in sports is the shame of’ Oh, you brought it into the clubhouse, ‘and so you suddenly lose a bit of that transparency and honesty that you have to completely get your hands on.
‘That is my advice: do not be ashamed of anyone. It’s not a finger-pointing incident – it’s really about helping to strengthen the verse as well as possible. ”
